The Plan.

It has been months since I've posted on here. Flowers, weddings & life have consumed my time.  Life. Is. Busy.

In case you haven't heard, Celia has a sibling on the way!!...which has made for an interesting start to the flower season.  Guess what nauseated me the most in the first trimester??  Flowers (sight & smell) and bouquet photos...especially bouquet photos! Can you believe it?! I had to change my Facebook cover photo because looking at the bouquet I had posted made me beyond queasy!

Being a flower farmer & designer with a 14 month old and one on the way is interesting.  Travis and I have had some serious talks about how to adjust Seeded Earth to fit our lives. Babies are only babies/children for so long. Before we know it, they'll be flying the coop and we'll look back wondering where the time went. We want to savor our time with our sweet, silly little ones.  After many flip floppy "decisions", we've finally come to one...

We are scaling back.  Flower farming is A TON of work.  To really do it well, I should be putting in *at least* 40 hours (& likely more) in the field each week -- this doesn't include design time.  Well, 40 hours doesn't happen.  My mom helps a lot & watches Celia when she can, but she's busy, too.  And...honestly, I don't want to spend less time with my little girl.  She brings so much joy to my days.

So, the plan is this:

1.) We will only be doing three weddings each month and only one per weekend.

2.) We are adjusting our crops.  Less labor intensive crops, more direct seeded annuals (these are much more self-sufficient requiring less planting and weeding labor), more bulbs & more perennials.

3.) Our large high tunnel still sits empty. We have been waiting to have good, fertile soil brought in. The river flooding four times this season has made our soil source inaccessible. We will get the high tunnel completed this fall so that it is available for next season. Any labor intensive crops that we grow will go into the high tunnel.  It is close enough to our home that I can work in there while our babies nap.

4.) We will likely no longer sell at the farmers' market.  We love seeing customers & friends every week, but the market is very time consuming.  Travis has his full-time job with Arthur J. Gallagher during the week, so weekend family time is very important to us.  BUT...when we do have an abundance of flowers, you may still be able to pick them up from the farmers' market. We are working on the details of this and will let you know as soon as it is all finalized.

I think that covers it.

We are so thankful for all of the support that you continue to show us as our family grows!

2012.05.10 ~ Busy, busy!

Life is busy, hectic, crazy, non-stop.  We are knee deep in our flower season with continuous seeding, bumping seedlings up, planting, cutting, arranging, covering our hoophouse, getting fabric prepared for planting and So.  Much.  More.  I missed last week's blog post because I didn't want to skip or delay taking Celia's 11 month photos...especially since the weather was going to be crummy for the next couple days.  They turned out so great!  I can't believe she's going to be 1 year old in just a few short weeks.  How time flies! 

Right now, all of the perennials are really starting to pop.  Bleeding heart, pulmonaria, brunnera.  So pretty!  And...good news, next weekend's brides will most likely still have lilacs for their bouquets (thanks to some very generous, kind friends who are willing to share stems from their plants) and lily-of-the-valley!  Next week is going to be rockin' with two large weddings and one small wedding.  Keep an eye on Facebook for photos!

My bouquet for this week's Seasonal Bouquet Project will be finished up and posted on Facebook tonight after Celia goes to sleep around 7 p.m.  Lots of pretty happening around here!

3 Weeks Out...babies are goin' in!

Alright...I really tried posting this last night, but our internet didn't want me to do anything.  So, here it is...just a smidge late...


It's official.  I am declaring Wednesdays blog update days.  This will hold me accountable...and hopefully end the slim {to none} postings.  I'll put a reminder on every device I own!  Pinkie swear.

The weather has been pitiful lately.  Cold, rainy, dreary.  When I say rainy, I mean RAINY.  Our creek was *way* out of its banks last week...although, nothing like the nearby Mississippi...

Photo from Quad City Times - Davenport, Iowa

Our creek - WAY out of its banks!

 In other news, we managed to get our smallest hoophouse almost completely enclosed!  We pulled the plastic last weekend.  Saturday was a fairly calm day.  Travis & I got it all fastened down except for the bottom sides.  Sunday morning came along and was extremely windy.  As soon as I made it home from a wedding consultation, we booked it outside to get the sides secured before the wind beat them up even more.  Blood, sweat & tears that day -- blood from me, sweat from Travis & tears from little miss Celia (our supervisor who was bundled up in her stroller).

