Hello from the farm! January was mostly a cold blur!

We've been starting a ton of seed for this season - Lisianthus, Delphinium, Scabiosa, Poppies, Foxglove and Stock among others in the flower department. We also have pre-sprouted Ranunculus and Anemones (my first time trying anemones!) to be planted out when the weather allows - all of these plants thrive in cool weather and will perform better the sooner I get them into the ground.

We usually start Eucalyptus in January, but this year there is a seed shortage world-wide due to the fires in Australia in late 2019/January 2020. Crazy, isn't it? This is pushing me to try some new foliages from seed this season - Plectranthus and Artemesia are two I'm starting from seed now. Foliage is one area I really need to expand on in my business. There are lots of perennial shrubs that make great foliage cuts (My favorite is Ninebark in any color! Ninebark is a great one to use in your home landscape, as well!) but they are a big financial investment. I try to add something new every year - If you have a recommendation, please send me a note. We grow a ton of scented basil and it will always be a favorite annual filler. I also use a lot of forsythia branches, ornamental grasses and baptisia. Baptisia is such a versatile perennial because it has a few stages - the blooms, of course, and then the foliage, and as the season goes along, the pods.

Enough about foliage, we are also gearing up for our inaugural plant sale! Last year we started selling cut flower gardens to go which we are doing again - a great way to try out some of our tried and trues in your own home garden for a summer's worth of blooms. We have added some veg plants this year - Tomatoes, Squash, Cucumbers, herbs and more. We will continue to update the website with plants and encourage you to pre-order - with seed shortages literally at every turn, this is a great way to ensure you will be able to plant some of your favorite varieties or try something new and it helps me plan how much extra to grow.

“We will be back this year to get several tomato plants from you. BEST crop of tomatoes we have ever had.”

— Susie R

The other thing I've been verrrry busy with is dividing dahlia clumps for our dahlia sale, which I hope to launch in late February (46 crates to go - but who’s counting…) This is one of the more monotonous jobs on the farm - washing, cutting and storing the tubers, checking on them, thinking about them late at night when the temps dip and the wind howls and hoping they are tucked away safe and sound (seriously, this is my life!!) It truly is a labor of love but they sure are worth it when they bloom.

We won't have flowers this Valentine's season but there are tons of local shops offering different options and from my experience, local flowers are ALWAYS worth seeking out. If you are local to the DC/metro region, here are a couple of options for you:

Little Acre Flowers (DC area)

She Loves Me (DC area)

Local Color Flowers (Baltimore)

Spring will be here before you know it! Next month I will be diving into pollinators, I am planning to write about how I grow delphinium from seed, and sharing more about what is going on in the greenhouse and in the field. If there is anything you would like to know more about, please reach out! Thanks for reading and for writing - it was so fun to hear from so many of you last month - and I will see you back here soon. Stay safe and healthy!