Monthly Musings - December 2024

Happy New Year to you my flower friends!

December came and went like a whirlwind. It was all about the Christmas Wreath Workshops that I jointly host with Kelly from Ciderpress Lane. We have been hosting these workshops for 8 years now and they have become a tradition for many people in our community. Each year we welcome back people who now have become friends through attending the workshops. It is such a honor that people come back year after year. The workshop is filled with chatter and laughter of friendships and memories being created.

Each year the space of the workshop changes - my dear husband always has something going on in there, after all it is his workshop and space. Ranging from him building a cider room, my dried flower space or restoring the baby blue VW bus called Betsy. This year's surprise for guests was a “bar” that he has built for my son’s wedding this coming summer. Now if you know my husband, you know that he does nothing by half. He has created a thing of beauty that became know as the Shop Chalet as it looked like a cute little Swiss Ski Chalet after we had decorated it with lights, candles and greenery. I really hope that we can find a way to incorporate it into future events.

Shop Chalet from the Christmas Wreath Workshops

One of my favorite things about the wreath workshop is that each person creates their own unique wreath. Over the two weekends of workshops we have approximately 200 guests that join us and there are never two wreaths that are the same, it is wonderful when people allow themselves to be creative.

After the last wreaths have been made and the workshop is cleaned up and handed back to my husband I had one week left to tie up all the loose ends for the year, well attempt to tie them up. I honestly had high expectations that I would have a lovely slower week. No such luck! I attempted to get as many things checked off my list as possible but honestly there is never enough hours in the day and I am trying to learn to accept that some things will just have to wait.

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This year we headed back to England for Christmas. My two sons and their girlfriends meeting us there. We started with a couple of nights in London. Oh my goodness, Central London is now soooo busy at Christmas, I have to be honest with you, it was all a little bit too much so when we headed to the Somerset countryside it was such a welcome relief. We rented a cottage for Christmas and my family joined us there. It was so lovely to spend days going for walks and ending up at a cosy pub for a couple of drinks. I am in a different season of parenting now, and I love it!

One thing I desperately miss about living in the English Countryside is the ability to go for walks in the fields, mud and all. You take it for granted when you live there. But the ability to be able to leave your house and amble down a small lane and through farmland, you can’t beat it.

My son treated my husband and I to first class tickets flying to London, however on the way back we were back in economy. It is true what they say…once you go back behind that curtain you never want to turn right ever again! I am now a spoilt woman!!

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We are now safely back home. January is the slowest month for me and I am going to make the most of every second of it. Lots of planning, organizing and cleaning to be done this month. I have one item that is on my “January List” - it has been on there for two years now…. this is to spend a couple of days in front of the fire reading. I have so many books that I would love to read and I never have time, so instead of taking another trip somewhere, I have scheduled two days on my calendar so that I can curl up in front of the fire with a pile of books and lots of tea. That to me will be the biggest gift of the winter season. We all need to recharge our batteries and not continue at a frantic pace all year long. A little hibernation would do us all the world of good.

Enjoy the slowness of the season, let your body relax and just be. No agenda or schedule and you will be ready for when the days become lighter and longer and the garden will need all of our energy and attention.

Much love,

Monthly Musings - November 2024

Eek…..we are almost half way through December and this is the first chance that I have had to sit down and write to you. It has been a whirlwind of everything Christmas around here.

In my last musings I was heading to Vermont for a weekend away. It was such a beautiful weekend, I wish it could have been longer. I met up with my lovely friend Jess and we stayed at the Woodstock Inn, had a pottery lesson with Farmhouse Pottery. It was so fun, but I know that I can't give up my day job and become a potter any time soon. Vermont is such a beautiful state and I know that I want to go back to visit on another occasion.

Photograph by Jess Vallance - of course!!

The first week of November was spent hobbling around with a sore back….I am not longer used to sitting down for a long period of time. I think spending a week digging and washing dahlia tuber and going straight into sitting on a long flight was not a good transition. My back was not happy with me. However, lots of stretching, using a foam roller (best invention ever) and having a massage got me back in action again.

I then started to gear up for Christmas. I start with table arrangements and the beauty of using dried flowers is that you can get a head start on them as they are everlasting. Then comes wreaths, so many wreaths! I create custom wreath orders plus for one of my CSA subscriptions includes a door wreath. I love creating wreaths that are just a little bit different and incorporating dried elements too - and of course velvet ribbons…..in the winter months everything must have a velvet ribbon!

As well as creating wreaths, I start the big harvest of fresh evergreens in preparation for our wreath workshops. I am lucky to have access to woods where I can harvest beautiful greens and honestly there is nothing better better than wrapping up warm and going out into the woods and enjoying the silence and closing out the chatter from the outside world. I know a lot of people don’t like the cold dark days of winter, but I embrace it. I love my woolly jumpers and hats. I have heard someone say once, it is never too cold outside, you are just not dressed appropriately. So if life is feeling a little bit heavy for you on occasion, wrap up warm and go outside - I promise you will feel better on your return home.

Thanksgiving also meant that my boys headed home from LA. A house full of noise, laughter and dogs which is my favorite. We decorated our Christmas trees - fresh ones of course. Sat around and chatted over a glass of wine and just enjoyed each other’s company. This new season of parenting definitely has its advantages. Once they headed back to LA everything seemed so quiet around here. Well, except that my son left his English lab here for a couple of weeks of what they call “winter camp” - so three labs in the house…..

Once those are completed things start to slow down a little for me. This is when I try to rest and recharge in preparation for the next year.

We are heading back to England for Christmas as a family and meeting up with our extended family. The boys are even bringing their girlfriends along with them, so it should be a lot of fun.

However you spend your holiday season may it be filled with love, merriment and joy.

Much Love,

Monthly Musings - October 2024

Good morning friends, I sit here on the last day of October writing to you - from Charlotte Airport, NC with a glass of wine. I am taking a little weekend away after a VERY busy and exhausting month on the farm. Charlotte is not my final destination, but Woodstock Vermont is where I am heading for the weekend. I have always wanted to visit this area, especially at this time of year. I am meeting up with Jess whom I am sure you have heard me talk about - she moved back to the East Coast this summer, so we decided that we needed to meet up and we have made it happen! We are staying at a lovely hotel in Woodstock and having a Pottery Lesson at Farm House Pottery and driving around the area checking out the beautiful sights. I have even brought my posh camera along with me so hopefully next month I will have some lovely autumnal photos to share with you.

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Autumn in this area has come in gently with beautiful sunny days and crisp evenings, perfect for working out side but also all the cosy feels in the evening. The colors of the trees have been magnificent, with no constant rain to pull the leaves from the trees leaving them in a soggy mess on the ground which is usually the case at this time of year.

We started the October with a new workshop on the farm called “Botanical Pumpkins”. Guests came along to the farm and decorated white ghost pumpkins that I had grown with flowers that I had cut from my field and then pressed. It was a lovely creative day, and very different from your traditional carved pumpkins. These pumpkins will last well into the new year if kept out of the cold and rain. We of course finished off the event with cake, tea and chit chat, which is always the best way to finish a day!

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Usually I decide to “pull the plug” as I call it, on the fields at the beginning of October so that we can get the fields put to bed by the end of October. This flower season has been a little off. The dahlia season really didn't get started until mid August, so as it was still looking good at the beginning of October, I decided to let it run until mid October. Honestly, even though the season started later we had the most glorious dahlias this year. Each year I go through my field and decide which varieties that I love and do well for my weddings and bouquets and which that I am not in love with or are not productive for me. I think by the time I retire I will have the perfect field - maybe!

