We Have A Winner for THE BEE-FRIENDLY GARDEN BOOK

 

It was great fun to host a giveaway for The bee-friendly Garden book, written by Sustainable Gardens designer and expert, Kate Frey and Professor Gretchen Lebuhn, of San Francisco State University and co-author of Attracting Native Pollinators and The Common Bees of California.  What an honor to be in such good company as these two dedicated women.

Congratulations to the winner, Linda Nelson! 

If you haven't been to Linda's blog, at the createaerie you are in for a treat. Linda is always up to some nature-inspired crafting but to me her creations are more like little pieces of fine art. Go say howdy and tell her I sent ya!

Big thanks to all who entered! 

How Many Dahlias Can You Squeeze into Your Backyard Flower Farm?

Dinner Plate dahlia "Ice Cube"

How many dahlias can you squeeze into your backyard flower farm? That's a question I ask myself about this time every year as I'm planning for the coming season. I've also had it come up in my Face book group, New England Flower Farmers Connection, so I thought I would address it here for everyone too. ( You don't have to be New England-er to join ) 

Who doesn't love dahlias? I fell in love with these garden stars quite by accident. I was at my local feed store picking up chicken feed when I spotted dahlia tubers not so discretely placed on the end cap of one of the isles in the store. I left with my chicken feed only that day, but I couldn't get those beautiful colors out of my head. I returned the following day and bought my first 40 tubers.

When I started farming my garden in 2012 I began with 8 4 x12 raised beds. I planted 40 dahlia tubers, 20 per bed. The rest of the beds were filled familiar heat loving annuals, like zinnias, sunflowers, cosmos, gladiolus, bachelor buttons and just for fun a neat plant called Pumpkin on a Stick, or, ornamental eggplant.

4x12 raised bed filled with dahlias.

  I had no idea what I was doing and I'm pretty sure I even planted some upside down. That was AFTER watching multiple YouTube videos on how to plant dahlias. What can I say, they are weird looking things and if you aren't familiar with them it's hard to tell which end is up or down. 

Dahlia tuber from last years garden. sitting out to dry before winter storage. See the little eye? Next years blooms!

 I always plant a mix of each variety in each bed because with limited growing space I want to grow as many of my favorites as I can. I always lay out the printed label where I've planted each tuber. Sometimes I stake as I go along. and sometimes I wait to see them come up then stake when they get about a foot high. Always careful not to disturb the tuber I place the stake at the topside of the tuber. Once I'm finished with one bed, I write down what I planted in each bed. I number the beds 1,2,3,4, and so on.

Two dahlia beds.

This year, I'm bumping up my dahlia production to 120 tubers so I'll be planting 6 of my 4x12 raised beds with dahlias only in hopes of having more flowers to play with for local weddings and events.

Stored dahlias

  Soon it will be time to bring this tub of dahlias out of winter storage. I know many gardeners pot them up first for a head start, but I don't. I just wait until late May, early June and they take off with the summer heat and go like crazy until the first frost. I'll admit I often think about potting them up because I get impatient and think I should be getting a head-start, but for the purposes of my goals and my farm-coast climate it works!

A few of my favorite dahlias from past seasons.

New additions to my collection this year... Anenome Dahlia mix  from Eden Brothers.

Single-Flower Bridal Bouquet featuring Cafe au Lait

When you are just starting out, it all seems like a big experiment. Honestly, every year feels like that, but each season teaches us something new about ourselves, our gardens and builds confidence along the way. Be gentle with yourself ( just like you are with your flowers) on this journey. There is a lot to learn for sure, but the most powerful lesson of all is following your heart. You can't rush destiny or a garden.
 
Please don't hesitate to drop me an email with more questions. I'll help if I can. And join the flower farmer /florist community on New England Flower Farmers Connection.

Here are some quality dahlia sources: Time is winding down for getting a good selection so hurry!

Ednie Flower Bulbs
Eden Brothers
Swan Island
Longfield Gardens

*I don't get any compensation for recommending seed sources. I just share what I like and know to be good businesses.

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!