Monday Notes From the Garden Planting Too Early?

Although it was a record wet weekend, it has been a beautiful start to Spring and everything is anxious to get going including us gardeners. Even after many years of gardening here in the Mid West , I am amazed at plants resilience to survive and thrive after Winter temperatures that we humans surely couldn’t survive out in the elements. As we sit in our toasty warm homes through far below freezing temps, knowing that we did our best for our gardens in Fall, and expecting so much of them come Spring.

Probably the question I am most asked this time of year is “How early can I plant this?” The answer is that it really depends on what it is. The big box stores are overflowing right now with beautiful fully blooming plants that were greenhouse grown warm and toasty. This can not only throw us off our game and make us think we’re behind in planting, but also tempt us to buy these beautiful blooms we haven’t seen in so long through the dark winter. The truth is we are not out of the woods just yet.

Here in zone 6 our last frost date usually falls about 3/4 of the way through April. The old reliable Farmer’s Almanac can tell you the last frost date for your zip code each year. Even then I would check the 10 day forecast on your phone around that date to make sure there are no more dips that could harm tender young plants before planting . The most common things that are great to plant right now are bare root material that are still in a dormant stage, and other dormant trees shrubs etc. If you already have a perennial in your garden and are looking to add more of the same, remember that your perennials that have been there in your garden have established root systems in your soil and the new fully grown out nursery pots do not.

Here in the gardens my new hydrangeas that have been in the tunnels already have blooms budding up on them, where the field grown ones of the same variety are barely have first leaves . The tunnel grown plants are warm and happy and not exactly playing by nature’s rules which is exactly how the big box plants have been treated. If it isn’t leafed out yet in your garden, then a fully blossoming or leafed out plant you see at the big box store probably isn’t going to survive a hard freeze or will at least be set back and you may miss your long awaited Spring blooms. Paying close attention to what is happening out in your garden is a great way gauge what is safe to plant. If something in the store is way ahead of what you see growing around you , save your money. It may not be the best thing to buy right now unless you have a way of protecting it from potential frost through the end of April. If it’s going in a pot, be prepared to bring in to a garage or cover in frosty situations. Some flowers like pansies, hellebores, early blooming bulbs etc. can handle some frosty situations because they are meant to be blooming now, where others that are not supposed to be blooming until later in the season cannot. What to do if there is a sudden freeze and you have already planted out some fully blown and grown perennials in the garden? A really good drink during the day when a frosty night is ahead can go a long way in helping your new plant keep warm. Mulching can also help insulate the soil. Covering with a frost cloth can also help improve the temps by a couple of degrees. I like to stake the frost cloth so it isn’t touching the tender new leaves like a tent. If you get some die back after a hard Spring freeze , don’t give up! You may loose the blooms for this Spring, but if it is a perennial there is a good chance it will make a full recovery and bloom beautifully for you either later in the season or next year on nature’s own schedule.

Daffodil Days Bouquet club finishes up this week! Despite all of the Fall and Winter construction, the daffodils put on a great show this year. It was wonderful seeing all of you that joined in the daffodil fun before the market opened, and I am excitedly looking forward to the Early Spring Bouquet Club in just a couple of weeks.

Happy Spring !

xo

Shari

Getting Daffodils To Play Well with others

If you ask me what my favorite flower is most of the year I would tell you it is the flowers that are blooming right in front of me. This time of year narcissus are beginning to pop up joyfully everywhere, singing the announcement of Spring’s arrival . Strolling through them as delightful scents of their fresh Spring perfume wafts up to greet you is intoxicating. Their bright joyful colors are so welcome after a long winter. For the most part they are the colors of sunshine , and with the fancier corals, pinks, and orangie peach varieties, they are the color of a soft blazing sunrise that lights up the sky. Did you know that these joyful flowers do not play well with other flowers?

The narcissus emit a sticky jelly like sap when cut that can irritate the skin. Where gloves when harvesting to avoid the sap from getting onto your hands. I find that reaching to the ground level and pinching them off at the base with my fingers gives the longest stems and helps with some of the sap as opposed to snipping them. When placed in a vase with other flowers, this sap leaks out and clogs the stems of the other flowers, preventing them from water uptake, thus significantly shortening their vase life . There is a simple solution to help daffodils play nice with others by conditioning them properly before they are placed in a mixed arrangement. Once cut , place daffodils into a vase of fresh water for several hours (3-6 ish) , to let the sap drain out and stems scab over . They can then be safely arranged with other flowers in a vase with fresh water . Recutting the stems at any point will have to go through this conditioning process again.

As our first “Daffodil Days Club” bouquets are delivered this week, I am so excited for this season to begin. This week they were paired with our lovely Hellebores which are in peak right now. “Daffodil Days” Memberships are now sold out, but there are just 3 spots left for the “Early Spring Bouquet Club” Membership that will start in a just a few weeks! You can click on link below to see all of the details .

Happy Spring Flower Friend!

xo

Shari

not Yet, But soon

Not yet but soon. Underneath blankets of snow and sheets of ice, I know you are there, waiting.

Walking out this morning wasn’t just simply cold, it was a frigid negative 3 degrees F. I have lived here in the Mid West for over 20 years, (transplant from California), and I still do not know how that is possible. Natives laugh, but it is just something my head won’t wrap around even now. What I do know is thankfully there is quite a bit of snow covering the garden and it’s insulating everything from this cold deep dive. All the hard work and planting done in the Fall is there gathering energy , holding on, as am I. This won’t last, and while it does I stay warm inside without liking it. I draw plans, and then draw them again. More plans, more dreams, of how the garden will evolve this season. In January it could be anything that I can dream. Books of great gardens past and present scattered around me. Bookmarked and poured through a million times. I look outside and see the garden there sleeping. It can be still be anything in January. It’s the moment to plan and dream.

Moving Forward, A Look into 2024

Underplanting of Wall Flowers surround the peonies

Hello!

Well here we are at the end of December and I cannot wait for Spring 2024! I have been excitedly planning out the 2024 growing season since way back in August of this year, which may seem pretty early, but when working a flower business with just a little over an acre, maximizing the growing space for cutting becomes really important. The first year we were on the property I had these huge, wild, over the top ambitions, to complete everything in just one season, two at the most. I don’t know how I pictured myself, and hubby on his day off, as a gardening army capable of achieving this but quickly, and laughably, that proved not to be an option. I learned (and am still learning), how to be patient and let the gardens evolve a little more slowly, rather than telling nature what to do. I realized that it was benificial to wait a while and live with my surroundings a bit more before trying to make something work that maybe wouldn’t be the best option both for the space or for what I needed from it. This coming season we have increased the annual cutting garden 56% and more than tripled the perinnial bed space. Sometimes it is hard for me to see all that I have done, because I constantly compare it to what I still want to get accomplished. So many flowers planted this Fall. I am like a child at Christmas, only I am waiting for Spring.

The Allium in Spring

Our Spring 2024 bouquet subscription membership is now available with a limited number of slots available! This year again we will be delivering within a 12 mile radius in Cincinnati/NKY area. You can see all the details HERE. Anderson Township customers please choose the Anderson membership. We would love to welcome you as a member of our flower farm family.

xo

Shari

Fall, the end or just the beginning of a garden

Some of the most brilliant colors of the season happen in Fall when mother nature is preparing to power down . Like a huge firework finale, the garden does not go quietly. Everyone takes notice as she leaves the room.