What a busy and beautiful season. This fall felt a little less like the end of the 2024 growing season and more like the start of the 2025 growing season. This is because I have started a lot of prep work for my next season already this fall and typically this is reserved for the spring of next year. A few things I have been doing to prep for next year is adding a few more early season perennials, planting some annuals to over winter in the fall to bloom early next year, putting up our high tunnel greenhouse and planning the field lay out for next summer. I am not trying to wish away my current season but more so I feel like I am learning what I want my business to look like what needs to be done to achieve that.

A few of the things that I love about my business and want to narrow in on are: creating a gathering space more focus labor intensive and mentally intensive part on the earlier in the season and fade out into more casual side of the business by late summer and fall less rows to care for but manage them better

Things I am doing to create a gathering space: -marketing the availability of the field for causal occasions -making landscaping inviting/adding blooms in spaces for pictures and year round color not just in rows for harvesting (i.e. around the pergola and around the shed, taking rows out for peonies)

Things I am doing to ease the work load from late summer and fall and push it earlier in the season -adding daffodils, peonies, and early blooming perennials -overwintering flowers in the middle row not in the back -adding lilies as a big focus -putting sitting space by new peony rows -making subscriptions every other week starting in may vs July -dahlias in the high tunnel

Things I am doing to have less rows but cared for easier -taking out sunflower and annual rows on the back side -using the space in the high tunnel -focusing on the front of the field -adding irrigation turn offs

I am looking to build a more sustainable rhythm - I am excited because I feel these changes can make this business enjoyable for the long run. As someone who grew up with a family farm and is around many families that farm I see how many benefits there are in building a business that includes the land and family and so many strong ties to hard work. I also know first hand the many ways family farms teeter from enriching family life into becoming an entity that there is no break or down time from.

I am hoping that taking a little time and conscious effort now will keep the True Blue Flower Fields as a place of refuge for not those who stop to visit, but also myself and my family!

An this fall we have continued putting a lot of heart into making this a reality.