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Photography by Jessica Vallance

October also saw the last of the weddings for the season, two local weddings and one a vow renewal in New Hampshire. For this wedding I created a bouquet of everlasting flowers and very carefully packed it up and sent it across the country. Thankfully it arrived in one piece, which is nothing short of a miracle as the box I packed it in looked like someone had put their boot into it…it truly doesn't matter how many “fragile” stickers you put on it , it will still be used as a football.

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The big dahlia dig was bookended by the two local weddings, this is the reason that I slept most of the way to South Carolina today. The last part of this month was truly exhausting and this little weekend away was the carrot on the stick that kept be going. We dug up 1,400 dahlias in 1 1/2 days. I enlisted help, do not think that I did this on my own! October has been a lovely month for weather, digging dahlia tubers in the dry is a totally different experience that in the cold and rain. Once we have dug them up, we then have to wash them. Honestly, that is worse than the digging. Day after day of washing…it really felt that it was never going to end. But I have to say, there is no better feeling than a hard day of physical work and then a soak in the bath tub followed by a cosy night in front of the fire with a book.

My goal was to get it completed by the time I went away, because honestly if I had to come back to that….I might be heading to the hills in Vermont and you would never see me again. I have left with all the dahlia tubers tucked up in their containers and in the basement of our house. A job well done and I am so grateful for my team for making it happen.

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A lot of people think that at this time of year my work slows down….oh no…still lots to do out there. Lots of spring bulbs to plant, some beds still to tidy up and then of course we have our Christmas Wreath Workshops in December to prepare for. I am also working on lots of lovely Christmas Table arrangements and wreaths made from my everlasting flowers for the holiday season, definitely one of my favorite things to do. All this keeps me busy, satisfied and out of mischief!

I will sign off now, get on my next flight and enjoy a lovely weekend away, and hopefully comeback for the last push of the year.

Monthly Musings - September 2024

Good morning friends, as seems to be the norm now, my musings for the month are a little bit tardy. There are always so many things on the never ending “to do list” and not enough hours in the day.

The first week in September started with two weddings at two different lovely local venues. We are very lucky in Kitsap County to have so many great venues and they are all very different. As I have said many times before, I love it when families choose locally grown flowers.

During the flower season I also provide flowers to other local florists and designers that are creating beauty for other local weddings. We really are building a wonderful community in Kitsap County of Farmers and Florists. Nobody feels in competition with each other. Each person is doing their own thing and we all support and cheer each other along.

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Photography : Jonas Seaman ~ Venue: Farm Kitchen

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Still on the subject of weddings, Will (my son) and his fiancé were in Washington again for a flying visit. They had their engagement photos taken - an upgrade from the original ones taken by my youngest son, from behind a sand dune in San Diego with their dog kicking sand all over the place! Sam also went to choose her wedding dress - and she invited me along. What an honor that was. I honestly didn't think I would ever get to do something like that as I had two sons. It was truly the loveliest afternoon and you know I cried - happy tears. Sam chose her dress, she is going to look absolutely gorgeous but to be honest with you if she chose to wear a paper bag she would look gorgeous. I am a very lucky mother-in-law.

Photography: Hannah Faye Photography

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As some of you might remember, my lovely friend Jess left for the east coast this summer. Jess has been documenting life on the flower farm for a couple of years now. At the beginning of September, the day before my birthday, Julie Rings came to the farm to take some photos. It is always a bit nerve wracking working with a new photographer as there has to be a connection. She came highly recommended by Beth from Cactus & Clay Ceramics and I loved her editing style. We hit it off immediately and I am so happy with the results.

Photography: Julie Rings Photography

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September was a full of dahlias, after a very slow start they exploded into action. The dahlia field was honestly the best it has ever been. Each year I go through the field making notes of the great performing flowers, the ones that maybe perform but I don’t care for and the ones that are under performers - the later two go on the chopping block. September is also spent taking photographs of them so I have images for my dahlia tuber sale in the spring. Checking that everything is labeled correctly is also a very time consuming job but so, so important. At the end of the season you don’t want any confusion on what you are digging up….ask me how I know!!

Photography: Julie Rings Photography

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We are also gathering as much as we can from the field to hang in the drying room so that we have lots of loveliness to use to make some beautiful wreaths this winter. The Drying room is getting very full now and it is a matter of constantly shuffling flowers around. This winter I am determined to create some big dramatic wreaths as I have harvested lot of amazing grasses and seed pods to use.

Photography: Julia Rings Photography

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In the Pacific Northwest we are enjoying the most glorious October weather. I keep looking at the 10 day forecast to see when it is going to start raining as we are going to be digging our dahlia tubers up this month. If you get to dig when the sun is shining you consider it the best gift that you can be given. I know that so many people are dealing with hurricanes as we speak and I consider us very lucky to live in this corner of the world.

Stay safe and enjoy life to its fullest. Take the trip (you know I do!), wear your favorite perfume every day (I wear a little Jo Malone in the field every day as it makes me happy) and spend your time with people that fill your cup.

Monthly Musings - August 2024

Good afternoon friends, I am managing to put my monthly musings for August before we hit October! I am sure you know that this is such a busy time of year for me and sitting down in front of my laptop doesn't always happen like it should do.

August started with my boys and Sam my future daughter in law coming to stay. What a joy this was. I have not had both boys home during the summer for several years now. We also had Will & Sam’s English Lab Jurgen staying too. Life was full of dogs and chaos and laughter which makes my heart so happy.

The three of them spent lots of time on the tractor preparing the site where Will & Sam will be getting married next August - and Sam learnt to drive the tractor, so not only is she beautiful and very smart she is also a farm girl! Their wedding site is in our woods beyond the creek. It is looking so lovely down there - think Narnia…with twinkling lights and lots of flowers!

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During this time I of course prepared the flowers for several different events, including weddings, a celebration of life and baby shower. All of life’s events can be celebrated with the addition of flowers.

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August also meant The Golden Hour Workshop. I hosted two public events and then several private events. I used to host these during the day but after years of sweat running down my back in the August sun, I decided that hosting these events in the cooler evening was the way to go. Honestly, the flowers are happier as they also don’t like to be harvested in the heat of the day. It is such a joy welcoming so many different people from our community to the farm and talking flowers and everything connected with that.

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The Golden Hour Workshop

August was filled with some very strange weather. July was so hot, but August which is more typically our hottest month was all over the place. I had two weddings on a weekend that it rained. The weddings went ahead as planned outside and everyone just rolled with it. They say it is good luck to have rain on your wedding day!

The dahlias finally started to bloom, it literally was painful walking through the field looking at all the greenery and buds but no flowers but once they burst into life there was no stopping them. The dahlia field, I think is the most beautiful that it has ever been. I am slowly removing dahlia varieties that I don’t totally love or that don’t work for me - if the centers blow open or the stems are really floppy then to the chopping block you go. I am also adding some new beautiful varieties and it is so exciting to see them bloom.

I had my yearly inspection by the State Department of Agriculture. This is so that I can ship my dahlia tubers out of State when I have my tuber sale in the Spring. Normally the inspector just walks up and down the rows looking to make sure that your plants are healthy. This particular inspector was new so he went through the dahlias with a fine tooth comb - inspecting all the foliage - making me nervous. I am glad to say that I passed and will be selling beautiful tubers next spring.

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August was finished off my one of my favorite events of the year. A Freedom dinner at Ciderpress Lane. Such a beautiful event hosted by Kelly & Aaron Welk. Everything in connection with this dinner is donated by local community members so that all the money from ticket purchases can go to such a wonderful cause. I love to donate flowers and attend the event. This time I actually had my husband go along with me which was such a lovely treat. I always feel that you get to meet people at these dinners that you would never normally meet. If you would like to find out more about Freedom dinners you can read all about them on the Ciderpress Lane website.

