Magical Milestones of 2017

Happy Brand New Year, friends! The year is so very young and I'm feeling somewhat tentative and excited all at the same time for everything that's to come in 2018. I've been working on my book, (as mentioned in my New Year's post in 2017) but I'm not as far along as I'd like to be.

 I took off down a few new and unexpected rabbit holes this year and that put me a wee bit behind but these cold, dark days will be perfect to keep me grounded enough to finish in 2018. I'll be posting on Facebook and Instagram along the way to get you all primed and ready for the release date! 

I'm happy to report that I did indeed stand by my 2017 touchstone word ( Fearless)  and because of that it was a year filled with many magical milestones. I kept my promise to get out from behind the flowers and make some in the flesh connections last year and boy did I! 

 None of which I would have accomplished without the help of my sweet hubby. He's always behind me in everything I do. When I panic, he's my rock. When I'm overwhelmed, he picks up the pieces, and when I DREAM BIG, he digs in with me to make it all happen.

Me and the man behind my dreams and the camera.

The flowers led us to wonderful places and people last year! 

EVENTS.... EVENTS.... EVENTS.... EVENTS.... EVENTS.... EVENTS.... EVENTS....

In March and November, I organized and co-hosted two gatherings for the New England Farmer Florist Connection. A Facebook group I founded for flower farmers and florists in the New England Region. Both gatherings were filled with energy and passion. Flower Farmers and Florists gathered to network and collaborate to grow the slow flowers movement here in New England.

You can read about both amazing days, here and here.

Debra Prinzing, Semia Dunne, Me, and Monica Tavaras

COMMUNITY.... COMMUNITY..... COMMUNITY...... COMMUNITY..... COMMUNITY....  

I am a proud member of these Sustainable Flower Organizations

 Slow Flowers Directory 

 Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers 

 

Fall Floral Exchange attendees at Flowers by Semia, Studio.

 

 SPEAKING....SPEAKING.... SPEAKING.... SPEAKING.... SPEAKING.... SPEAKING....

 April brought more fun challenges and new experiences.  My husband and I were invited by a dear friend of ours to speak at a Woman's Club Meeting about Creative Living. Neither of us had ever done something like that so it was fun to work on it together. It was a 35 minute talk with some Q and A time at the end. I'm not gonna lie. I was TERRIFIED before the talk, but once we got inside the room and started talking to all the nice people my nerves took a back seat and we just had a good time talking about creativity of all kinds, including growing and designing with flowers of course. Phew. I was relived and elated when it was over!

TEACHING ...TEACHING.... TEACHING.... TEACHING.... TEACHING..... TEACHING....

In June I hosted a floral workshop on my backyard flower farm for a group of the sweetest retired ladies. This event was organized by my friend, author, speaker and gardener, Betsy Williams. This time our son was behind the camera while I talked with the attendees and my hubby was on yard detail making sure it was all perfect for the ladies, and me.

I wrote a blog about how to host a Garden to Vase workshop of your own, here. And, I'm planning more for 2018!

 FLOWERING... FLOWERING... FLOWERING.... FLOWERING.... FLOWERING.... FLOWER

July and August kept me busy in the cutting gardens and making arrangements for luncheons, charity events.

Ball Jar Bouquets

My ball jar bouquets graced the tables of several luncheons and events this summer.

IN THE PRESS.... IN THE PRESS.... IN THE PRESS.... IN THE PRESS.... IN THE PRESS...IN 

Dandelion House Garden was featured in the Country Cottage Issue of the Cottage Journal Magazine this summer. It was our second time being featured in this wonderful magazine and it was just so exciting! Maybe you saw us!?

We were also featured in Johnny's Seeds " Fifth Season Floral Design Elements" newsletter article here.

WEDDINGS... WEDDINGS... WEDDINGS... WEDDINGS... WEDDINGS.... WEDDINGS.... WED

Photography Credit: @liztracyphotography

Vintage Glam ( November )

I had the honor of  flowering two beautiful fall weddings in 2017. I can't express in words what it feels like to be apart of these special milestones, but I can say that I simply love every part of creating beautiful designs for weddings and events. I'm so excited for more opportunities in 2018 that I created a website just for weddings and events.

First Look " Old World meets Vintage Romance" Red Lion Inn, Cohassett, MA. 

Photography Credit: @theshannongrant

 I will stay true to sourcing local material from my own cut flower gardens, and other local flower farmers in season. And when the gardens are sleeping here in New England, I'll buy beautiful American Grown product and Dutch Blooms for my floral work.

My helpful guy's.

We managed to get away to the beach this summer for some much needed R and R and to celebrate my hubby's 60th birthday.  Well, 60 is the new 40, right? That's what I keep telling him so he'll keep up with me!

 My year of being " fearless" taught me to have faith and courage and to continue on this path laden with beautiful flowers and lovely people. So, I declare COURAGE my touchstone word for 2018! 

The skies the limit! 

Have you chosen yours yet?  

Blessings in the coming year from all of us at Dandelion House.

Love,

Deb ( and Boz )

How to Plant Dahlia Tubers

 

Howdy friends! Happy June! I've missed you! How has it been nearly a month since my last post? I can assure you it's not for lack of good writing material. I've been getting my gardens and containers prepped for planting while waiting for the weather to warm up enough to plant my dahlia tubers and seeds. We've had a cool, wet spring so I've held off on planting anything outside until last week. I can't tell you how excited I am to have them in the ground finally!

 At first sight a dahlia tuber can be a little intimidating to the new grower.  It can be difficult to distinguish which end is up, or down. Honestly, how can anything this ugly make something so beautiful?

The tuber above is one that I dug up and over wintered from last season. It already had a new eye start on it before I stored it. You can see where the stem was cut off at the very top of the photo. When you plant dahlia tubers, plant them with the stem facing upwards and the tubers hanging below facing downwards in a six inch deep hole. Cover them and water in well but be careful not to soak them. You don't want to risk rotting the tubers before they get going!

Give your dahlias nutrient rich soil with plenty of organic matter mixed in and a minimum of 6 hours of sunlight per day.

I over wintered last seasons tubers in a plastic bin filled with pine shavings. This is how they looked when I uncovered them in April to check for mold or any rotted soft material on the tubers. Always check your tubers during storage to make sure they're not getting too moist. I also trimmed off all the dried scraggly roots from the tubers and then I placed them in fresh shavings until planting time.

Dahlias bloom on tall plants that can reach over 5" tall. They will fall to the ground if not supported correctly.  I like to wait until they get several inches above ground before I stake them. That way I can be sure not to disturb or damage the tubers. Wooden stakes or bamboo garden stakes work well in a small operation where only one or two people tend the flowers. I tie them up with regular old garden twine. Have I mentioned how much I love twine? I L.O.V.E. TWINE!

Dahlias growing tall and proud! 

If you haven't tried dahlias in your garden or backyard flower farm yet I hope you'll give them a try this season. I love using them in my wedding work and I especially enjoy them on my dining room table, or anywhere for that matter!

I'm excited to see how the new Bridal Mix and Antique Anemone varieties I ordered from Eden Brothers do this year!  

Put down some roots and bloom!
Deb