Slow Flowers Podcast with Debra Prinzing

February has been cold, wet and snowy here in New England. Just the kind of weather I like to get down and dirty on clarifying my goals for the upcoming growing season. I'm so excited to get started in the gardens again. There's plenty of cleanup to do and planting lists to complete. The good news is that we are about 10 - 12 weeks away from being able to sow seeds outdoors. To keep busy I've been networking and making plans with my flower peeps from near and far to keep me blooming on the inside until planting time!

Debra Prinzing 

Last week one of my dreams came true when I sat down for a Skype interview with Debra Prinzing, ( author and founder of the Slow Flowers Movement). You may recall my interview with Debra here in February, 2016.  If you haven't tuned in to Debra's podcasts you should really put it on your calendar to have a listen. Whether you're a hobby gardener, master gardener, budding flower farmer/floral designer you'll learn first hand what's happening in the changing floral landscape around the cut flower industry in America. It's revolutionary on every level.

Debra asked me about my brand, and my writing, my cut flower gardens and floral designs and she was especially interested in sharing with her listeners some exciting news about an event I am co-hosting with three other farmer/florists in Massachusetts in March. The New England Farm and Floral Meet and Greet in MA.

I founded the New England Farmer Florist Connection Facebook Group in March of 2016 with the idea that farmer/florists in the New England region needed a place to connect and share their growing experiences online. In the back of my mind, ( okay, not so much in the back) I also dreamt that one day we might meet in person to network and find new ways to help one another in our farm and floral endeavors.

It's happening!!! On March 25th, Flower Farmers and Floral designers are traveling from Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Maine, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts to meet face to face and I couldn't be more thrilled that my instincts were right.

 I'll introduce my talented co-hosts in an upcoming blog post and share more about our dream location for the event. In the meantime, please have a listen to my podcast with Debra Prinzing to learn more! Every episode is educational and inspiring as well as FREE! Stay tuned!

And, remember. Whatever you dream you can do, you CAN do!

Put down some roots and BLOOM!

Deb

FEARLESS Flower Farming ( plans, goals and dreams 2017 )

And the day came when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. Elizabeth Appell

Happy New Year, friends! Are you one of those people who chooses a word that inspires you at the start of every new year?  A word that will help you stay true to your path? I love the anticipation of claiming a word that motivates me to get moving in the directions of my dreams, even if it means not playing it safe. I don't mean diving in with reckless abandon and ignoring important priorities in life for the sake of success alone. I'm talking about puzzling your way through how to bring your plans, goals and dreams into fruition and plowing through the fear one small step at a time.

I often think we make things much harder than they need to be so we sit on ideas much to long before taking action in exchange for waiting for the perfect time to start something new or finish something old. I have been guilty of this, but heck, I'm 55 now and I don't have that kinda time anymore. That's why I chose the word FEARLESS for my touchstone word for 2017 and I meant to hold myself accountable. Here's how I'm gonna do it. Every time I have an idea I'm going to write it down, then I'm going to puzzle out how I can make it happen with pen and paper right then and there instead of waiting an thinking, and thinking and waiting. I'll make a short list of steps I can take to get the ball rolling. I'm a firm believer that we all have the power to work in unison with the universe to manifest whatever it is we desire in life but it takes practice and practical application to get results. We must be dedicated, passionate, AND FEARLESS!

Here are a few things I plan to be 100% fearless about in 2017.

First of all, I'm going to continue to listen to my flowers. You read that right. I LISTEN to my flowers. When I trust the direction they take me in I always feel as if I'm being true to my path even if it's scary because I'm trying something for the first time. There's a bit of thrill in throwing yourself into the unknown which I admit I kind of like sometimes.
 