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Slow Sundays are now on the agenda, trying to not do too much. It honestly is really difficult to be slow when you are used to racing at 100 mph, but to have the energy to see the season out it is so important.

Do enjoy the changing of the seasons, but try not to race forward into the next one before the other has chance to finish. You will see no pumpkins here yet!

Monthly Musings - July 2024

Good morning friends, my monthly musings is a little bit tardy this month, but it is August so I hope that I can be forgiven.

July was very full to say the least, and not with just work this year. We started the month with a flurry of weddings. I think there were four weddings in a 7 day period which is more than I usually do, but Shannon and I dug deep and created some beautiful florals. I love that this year has enabled me to use my creative side so much more. As each month passes it reassures me that I have made the right choice in the direction that I am taking my business.

Wedding Flower Set Up Time

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At the beginning of July my husband headed home to England to visit his family. He is a teacher so unfortunately our time off work is the polar opposite. He has long, lovely summers off work and I have slower winter months. I have to admit when he is gone it is hard to sail this ship solo, there are so many things to do in the summer it really does take team work to get everything accomplished. A neighbor was have a bit of a clear out of her books and she found one that she said that I would really enjoy. I love reading but it usually takes me forever, I try and read before I fall asleep, by the time I have dropped by bookmark, searched for where I left off, I last probably last 5 minutes and I am asleep. This book I loved and often lasted more than 5 minutes reading it. It is called The Dirty Life: On Farming, Food and Love by Kristin Kimball. A writer from New York City that falls in love with a farmer and moves out to the Lake Champlain area to farm with him. It is a funny, straight from the heart, with all the beauty of farming along with the dirty grit. One paragraph in the book that stood out for me more that any other…”A farm is a manipulative creature. There is no such thing as finished. Work comes in a stream and has no end. There are only things that must be done now and things that can be done later. The threat the farm has got on you, the one that keeps you running from can until can’t, is this: do it now, or some living thing will wilt or suffer or die. It’s blackmail really”.

What I am getting at is that we are a team on the farm. We balance each other out with chores that have to get done and it needs us both to keep it on even keel. I was glad for his return….and the next day after his return, I handed the baton to him and headed to Los Angeles for the weekend to sit on the beach with my kids and rest and recharge.

Sunrise on the farm

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July was extremely hot, which meant getting out into the field at sunrise, which is about 5am here. Trying to get as much done as possible before the heat of the day came making it impossible to stay out there any longer. Siesta’s are the way to go…..our old farmhouse becomes like a sauna upstairs in the summer. During the renovation of the farmhouse, one of our best choices was to install a ductless heat pump which includes air-conditioning, I have no idea how we would have coped during these increasingly hot summers. This month has also confirmed that I will never been living anywhere like Arizona or Texas!

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The rows of annuals sprang into life in all their glory, I love to walk the fields in the cool of the evening taking in all of the beauty out there, and see what has opened up that day. The dahlias however are on the slow side this year. I learnt something recently, dahlias do not like to grow when the temperature gets over 85 degrees, and honestly in July most days were over this temperature. Growing flowers is definitely a test of patience. You can feed them, water them, give them a nice little pep talk but really it is on their schedule and there is nothing else that you can do but wait and watch.

Some lovelies from the field include the first, long awaited dahlias

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My husband has been tinkering away at restoring a 1977 VW Bus over the past couple of years. That includes putting a new Subaru engine in it to make it more reliable and ensuring that we don’t have a tailback of about 20 cars behind us when we take it out. It is finally finished (ish). So we got a farm sitter and and we took two overnight camping trips. Our first trip was with Kelly & Aaron Welk from Ciderpress Lane. They have a little caravan called “Apple”, so off we both trundled with Apple & Betsy the Bus. We don’t go away to far, but so much fun and laughter in that one night, so good for the soul. Apple & Betsy look so cute parked near the massive RV’s that you see now. Hopefully many more adventures in our future, especially as we did not break down on either of the camping trips - always a bonus.

Camping With Apple & Betsy

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The sweet peas started wonderfully this year, however the long hot days did not do them any favors. A few days when the temperature was over 90 degrees made the stems shorten considerably. I was only able to provide a few weeks of sweet peas to Town & County Markets but I was able to stagger over the finishing line for my CSA subscribers. I will now let them go to seed and will save them for next year when we will do it all over again.

Sweet Pea Oban Bay in a bud vase by Cactus & Clay Ceramics

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The rest of July was spent keeping the weeds under control, which I am happy to say I am almost doing. There is a constant battle with Bind weed (very similar to Morning Glory), thistles and Smart Weed - my nemesis….my old annuals field was overrun with it. I see it creeping into the field I am now working on and now even to my sweet pea patch by our house. I often wonder is it humanly possible to walk the rows of flowers in the evenings and not pull a weed. It does not matter if I am wearing a posh frock after a night out, I will always pull that darn weed before it shatters and launches 100 of its friends into my field.

That has caught you up with most of the goings on around the farm. I hope that next month I will be able to provide you with so many beautiful dahlia stories.

Spend time with your loved ones & enjoy these summer days.

Much love to you.

Monthly Musings - June 2024

Good morning friends, it is currently Friday evening and I am sitting under the shade of the apple trees drinking a rather nice Gin & Tonic (Hendricks Gin & always Fever Tree Tonic Water - it can never be anything else I am afraid). Summer is well and truly here in the PNW. The next 10 days of weather looks very hot indeed. We had a pretty cold spring, not much rain but the typical temperature was 10 degrees colder that normal in May so things have been off to a slow start in the flower world, so I am hoping that the flowers in the various stages that they are in now can cope with the heat.

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At the beginning of June my flock of chickens grew considerably. My lovely friend Jess who has been behind the lens of the camera for me over the past couple of years is moving back to the East Coast - insert sad emoji’s here. Her husband is in the military and off to Rhode Island they go. However, they had 6 chickens that they could not take with them, so I happily adopted them. After one night of decided who was highest on the chicken chain of command they settled in well. At about the same time my husband brought home three baby chicks as a result of a school science project. My brood is now 16, I am back to getting lots of eggs and could not be happier. We have fenced in their area so they no longer have 5 acres and the lane to wonder up and down. This is for their own good, as there are trees and the old goat house to protect them from Eagles taking them for a mid morning snack. They still have ample room to strut around but I am hoping this increases their life expectancy.

A happy chicken in her nesting box

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June was when the flowers started bursting into bloom. Peonies and roses were the first to steal the show. I grow David Austin roses, not for sale but just for my own pleasure. However, with all that I have had going on in the past on the farm I hate to admit that they have taken a back seat. This year we have been taken care of them and the difference is incredible. My sweet peas started to bloom mid June and they are loving life. They are getting a little more shade this year and I think that it is definitely benefiting them.

Photography by Jess Vallance

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June saw the start of a very busy wedding season for me. Deciding to not work so much on the wholesale side of my business has opened up the opportunity for more weddings and creativity. Using flowers from my farm or supplementing from other local farmers it is a wonderful to be able to create locally grown beautiful wedding florals.

I have been working on my photography skills over the past couple of years with the help of Jess. During this time I have been looking for the place with the perfect light, because photography is really all about the light. I am excited to say I have at last found that space! I have been walking past it for years….unaware of its potential. It is my neighbors barn. On first look it is just a little grim to say the least. Full of tractor chains, spare parts and I think feral cats but oh the side light is glorious. My neighbor thinks I am a little nuts but is happy for me to take photos in there. It just goes to show that sometimes what you are looking for is right under your very nose.

Beautiful wedding bouquet in a grim but beautifully lit barn.

