Ever wonder what a flower farmer does in the winter? Well, let’s just say there’s no sitting around and thumb twiddling, not when your livelihood depends on the arrival of spring!
Spring is the flower farmer’s hope. It’s the big reveal following a winter of preparation. It’s the time to connect with more customers and increase your revenue streams. So, a flower farmer can’t be idle during the winter.
Here at the farm, we’ve already planted the ranunculus and anemones. The snapdragons are in the ground, too, and covered for the cold temps. The hellebores will be coming into bloom soon and that means we’ll be able to sell our first bouquets of the season from the farm stand and flower shop.
In the potting shed, I’m currently sowing perennial seeds to get a head start on the season. I’ll sow annual seeds next. But there’s only so much I can do because, as every flower farmer knows, heated space is limited.
Inside the house, I’m going over my spreadsheets. I’m looking back at what grew well last season and identifying varieties that were favorites among our loyal customers. With those things in mind, I’m deciding what I need to grow more of this year and placing my orders.
The photo below shows the corner in my house where I do a lot of my thinking and planning. You can see my spreadsheet there in the lower left.
How do you like the image on my computer desktop? That’s a Hercules Dahlia, grown here at the farm last year. Beautiful, isn’t it.
Of course, the entire winter isn’t spent in preparation mode. We’re still harvesting fresh greenery, especially boxwood, to create fresh wreaths for Valentine’s Day.
Like many flower farmers these days, we also dry some of our summer harvest. Sold during the winter months, dried flowers and bouquets help us stand out from the competition—and, of course, they supplement our income.
Yep, a flower farmer stays busy during the winter. As for me, I continue planning the 2022 growing season while awaiting the arrival of the seeds, bulbs and tubers I’ve ordered.
Next time on the blog, I’ll share more about winter planning tasks, like when to seed, when to plant and how to draft field maps.
Happy Gardening!
Pamela Anthony
Beehind Thyme Farm & Garden