I always said you all get to be part of this True Blue adventure, you’re part of the family now! So buckle up for last week’s part of the adventure.

When planting cut flowers there is a rotation of flowers that bloom throughout the season. A mix of perennials, biennials (flowers that grow their first year, bloom in their second year and then die back), and annuals. Building a flower farm also flows but on longer timeline. In the early years, annuals are relied on heavily. Over time perennials-a bigger investment of time and money-are allowed to become established and play a larger role. As a flower farm matures, so does the seasonal rotation of blooms. These bulbs, tubers, perennials, and annuals work together like an orchestra - the farmer being the conductor and the season being the song. Because the instruments are all playing together, the individual pauses and mistakes are not noticed. But this takes time. Being my first year I am mainly working with annuals-one small, woodwind section of the orchestra.Thousands of precious flowers I started from seed in my basement or directly in the flower field. The woodwinds are beautiful and delicate, but brass and percussion (perennials and biennials) ill in where the woodwinds can’t and take the song to its full potential.

Ok back to the flower rotation. We start with early spring flowers - tulips and daffodils - which are bulbs planted in the fall that shoot up while all the other flowers are still pressing snooze on the alarm clock. After watching the bulbs fight through the early spring frost, biennials and our earliest perennials start to shine. Peonies, iris, and Columbine are a few that fit in here. As the season hangs in limbo between spring and summer, the very first annual plants begin to shine. Their seeds are pressed into the soil as soon as the ground can be worked - long before the last frost has passed. These annuals take May and early June’s cool, wet weather and run with it. As the heat and drier conditions of late June roll in, they bless us with blooms before dying away. Larkspur, nigella, and dara to name a few. Then comes the heat lovers, the annuals, tubers, and bulbs that like it hot! When the cool weather moves out, they move in. They thrive our July and August weather and send us thanks in the form of big, bright blooms in the late summer months. Think cosmos, zinnias, dahlias, and sunflowers. Dappled through the season are the constants, the perennials that fill in the gaps no matter the weather. Rudbeckia, yarrow, hydrangea.

On a normal year on a mature flower farm, this rotation is beautiful. This teamwork of perennials, annuals, bulbs and tubers provided blooms from April through September, making the most of each change in weather. But this year has been different. May and June did not bring us cool or wet weather, it brought hot, dry wind. Even with drip line irrigation and constant watering, their season was cut short. My woodwind section was ready to play but most of the flutes didn’t show up. This left me with a hard choice, do I keep waiting for the flutes, or do I bring in instruments that I know will shine this year even if they come a little late? Well I decided to bring in more saxophones and jazz up this season. I decided to till up the cool season annuals that were underperforming in this hot, dry weather and replant more of the annuals I know will thrive.

What does this mean for True Blue Flower Co.? It just means we will have to wait a little longer in the season for U-Pick events and the farm stand. The larkspur, nigella, and dara I was hoping to fill your arms with just couldn’t handle this unprecedented year. And because I’m not yet a mature flower farm I don’t have the perennials and biennials established to fill in the early season gaps. However, this means I will have lots of flowers maturing at the same time later this summer so I will need your help enjoying them! Also, this does NOT change anything for our subscription members, we managed to save enough to fill your bouquets!

If you are still reading this novel, I assure you that this is not meant to be a pity party! This is just me bringing you along on this True Blue journey like I promised I would. Farming is full of hard decisions, life is full of hard decisions but like my good friend tells her kindergarten class everyday, WE CAN DO HARD THINGS!

*deep breath* The decision to till under three of thirteen 100ft x 4ft rows of flowers that I have been caring for since early spring was hard, but oddly enough after it was done I felt so much relief. I think making the decision was the hardest part, but after it was made I had a plan. I had a way to move forward. I was no longer in limbo of deciding what to do. Was it the right decision? Who knows. Sometimes I don’t think there is a right decision, there is just two different ways to solve a problem. So the cool season annuals have been tilled under, the tarps have been laid, and the heat loving annuals got in the ground just in time to catch Sunday’s long awaited rain. *exhale* Sincerely an inexperienced flower farmer who is slowly becoming more experienced!

Even with the stress of changing plans, we have found time to enjoy this week! The poppies are in full boom, giving us the most beautiful show of colors. True, Payton, I went fishing - catching so nice fish! There has been enough blooms to put together some bouquet drops for Otter Coffee and Ice Cream. One of my favorite insects has also been hanging around our catmint - a humming bird moth! And the dreaded tilling of the cool season annuals brought much relief.