 WRITING~ I'll let you in on a little secret. I'm writing a book about my backyard flower farm.  I've queried (and been politely rejected) by some of the top book publishers in sustainable farming and gardening genre's. It's frustrating to be rejected over and over especially when you believe you have something you want to share and you know others will benefit from it.  So I'm just gonna self-publish the darned thing because I believe in it that much. So, my first " Fearless Flower Farming act will be to take action on completing and publishing my first book.
I'll share how I started farming my backyard in 2012 with lots of nitty-gritty info to get you started on your way to an ever expanding cutting garden for your own personal enjoyment and steer you into small scale backyard flower farming for profit. My hope is that you'll find it to be an inspirational,  useful guide in your gardening endeavors for years to come. What  topics would be of specific interest to you?

DESIGNING~Make that two little secrets. I've had the urge to dabble in painting my flowers for some years now, but just hadn't gotten around to buckling down and making it happen. I've always thought it would be neat to design products for home and garden use. The world is your oyster when it comes to mediums for creating art and how you blend them to make it your own. I've discovered a fun way to paint flowers like I've always wanted to.

This is one of my all time favorite images of an arrangement I made one afternoon while just playing around with different vases and flowers. In this image I was experimenting with using a vintage glass flower frogs for stabilizing flowers with shorter stems.

And the finished acrylic painting of the same image below. I can't tell you how gratifying it was to get that out of my system! Now I'm ready for the next one and the next one after that! I can see this on the cover of garden journals, paper goods, fabric, scarves, stationary, note cards. Some of my facebook friends suggested tote bags and bed linens too!



TEACHING~ For me, the growing part of flower farming is easy. I love to be outside amongst the flowers wearing God knows what, no makeup, sweating up a storm without a care in the world. I'm happiest that way, but there's a part of me that longs for sharing what I've learned and helping others achieve their dreams too. No more hiding behind the flowers! No more waiting for the perfect place or time.This is the year I'll really start my workshop series. Plans are in the works for a series of workshops here on the farm in my newly constructed studio. I'll be recruiting some local flower farmers and floral designers to co-host with me. Interested in collaborating?  Drop me an email!
debbiejbosworth@gmail.com

Backyard Flower Farming 101, Dahlia Days, Mums and Me Workshop, and one or two more if I can squeeze them in. ( fingers crossed it's up and ready by the first of June). If not, we'll put up an Easy-up tent and do it anyway! I'll keep you posted on dates and times.

GROWING~
Naturally I'll be trying new varieties of cut flowers this coming season and I'm anxious to share my planting list with you in my next post!
 
In the meantime, go out there and be fearless in the pursuit of your dreams!
Put down some roots and BLOOM! 
Love,
Deb

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

Flower Growers Fellowship and Membership

 

Can I just tell you that I am NOT a good prankster. I'm just NOT. I have the worst poker face on the planet and I'm not good at coming up with ideas for pranks to play on people. It must be in my DNA because now that I think about it, no one in my family is good at it. I think the worst prank someone could play on me is to tell me I'm out of chocolate, coffee or potato chips. That would be all kinds of awful around here. Hmm...I'll be right back.

Okay, we're good. Still plenty of chocolate! See? I told ya. No pranks and everyone is home! What a boring bunch we are! Anyway, what I really want to share with you today is how excited I am about recently becoming a member of the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers.

Becoming a member and attending a conference has been on my "goals list " for a couple of years now and I can't wait to get my members packet and begin to learn, grow and share with this community of flower farmers, designers, educators, writers, speakers, propagators, and mentors. 

  I'm  really looking forward to the members benefits , fellowship that comes with it and the new people I'll meet along the way. 

The association has seen a 60% increase in membership over the last five years. 

Proof that the flower farming renaissance is alive and thriving. 

 It's an exciting time to be " in the flowers". 

Tell me if you're a member and what you love most about it. 

Mason Jar Wedding Centerpieces With MY Local Flowers

Dear friends,  

I feel as if it's been forever since I sat down to say howdy. Life as a mom and writer is busy enough. Toss flower farming into the mix and now we're talking B.U.S.Y. but it's a beautiful busy and I love every minute of it!

