In Bloom: ‘Kinglet Apricot’ Calendula

I'll openly admit that calendula flowers have never been one that I am particularly excited about growing. While I do love their bright and cheerful colors, they usually don't perform well for me. From a spring planting, they are often disappointing in my zone. This year, it seems that I have finally figured out how…

‘Nature Mulberry Shades’ Pansy: A True Early Season Beauty

Learning to plant flowers in the fall has changed my garden. I love being able to enjoy very early blooms in the spring, and pansies are no exception to this. Today, I wanted to feature one of my favorite pansies that I'm growing - 'Nature Mulberry Shades' pansy. This flower was the very first to…

The First Signs of Spring in the Cut Flower Garden

After a very cold February, I'll admit that I was quite relieved when March finally arrived. With it, was a very much welcome increase in temperatures. It seems that the cut flower garden has suddenly burst into life. Since we have a week of rain in the forecast, I wanted to quickly venture outside today…

Winter Flower Update – FEBRUARY 2021

In one of my more recent posts, I remember hesitantly mentioning that the weather this winter had been very nice. Over the last two weeks, however, that has definitely changed. Like many, my garden has been covered in ice and snow - not to mention the constant freezing temperatures. Now that things are finally starting…

End of January Cut Flower Garden Update – 2021 FLOWERS

Now that it's January, it seems as if it was ages ago that I finished planting the fall garden. Even though the weather is cold, that doesn't mean that the flower garden isn't full of life. Let's take a quick look at some of the plants that are growing - Last November, I planted several…

Finally Ready for a Long, Cold Winter

It feels like I've been working on getting the fall garden ready for winter for months. With shipping delays and a very late frost this year, it's hard to believe that I'm just now finishing all the tasks related to the hardy annual flowers and spring flowering bulbs.  Among the first flowers to go into…

Fall Hardy Annual Seedling Update

It's been a few weeks since I posted about finally starting the process of sowing the seeds of my hardy annual flowers. In this, germination is in full swing for a lot of the fall hardy annual flower seedlings. Let's take a closer look -  After I ran out of cell trays, I started using…

Peonies, Sweet Peas, and More! This Week’s Flower Arrangements

I've been working on taking better photos lately. Apparently, I still have a lot to learn. On the internet, it feels so overwhelming to try competing with the perfect people. Oh well, here are so pictures. Those big, fluffy Sarah Bernhardt peonies never disappoint me.  For this vase, I just added some sweet peas and…

December Hoop House Update – Hardy Annual Cut Flowers

It hasn't been long since I transplanted the hoop house. At the time, I was feeling pretty pessimistic. I was nearly certain that the things I planted wouldn't grow. Now that it's December, it's really interesting to see just how much things have actually grown. The flower beds are filled with a random assortment of…

DIY Hoop House for Cut Flowers – Year 2 Update

One of the most game changing aspects of the garden for me has to be the addition of the unheated hoop house. I constructed this one made out of pvc last fall. I'm happy to say that the structure survived the summer, and it's now time to cover it for another growing season this winter. …