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!

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! 

Local Bouquets from West to East!

I adore flowers.  I can't remember a time in my life when I wasn't captivated by a new bloom.  Dandelion bouquets for my mom, clover chain necklaces for friends at recess, ditch bouquets for my grandma...from those childhood flower interactions, I've developed a deep love for flowers and floral design.  

It's always so much fun to find people who share that same love and to see how they put that love to use in their floral careers.  Through searching the internet & through the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers, I have found some amazingly talented flower fanatics.  Here are a couple of them that I love and that are great inspiration!  

One of my absolute favorite flower farmers is Erin Benzakein of Floret Flower Farm near Seattle, Washington.  I am always sending Travis and my friend, Kelly, links to Erin's blog and telling them that *this* is what I aspire to be someday...with my own little spin on it, of course, but just wait until you see it!  You'll understand.  Warning: Be prepared to be sucked in for hours!...she does such amazing things on her less than 3 acre farm!  Here are a few of her awesome photos & creations:

Amazing, right?!

Okay...one more favorite...Jennie Love of Love 'n Fresh Flowers from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.   Like most of us wacky flower farmers, she seems to just go & go & go!  She does oodles of weddings each season, has a flower CSA and offers some pretty fun workshops.  I love her creativity and her use of anything and everything in her designs.  Travis often gives me interesting looks when I venture out into the woods and come back with branches, berries & anything else that I think has a great look or texture.  I'm pretty certain Jennie would understand my madness.  Check out some of her awesomeness:

See even more of Jennie's photos on her Facebook page!

Such talent, such beauty...and all with locally grown flowers!  

Don't you think these are far more beautiful and unique than the typical cookie-cutter type wedding floral pieces?!  I do...and it's why I *love* this business! 

Catching Up!

I'm a bit behind, AGAIN.  As usual, things have been busy & exciting around our neck of the woods!  During the first week of November, my mom & I (Travis couldn't get away from work) made the trip to Reston, Virginia for the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers' National Conference.  We had a great time & I came home with many great ideas!  Here are some photos from the trip!

Lynnvale Studios is gorgeous!

I'm in love with dahlias...as I'm sure you'll figure out with the coming season!  :)

Yes, those are ALL lilies!!

Gorgeous callas!

I would LOVE to have this many growing houses!

My arrangement for the conference...a little sad by the end of the week...loved those orange dahlias, though!

A great winter foliage for wreaths!  Loved Bob Wollam of Wollam Gardens!...what a neat guy!

It's so much fun getting to meet and learn from so many people who share the same passion & enthusiasm for locally-grown flowers!  I left the conference with such a feeling of excitement to get jumping into the 2012 season! 

Here, There & Everywhere!

Holy smokes!...I've been slacking on the blogging lately.  We've been up to...A LOT!  Tilling, planting, cleaning, traveling...a little bit of everything!

This coming weekend will bring more of the same.  Travis is off to visit some relatives while I stay home to do wedding design, work at Deere & hopefully get the dahlias dug.  40 yards of compost is arriving tomorrow for the flower rows!  We'll till more 50' rows and get the compost all worked in so we're ready to go with planting next spring.  Travis will be home Saturday night & we'll hopefully take ourselves out on the town for a date!  Sunday morning, Travis is going to pickup our new/used hoophouse!!!  I cannot wait to get it setup, covered and begin planting in it this spring!  It's going to be a great help in extending our growing season!

So...about the wedding design that I'm doing this weekend...I sort of took it on as a favor for a lady that I work with at Deere.  Her daughter was getting married in 3 weeks & then headed to Japan.  I knew that I wouldn't have flowers on October 29th, but I agreed that we could order the flowers.  While the customers have been very kind, I will never, ever, ever...EVER...order flowers again.  The quality is really unbelievable...in a bad way.  I will make them work & it will be a lovely wedding...but when you work all season long with fresh, unchemicalized (is that a word?) flowers, you really develop a standard for what you expect a flower to be.  To me, these are not flowers.  I'm disappointed...and sad.  It's so sad that these dilapidated, scentless, vibrancy-lacking "flowers" are what the average consumer expects flowers to be.  My fresh, local, sustainably grown flower mission has become even stronger with this experience...... 

Anyway...I will save my sad flower ranting for another day.  For now, enjoy a few photos taken before our hard frost...

Routine

I love fall. 

It ranks right up there with spring as one of my favorite seasons.  It just misses the title of favorite, though, due to the fact that it leads into winter {my very least favorite} and it is a bit more routine than spring. 

Sure, spring comes with the typical seeding, planting and a whole lot of hustle & bustle to get everything done that needs to be done, but inevitably never all gets done & somehow everything works out anyway.

  Fall has chores...normal chores...not so much of the excitement that comes with spring.  That's where were are right now...in the routine.  A lot of cleaning, tilling, composting, planting and preparing.  The preparing part is actually a bit more fun this year because I am preparing to go full-time beginning in 2012!  This will be an enormous help and alleviate a lot of the stress that comes with working a full-time job & then coming home to squeeze in as much work as possible for Seeded Earth.  I am crazy excited to dive into more farmers' markets and weddings!   

Olive loves to come help me in the field!

In the midst of routine, there is still much fall beauty to be found...

Kevin says 'hi'!...he's beginning to settle in and become *much* more of a puppy!  I see a portion of our yard being fenced sooner than later!  ;)

Oh, What Fun!

What a busy, busy fun-filled weekend! 

I began prepping for wedding floral on Wednesday night by getting wine bottles sorted & ready to use as vases...some full size & some cut in half.  Flower cutting began on Thursday afternoon with a stop by Miss Effie's to get a milk jug of snapdragons, a few salvia and strawflower.  It's always fun to talk flowers with her!  Then, I made my way home to the flower field to cut as many flowers as I could before darkness set in...earlier and earlier these days!  Friday afternoon was more flower & foliage cutting and then the fun part...design!! 

I always have this vision in my head of how I want things to look...thankfully, Mother Nature & the Flower Gods {they must exist!} were very kind and provided fabulous colors & textures! I really loved how everything for this wedding turned out!

The excitement doesn't stop there!  We had a chance to visit our friends in their new home right after the wedding floral delivery.  The plan was to help them move, but the 2 p.m. delivery and then a 45 min. drive made us a bit too late.  It was great having dinner & laughing with them, though!  

 THEN...on Sunday, we drove 3.5 hours to Niles, IL near Chicago.  Travis & I have talked about getting a large dog to be a friend to Olive & I.  He really likes Bernese Mountain dogs...I just wanted a nice, big dog...one that would be nice to Olive, too.  Out of the blue, I did a search on PetFinder for a dog.  Well...after two weeks of discussing & applying to adopt, we made the trip to Wright Way Rescue to get this little guy!  It was a rough ride.....he gets car sick....but he was happy as could be once we got him home & cleaned up!

His name is Kevin.  ha!  Yep, I know...Kevin.  Travis named him.  We came up with some good names the night before with our friends...Oscar, Tom Selleck (!!), Grover...nope...Travis liked Kevin.  Remember the bird from the Pixar move, 'Up'?  The name reminded me of that silly guy (er...girl) & I did really like that movie.  Kevin it is!  So far {we've only had him home for 19 hours}, he is a really nice, sweet, cuddly dog.  Olive isn't too happy about this new guy stepping on her turf, but I think she's going to be alright.