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At the end of June I hosted a new workshop. I love hosting our tried and tested events but sometimes it is nice to try something new and again this shift in my business is enabling me to do that this year. This latest event was called Tea, Cake and Tablescapes. It truly was the loveliest afternoon and even the rain shower at the end of the event did not make the ladies leave the table. And really cake and tea makes everything wonderful.

Tea, Cakes & Tablescapes - Photography Jess Vallance

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July is filled with weddings, weeding so many flowers including I hope the start of the dahlia season and a little travel at the end of the month to see my boys, it is truly hard to believe that we are half way though this year already.

Enjoy these warm summer evenings, pour yourself something lovely and sit and enjoy your surrounds, whatever they maybe.

Monthly Musings - May 2024

Good morning friends, I start this monthly musings wondering what on earth I did in May. I know that it was so busy that I barely got a second to lift my head, this is a good reset to see what I actually accomplished.

We started the month taking part in a wedding showcase at Port Gamble Weddings and events. I created some wedding florals to show how beautiful seasonal locally grown flowers are. We met with brides and their families and talked about their wedding dreams.

Spring Bouquet for the Port Gamble wedding showcase

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May is the month when you prepare everything for planting. The heat loving annuals are outside being harden off ready to go in the ground, the annuals that can withstand some cold are already in the field. The dahlia field is being prepared and ready to go and final work on the dahlia field plan is being worked on.

Not only was I juggling all of that, but also preparing for our annual Spring Market and Tea that I host with Kelly Welk from Ciderpress Lane We were blessed with absolutely gorgeous weather. The Spring Tea was set up under the shade of the apple trees on our farm. It was truly the loveliest of times. In this world where we all seem so frazzled from racing from one thing to another attendees were able to sit and relax and enjoy Yorkshire Tea and Scones, chat with their friends and enjoy a restful moment with no agenda. The Spring Market was also a huge success with so many people from our community stopping by to stock up on flowers and vegetables for thier garden.

Spring Tea on the Farm with Ciderpress Lane

Photography by Jess Vallance

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Once the Spring Market & Tea was packed away it was all hands on deck to get the dahlia field planted. I used to worry about not getting everything into the ground by the end of April but I have now learnt that you can only do so much with the hours that you are given. This year we are planting less dahlia tubers as I have reduced down to one field for both my annual flowers and dahlias, I now have space for about 1,800 dahlia tubers. My wonderful crew and I managed to have it planted in two days. It felt so good to get that checked off the list. I will be perfectly honest with you I really struggled with the field plan this year. I left it too close to the spring market to work on it and that gave me a few headaches. The other thing that I struggle with is putting it together on a spreadsheet which I have done over the past couple of years. I am a very visual person so I have made the decision that I am going to go back to the way I used to do it. Big sheets of paper on the floor or wall and writing and putting photos of the dahlias on that sheet. One thing I have learnt on this journey, it is OK to say something is not working for you and then making the necessary changes that will work for you.

My dahlia crew! Shannon, Penny and Syd….oh how I love them!

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With some warm weather the sweet peas started to take off. They are looking so good and I know in the next couple of weeks I am going to start to have flowers - in fact I picked one rouge flower from there yesterday - a definite over achiever but I have popped it in a bud vase next to my bed as a reminder that there will be so many more of these beautiful flowers to come.

Sweet Peas starting to take off.

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All the annuals are now in the field and I feel like life will become more of a steady rhythm rather than a frantic dash. Well, that is the plan but now I have said it out loud it will probably put an end to that!

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One last very exciting thing to tell you about. A few years ago a magazine was launched called “In Her Garden”. I had this dream that I would like to write an article for the magazine. I wrote down that thought but never acted on it, I just left it simmering on the back burner. My dear friend Jess Vallance who does a lot of the photography for me, encouraged me to submit an article. With her cheering me on and the positive feed back I have received from you from my Monthly Musings email I decided to submit an article to the magazine earlier this year. To my great excitement they accepted the article and it is now being featured in the Summer publication of “In Her Garden”. Not only did they accept the article but they have featured me and Charlie my dog on the front cover. This makes me so very, very proud. If you are interested in purchasing this magazine it is in most major stores that you can purchase magazines or on-line through their publisher Stampington - thank you for reading my Musings and giving me the courage to take it one step further.

Image from Stampington

That’s it for now. Enjoy June, when everything is just starting to bloom and holds so much promise.

Monthly Musings - April 2024

April started with a lovely weekend trip to see my boys in Los Angeles. Having all the family together in one place makes my heart the happiest. As usual when I seem to travel down that way the weather was rubbish, the Pacific Northwest basked in sunshine whilst Los Angeles had the grey drizzle that we are more accustomed to! But hey, ho we still had a lovely time - the highlight was afternoon tea in Huntington Gardens. If you are in that area, I highly recommend a visit. The gardens are gorgeous at any time of the year and the tea room has just been renovated and they serve the most delicious afternoon tea.

Afternoon Tea at the Rose Garden Tea Room ~ Huntington Gardens

As soon as I returned we started the mammoth task of packing and shipping the dahlia tubers. It took us 1 1/2 weeks of long days to get this project completed. My trusty side kicks Penny & Shannon dug deep and we processed so many orders…at times it felt like we would never get this project completed - but we did!

It is exciting to think that a little part of my farm is going to be growing in so many other farms and gardens across the country. If you ordered dahlia tubers from me, thank you so much.

All the shipping orders of dahlia tubers waiting to be picked up - we had Farm pick up tubers too - it was a mammoth task!

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The next task was to plant sweet peas, we packed over 1,000 of them into my sweet pea patch and we completed that in one day. It is going to be beautiful come the end of May. Each year there seems to be something that we are doing battle with - last year it was bunnies that were roaming the property - they have disappeared thankfully but it is now the feral cats that live in the barns on our neighbors property coming over and using my sweet pea beds as a cat litter tray…..and then to add grossness Charlie my dog decides it is best to dig it up and I don’t need to tell you what else she does….bad dog Charlie.

Sweet Peas starts with nice long root systems ready to go into the ground.

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The farm starts to explode into life in April with the apple trees coming into blossom and all the tulips and daffodils blooming, they are such a treat after the long winter. You can start to feel the change in the air. However, you should never get too excited with the odd warm day in April and we did receive some hard frosts towards the end of the month. It is a good reminder to be patience planting out all those tender plants.

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I love all the double and parrot tulips

In April the greenhouse is full to bursting. It is a constant shuffling operation. Once the sweet peas were in the ground I was able to move the cold hardy starts out into the holding cage to harden off which let me have a little more room to move in the greenhouse. That meant that the field prep had to begin. Tilling the field, adding compost and then putting down the weed barrier. I am now down to one field - you may remember from musings past that I have decided to change what I am doing slightly. I have mixed emotions, I am sad to see my annuals field go but for the balance in my life I had to do it. I am still going to have 5 x 75 ft beds to grow annual flowers which is plenty, I will be growing these flowers for weddings, events, my CSA and then bouquets that I will sell directly to the public. Although I will miss my big field I am excited to see how this year will unfold.

I had hoped to get my dahlia tubers in the ground the first week in May but my schedule with our Spring Market will not allow that, but it will be just fine. The soil will have warmed up and they will be ready to start growing.

Down to one field but still plenty of growing space

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The rhubarb plants have been producing a bounty of stalks so in amongst all the farm projects I have been doing some baking too which I love and want to get better at. Oh, and I have taken up knitting again. The last time I did this was 2017……. A couple of lovely friends and I have started a Monday night knitting club! It is the perfect way for me to switch off at the end of the evening and relax. It might take me until next winter to finish our first project but that is OK, it is not a race…this is no stress hobby that takes your mind off everything else that is going on around us.