We've ( my daughter and I ) been peddling our petals at the local Farmers Market and we just delivered our first wedding order yesterday! 

Today I'm sharing the wedding centerpieces I made for the bride and groom's farm venue wedding.The bride chose a modern/rustic theme for her mason jar centerpieces and wanted to incorporate locally grown flowers into her wedding so we were a perfect fit!

 I love doing arrangements in mason jars because they are so versatile and most flowers look happy in them.

My bride provided the jars and the ribbon and I did the decorating. It only took about an hour to cut the ribbon to size, glue it on and tie on the twine bow at the last. I simply measured the ribbon to fit the center of the jars then cut it to allow a half inch over lap, just enough to add a few drops of Quick Dry Fabric Fusion. This stuff is amazing!!!! It works like a charm. It's truly fast drying and fabulous on fabric.

Once the ribbons were secured on the jars I cut lengths of twine 27 inches long to tie around the center bows. 

 FYI. I found it easier to adorn the jars before adding the flowers. Makes sense doesn't it? Especially if you are doing any gluing or you have to lay the jar down for applying ribbons, beads, burlap, lace, etc.

 

I always cut flowers early ( before 8:00 am ) before the sun has a chance to start warming them up and place them immediately into clean buckets of fresh water.

Cut flowers for the centerpieces.

I used a mix of seasonal flowers for the centerpieces. All of them came from my backyard except some golden rod still in the bud stage that I foraged from the backyard at our cottage. Thank goodness I did, because I'm low on filler material this year and the wispy stems of the golden rod added just the touch of rustic romance I needed for the finishing touch on the centerpieces.

Cockscomb ( red)

Cafe Au Lait ( dahlia)

I have to say, I think the black and white ribbon is striking with all of the flowers. 

Once the centerpieces were finished I packed them into sturdy cardboard boxes and my daughter and I packed them into the back seat of her Vintage Ford 250 Truck and hit the road. I was calm as a cucumber after the delivery but I woke up very early this morning with butterflies in my stomach worrying about the flowers. Were they too squished in the box? Did any of them wilt in the night? Probably not.They withstand much more abuse sitting in the sun all day at the farmers market and they were only in the truck (not air conditioned ) for an hour before going to an air-conditioned house. Still, I worried but a Facebook comment from my bride this morning settled my nerves. They are fine and right about now they are probably sitting pretty atop her tables at her venue. They've promised to send me photos from the wedding photographer! I promise to share them with you as soon as I get them!

I've been a gardener for 25 years but flower farming takes it to a whole nuther level. I've always dreamed of having a farm...Who knew I would find one in my own backyard?

 

Wedensday Garden Notes with Deb: Late-Spring Sprouts

 

Isn't this the sweetest bird-feeder? I call it my flowerbird ( yes, one word) feeder. It's made from a re-purposed silver-plated dish attached to copper tubing. My dear friend and artist  Sally Jo Pollard created it for her Patina collection. Sally loves to hunt for foundlings to use in her mixed media artwork. On of her many talents is to bring out the soul of an older piece by giving it a new purpose, and therefore a new life. My hubby and I were was thrilled to be her guest at one of her winter art shows this year. The day was a blustery, wet and dreary February day but this little flowerbird beeder sung to me from across the room and so it came home with me!

I've been waiting for the garden to come to life a bit before bringing it outside for the season. Last week I planted it in the deck garden where I can see it shining out of my kitchen window. I've yet to see any birds visit it but that might be due to the heavy rains and unusually cool temps we've had this week. I am happy to report, however that I've not seen one squirrel in my flowerbird! I think this may be the first bird feeder we've owned that's actually squirrel proof! The copper tubing the dish is perched on must be too slippery for them to climb up. Not that I have anything against feeding the squirrels, but I put that seed is for my winged friends!

All eight of the 4x12 raised beds are planted out. 

One bed is filled with snapdragons ( I purchased two flats already started) and some dusty miller which will make lovely fillers for bouquets.

