I hope you all had a beautiful holiday season!! We are nestled inside awaiting a snowstorm which we probably will not get. Lots of planning is going down. I tend to hibernate once December 1st, comes around and peek my nose out around Jan 5th. We said goodbye to our daughter as she left to go back to the sunshine state for college. It will be months before I will see her again. my heart is sad, we had such a beautiful Christmas season, all of us together. Now that my children are 24,23,21,19 respectively, I know these times together are fleeting. So, Instagram goes quiet, and I just need that time to chill and focus on family and my home. I guess I become a huge introvert. That being said, I want to take you all along on my flower farming journey for 2024, so this blog will hopefully be a weekly thing. I do get sooo busy during the flowering season, so I do need to manage my expectations, I understand my limitations. I will really try and communicate better this year thru the blog. From figuring out how I'm going to plant the 100s of peonies I got in to seed starting to the "great dahlia divide". And yes, you heard that right, 100s of peonies have not been planted. I do have a plan though. I have certain areas that I have covered with tarps and such so the ground is not frozen under those tarps. fingers crossed I can get them in. If not, they will be safe in the cooler, (I hope) You will all know the good, the bad and its never ugly atound here!! well maybe the gosh darn weeds!!!
I organized my seed inventory and continue to create my crop plan; I will keep you all updated with what I'm seeding this season. I have a bunch of awesome plugs in the ground already: 200+ poppies, snap dragons, bupleurum, Irish eyes rudbeckia, foxglove, stock, ranunculus, tulips, lupine, campanula, lady's mantle and delphinium. The bells of Ireland plugs seem to have failed and juries out on the delphinium. It will be a prolific Spring. Things will be bursting over here in just 3 months' time.
I will be looking to hire more help this season, a delivery person for Thursdays, someone for field work and another person to harvest and make bouquets. And someone to do the farmers markets. I realized this past season, I can't be everywhere every day, it became relentless, and I began to feel very overwhelmed. This year will be different. Since we are doing weddings now, things had shifted beyond my control this past season. I want my focus to continue to be on my local customers, and weddings and events will be something we offer but not the core of who we are. I love to do them, but I must find my balance,
The core of my business is providing beautiful flowers to the community. I do this thru what is called a CSA. What is a CSA? It is community supported agriculture. SO that means you buy into the farm as a share, and you get a weekly flower bouquet delivered or (pick up) at the flower barn. This was really successful last season. We are looking to add more availability. Beginning with Tulips!! I think we have close to 6000 planted. So, we will be offering a 4-week option of just tulips, along with a full Spring share.
I may also add a U-pick option to the Flower Barn this year. What do you think?
I'd love to hear from you!! please reach out to me at flowerbarnatlocustpointe@gmail.com
Yours in everlasting flowers,
Ulana
****please forgive any grammatical errors, I'm 51 and haven't written much in 30 years.
Hi! I feel your empty nest pain-chin up! How do I join the CSA? I have a ton of obligations and time constraints. A schedule that is unrelenting, but I would love to learn from you. Is is possible to volunteer occasionally at the barn to learn how to garden? I’ll work for knowledge!
Best,
Candace