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 )

Perennials for the Farmer/Florists Garden

Black Knight Butterfly Bush, Cone flower, Knockout roses,  and Prairie Sun.

 Today's bouquets are all about what's in season RIGHT NOW. Whether you're designing with your own flowers or, sourcing blooms locally it's all about finding and using things that are unique to your area, and more specifically to your garden site. Not sure what you want to plant? Take a visit ( or several, it's still early)  to your local garden center and do a walk about. Talk to the nursery staff and tell them what you're day dreaming about. I like to get my plants in one gallon sizes or larger when I'm planting a new garden boarder with perennials and shrubs.  I just don't have the patience to wait for them to fill out! 

 Here in southern New England there are several perennials that I love to grow and use in my design work.  

 Here a Butterfly Bush blossom is right at home among some old fashioned zinnias.

Below I have Lemon Queen Sunflower ( pictured above) arranged with Black- Eyed Susan and annual sunflowers with grass plumes.

This bucket of late spring flowers is a mix of herbs, perennials and Forsythia shrub branches.

 

 Sedum and Ornamental Grasses are some of my favorite perennials to grow because you can use them all season long.  Not only do they They add year round interest to the garden but

they add unique colors and textures to the bolder shades and shapes of summer annuals such as Dahlias and Zinnias. 

 The Shasta Daisy is such an early blooming flower that reminds of summer picnics and backyard BBQ's. 

Shasta Daisies

Cone flower

The possibilities are truly endless and that's what makes growing and designing so much fun. You'll never run out of color, textures and fun shapes to work with and just by adding a handful of new plants to the yard will give you new ideas and material to play with.

I hope you'll give these easy care, sun-loving perennials a try and experiment with them in flower arranging too! 

 Here's a little perennial planting tip:

Plant your perennials in groups for masses of color in one or two seasons.

Hint: Instead of planting three plants, plant 5 of the same variety and plant them closer together than recommended. You can always go in and thin them out in a few years and then you can pot some up to share with friends and neighbors too!

Get the Dirt~ Soil Tips for Growing Beautiful Cut Flowers

Planting soil is the foundation for a healthy, beautiful garden. Before you can even dream of your first harvest of cut flowers you want to make sure your soil is prepped and ready for seeds and seedlings. Not all dirt is created equal. But you already knew that! The needs of the plants you intend to grow, as well as the region you are gardening in will determine what kind of soil mixture will be best for nourishing your cut flowers.

 A good quality planting should contain the following ingredients:

• Nitrogen to promote leafy, green growth. If nitrogen content is too high, it can delay flowering plants and vegetables. 
• Phosphorous for encouraging strong root systems and helps increase fruiting.
•  Potassium for overall plant strength and flowering. 

 

  Raised Bed Gardening 

  When my raised beds were first constructed I filled them with an organic horticultural mix that I order in by the yard from our local landscape supply company. It comes premixed with the ingredients listed below and goes by the name, Horticultural Mix. Other companies might call it Premier Soil Mixture.

•  Peat moss – Neutral, nutrient rich peat, excellent for retaining moisture
•  Organic Compost – Neutral, high organic, nutrient rich compost
•   Top Soil – Variable PH naturally occurring loam material, with valuable nutrients 
•  Sand – Neutral medium, excellent for creating a soil that will drain excess water and allow air and roots to pass through it 

*Another option is to mix your own depending on how much ground you are preparing. I recommend testing your soil first to determine how much you'll need of each element. 

At the end of the season, I top off all of the raised beds with a layer of dried leaves where they are left to compost over the winter months. Come springtime I remove the driest leaves from the top. Using a shovel, I turn in the decomposed leaves to add more rich organic matter to the soil prior to planting my first seeds of the new season.

My established borders always get a top dressing of rich compost material such as DE-composed leaves, grass clippings, and some composted top soil straight out of the chicken run. ( make sure it has had a chance to soak into the floor of the chicken run for a few months before adding it to the garden) I generally spread this mixture on top of any area that is cleared and ready for planting new perennials or shrubs. Once the area has been covered dig it into the area about 6- 8 inches deep.
 

Early June border

 Be aware of your climate, how much rainfall you get and the content of the soil your are working with and make adjustments from there. Pay attention to the growing needs of each plant and beyond that, give your plants lots of love and care and cross your fingers for beautiful blooms. Whether you're planting acres and acres of flowers or farming your garden like me, there's will always be surprises!