by Blue Gables | Oct 20, 2021
The United States has a significant cut flowers trade deficit. Although Americans consume more cut flowers than any nation – $7.9B in 2020 – the US isn’t among the top 10 nations in terms of production. And given that flowers are perishable, this means that a LOT of...
by Blue Gables | Sep 25, 2021
Ask any flower grower and they will tell you that dahlias are among the most popular flowers. It seems ironic or maybe it’s fitting that they are also among the most difficult to grow. They are native to Mexico where they survive outdoors as perennials from year to...
by Blue Gables | Aug 25, 2021
As you might expect, we have a house full of cut flowers. We put various things in bottles, jars and vases and stick them on the kitchen windowsills, island and table. We often do this to “vase test” new plants to see how they do before we put them in arrangements...
by Blue Gables | Jul 12, 2021
Without bees, butterflies and other bugs, we’d have no flowers. Or food. Zinnias Are Butterfly Magnets I remember the first year we grew zinnias. They started to bloom in late June, and we were impressed by the volume of flowers they put out. Some flowers are known as...
by Blue Gables | Jun 18, 2021
Weeds are a part of life, not just with gardening, but all aspects of life. We bet you’ve dealt with some weedy people, or a weedy job or maybe a weed of a teacher or boss. It’s All About Context The funny thing about weeds is that they are context dependent. When it...
by Blue Gables | May 15, 2021
We saw a rainbow over our flower field this week. It was a reminder that rain and sunlight are two of the three key ingredients we need to glow our flowers (soil, too). It was also a reminder that we can’t do much to control two of those three ingredients. Like our...