You know the familiar expression, “It’s just around the bend.” Well, that’s the phrase we can use right now to describe where we are in relation to full planting weather.
As flower farmers and gardeners, we’ve been planning for months for what’s just around the bend. Remember, growing is a process we can’t rush. We have to prepare for what we want to grow, but we must wait until conditions are just right for planting.
Since making sales is also just around bend, flower farmers also have to know what’s in the ground already and blooming (or likely to bloom soon) so we can start providing our customers with freshly cut flowers.
Here at the farm, we’ve been gathering spring blooms for some time now. This helps hold us over until the volume comes in—the summer and late autumn blooms. The last of the daffodils, hyacinths and tulips have just been harvested for the farm stand. Seems like we’re right on schedule for the next phase. In other ways, though, we’ve fallen behind—like transplanting, weeding and preparing the soil. Isn’t that the way it goes every season? It often feels that way here. But in the end, we always succeed in making things all come together.
I enjoy the months of April and May. Just the other day, I sat back and enjoyed the lushness of the freshly mowed lawn. I marveled at the beauty of the dappled willows, leafing out along the drive. And I smiled on seeing our hostas begin to emerge from the soil. It’s moments like these that make a flower farmer or gardener excited about what’s ahead.
As soil temperatures rise, we begin to approach the ideal conditions for cultivating and sowing directly into the garden. Warm soil is necessary for promoting the development of bulbs, seedlings and the roots of young plants. Whether you’re planting a veggie garden or adding annuals to your field or flower beds, soil conditions must be adequate to meet the needs of your plants.
With so much to look forward to, it’s an exciting and rewarding time for gardening.
Happy Gardening,
Pamela Anthony
Beehind Thyme Farm & Garden