05/30/2025
Nailed it! Mother nature's timeline!!
This is the meaning of seasonal flowers, especially those field grown plantings! (Meaning not in a greenhouse)
We have a general idea when things will bloom but sometimes the plants are ahead or behind! Sometimes the goldfinches and birds eat all the seeds. You just learn to roll with it.
😳“Will you have ______ (insert name of specific flower) in bloom on _______________ (insert certain date)?”
“Hold on, lemme pull out my crystal ball so I can give you an accurate answer.” 🔮
Thank goodness I never actually typed up that response to anyone 😂… but on those days when I was hot, tired, exhausted, and feeling particularly snarky, I was sorely tempted to. 😵💫
The seasonality of cut flowers is simultaneously the most delightful 😍 and maddening 😫 part of being a cut flower farmer.
Each year, the weather is a little bit different, which means the flowers bloom on a slightly different timeline each year.
I’m learning to embrace this and let it go. Seriously, there’s nothing I can do to make them bloom faster or slower!
In my first few years of farming, I would STRESS OUT when my inbox was bombarded with anxiety-inducing requests like:
✅“I’m getting married on ________________ (a date 12+ months in the future) and I need to know exactly what you’ll have in bloom.” ...Yeah, me too, girl. I’d love to have that kind of certainty in my life. 😩
✅“I need _________ (qty) _____________ (type of flower) in ________________ (specific color) on ________________(specific date 3 months from now).”
….Ummm, I have no idea what will be in bloom each until I walk out to the field and see what’s ready to harvest. 😳
But now?
I realize that nature moves at its own pace.
The flowers will bloom when they decide the time is right… and I cannot (nor dare not!) make predictions about when they will bloom.
It’s freeing.
And while I know it’s inconvenient not to be able to plan ahead… it makes it more delightful when the flowers DO bloom. 🌸♥️
This is true seasonality.
Living according to the seasons, not our calendars. 🚫🗓️
No matter how much we try to dominate Mother Nature and make her fit into our tidy schedules, she gleefully refuses and does what she wants.
I admire that.
P.S. It won’t be long until we have bucket loads of Peonies like this again! But exactly when? I have no idea. 🙃 Stay tuned… they’ll be ready when they’re ready!