 The projected forecast seems to be going in the right direction.  Next week is supposed to be beautiful!  We're about 3 weeks out from our official/unofficial (who knows what's official these days?!) frost-free date.  So, today's the day.  Some of the more cold tolerant seedlings are going in the ground!  Fingers & toes crossed that Mother Nature is kind to us these next few weeks!

 

In case you missed it on Facebook, here are the photos from this week's seasonal bouquet: 

Click Here to See Them! 

Be sure to hop on over to The Seasonal Bouquet Project to see more gorgeous bouquets from Love 'n Fresh Flowers & Floret Flowers!  Also, be sure to link up & share some of your own!  

Now, out to the field!  Loads of seeds to be sown & work to get done!

See you next Wednesday!...pinkie swear.

So close I can smell it!

My to-do list is increasing day by day.  I walk outside and I swear I smell hints of spring.  I'm not sure how that can be when it's still so cold and there are about 4 inches of snow on the ground, but somewhere, somehow, the scent of spring is there.  I have the itch to get outside, soak in the sun & work, work, work!  Plugs are ordered for the plants that are just too difficult & time consuming for us to grow from seed -- although, I promise to give a few of these another shot next season!  Seeds will all be here this week and there are just a few more bulbs, tubers & perennials to order.  The high tunnel is waiting to have good soil brought in and then be covered.  Hopefully we can get that project tackled within the next month so that we can get plants in!  SO EXCITED!

We're busier than we've ever been with weddings!  It's a great feeling, but golly...it comes with A LOT of "paper" work.  It will all be worth it.  It's so much fun to work with so many fun, neat people and to see the final products come together so beautifully on their wedding dates!

On today's agenda: finish up wedding quotes, go through the dahlias to see which ones are still viable for sprouting and work out the details of our planting schedule for this season.  Better get busy!

Keeping up?

Things are getting busy around here.  The Jaycees Bridal Expo was a huge success!  We met so many brides who were interested in what we do and loved the idea of using locally & sustainably grown flowers for their wedding day.  All of the interest has kept me on my toes.  I've been busy trying to keep up with e-mails, meetings, quotes & contracts.  We are really starting to get dates booked!

Can you believe that I'll be getting the first of our seeds started this weekend?  We're going to be knee deep in field work before we know it!  As soon as the weather allows, we'll be getting our high tunnel covered and bringing in soil to get growing!

Today, I'm ordering mums!  These aren't your typical garden mums...they're fancy, antique & gorgeous!  I cannot wait to see how they perform for us!  They are going to be so awesome for wedding work!!  We'll grow some of in the field and some in our high tunnel so that we have some variation in bloom times.  Here is one variety that we'll be trying:

(image credit: http://www.flickriver.com/photos/spidra/3020507077)

 

 Beautiful, right?!  Ready for spring?  Me, too!!!



Oh, and of course...I can't leave you without a couple 8 month photos of our little Celia!  :)

Back in the groove!

It's been forever since I've posted (what's new, right?!)!  We are kept insanely busy (& sometimes sleep deprived) with our sweet, little Celia!  She is so much fun & is growing so quickly!  It will be fun to have her toddling through the flower field with us this year!  

I'm busy getting ordering completed today.  Very, very soon, we will be getting all of our seeds started!  This time of the year is still so cold & dreary, but it's also so exciting because I feel like we're finally over the darkest part of the year and we really have something to look forward to.  We really do have a great season planned already!  We'll be growing many new varieties this season...and really up-ing our flower quantities.  There are so many beautiful weddings planned for 2013!

Oh, & I really need to get outside to take some photos of our great news...THE HIGH TUNNEL IS UP!  We don't have the end walls or the plastic on, but as soon as the weather allows, we'll have it ready to go for this season!  It is going to be so wonderful to have the covered growing space!  It will allow us to grow some more exciting flowers and really extend our growing season by providing the extra protection from the unpredictable Iowa weather.  Travis, my stepdad & some friends really worked hard to get it all constructed!  I'm so thankful!

Well...I should get back to ordering flower seeds & supplies!  Really looking forward to our 2013 season!

Don't forget!!  

The Jaycees Bridal Fair is on Saturday, January 26th from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. at The River Center in Davenport, Iowa.  

Here's the link:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Davenport-Jaycees-Bridal-Expo/182583911760066?ref=ts&fref=ts  

We'd love to see you there! 

That time in the season...

