The sweetest thing I’ve ever grown is 6months old today! Happy half birthday wee Billy! Fields Fortune is still on pause whilst we come up with a new plan that make sense for our little family…for now it’s just play time in Granny’s dahlia patch for us!
Wild weather has tulip season off to a flying start…literally with some of the strongest winds we have ever experienced on the farm. You’ll all notice my middle tunnel missing from behind me, currently it’s all in pieces laying in the ditch but still smiling and taking this as a sign from Mother Nature to step aside from the cut flower side of Fields Fortune and put my feet up and wait for this little baby to come! I’ll be posting in my stories where you can find my tulips over the next few weeks so keep an eye out for where you can find them so you can enjoy as much as I do!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY - today is Fields Fortune 4th birthday, we’re pretty tired but we’ve also grown so beautiful perennials to plant out before winter so we are also pretty happy and getting jobs done! This growing season has been the hardest of them all with challenges coming from all directions. Running a small flower farm has been an absolute privilege and I have loved sharing flowers with you all even though I wish there had been more to go around. The new growing season will see my little business change and shift away from being solely cut flowers to being focused on the bits of flower farming I love the most, growing plants, starting seeds and sharing what I do best with everyone…oh and growing a little one too 😊!!! I’m exciting to share all the ups and downs, bumps (hehe) and changes with you…maybe I’ll even post more haha! And for now HAPPY BIRTHDAY FIELDS FORTUNE!!! 💛🌞🌻
SUMMER FLOWERS - nothing is giving me more joy out on the farm at the moment than planting out the very best seedlings I have ever grown. Lush, green, sturdy seedlings with a dense root system, going into the ground at the perfect time! Now to wait a few months for late summer flowers…🤗🤪
TUBEROSE - the most beautiful fragrant flowers start out as these strange unassuming clumps! Planting some in the tunnel today and the rest out in the field when it dries a bit! Fingers crossed I can grow them as well as my friend @lottiesbloomers this year 😎! And there should be a few extras for @glfarmersmarket too!
PETITION - Please take a moment to sign the petition asking the government to re-consider rules for Flower Farmers at Level 4. We are the only farming sector producing perishable goods who are not allowed to safely deliver our product to customers who are crying out for it. There will be Flower Farmers who will struggle to remain in business through this lockdown and an extension or worse, a future lockdown, will have wide spread consequences for our industry. A lack of locally grown product will result in importing flowers to fill the market. These imported flowers will be wrapped in plastic, dipped in chemicals, shipped across the globe and grown using unfair labour in methods that are harmful for our planet. Please add your voice to our call to protect our diverse, hard working industry! You can find the link to the petition in my stories!
FLOWERS - For me, the power of flowers is in the giving and sharing of blooms…and that exactly what I’m not allowed to do with mine. This is the first round of tulips that were in cold storage that haven’t lasted the lockdown and are unable to be given and shared. Instead Mum and I spent some time with them in their full blousy glory in her wonderful garden shed she restored. Tulips “Dynasty”, “Verona” and “Honeymoon”. Given to you all in a slightly different way than a bouquet!!!
TULIPS - I’m knee deep (literally, they are the tallest I have ever grown!!!) in tulips out on the farm. I’m about 1/3 of the way into the harvest of around 2000 bulbs! I grow my tulips in bulb crates and fit between 60 and 70 bulbs per crate. This year I’ve grown old favourites Honeymoon, Verona, Mascotte, and Camargue alongside some exciting new ones. One armed picking happening twice a day to catch them at the perfect stage for cold storing with the bulbs attached. Fingers crossed for level 3 soon so I can let you all enjoy these incredible flowers!
WINTER FARMING - flower farming during the winter months is a real slog! Keeping my moral up by making sure I spend time in a patch of the farm that needs no work that I am proud of each day! Very easy to get bogged down in the slow growth, sodden rows and endless chores but this row of bread seed poppies in the sunshine is the patch getting me through today!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY! - Fields Fortune is 3 today! It’s been my biggest and hardest year yet out on the farm! I’ve grown more flowers than ever and I couldn’t do it without the amazing support I get from my family, flower family, friends and loyal customers! Although I’m the only official staff member of Fields Fortune I feel like I have the biggest and best team of staff! Without you all there would be no flowers! Let’s see what another year out on the farm will bring!
ZINNIAS - Yesterday I picked my final bunch of zinnias for the season and pulled out all the plants. Zinnias have been my most hard working flowers this summer, I’ve been able to pick bucket loads of flowers, 3x a week, since January this year off just one big planting. Zinnias have such an incredible variety of blooms with a great vase life. I’ve put them into nearly every farmers market bunch, florist order and wedding/event order this summer season! Already looking forward to seeing you again next summer!
BOLTONIA SEASON - It’s halfway through boltonia season out on the farm. It’s easily my favourite and easiest growing late summer crop. Huge thanks to @bird_onahill for teaching me how to grow this wonderful plant! Huge clouds of fluffy white flowers will be filling my bouquets this week at @glfarmersmarket !!!