Have a wonderful May & go get your hands dirty - it is so rewarding.

Monthly Musings - March 2024

March is when the farm starts to wake up. I start to see small buds appearing on trees, the carpet of snowdrops are very present on our morning dog walks.

The month started with my annual dahlia tuber sale. As I mentioned last month, there is so much behind the scenes work that happens to make this sale possible. I have to admit that the morning of the sale before it goes “live” I am very nervous. I worry that maybe nobody will want to buy my tubers as there are a lot of tubers sales to choose from. Then of course I worry that maybe my website platform will crash. Of course none of this happened. It was a hugely successful sale selling so many tubers. If you purchased any of my tubers, thank you so much for your support

Yelno Harmony displayed in a jug created by Cactus & Clay Ceramics

In March seed planting also kicks into high gear. All the sweet peas which were growing nicly were moved outside into the “cage” that was constructed for them. They can withstand low nighttime temperatures and I also needed room in the greenhouse for all the seeds I was about to plant.

Many days were happily spent in the greenhouse planting seeds. Everything that is planted is placed on a heatmat until at least 50% of the seed tray is germinated. Then it is moved off onto shelves in the greenhouse. It is a big shuffling act. At this time of year I love coming into the greenhouse each morning and peering under the dome lids of the seed trays to see what has germinated since I last looked, and to be honest with you it is something that now needs my reading glasses with me to spot a tiny little green speck just making its way through the soil up towards the light.

Seed babies happily growing in the greenhouse

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hosted some workshops on the farm in March. The first workshops were my dahlia tuber dividing classes. I try to take the mystery out of dahlia tuber diving. It can be a little intimidating when you are faced with an almighty clump of tubers. To know where to start and what a dahlia tuber eye actually looks like. I hope that the attendees leave the class feeling a little more confident when they leave the class and that they can tackle their own dahlia tubers at home.

I also hosted an everlasting wreath workshop. Attendees were able to go into my drying room and choose from any of my dried flowers. It was a lovely few hours spent being creative together, the chatter from the outside world being shut out.

An Everlasting Wreath created by one of my workshop attendees

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The first narcissus daffodils started to bloom, such a welcome sign. I love their beautiful fluffy trumpets. I am not sure if it is their gorgeous scent or the fact that when they appear, it means that winter is almost over.

Also with narcissus marking the end of winter of course comes chicks. If you follow me on social media you will know that my chickens are free range. However, this has come at a price. Predators ~ we have a lot of them around here. I lost 16 chickens this year. Bald Eagles are the main culprits but we have also have more than our fair share of coyotes and raccoons. I am down to one loney chicken, so in March it was time to give her some companions. I have started with 4 chicks. I am hoping to get some Lavender Orphingtons later in April and in June I will adopt some of my friend Jess’s chickens as sadly she is moving back to the East coast and can’t take her chickens with her. They won’t have as much free range as they used to - I can’t bare loosing so many again and honestly my girls used to go trotting off down the lane so a little less freedom will not be such a bad thing. I have a plan…as always, I just have to get the head of maintenance on board (my husband!)

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Inez & Betty

As I write this months musings I am on a plane heading back from Los Angeles, after spending Easter weekend with my boys - who are actually young men. I am so proud of the young men they have grown into. I am in a different season of parenting now…and it just involves spending good quality time with them, laughing and chatting, drinking a glass of wine and talking about wedding plans for my oldest son and my youngest son has just been accepted into the University of Southern California to work on his Masters program. So proud of him and also happy he will be staying on the west coast for a couple more years.

That’s it for now. I hope that life is treating you well and that you are spending it with people that fill your cup.

Much Love,

Monthly Musings - February 2024

Good morning friends, well February went by in a blink of any eye. To be honest with you it might have been that I was in Sweden for 10 days, more on that later.

The first thing on the agenda for February was sowing sweet pea seeds. I was not only sowing seeds for my sweet pea patch but also I sell sweet pea starts which was incredibly successful. People love sweet peas, I can’t tell you how many people say that they remind them of their grandma or their father and how they used to grow them. That being said my greenhouse is full to the brim with sweet peas which are all growing very nicely. Most of them are ready to be moved outside in the next week or so. They are best grown slow and cold - you want to create rugby players and not athletes. If you grow them too warm they with bolt and become long, skinny athletes.

In previous years I have had terribly problems with birds nibbling on them when they have been put outside and I have had to jerry-rig bird netting over them. This year my husband is constructing a “tunnel” with EMT conduit covered in heavy duty bird netting. This tunnel will have shelves placed in it and a door so I can walk into it…..I will show you pictures next month, but needless to say I am very excited about this and very grateful that my husband is willing to build this for me.

Sweet peas growing nicely in the greenhouse.

I was also able to take a little time to be creative, which was one of my goals for 2024. I spent some time creating a couple of everlasting wreaths. I love using dried flowers from my field and being able be able to get lost in the creative process, blocking out all distracting chatter of the outside world.

Everlasting wreath created with flowers from my field

February also included a wonderful trip to Sweden. My friend’s daughter is working in Northern Sweden for a few months so we decided to go and visit her. We started in Stockholm which is such a beautiful city. We then headed north to a town called Arvidsjaur. It is a very small town up near the arctic circle. It was minus 27f when we arrived - the hairs in your nostrils froze! Dressed in many layers we explored the area and fell in love with it. The main industry there is tourism in the form ofGerman men coming and driving fast cars on frozen lakes -who knew that was a thing but it keeps the town going in the long dark winter days. We even went dog sledding which was so fun. I truly fell in love with Sweden and of course would like to go back. For now I am happy to be home. My husband asked me if I wanted to join him when he goes to England this summer - I have decided that two trips to Europe already this year is enough for me and we are heading home for Christmas. I just need to stay on the farm for a while!

Arvidsjaur, Sweden

The first seeds have been sown in the greenhouse, they are the ones that can survive cold temperatures - it is too cold in the Pacific Northwest to start all your heat loving flowers - hold off on those for several weeks. I have sown several different varieties of violas this year. They are so versatile, they are pretty dotted around your garden, but you can also include them in a salad or add them to a cocktail.

The remainder of February was spent preparing for my dahlia tuber sale. So much work goes into the tuber sale. Obviously the physical side of digging and dividing etc., but there is also inventory, the photography of all the dahlias and then the website work which also includes all the descriptions. Many, many hours on the lap top, but it was completed in time and I am happy to report it was a very successful sale - if you purchased some dahlia tubers from me, I do appreciate it so much.

Slow mornings with coffee in Arvidsjaur, Sweden

March will be a busy month, seed sowing will really kick into gear, all the dahlia tubers that I have sold will need to be packaged up ready to be shipped out and I am also hosting a couple of workshops on the farm. Welcoming people from the community onto my farm and sharing with them the things I love to do is one of my favorite parts of my job. I continue to dream up more ideas of how I can share this love as I think people now what experiences more that they want “things”. If you have any requests of an event you might like me to host on the farm do let me know.

Let’s hope that spring is just around the corner. Longer days are slowly edging their way in, now I just need to feel the warmth of the sun on my face as I look upwards.

Stay happy and safe, until next month.

Monthly Musings - January 2024

Good morning friends, we have all survived January.

I returned from Europe refreshed and ready to go. It was fun trip with my 87 year old “Uncle”, he did not miss a beat & walked almost 6 miles through central London on the first day, taking in all of the Christmas lights and of course some champagne at the Champagne Bar in Harrods! We were in 4 countries in as many days - in fact we popped over to Sweden for lunch - love traveling in Europe! ~ I know he had a few stories to tell at the retirement home he lives in!