I can hardly believe it, but, here we are, again.  It's that time in the season when we start dreaming of next year.  The drought has made growing flowers a bit tricky, but I am so, so thankful that Travis insisted on spending a 100 degree day getting irrigation setup in our field.  I felt horrible knowing that he was working so hard out in the heat.  He kept saying that he had to get it done and that it just couldn't wait.  He was right...from that point on, any minimal rain that we had been getting stopped.  Our flowers would have been very, very sad had it not been for Travis coming to their rescue!  It was amazing to watch the dahlias!  They went from being pale with dried up flower buds to bright green beauties full of nice, plump buds!

 I'm diving into planning for next season -- what to grow, how & where to grow it and how to sell it.  We've been very fortunate this season (not only to be blessed with our amazing baby girl!) to have had many business opportunities come our way.  Wedding dates for 2013 are filling up very fast and we continue to receive many wedding inquiries.  I love this part of what we do!  Also, we've had many florists and floral designers interested in purchasing our flowers.  We'll be working hard to meet their needs next season.  One more exciting opportunity, Bark & Bloom has contacted us about selling flowers in their shop at The NewBo City Market in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  They will be opening in late October of this year.  Our supply to them may be a bit limited starting out, but early next spring should be wonderful!

Our high tunnel was delivered this past week!  I'm so crazy excited to get it built so that we can begin growing in it!  I desperately want to grow ranunculus & anemone, but am unsure about how they'll do without heat.  I'm exploring this with some members of  The Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers...hopefully they'll have good news!  We may need to just do a small trial batch this year to see how it goes.  Wish us luck!  

What else?  What else?  There's so much going on & so much work to do...as always.  Weeding, planting (lots of perennials to still go in the ground), transplanting, tilling, watering, ordering for 2013, building the small & large high tunnels...the list goes on & on!  If you're ever bored.....  ;)

One more thing!  We have a new stall at The Freight House Farmers' Market!  We are located in the large lot in the row closest to the railroad tracks -- right next to Iechen's Tomatoes & Beacon Woods Farm.  So far, this spot has been great for us!  We receive a lot more foot traffic and have made many new friends!  Today, some of our sweet customers brought us each a John Deere hat & their little girl, Laura, made the cutest card for our little Celia!  So sweet!

I have to show you the cutest video of Celia that I can't stop watching...I love her and her adorable little laugh!  It's a little long...I love the whole thing, but maybe that's just because she's ours.  You can find the video here: Celia's Video.  Enjoy!!  :)

Pretty, New Things

It's been far too long since I've visited the blog...it seems like I said that a lot over the 9 months of my pregnancy!  ;) 

The pregnancy part is over!  As of June 1st at 9:00 a.m., we have a new, pretty lady in our lives!  Miss Celia Opal has arrived & we're in love!  We're working on figuring out our flower work routine with a little baby who likes to eat pretty often & needs to stay out of this brutal, humid heat that we've been having recently.  Travis has been doing a TON of work!  He's tilled rows, run water out to the field, planted hundreds of dahlias, bulbs, seedlings & is constantly moving our soaker hose around to make sure that everything gets watered.  The watering part of things is going to get a bit easier soon...Travis just placed a large order for irrigation hose, tubing & timers!

The flowers are all growing like crazy {so is Celia...!!} and we'll be continuing to plant more over the next few weeks so that we have plenty of flowers to get through fall.  With Celia being so little, we've decided to wait until the end of July for The Iowa City Farmers' Market.  By this fall, you should be able to find us there & at The Freight House Farmers' Market.  In the meantime, we'll be at The Freight House every Saturday from 8 a.m. til 1 p.m...this weekend we'll have some newly blooming Chantilly snapdragons, fragrant lilies & loads of other pretty things!  

Thank you so much to everyone for your kind words and sweet gifts for Celia!

A month ahead = A month behind??

With everything blooming about 3-4 weeks ahead of schedule, we've been very grateful for the opportunity to begin selling early at The Freight House Farmers' Market.

Our March weather will go down in the history books as one of the warmest on record!  Now, April & May seem to be back on track and slowing things back down to normal.  To say that I'm confused about what to expect for the coming weeks/months would be an understatement!  We're still ahead of schedule as far as typical bloom times, but maybe we're getting a little closer to being on track?  We'll see...this wacky weather makes me feel completely behind.  We are still a good two weeks away from our usual frost-free date, though, so I'm trying to stay calm. 

I'm continuing to seed flats so that we'll have a nice succession of flowers this season.  As soon as the soil dries out a bit, I'll be out planting loads of little seedlings, lilies, callas, glads & dahlias!  I'm most excited about the dahlias this year!  I may have gone a little crazy with them this season...but I just don't know how you choose when there are so many gorgeous ones out there!!

