The weather is changing, and things are transitioning into fall around our little flower farm. We have our final weddings of the summer coming up this weekend, putting our count from the end of June til mid September at 11 weddings! The majority of which were in August. What. A. Month. I spent a brief morning grabbing some shots of our farm the last week of August, and thought I would take you on a little tip toe through the fields!
This was an incredibly unpredictable season for us. It all started with the furnace dying in the seedling green house in May, during a snow storm, and losing hundreds if not over 1,000 seedlings. Thankfully I had started many trays at home under lights, and continued to do so. Things like snap dragons, strawflower, scabiosa, zinnias, giant marigolds all spent weeks in seed trays before they were transplanted into the field.
We also chose many varieties that were suitable for direct seeding into the field. We seeded copious amounts of delicate filler, greenery, sunflowers and calendula, but even then things were touch and go…
As it turns out, flowers need sun and warmth to grow, which we had very little of in May, June and July. So crops that were to be ready the second week of July (with a 55-60 day maturation date) lingered on past 80, 90 or even 100 days! Yet somehow, we survived, and scraped together just enough to put our beautiful bouquets together each week.
It’s remarkable to think that our strawflower, snapdragons and scabiosa were started back in March and April!! These crops take a large time commitment but they are so special. Our bouquet subscribers kept us busy from July to September, and I am so incredibly grateful for them!!! If you are curious about our farm you can learn more info here.
September has given us some of our most beautiful days, and I am soaking them in. I hope you’ve enjoyed this little walk through the flower farm. It will be hard to say goodbye once frost hits. But that day is not today 🙂
-Miss Ash
what a difficult start to the gardening season…you are a courageous and brave woman Mizzzz Ash to be a flower farmer in Alberta… your wedding bouquets were absolutely stunning this year, you are probably already planning for next flower season, i will look forward to seeing your beautiful creations✨
It was! haha. We are hoping to grow a little more in hoop houses next year… and thankfully we are already filling the calendar for 2020 weddings. So fun to create and work with flowers we grow!
I think I saw baby’s breath in the fields. I always love when there are a variety of flowers growing! Here near me there is a huge dahlia farm, a wonderful iris farm, a heirloom roses farm (and also the famous Oregon rose test garden with varieties never seen elsewhere), a tulip farm, and many more. Each has a festival every year. There is also the wonderful Oregon Gardens in Silverton, OR, All inspiring!
These farms all sound amazing Rose!! So inspirational, and so neat to have so many local flower growers nearby! You have a good eye- yes we grow babies breath (at least it is in the same family!) and many other different little fillers. They really make for a beautiful and interesting bouquet. Thanks for stopping by the blog today!