Another lap completed around the flower field
December is the time of year when we take a pitstop and assess the most recent “lap” of our business. It’s a time when we finally have an opportunity to slow down and reflect on our successes, critique our challenges and rethink our strategies and tactics. It’s also a time when we remember with gratitude all the people that contributed in large and small ways to our success.
Feeling Thankful
The Thanksgiving season has us feeling grateful for all the blessings in our lives, including the people and things that have contributed to the success of our flower farm. The list is long and our gratitude runs deep. Thank you to everyone who has helped us — we appreciate your acts of kindness!
Buying local flowers has global implications
Locally grown flowers are an important element in a healthy local economy. Supporting small businesses increases the “velocity” of money, a measure of how many times a dollar is used to purchase goods and services measured in the GDP. There are myriad other reasons why it’s a good idea.
Dahlias’ burdensome beauty
Growing dahlias is a labor-intensive endeavor and they are susceptible to multiple threats, but they are one of the most popular flowers for good reason — they are show-stopper beautiful. Few flowers come in more colors, shapes and sizes than dahlias. We are in the peak of dahlia season and every day brings new blooms that stop even the most jaded flower farmers in their tracks.
Putting down roots
We have learned that some plants put out roots in water and some don’t. If a plant cutting readily roots in water, the roots are said to be “adventitious.” If roots grow in dirt, they are either “tap” or “fibrous.” We feel tap-rooted in our new home and the Howard County community is our soil. And we can’t think of a better place to grow.
Blessed are the pollinators
Without bees, butterflies and other pollinators, we wouldn’t have flowers or food or life on our planet. We think of sunlight, soil, water and carbon dioxide as essential to flora, but without pollinators to carry pollen from one flower to the next, those other things would be useless. We owe our lives to the bugs that help feed us.
Weeds are an unfortunate part of flower farming
Weeds are a part of life for flower farmers. We spend a good bit of our time in the garden pulling out plants that are crowding the plants we want. It’s like cutting cancer out of a healthy body. It has to be done. And so we do it. Often. Goodbye, buttercups, thistle, mile-a-minute and bind weed.
Rainbow of Flowers
We saw a rainbow over our meadow this week. It seemed especially fitting given that we recently debuted our “Love is Love” fabric flower vase covers. We also realized that we’re lucky enough to work every day in the midst of a terrestrial rainbow of flowers that come in all seven hues of the light spectrum.
April is for tulips!
Last November, Frank and Sessy planted about 1,000 tulip bulbs in a bed on their farm in Clarksville. Then, right on cue, they pushed up through the earth about 3 weeks ago. This week, they are starting to bloom, and what a wonderful bounty of beauty they are providing. Tulips are a bit of a pain to plant and protect (from rabbits, squirrels and deer), but when they are the first thing to bloom in the spring, all that hard work is suddenly worth it!