Garden Notes: September Snips and Second Flourishes

Mini blooms designed by my girl ( Nicolette)

Hello Blog. Hello Friends. I've missed you! I don't think I've ever gone 20 days without posting. EVER! I think it's high time we get reacquainted, don't you? I confess, I've been posting on Instagram quite a bit and keeping up with my freelance writing work but my Dandelion House writings have been piling up along with the garden waste. Where to begin?

  

What an amazing season we had. In a span of about ten weeks our little backyard flower farm put out enough flowers for three local weddings, two farmers markets, and plenty of household blooms to enjoy. Adding 5 additional raised beds to our existing 8 made all the difference. Planting seeds at intervals of every two weeks in the new beds allowed us to have more flowers longer. I'll plan things even more efficiently next season.

Cosmos

We had very little rain this season which caused the larger perennial beds to crisp up earlier than normal. Even so, the grass plumes are feathered out and look so pretty in the autumn breeze.

Zinnias and Grass

The dahlias suffered from spider mites which stunted the growth for a few weeks in August. Talk about nerve racking! It was right in the middle of wedding season when I needed them to perform the most. I had to perform an emergency spider-ectomy with Neem spray. Complete removal of several plants was also necessary. I got to them a little too late and they just couldn't be saved.

Second Flourish

They finally perked up with new foliage and fresh blossoms just in time for the last two weddings of the season. My last two brides were DIY brides. I'm still waiting on photos. I can't wait to see what they created with their flowers.

I got to experiment with making flower crowns too! I made one out of silk flowers for one bride so it would be a keepsake for her. I'm anxious to make some with fresh flowers too. I have some lovely mixed pin cushion flowers and purple asters about to bloom which will be fun to create with. I didn't know how I would feel doing wedding work but it turns out I LOVE it. Collaborating with couples   about flowers for their big day is exciting and makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

" Having couples out to the farm to see where their flowers will come from and the looks of awe and surprise on their faces when they saw the flowers was validating and inspiring. "

A mix of cultivated and foraged flowers,herbs and berries.

 Of course I made bouquets while we were at the cottage too! I didn't plant anything there this year but I scavenged some volunteer cosmos, mint, goldenrod, quince berries, grape leaves and weed with pretty small white flowers  I don't know the name of.

Cosmos

My daughter scavenged the garden yesterday and came up with this pretty little late September number.

All in all its been such a satisfying and rewarding season on the farm!

 What I've loved the most is doing my part to raise awareness about the slow flower movement and bringing fresh local sustainably grown flowers back home to American soil and America's tables.