Oh, oh!...I almost forgot!  Beginning on June 9th, we'll be at the Iowa City Farmers' Market as well as The Freight House Farmers' Market!  We were lucky enough to get a season-long spot right outside the parking ramp!  We're going to be busy, busy in May with The Freight House Farmers' Market, weddings & the arrival of our baby!  We'll be hoppin' with flowers in June!  You'll find me at the Iowa City Market on Saturdays from 7:30 til noon.  Travis will be at The Freight House Farmers' Market from 8 a.m. til 1 p.m...take it easy on him...he's still learning all of his flowers!  ;)

And...I apologize for the lack of posting & pretty photos.  I'm getting myself back in gear & will, again, start taking my camera with me every time I step outside! 

Perfect Timing??

I've spent the afternoon picking tulips like crazy!  I should have been out there this morning before the heat of the day, but I was feeling the effects of being almost 32 weeks pregnant with a little baby who likes to throw dance parties in my belly all night long!  Many of the gorgeous double & parrot tulips are beginning to burst open from all of our crazy, warm weather.  I'm bummed because quite a few of them are pretty short...also an effect of the weather.  I think they'll be fine, though...as long as I can come up with some creative and clever arrangements for market this weekend!

As I was feeling bummed about everything bursting open so early {when I was *really* wanting these for early-mid May weddings}, I couldn't help but think about how maybe timing has been perfect in a strange sort of way.

For instance...

...when Travis brought home our small hoophouse from the auction last fall, the plan was to get it up as soon as possible so that I could get things planted in it.  Well, because I was in my first trimester of pregnancy & not feeling so hot, many things were pushed to the back burner...including the hoophouse.  Just imagine how sad I would be if I had planted all of these bulbs in the hoophouse where I'm sure they would have all blown open weeks ago & probably within a single day!  Since we were forced to plant them outside, we'll at least get some use out of them...and there is still some space within bloom times so I'm not completely losing my mind!

...we hadn't intended on having a baby due at the end of May, but had things gone as planned with being due in late fall, I'm sure I would have been a complete failure this season.  As I was just out harvesting {slowly...and wishing that my arms were longer}, I realized how much worse this season would be if I would have been pregnant all the way through.  Thank goodness this little baby snuck up on us like she did!  May initially seemed like such a horrible time, but I'm thinking that Baby C. knew what she was doing.  Thank you, Baby!

...I had contemplated staying at John Deere full-time a few weeks longer.  Had I done that, there is no way I would have ever been able to get all of these tulips picked & all of my seeding done.

...things may be blooming WAY ahead of schedule, but in the grand scheme of things, maybe that's best for me right now?  Baby will be here at the very end of May so my June sales opportunities at market will most likely be very limited.  Should I say that this weather is a blessing because June will maybe {maybe} give me a little down time with blooms?  It's probably too early to say for sure, but I'm going to be optimistic and say that for now.  If I end up being wrong on this one, at least I know that Travis is a fantastic help & will always chip in on his own if I'm not able to make it in to market for a few weeks!

So, for now, I'm going to say that things have been timed perfectly...whether on purpose or not.  Now, enough of a break for this pregnant lady...back to work! 

I'm sorry...but we just can't be friends...

Last fall, we bought a quarter of beef from our neighbor.  It was fine & dandy since I rarely saw the cow...no attachment...no friendship.  Well...Travis is planning on buying another quarter of beef this fall.  Here's the trouble that I have with this...

Look at those faces!!...these cows are cute!  AND...every time that I walk back to the flower field, they run along the edge of the fence to say 'hi'!  They watch me and beg me to come over and talk to them.  Stay tuned...I may become a vegetarian this fall...with two new friends living in our shed!  For now, I'm stuck saying, "I'm sorry guys...but we just can't be friends...I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

In flower news, Travis is building our cooler!!  He's made amazing progress in just two days!  It's 10:00 p.m. & he just came inside from insulating the floor!  This is going to be sooo helpful for keeping our flowers fresh!

The flowers are popping open!  This season is so wacky...redbuds, forsythia & daffodils are blooming at the same time as lilacs, double tulips (some of my latest bloomers) and perennial scabiosa!  Because of this wackiness, I'm looking into starting at The Freight House Farmers' Market next Saturday...a month earlier than the normal outdoor market season starts.  The flowers are ready!