Winter...time.

Since beginning my career within the horticulture industry, I have always found joy in being able to take a breath and relax when winter rolls around...all of my to-do lists will be fulfilled, I will read, relax, try my hand at new projects...

Yeah...riggghhht!! 

While there is more time indoors, it seems that I cannot seem to find all of that extra time that I was certain would exist with the onset of winter.  Instead of doing fun {WARM!!} outdoor work, the work has shifted to ordering seeds, bulbs and plugs, setting planting dates, preparing marketing ideas, etc. 

And...preparing for the creation of my new website!!  In the next couple months, I will be working with a very helpful gentleman to create a {hopefully} very beautiful http://www.seeded-earth.com/!

I am excited for the birth of the new site!  I have put together some great information about Seeded Earth -- who we are, what we do, what we hope to be in the future and how we can help to make the special occasions in life memorable and beautiful with our fresh, locally-grown specialty cut flowers! 

I will let you know as soon as Seeded Earth's website is launched....it's a blank slate right now.  If you have any ideas for what you would like to see on the site, please leave a comment here, on Facebook or email.  So, until the completion of the site...I will be busy working away with all of this extra {winter} time!  ;)

Thank you for your continued support!...and wishing you a Monday night filled with warmth!

Addict.

It's true.  I have a problem.  I am a self-proclaimed plant addict.  Yep.  I love them...want them all.  How could I not?!  All of those pretty new varieties that come out every year?!  Gosh...and what about all of the neat, old varieties that I haven't tried yet?!  I can't resist.

But...alas...I must.  Why??  Well...You see, I'm getting married in May...and so are our finances.  My addiction has now been Dave Ramsey-ified by the workings of Financial Peace University.  We now know (and keep a watchful eye) on how much money is going to each particular category of our spending and saving.  It is nice to know that we are being responsible with our money and know exactly where it is going...but it also makes it a bit more difficult for me to justify my addiction.  Bummer.  Every addict needs a way to justify their addiction....right?!

I am going to need to work on the justification part...but for now, I do have a small portion of Seeded Earth's budget set aside for new foliage for bouquets!  Good thing...check out these hosta that Plant Delights Nursery is offering!  I love them!!  I think their leaves would be b-e-a-u-tiful in future bouquets!...don't you?!

Oh...and if you have any ideas on how I can justify squeezing in the millions of other plants that I'm eyeing into the budget...  ;)

 

Heirlooms

Last night, I helped my aunt repot & clean up my grandma's hibiscus plant that she rescued from my grandfather.  It's hard to believe that Grandma has been gone over 5 years.  She sure loved her flowers!  I have her to thank for being one of the main reasons that I love flowers, gardening and the outdoors so much! 

Me with Grandma

Every spring, Grandma would get flowers to fill her planters in the front yard.  I loved walking out to get the mail with her and seeing which flowers were blooming that day.  One year, after hearing Grandma talk about butterfly bushes, I (with the help of my mom) bought her a butterfly bush for Mother's Day.  I will never forget the joy & smile on her face when she saw it! 


Little, simple things made her smile.  I think she saw beauty in nearly every living thing.  Tears fill my eyes and I miss her so much as I think about all of my memories with her...

Having these same emotions last night after cleaning the large hibiscus for my aunt, I decided to try to take some cuttings from the soft, new growth that I had trimmed off in the cleaning process.  I sure hope that these little cuttings take root.  It would be pretty neat to be able to pass on one of Grandma's heirlooms & the memory of her love for flowers to a few of her other children & grandchildren!  

Soft hibiscus cuttings

Please root!

Flowers and plants trigger many emotions from many different memories.  For me, butterfly bushes always make me think of my Grandma Morris, intensely scented lavender roses make me think of my Grandpa Gruemmer (he loved his roses & always let me take flowers home with me) and large-flowered chrysanthemums make me think of my Grandma Gruemmer...thankfully, she is still in my life for me to maybe get a little cutting of those mums!!  ;)  

For all of these memories, I know that I will always love flowers.  I wonder what other flowers will evoke such emotions for me in the future?...my wedding, the birth of children, etc. 



What flowers or plants have special meaning for you?  These are your heirlooms to always cherish.



Me with Grandma



My fave pic of Grandma -- rollerskating with my cousin.



Get Creative!

