"Spring had come once more . . . lingering along through April and May in a succession of sweet, fresh, chilly days, with pink sunsets and miracles of resurrection and growth."
~ Lucy Maud Montgomery (Anne of Green Gables)
It always takes me some time to get up and at it again after the dizzying swirl of that most glorious of seasons.
I pretty much crash for the month of January while the seed catalogues begin to arrive, piling up waiting for the day I get my flower farmer pants on and the planning of the growing season really begins. I'm always thinking about flowers and the planning of the next season really does begin during the current growing season based upon successes, failures, challenges, likes, dislikes, special requests.
Generally impatient in nature, while simultaneously (through shear flower farming exhaustion), silently wishing and waiting for the first frost to end the cut flower growing season, I'm anxiously looking ahead, impatient to try new varieties, new colours, new visions.
Self-taught but inspired by much, a love of and interest in flowers developed into a passion which found me scanning the ditches, the woods, and my friends’ backyards for grasses, wildflowers, twigs and other gifts of nature. I couldn’t help it, or so it seemed, for I imagined all of these things taking some shape or place in my plucked from the wild floral designs. It became clear over time that the natural look I was after could not be readily achieved from the flowers traditionally available from wholesale florist supplier and so I began to grown my own.
I've been growing cut flowers for some time and I'm proud to be one of the areas only growers whose sole crop is flowers. But, there is a flower movement afoot that has fuelled and recharged my love of and desire for flowers, sustainably grown from seed to harvest, and to making those flowers available on a local level.
In March 2017, the New York Times published an article on this very revolution.
"A preference for wilder arrangements and fresh-from-the-garden or woodland-floor flowers is not new, of course." writes Deborah Needleman.
It's so worth a read.
Harvesting from nature has always been my calling and it still brings me calm, joy and purpose all at the same time and I want nothing more than to share the opportunity for other like-minded flowering souls to experience that as well.
While I'm not yet ready to workshop share my flower farming experience with others, I can share my love and style of floral design through a lovely MOTHER'S DAY Flowering Workshop and a unique Gifting opportunity that celebrates others who love flowers and flowering as much as I do. More of these workshops will be available later in the growing season where you will be let loose to forage and harvest from the more than 50 varieties of flowers grown here at Moss Cottage ~ I can already see the beauty you'll create.
To read all about the Mother's Day Workshop go here.
To read all about the Mother's Day Flower Gift Giving go here and here.
OR click on the SHOP button to the left of the page.
I'm super excited and I hope you will be as well, let me know what you think. The gardens are currently awash in wintery white, I've sought out Ontario growers whose flowers will be the source of our flowering fun.
Cheers,
Kate
