Journal

May your vase never run dry--Flower Farmer's Blessing You love flowers. I know you do, because you hang out here with me. I also know peonies are your favorite, because whose favorite aren't they? But, the thing that breaks all our hearts, that wounds us all to the very soul, is the brevity of peony season. For a few sparkling, magical weeks in spring, we have the unutterable joy of peonies in our vases, and all is right with the world. But what about the rest of the year? When you've fallen for flowers, especially the bright, fresh vibrancy of...

Ah! These last few weeks before the peonies bloom! We're watching the peony shoots race for the sky, as we put down fertilizer, spray fungicide, make sure the field is clean, prep the cooler and bouquet tables. We're hoping the weather stays steady enough not to dip into a deep freeze. Would you like to walk around and see the field a little bit? Come with me:   -Erin    

In 2015, when I put my first flower seeds and peony roots in the ground, I agonized over what to call my fledgling business. A name means so much, it's what people associate with your business, it's how they remember you. And I wanted my name to be beautiful and thoughtful and evocative and maybe clever. Should it pay homage to my town or my state? Should it carry my own name? How to stand out? How to fit in? What a lot of freight for a few words to carry! I didn't know, then, what direction my flower business...

It’s between four and five in the afternoon. I’ve spent the morning studying and schooling my children, and the early afternoon chasing down and checking off household tasks. So now it’s between four and five in the afternoon. I change into my farm clothes: jeans, long sleeved T-shirt, duct-taped boots, straw hat, gloves. I climb into the seat of my tractor, put earbuds in my ears, crank the engine, and lift the front loader off the ground. I’m heading out to the far end of the front field to my mulch pile. It’s a big pile, given to me by...

I’ve noticed a trend among flower farmers: they’ll start a farm, work hard at it for several years, and then write a book. The book will be full of gorgeous photos of their farm and instructions for beginners on how to start their own flower farms. Because the best teacher is often not the seasoned expert, for whom whatever’s being taught is second nature, but the enthusiastic intermediate. A little experience, a fresh memory of the beginner’s pitfalls, and wonder not yet worn into habit can make for a good hand to hold.And so I began to wonder, as I...