Minster Lovell, Cotswolds - England

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I hit the ground running on my return. January is all about planning for the up coming season. An inventory of sweet peas seeds was the first thing on my list and then a field plan. I saved sweet peas seeds for the first time this year which was a wonderful feeling. I can’t wait to see what the sweet pea patch is going to look like this year.

Castlewellan Sweet Pea

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I mentioned in one of my previous musings that I have decided to scale back my growing space this season so that I can have more of a balance in my life. I am going from two fields down to one. That being said, when it came to plan the new area where I am going to grow my annual flowers it was so difficult to plan because of course I want to grow all the flowers in all the colors! I did stay strong and have come up with a good field plan that I feel is balanced with everything that I will need for this season. I feel so fortunate that Erin from Floret Flowers sent me packets of her “Floret Original” seeds. These seeds are about to be released into the world on Tuesday. They are seeds that she has bred and developed herself over the past seven years - so they are so special. I am so excited for the zinnias seeds I have received from her that I have the opportunity now to grow them this year. I promise I will share the results this year with you.

Dawn Creek Zinnias

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The big project of the month was dividing dahlia tubers. Shannon, Penny and I sit down in the basement with hot mugs of tea and listen to BBC radio ~ we can tell you what is happening on the M25 around London - but no clue of what is happening here. We sit there and divide thousands of dahlia tubers. It used to be a project that I dreaded but honestly we have come to enjoy it. We have become fast and efficient and good at it so in actual fact it is quite fun now and there is much laughter amongst us. We are so close to the finish line which will be a major accomplishment. Once we have completed the dividing I will work on my field plan for the dahlias and then finally update my website so they will be ready to sell at the beginning of March - and as you are my email subscriber you will get first chance to buy the tubers.

Bracken Rose Dahlia

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The January weather in the Pacific Northwest has been all over the place. We had over a week of VERY cold weather - down to 12F at night…this is not normal for this area. I tucked all my plant babies up in frost cloth and hoped for the best. I am very happy to say everything survived well. By the end of January the temperatures were in the mid 60’s F - farming is not for the faint of heart for sure.

January Sunrise on Willow & Mabel Garden Co.

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Soooooo….I know that I have only been back on the farm for a few weeks…but I am off again on Thursday. In December my friend asked me if I wanted to join her on a trip to Sweden to visit her daughter who is working there at the moment. You know I love to travel, there are so many places to go and experience different cultures, to open your mind to different ways of living and I think it makes you grow as a person. Off to Sweden I go. We are going to Stockholm and then we head north to a very small town called Arvidsjaur close to the Arctic Circle. Dog Sledding and the Northern Lights are on the itinerary!! If you follow me on Instagram you will be able to follow along with my adventures on my IG Stories.

Thank you as always for reading my musings, I know that your inbox is so very full with so many other emails, it means the world to me that you chose to read mine.

Much Love,

Monthly Musings - December 2023

It is hard to believe that the year is just a hair’s breath away from the end.

December was all about the wreaths. The month started off harvesting mountains of greens for our Christmas Wreath workshops. I have to admit that this is one of my favorite projects, especially when it is not raining! We are lucky as we have access to some private woods that used to be a Christmas Tree Farm. It is over 100 acres, and it is so peaceful and the air so clear and fresh. After the constant hustle of the year I feel that going to this farm clears my head and helps me reset and gives me the energy to finish off the year.

I also create 100% sustainable wreaths for custom orders and my CSA subscribers. These are created using both local evergreens and dried flowers from my field. I love having the artistic freedom to create something a little bit different from your average wreath.

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The first two weekends in December are always taken up by our wreath workshops. Kelly from Ciderpress Lane Lane and I started these wreath workshops in 2016 in a cold, damp barn. That year we sold about 30 tickets in total. After that bone chilling weekend my husband offered up his workshop for us to use. This event has now become an annual holiday tradition for so many people in the area, it now feels like we are welcoming back old friends into our space. This year we sold 250 tickets, and it make us so happy that we have created a wonderful space that our community continues to return to each year.

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Closing out the year creating table arrangements, again I use the everlasting flowers that I have dried from the summer. We live in a part of the world where we don’t have any flowers at this time of year so rather that using imported flowers I like to use the flowers that are from my field but have been carefully dried. I feel that they are equally as beautiful now in their dried form as they are fresh in the field, you just have to open your mind to the difference.

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Every year I say to the ladies that work with me, “I am not going to be putting my cold hardy annuals into the ground in December”. What do I do each year - put those annuals into the ground in less than pleasant weather conditions. These annuals can survive the cold weather and thus they have a jump start on the spring planted annual flowers. We managed to get all of these little fellas into the ground along with all the ranunculus that had been pre sprouted in my greenhouse. I have to say I was so glad to reach the finish line of this season. I am really hoping with the changes that I have in mind for next season that it won’t be such a marathon for me. I know that I will always be busy but I am hoping not the kind that feels like it is getting slightly out of control.

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To add a little interest to our lives we took care of my son’s 6 month old English Lab called Jurgen for the past 6 weeks. He is from the same breeder as our Ruby Crumble. A very sweet pup but oh my goodness into everything. I think he has loved his 6 weeks here becoming a farm dog and it will be a shock to his little system going back to LA and our house is going to seem oddly quiet without him.

By the time you read this I will be in Copenhagen to celebrate the New Year with my sister and her family followed by a short visit with the rest of my family in England.

Thank you so much for all of your support this year and I am so amazed by the positive feedback from my little monthly musings, I promise to keep them up for 2024.

Stay safe & surround yourself with people you love.

Monthly Musings - November 2023

I am sitting here in front of our lovely log fire, with our half decorated Christmas tree in the corner twinkling in the corner, with the gentle snoring of the dogs.

At the beginning of November I finished tucking away all of the dahlia tubers and I was very grateful that I was able to complete this whilst the sun was still shining and it was not too cold, believe me this is a miserable job in the cold and rain.

My bulbs finally arrived from the wholesaler - they arrived several weeks late and then they send me another batch in error - I started to panic when the second lot arrived as I wondered what on earth I had been thinking back in May when I had ordered them. Thankfully for once, it was not my error. I plant my bulbs in crates….I started doing this a few years ago and it has been one of my best discoveries yet. No digging trenches to plant the bulbs in and the crates can be moved around as necessary. My ranunculus have been “pre sprouting” in the greenhouse and on Monday they will be planted out.

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We created the florals for our last wedding of the year. The wedding was over in Seattle which always makes me a little nervous with the transportation of so many flowers. Sadly these days our ferry system is not what it used to be so I never rely on them to get to Seattle when I need to be somewhere at a certain time, I make the drive South and then head north on I5 to Seattle and pray for light traffic - is there such a thing these days? I am glad to say that everything went smoothly and the flowers looked beautiful.

After I had finished setting up the wedding I headed to another special event. An engagement dinner celebration for my eldest son Will & his how fiancé Sam. I am so excited for them - they have been together for 10 years now - they won’t be getting married for a couple of years as Sam is finishing her Phd. at USC. No prizes for guessing where her wedding flowers will be coming from!

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My biggest event of the year is the Christmas Wreath workshop which I collaborate with Kelly Welk from Ciderpress Lane A lot of planning goes into these workshops. I harvest all of the greens locally for this event with my trusty sidekicks Penny & Shannon. I am lucky to have access to a property that used to be a Christmas Tree Farm as well as several properties that surround my farm. I love my job in all of the seasons and even though it can be wet and cold, there is nothing better than being out in the middle of nowhere with no noise and the beautiful smell of evergreens.

