1.29.25

The Bees are coming. I’ve finally decided to jump into the world of beekeeping. I started training last year as part of the Heroes to Hives program- talk about a lot of work. I never knew just how much work bees could be. Nevertheless, I still have three packages of bees coming in April. :)

As for the tulips- they are about two weeks or less from bloom. I cannot wait. Email subscribers will be the first to know, followed by a broad announcement on Facebook & IG. Right behind the tulips are the Ranunculus & anemone and then Peonies. I wasnt going to plant ranunculus and anemone this year, but instead decided to try some different varieties. For peonies- I added another 700+ roots over the fall so we should have a bounty of peony blooms specifically for Mothers Day. If you attended the Cottage Core Festival in the Shoals 2024, you know we bring the biggest and most beautiful Mothers Day bouquets for purchase. This year will be no different. (I will have a limited number available for pre-purchase and pick up here at the farm.)

5.1.24

Here we are. Almost halfway through 2024 and the flowers are really kicking in. It’s been an interesting year so far. Non stop. Go GO GO.. One thing about flower farming is that even if flowers are blooming, you are still busy planting, pulling weeds, planning & planting more. The other day, thunderstorms rolled through-the sudden downpour of rain flattened about 1/3 of my Mothers Day sunflowers. If this was year 1, I would have been out there panicking. Year 2 me says, it’ll be okay. As long as I have sunflowers for mothers Day, they’ll do just fine. They may look a little wonky…. but it’ll still be okay. I’ll still plant more sunflowers, might try adding some support and see how that works…

For those who follow social media, you may have seen where my original field of dahlias came back. After the windstorm/mini tornado took them out last year in June, I gave up on that field and just let it go. In the fall, I covered it with a tarp in hopes of being able to plant it out earlier this year. Well. Those dahlias decided to come back for another round. Lucky Me. I really hope they do better this year compared to last year. Will I get a bumper crop of dinner plants dahlias? I hope so.

Peonies. Im almost done harvesting my first year of sellable peonies. I planted 200 roots last summer, and this year, I only harvested from half of them- the ones that were really big and bushy and could handle it and I only allowed one bloom per plant. Everything else was disbudded. I think they look and smell fantastic- yes, I did let some of them bloom out so I could enjoy them a little. theyre amazing. maybe better than the ranunculus? Dont tell them I said that…. This fall, I will put another 383 peony roots into the ground… kind of excited for that.

The garlic I planted out last fall is getting ready to put up its scapes. If you’ve cooked with these before and want me to save some for you- let me know. Otherwise, this is one of those tasty experiments I’m indulging in this year.

As for the Russian Bocking 14 (Russian Comfrey)….someone mowed it all off two days ago. Not me. So, my experiment in using it as a plant fertilizer/animal feed has been delayed. More to come on that.