I am currently working on a revised business plan -- revised because things have changed quite a bit since beginning Seeded Earth in June of 2009. 

The 2010 season brought a few new challenges, but also many new, exciting and refreshing ideas!  In my six years of professional green industry experience, I have learned that you will always, always, always have new challenges...and that you will never overcome those challenges or improve if you don't accept them as an opportunity to learn and grow.

In my hunt for new information, I have discovered some amazing {free} resources!  There is so much out there just waiting to be discovered!...and if you are a bit creative in your thinking, you can even find some extremely talented people to help you fairly inexpensively and within your {very} limited budget.

I understand that the job market is still a difficult one and that I am very lucky to have my full-time job to support this venture...

...BUT...

For anyone out there who is currently out of work, I urge you to be creative!  What are you passionate about?  How can you turn your passion into profit?  You can do it, you know?!  If you are interested in anything involving the green industry {or any other industry may overlap, too}, please contact me!  I would be happy to share some of my thoughts & findings with you!

Good Luck & Wishes of Success!!

The Heat is On...

Literally! -- we officially turned our furnace on last week.  Brrr...fall is definitely here!  The chilly air has me feeling the rush to get everything done before the ground freezes!  Thankfully, Mother Nature is still giving us some fairly warm and sunny days!

As long as I can get my shovel into the ground, I will be busy, busy, busy raking leaves, trimming perennials, planting bulbs (like a crazy lady!) and mulching.  With all of this work, I can confidentally guarantee a very pretty spring! 

Here are a few of the bulbs that will be blooming in our gardens for Spring 2011.  Can you imagine all of these in springtime bouquets?!  I cannot wait!! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dream A Little Dream...with me.

It's that time of year, again...when all of the woulda, shoulda, couldas somehow manage to sneak in on me.  Oh, yes...I was going to divide that aster, move that peony, weed that garden...

Know the feeling?...all of those unfulfilled, garden "dreams" that went by the wayside when summer sports and get-togethers crept in and took over.  Have no fear.  Now is the time.  "What?!", you say?  "It's nearly November!  The snowflakes will be flying soon!".

Here's the plan -- While you're doing your fall clean-up, extra mulching, planting bulbs, etc....take notes.  Keep a Garden Journal.  I know that I sure am!  Dedicate a notebook to all of your gardens -- flowers, herb, veggie, lawn...for all that you want them to be.  List the plants that you want to divide, new plants that you want to try, what you want it to do {attract butterflies, suppy food for wildlife, be fragrant, supply fresh food for your family}, or how you want it to look.  Pull photos from magazines, articles from the newspaper, bookmark things you see online & reference in your journal...anything to help you visualize your dream.

Early next spring, as you are looking through gardening magazines and seed catalogs, pull out your journal. Your notes from this fall will help guide your garden into a fresh, beautiful start for 2011!

Happy Garden Journaling!



Remember, if you need any help making those dreams come true, Garden Coaching from Seeded Earth is always available...a magic wand of sorts?! 



Olive, my garden buddy!



Getting Back to Your Roots

In the ever-changing economy, many of us are taking a step back and looking at things in a different light.  Our thinking seems to be more local in support of "the little guy".  What a great concept to gain from such trying times! 

This is something that I am considering while making my lists for flowers & plants to grow for the 2011 season.  What about the old standby??...the little guy, perhaps?  With our need to have bigger, better, improved plants, many of the great characteristics of many plants and flowers have been lost...hybridized out.  That new sweetpea may have amazing color, but what happened to that sweet fragrance that I remember from my childhood?  This new chrysanthemum may be perfectly shaped with huge blooms, but will it return for me year after year like Grandma's did?  

There are many reasons to choose the new, improved varieties...But, a large portion of my orders will include those "little guys", the heirloom varieties that still manage to easily impress with their standout qualities -- disease resistance, stamina, color, fragrance, etc.  I can't wait to see them shine in Spring of 2011!!   

Sneak peeks for 2011 coming soon!!

Outside the Box

While grocery shopping last night, I picked up the latest edition of Martha Stewart Weddings - The Fashion Issue.  The "fashion" part of my wedding is already figured out, but still, I flipped through.  While flipping, I stopped on a page with some *amazing* bouquets & arrangements.  They are just my style!  Check these out!