In November I also start creating my special order wreaths. I try to make them a little different from your average wreath and include lots of dried elements into the evergreens. Along with the wreaths I have been working on my Christmas Baubles and mini wreaths. People often say to me “this must be a slow time of year for you”. Not a chance…but some slower times are ahead but for the moment I am enjoying this wonderful season that is currently upon me.

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I still pinch myself that we are at the end of another year - and it is nothing short of a Christmas Miracle that I have kept up my Monthly Musings for a whole year, and I am actually enjoying writing them - it does not feel like a chore and it gives me chance to reflect on what I have achieved in the past month. Thank you for joining me for the ride, it means a lot to me.

Many of you know that I also try to make a trip home to England at the end of the year. Christmas is going to be spent here in our farmhouse, bustling with dogs, my sons and their girlfriends - which is pretty much perfect. I will then head off to London and Copenhagen for New Years - with my 87 year old English “Uncle” - he has never seen the Christmas lights in London so I am taking him to see those and then we will meet my sister and her family in Copenhagen to see in the New Year. We will of course spend time visiting family too.

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas in which ever way you choose to celebrate.

Much love and sparkles,

Monthly Musings - October 2023

After the frantic month of September, October started with a more rhythmic pace. The dahlia field was still producing an abundance of flowers but with the cooling weather there was a noticeable change in colors - some varieties of dahlias have a definite color change as the season progresses. The annuals field was starting to look a little bit ropey…..(This a great English expression that means inferior or inadequate for those of your reading this side of the pond).

Each autumn I choose a date that my flower season will end. A lot of farmers use the first frost date as the end of the season. However, as the weather seems to be becoming more unpredictable I always decide on a date ahead of time that I will “pull the plug” so to speak. Because I have a very busy Christmas period I don’t want to be digging dahlia tubers at the end of November and go straight into harvesting greens for our Christmas wreath workshops.

I cut down my dahlias on the weekend of October 14th, they then cured in the field for a week. The big dig began, it took us 5 full days of digging to get all 2,400 tubers out of the field and washed. This year I used weed barrier in the dahlia field. This is going to stay down all year, so we carefully had to pull up the fabric, dig up the tubers and then lay & pin it back down again. Even though it was extra work at the beginning and end of the season it was 100% worth it. I was looking back at photos from last year and how bad the weeds were, I think I had forgotten how bad they were, all the extra effort was defiantly worth it. As I write this letter the last few varieties are drying off in the basement and by the weekend they will all be tucked away for a few months rest….that is also what I am hoping for!!

I have been doing a lot of soul searching over the past few months and have been thinking about what direction I want to take my business. I have just completed my ninth season in flower farming, each year I have grown and expanded because really that is what you are supposed to do with a business right? Well, with that growth has come longer hours and so much more work. I have hired staff but honestly the profit margins are so small in farming - all types of farming - that it is not always possible to hire as many people as you need, so you end up doing more yourself. This past couple of seasons I have felt like I have been running around with my hair on fire most of the time, working long hours from March until December. With that being said I made a big decision this month - don’t worry I am not throwing the towel in, but I am going to reduce back down to one flower field again. I have made the decision to no longer provide wholesale mixed bouquets to the local grocery store. I will still be supplying them with sweet peas and dahlias. In my one field I will be growing dahlias - but probably down to 1,700 plants - which is plenty. I will also be growing some annual flowers but not to the extent that I have done in the past. I am going to focus on growing flowers for my weddings, flowers for drying, CSA shares and then possibly some mixed bouquets that will be available directly to the public from my farm. I have more flower related ideas swirling around my head which I hope that this reduction in workload will let me execute, and I want to focus and have more time to be creative with my dried flowers. I am hoping to get a little bit more of a balance in my life from now on, and honestly I am not getting any younger and this farming malarky is defiantly hard on your body. The moral of this story is, that bigger is not always better, I can still be a small but very productive little flower farm and I am excited for the next season, which is how it should be.

November will be spent tucking up the rest of the farm for winter and then preparing for our Christmas Wreath workshops that we host here. Along with that, I will be able to spend some time in The Potting Shed getting creative making all sorts of goodies for Christmas with my dried flowers.

Thank you again for taking the time to read my monthly musings, I do appreciate it.

Monthly Musings - September 2023

September - wow September….this truly was my busiest month since I started my business over nine years ago. It was all about weddings and events and so many flowers.

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Shannon (my wedding flower side kick) and I produced flowers for 7 weddings in September. I usually like to do one wedding every other weekend so how I got to seven I really don’t know, but with a lot of hard work and organization we completed them. All the weddings were using flowers from my field, I am loving it that people are choosing seasonal flowers. One of the weddings that was closest to my heart was for Marissa & Dan, those of you close to me will know why. The sneak peak at their photos made me so happy.

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September was also full of visitors. My parent’s from England, both of my boys came to visit at different times and my “uncle Bob” - not a true uncle but he went to school with my dad - probably about 100 years ago, so he is like family came to stay too. We celebrated my parents 60th wedding anniversary, which is quite the milestone. The house was full and so was my heart - I was probably not the best host during the crazy busy month but it was still a lovely time.

The dahlia field continued to produce so many beautiful blooms, all the hard work in the spring definitely paid off, this has been my most successful dahlia season to date. I hosted my very first U-pick dahlia evening which was definitely a success and I will continue to host this evening in future years. So many people taking photos in the fields and going home with buckets full of blooms.

Jess Vallance and I started September by documenting with photography some more dahlias in the field. It was one of those perfect evenings that you want to bottle and save for the winter months. Beautiful warm sunlight, the dogs and her baby behaving whilst we chatted and took photographs. It was probably one of my favorite evenings from this summer.

Towards the end of September I hosted an intimate everlasting wreath workshop at the farm. A small group of ladies created a half moon wreath with flowers that I have dried from my farm. I love working with dried flowers and it was so lovely to see other people finding the joy in this too.

The evenings are getting darker and cooler and the season is drawing to an end, even though the flowers will be finished there is still plenty of work to do preparing for winter, so there is no rest in sight for a while yet, but in the meantime I am enjoying the glorious fall weather that we receiving in the Pacific Northwest.

Monthly Musings - August 2023

August marks the heady days of summer. The grass around our farmhouse is so dry and the only thing that has survived is the dandelions.

The month started off with a beautiful wedding at Kiana Lodge, this was my only wedding of the month. Usually August is back to back weddings however this year it is all about September weddings. This has actually given me a little hiatus and enabled me to somewhat keep on top of the farming tasks that are always calling at this time of year.

I always host a workshop at my farm in August where you can come and cut flowers from me field and I give a hands on demonstration on how to create a beautiful floral arrangement. In years gone by this has been held during the day, but with our summers becoming hotter and the flowers and myself start to wilt during the heat of the day I decided to change things up and host what I decided to call The Golden Hour workshop. It was held when the sun was starting set on the field and it becomes magical out there and the flowers take on a beautiful hue. It was such a success and I will continue to host The Golden Hour in future years.

When I last wrote my monthly musings I was patiently or maybe not so patiently waiting for my dahlia field to burst into life. Oh my goodness, it was worth the wait. She has not disappointed. The dahlia field is everything I had hoped for and more. All the hard work that we put in at the beginning of the season has paid off. The landscape fabric has kept the weeds under control and all of the plants are looking so healthy.

Photo credit Jess Vallence

Any free evening I now have is spent out in the dahlia field documenting all of the varieties. I had my lovely friend Beth from Cactus & Clay Ceramics create a custom pitcher or jug - depending on what side of the pond you are from, so that I can photograph all my dahlias in it. It is perfect for the job. It is a race against time as I have around 140 varieties to photograph and some of them start to change color as the season progresses and the weather cools down.

