Warm December greetings + happy holidays to you and yours! Around here I am trying to get the last of the dahlias lifted from the field. I’ve got ranunculus, anemone, delphinium, poppies, foxglove and more started in the greenhouse, and I am in the midst of planning out the 2022 season. We recently had some tree work done (mainly removing some dead and over crowded trees) which has me thinking about what to plant to replace them. I am trying my hand at some cuttings - Crab Apple and willows - but also want to plant some “real” trees. Any suggestions / favorites?

I am often asked what I do in the off-season, but truly there is little downtime! If the ground can be worked, I can plant hardened plants and seeds. Many of our spring flowers actually thrive when planted in the fall as the roots benefit from a cold period - the roots grow deep underground providing a great base for strong plants come spring. The same goes for what is being started in the greenhouse right now…Some plants just take longer to get going, plus I can’t start everything all at once. It makes sense (to me at least!) to get things started every week since I have to heat the greenhouse anyway. So seed starting plus planning, ordering, more planning (haha) and the biggest task of all, dividing dahlias keeps me very busy when it’s cold…

I will once again be selling dahlia tubers. Last year my sale launched at the very end of February; I would love to get going a bit sooner this season and will announce the sale first to my newsletter subscribers to avoid some of the madness that tends to happen around some of these sales! I should have some Peaches n Cream, Rock Run Ashley and Apple Blossom among others to offer. Everything I sell grows well for me in our hot and humid Maryland summers - an important thing to factor into your tuber purchases in my opinion is looking for plants that grow well in your climate, of course the only way you’ll know is if you try :) The tuber page is password protected for now but when the sale opens there will be no password, for those of you who have been asking! Thanks for your interest in my tubers!!!

True confessions: I am also deep into a season of motherhood that is HARD, and as it should, takes precedence over flowers. The farm was my first “baby” and I tend to be a workaholic, which is a terrible trait, truly, so it is hard sometimes to know when/where to take a step back. I am noodling this now, as I am being pulled in too many directions and I am dropping balls. I need a communications director to take what I am thinking and translate it to my customers, however, this gig does not allow for a large hiring budget (insert laughing emoji here!). So, forgive me while I figure it out, make decisions on what to focus on in 2022, and raise an amazing little 3 year old who I am truly grateful to have the opportunity to mother and have tag along for this flower-filled ride. And if you want to volunteer this coming season in some way, let me know! I have had the most amazing volunteer help in 2021 (Kathy and now Melissa and Natalie too!) plus the OG Lezlie and Carrie, all of whom I totally adore, and it’s nice to have the company / help and to share the joy flowers and nature and digging in the dirt bring!

See you in 2022!