Oriental Lily's and Gladiolus are all sprouting fine. I've only spotted a few red beetles on the lilies which I took care of with an organic soap spray. I may have to reapply more often than if I used something toxic but I don't want that stuff in my soil or near my pets.

Most of the dahlias are coming up beautifully. I'll need to keep an eye out for slugs with the rain we've had this week, but I'm ready for those little buggers... I've got my trusty Sluggo at the ready! 

In  two of the other raised beds I direct sowed Cosmos Rubenza. It's my first year growing them and I'm so in love with the deep, rich, ruby red petals and that cute little yellow button nose of a center.

I also planted Cockscomb... A popular market flower and gorgeous filler for bouquets too.

 

Now, if the temperatures would get back up into the 70's I'd relax a little and my zinnias and sunflowers would too!

It doesn't really matter if you're in the garden for 20 minutes or 2 hours. Spending time with your plants and flowers is sure to make any day in the garden a great one!

I hope you enjoy each and every minute ( yes, even the ones where you're so sore the next day you need assistance to get out of bed the next morning). 

How's your garden growing? 

Day 6 ~ Springspiration! Logo Design for Dandelion House Flowers

White background

Dear friends, 

This is THE year I will be taking my flowers to market! We have a wonderful local farmers market here in Plymouth, MA which I am very excited to become a part of this coming summer!

I've spent the last few years " practicing" growing flowers for market in my backyard and while I'm anxious to get my hands in the dirt again and watch seedlings take root I've been spending some time thinking about my " brand". I knew I wanted something that felt nostalgic and romantic cause that's how I feel when I'm in my garden, but I also wanted it to have a FARM FRESH feeling too. I love how it turned out and can't wait to order up my labels for bouquets and business cards as well as a large banner and car door magnet so I can flaunt my flowers this summer! 

Cream background

  I am obsessed with antique/vintage seed packet art and botanical drawings so I used that as a spring-board for my own design. I have a board on pinterest devoted to this beautiful art form. 

I don't have Adobe Illustrator ( yet ) so I farmed this project out to a talented friend who does graphic art for a living. I simply sent her a link to my seed packet art board for inspiration and she created my new logo for the farmers market in just a few short days. As much as I love creating things, having her do this for me saved me a lot of time and allowed me to make the deadline for the add space I reserved in our local Edible South Shore and South Coast magazine. Nearly every state has one. It's the go to publication for all things local farms, food AND FLOWERS too! 

If you've been sitting on the fence about taking your " farm goods " to market nothing will get you motivated more than " branding" your business and buying add space! I'm all in now!

I would love to know, how many of you sell your homemade goods at YOUR farmers market or garden shows!Tell me all about it!

Oh, and what do ya think of my logo?

 

Color Me In Flowers

 

Dear friends, 

Late yesterday afternoon the skies clouded over and a panic ran through me because I knew if I didn't run out and cut some flowers, they'd turn to mush in the rain like this poor drowned dahlia below.

You know I love my dahlias so I ran ( yes, ran ) out into the sprinkles and cut two buckets of flowers  as quick as I could. I set them aside while I made dinner. Once our tummies were full, I played with the flowers in a tarnished pitcher until I was happy with the results. Then I tucked them in for the night with a cool drink. This morning we went outside for a photo shoot!

This particular grouping of colors jumbled together just made my flower lovin heart go pitter -patter!

The mix of bright orange, deep plum, burgundy, purple, magenta and pale pink feels like a chintz covered sofa in an English cottage sitting room. Rich, warm and cozy! I used to have a pair of pants that looked like something similar! Hm... a tell tell sign of where my future was headed perhaps?

Something tells me I'm not gonna get anything else done today... I'll be too busy staring at these beauties!!! Honestly, they take my breath away!Which is why I just had to share them with you!

Dahlias, nine bark, hydrangea, native aster, Autumn sedum joy, and variegated tall phlox.

 Enjoy friends!