2019

Winter may seem a time for rest and relaxation but construction continues and planning for the growing season is in full swing. We complete the power installation and built the benches in the greenhouse while basking in the sun and warmth despite the frigid temperatures outside. February is the coldest on record in 40 years and feels like it is 40 years before it is over. The spring melt is welcome, but floods the greenhouse - weeping tile installation is soon to follow. Our raised bed of allium that was stripped of snow for insulation springs to life first with hundreds of heads poking out of the ground. Spring clean up ensues as well as prepping the greenhouse for completion. In a single weekend we laid landscape fabric, built and filled raised beds and spread crushed limestone pathways. Our efforts with seed starting was again a frustrating failure. HVAC had not yet been installed in the greenhouse and the temperature extremes proved too much for most of our seedlings. The U pick beds and first succession of sunflowers were direct sowed on May 13. Tulips, daffodils and poppies burst into bloom, with allim and iris soon to follow. We purchased front gate signage and highway signs were installed - now you won’t get lost! I celebrated my 40th trip around the sun with my girlfriends and all the flowers! The warm spring quickly changes course - rain, rain and more rain. Perennials are behind, many annuals rot before germination and if they were able to germinate, stunt with the cool, wet weather. My friend Elaine has a phenomenal peony collection and I was honored to be able to harvest buckets of peonies from her gardens, some bread by the previous owner and unlike anything I had ever seen! Clara (Meadow and Thicket) and I work together for our floral chandelier installation at the Art of Cake for Canadian Flowers Week. We continued to recieve 3+ inches of rain each week. The perennials love it and our perennial garden fills to the brim (easily tripling in size) compared to the previous season. Photoshoots are increasing in popularity and it is wonderful to finally have guests back at the farm. Our front entrance is complete with the installation of our letterboard signage, some fresh shrubs and landscape fabric and cedar mulch - efforts for a perennial takeover did not work out…it was a weed takeover. By the end of July only a fraction of our flowers are in bloom. We are open by appointment for tours and what is available for U Pick, DIY weddings, Baby/Bridal Showers and Mommy Connections Camps keep us feeling like the season isn’t a total loss.