Martha's focus on these bouquets & arrangements is their shape.  They don't follow your traditional, tight {inside the box} bundle of flowers.  These are all very shapely, artistic and unique.  Fresh, thoughtful beauty.  I love it. 

But wait...!  There's more!  Martha (well, the editors) included another flower article!  This one concentrates on getting creative with fall arrangements.  Typically, we would have very few flowers left during the second week of October, which can make putting arrangements together pretty challenging {but a lot of fun at the same time!}.  This is where thinking outside the box really comes into play...by adding seed heads/pods and various colored foliage, gorgeous arrangements begin to take shape!  Check out these bouquets from Martha's magazine that do a beautiful job of incorporating fall foliage!

The possibilities for bridal bouquets and wedding arrangements really are endless.  Seeded Earth would be honored to create {or help you create} your bouquets & arrangements for your special day!  With new flowers blooming continously from March thru October, you have an abundance of choices that will ensure your wedding flowers will be gorgeously fresh, unique and beautiful! 

Chasing Rainbows

Big goals, big dreams.  We all have them, don't we?  Some come true, some we hope will come true, and some we just seem to give up on.  Why would we ever give up on them?  Why should we?  Is it not true that every goal and every dream that you have in your heart can come true?  You are the one who can make them happen.

So far in my life, I believe this.  I believe that we shape our own lives with our own goals and dreams, we paint our own picture.  What a fantastic feeling when we succeed in painting that picture!  I have a "bucket list" of dreams (that I continue to add to)...

Ride a live bull for 8 seconds.  Check. 
Attempt to ride many live bulls.  Check.

Jump out of a perfectly good airplane.  Check.

Finish that darn Organic Chemistry class and actually get the horticulture degree.  Check.

Find the most wonderfully perfect guy for me.  Check.

Next, finish a marathon before age 30.  December 22, 2010 is the date that this goal would expire.  I began training for this goal in May.  Instead of just finishing a marathon, I decided that qualifying for the Boston Marathon would be a pretty neat goal to tack on.  Successfully running the Boston Marathon...my dream!  For nearly 5 months, I ran, I chased.  I chased that rainbow and can you believe it?!  I found my pot of gold!  I completed the 26.2 miles of the Quad City Marathon in a time of 3:36:49.  4 minutes and 10 seconds faster than I needed to in order to qualify for Boston!  {Check.}  April 18, 2011, I will be chasing that next dream!

Seeded Earth has been my dream for as long as I can remember.  I have always wanted to have a little business of my own.  Would I like for it to grow and be hugely successful someday?  Of course!  For now, it is the perfect start to everything that I have always wanted!  Just like the other rainbows I have chased, I love the feeling of accomplishment this gives me.  I love the challenge.  I will continue chasing rainbows to make Seeded Earth be everything I know {and hope} that it can be.  It may take some time, but this one is a beautifully long rainbow that is allowing me the opportunity to meet some great people!  For that, I am thankful.

Moral of my story?  Never ever, ever give up on your goals or dreams!  When you reach the pot of gold at the end of one rainbow, find that next rainbow to begin chasing.  You will get there.  The rainbow may seem extra long at times, but don't forget about the extra treasures that you are picking up along the way...friends, knowledge, experience.  You will reach your treasure...and you may just find that the treasures along the way have made that final treasure so much more than what you ever dreamed it would be!  Paint the most perfect picture for your life with all of the colors of that rainbow!! 

  

Fall Behind??...Spring Ahead!!

Can you believe that in a little over a month, the majority of civilization will be "falling behind"...or at least our time-keeping devices will be?!  Myself?  No, no...not me.  I will be springing ahead!  The weeds will be removed, the hosta and perennials divided, the bulbs planted and I will be well on my way to sewing (sowing?) my way into winter projects and spring planning.  I may be a bit overly optimistic, but I am going to remain confident that the majority of my "springing ahead" will be complete before those first little snowflakes accumulate on the gardens.

While I do *adore* fall, I love, love, *love* spring!!  For me, fall is what brings spring.  I get to savor the beautiful fruits of my fall labor in perennial placement and flowering bulbs.  It's exciting!!...an ever-changing palette that is my own.  I cannot draw, I cannot sing, but I can put flowers together pretty well...in the landscape and in arrangements.  Flowers allow me to be creative and as silly as it may sound, express myself.  This is why I give "names" to the flower arrangements that I design...I am able to look at nearly every one of them and feel something.  Plants & flowers really have an amazing little way of bringing out emotion in all of us... 

