Rebecca

Summer of blooms

In spite of the Summer’s heat {or maybe because of it?}, it was a season of beautiful blooms this year. If you’re new here, I’ve decided to try my hand at flower farming. I started small this year, with several varieties of zinnias, decorative grass, and amaranth. When I won a gift card to Eden Brothers on Instagram, I decided to get 300 liatris bulbs to add to the mix {yay for end of season sales!}. I also expanded my chocolate mint patch, and it’s the happiest mint I’ve ever seen in all my years growing it. There were flowers for my table, flowers for church, flowers for friends, and flowers sold to florists. And, of course, flowers for photographing.

These pastels worked surprisingly well.
Even the florist’s cat approved!
Bouquets for days.
Savannah Grass has the sweetest pink plume,
and it dries beautifully as well.
The amaranth loved the heat: it grew 8 foot tall!
The pinks got better and better as summer progressed.
Chocolate mint: it is happy.
The pollinators have been loving the liatris,
and apparently wooly worms too?

It’s been a good season, and one of learning. As things taper off, and I’m preparing to get things cleaned up for winter and beyond, I’m taking lessons learned and applying them to plans and dreams for next year. For example: amaranth needs to be pinched early, or you end up with 8-foot tall behemoth stalks that you can’t do anything with {but I did manage to save a bumper crop of seed!}. Next year, I’ll expand a little more, add another new variety or few, and see what happens.

But first, we’ll have pansy season. I’ve got my seeds and getting the zinnias cleared out and the pansies started is next on the flower farming agenda. Their cheerful colors will bring a welcome pop of brightness once Winter has settled in, and signal the start of another year of blooms.

Did you have a Summer of blooms?
Will you put out any Fall or Winter flowers?

11 comments

    • Thank you! šŸ„°šŸ„°šŸ„° I’m still learning the arranging aspect {growing, in comparison, is so much easier!}, so that means a lot šŸ™‚ I wish you were close enough to have some! ā¤

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    • They are the happiest! I’ve loved seeing my single row of pinks all summer, but I also missed the riot of happy colors that happens you do the mixed. Next year šŸ˜‰

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