The month was finished off providing flowers for the Freedom dinner at Ciderpress Lane Such a beautiful event raising money and awareness for a very meaningful cause. If you have never been to a Freedom Dinner you need to make space on your calendar, they are such wonderful events. I feel privileged to be a small part of them by providing flowers from my field.

September brings so many weddings and a field packed with dahlias, it is going to be a beautiful month.

Until October, stay healthy & safe.

Monthly Musings - May 2023

May, well May flew by in a blink of an eye. I am happy to report that is was a month full of sunshine and productivity.

The beginning of May started with unusually hot temperatures, in the heat of the day we started planting the annuals out into the field. Slowly the field started to fill up and the greenhouse emptied out. It felt so good to start getting these babies into the ground.

The main item of the agenda for May was the dahlia field. Last year the weed situation in the dahlia field was soul destroying, I am not ashamed to admit that last summer I cried a couple of times out there whilst fighting the loosing battle with weeds. This year I have decided to try something different. I am using weed barrier (landscape fabric), I have always been hesitant to use it for dahlias but with the guidance of another local farmer who uses it for her dahlia field I decided to make the leap. Before anything could be planted we had to cut 2,500 large X’s into the landscape fabric so the dahlia tubers could be planted into them. My husband helped me with this lovely little project, creating a job template so everything was spaced correctly - I am sure that was love in his eyes that I could see when was doing this project with me - well I am going to pretend that is was! If you ever meet him, just don’t bring up the subject for your own safety! Anyway, we persevered and got the job done. Compost, irrigation and said landscape fabric was laid out in the field.

Next came the planting of the dahlia tubers. Field plan in hand, well on my phone we got to it….amongst all this my brother came over to stay with me from England….you never come over to our farm for a true holiday…less than 24 hours after arriving he was planting dahlia tubers! We took a four day break in the tuber planting frenzy to fly to LA for my youngest son’s graduation from University - it was hotter in Washington than LA…strange times! I am very happy to say that all the dahlia tubers are now planted and some are already appearing up through the landscape fabric. I will admit that with the stop, starting of planting some of my rainbow plan of planting dahlia tubers went awry..a few of my pinks did not go into the correct place, but as I learnt last month there are way worse things that can happen in life than some pinks being in the wrong place!

Mother’s Day weekend saw Kelly from Ciderpress Lane & myself host a Spring Tea and Market. Again another glorious weekend weather wise and the event was a huge success with so many people from the local community and further afield stopping by the farm. We are both so grateful for the continued support we receive for our events that we host.

Everything is starting to bloom. Beautiful peonies and David Austin Roses are in full swing at the moment. The scent from lilacs has been replaced in the orchard by the sweet smell of honeysuckle bursting through. The first of my cold hardy annuals are now flowering. So much to look forward to this summer.

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If you have got this far in reading my monthly musings, thank you so much for taking an interest in my flower farm, it means the world to me.

I hope that you are starting to enjoy your gardens this summer, whether it be in some container pots on the deck or a large piece of land you tend to, I hope you gain much enjoyment from them.

Until next month.

With much love,

Monthly Musings - July 2023

Each month when I sit down and start writing I have to look through my photos on my phone to jog my memory and remind myself what was happening on the farm.   

July was all about the sweet peas, which I am not sad about!  I just love them, I have grown them for about 20 years now - way before I was a flower farmer.  Despite the heat that has been relentless around here, the sweet peas have coped remarkably well.  As I write this letter they are still blooming and are at least 7 feet tall in some varieties.  I have all but stopped harvesting them - apart from the occasional bunch for my bedroom.  Now I will let them set seed and over the next few weeks harvest the seeds and store them for next year. Sweet pea seeds are hard to come by in the United States - I grow mainly the Spencer variety, making sure they have long stems and are heavily scented - what is a sweet pea without that delicious scent?  In years gone by I was easily able to have them shipped from England but that has been changed due to the hoops with customs that the growers have to jump through so I have decided that I am going to save my own seed this year and just possible introduce one or two new varieties.

The annuals field is now in full swing which means creating bouquets twice a week for Town & Country Markets, it is always a race in the early mornings to beat the heat at the moment. I am loving the beauty that comes out of this field, and sometimes I have to stop and remember that each one of those plants we started by seed and then hand planted into the ground.

My new Drying Room has almost been completed, a few pieces will make it complete but I have already started to hang so many bunches of flowers up to dry.  One of my new favorites that I have grown this year is Helipterum also known as Paper Daisy.  They are a dainty little flower of pinks and whites and as their name would lead you to believe they have a papery texture which makes them a perfect flower to dry.  I am also growing some beautiful shades of statice this year - this is another flower that I did not particularly care for years ago but now seeing the different shades of color, it is a must have for my fresh flower bouquets and drying room.  Of course there are strawflowers and this year and I have so many more colors - last year I overdid it a little with the vintage white!

The dahlia field….it is looking great but it seems to be taking FOREVER to bloom.  I have spoken to many of my flower farming friends in this area and everyone is in the same boat. They took off well but then the growing slowed right down, due to the continued heat.  Every time I go to the field I see more blooms appearing and there are plenty of buds, so very soon it should be a field of color.  The other thing that is appearing in my dahlia field is deer…..by the looks of it they are not even using the path way but going down the middle of the rows, so I another job on the endless list is to also the corral the ends of each row so they can’t walk down there.  Deer typically don’t eat dahlias, and I am hoping it stays that way.

That’s it for now.  Enjoy your August and whatever you have planned.

Monthly Musings - June 2023

Here I am again sitting with my laptop on my knee in The Potting Shed with Charlie the dog sleeping under my desk gently snoring away, yet again I can not believe that I am about to turn over another page on the calendar.

June is what is often called “the maintenance month” - that is actually another word for weeding! Almost everything has been planted in the field and I am really trying to keep on top of the weeding. Even though I use weed barrier in my fields it seems that weeds can find their way through the tiniest of holes. Last year was a terrible year for weeds for me so I am determined to keep on top of it this year so it has meant day after day of being on my hands and knees pulling weeds.

The weather has been very warm with no rain in the Pacific Northwest which has been encouraging everything to flower prematurely. With the hot weather comes the constant dance of keeping everything irrigated. It is a constant rotation that can not be forgotten, because of a couple of days of missed watering can have dire consequences.

The sweet peas have been blooming for a few weeks now but the plants are a lot shorter that they usually are, but they are starting to catch up and the stem length is still good, which is important when I am selling them and of course they are so fragrant. As I walk past my sweet pea patch I catch the fragrant scent hanging in the air. I always get asked which is my favorite flower and it defiantly has to be the sweet pea.

June also ushers in all the beautiful roses. I grow roses just for my personal enjoyment. I find that David Austin garden roses, which are the ones that I grow, don’t have a very long vase life so I tend not to include them in market bouquets, but they are so beautiful to have in the house for a fleeting few days.

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This month I also did something that I don’t typically do. I took a week off and went to Italy! I have decided that life is too short not to do the things you love to do, you just never know what is around the corner. As my husband is a teacher we have opposite seasons as far our down time goes, but I decided to be daring and we went to Rome for a week. It truly was the best time. All the amazing architecture and history, add in all the great food and wine, I did not regret going for one second and we certainly embraced the Mediterranean way of life by having a siesta every day…..with the heat that we are having here I think I need to incorporate that into my day!

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July starts with a beautiful wedding using all locally grown flowers. I am so proud to say that all the weddings that I create the florals for are using my flowers or flowers from local farms. Nothing is imported or treated with chemicals and it makes me so happy that brides are now aware of the importance of locally grown.

Enjoy the summer months, and I hope you are able to find a lovely space in your garden to enjoy a warm evening with friends with a cool drink of some sort.

With much love,