Fall is upon us, but no worries...no "falling behind".  We still have over a month of fun left at the Freight House Farmer's Market, Apple Fest in LeClaire on Oct. 10th and then we will be "springing ahead" into 2011 for a fresh, new season of fun, beautiful "emotions". 

 

~ Sari Berry Flowerseed
Sari = nickname from my mom, Berry = nickname from my grandma, Flowerseed = last name from my aunt -- I love them all & I love my new complete nickname!!  :)

Escaping the Concrete Jungle

Almost my entire 29.75 years of life have been spent in the country on a beautiful, dead end, gravel road. I have had various excursions that have taken me away for short periods of time...college at Iowa State University, a fun job in Marion, Iowa where I met some of my very best friends, and some time spent with an ex-boyfriend here or there. The latter made me find my way back home {full-time), again, this past year...well, up until about two weeks ago.

About two weeks ago, my fiance {that's right!!...I found him!!}, Travis, & I moved into an apartment together in order to save some money to either buy or build a house in about a year or so after we are married next May. This apartment that I speak of is in town. What does one do in a place where they are surrounded by street lights, sirens, and concrete? Well, I am finding myself being very thankful for my busy lifestyle that is occupied with my full-time job, marathon training, wedding planning, Travis, family, friends and this small business, Seeded Earth.

This past week, Travis found me sitting on the edge of the couch twiddling my thumbs and tapping my toes. With an understanding smile, he said, "You just don't know what to do with yourself do you? I am so sorry that I have taken you out of your element and brought you to this concrete jungle." The thing that I have realized I still have and am lucky to be only 16 minutes away from {yes, I did GPS the distance before we moved! }, is my childhood paradise that sits on that lovely, dusty, gravel, dead end road. The dead end road that isn't. It is taking me places. It is home to Seeded Earth. It is my passion...my release...and thankfully, Travis understands this silly little passion of mine and the need to escape to "work" a couple times a week {and to see my mom}.

In keeping with the escape from the concrete jungle {or whatever your jungle may be composed of}, I would like to extend the invitation for you to escape your jungle and to take a little trip down our lovely, gravel, dead end road....to a Spring Garden Stroll next April of 2011. I do not have an exact date set yet...it will be scheduled around a trip to Boston to run the marathon on April 18th {I hope!} and a wedding on May 14th! On this stroll you will find bouquets of many blooming spring bulbs and flowers, hosta, perennials, appliqued shirts & tea towels, aprons, and quilts for sale. The gardens are also BEAUTIFUL in the spring!! I will keep you posted on the exact date that you can come out for a stroll in the country to escape the "jungle" in your life...

Friendly Flowers

While I am sad to be missing market, again, this Saturday, I am thrilled to be putting together an alter arrangment and the corsages for my very good friend's Saturday wedding. Weddings certainly seem to in abundance these days! I put together 110+ bouquets for a wedding at Deere Run Golf Course last weekend and right after delivery, we were on the road to celebrate another friend's big day!

Flowers really do bring a brightness to a wedding, don't they? With my May 2011 wedding on the horizon, I find myself daydreaming about how they will brighten my big day. The dress, the location, *and*...the flowers! They will be in the photos, the memories, for years to come. Along with the blushing bride in the gorgeous gown, there will be her beautiful flowers against her white gown.

The hard work paid off last weekend for the 110+ bouquets -- they looked amazing on the white linens with the green & blue backdrop from the sky and golf greens. I cannot wait to put the corsages and alter arrangement together for my friend's weekend wedding. I am excited for my own wedding day on May 14, 2011 to see what flowers are in bloom...what flowers I will carry down the aisle, what colors will brighten the cheer in the day, and set the stage for the fun, outdoor evening reception!

Seeded Earth and I would *love* to help brighten your day, too!...with local, fresh flowers, your day is sure to be bright, cheery, unique....and green! Buying flowers that are locally grown really helps to decrease your carbon footprint! Beautiful & Eco-Conscious! Contact me for more information on how I can help to make your day a beautiful one that you will cherish for a lifetime!