Biscuits (I Mean What Else Are You Supposed To Call A Blog When You Can’t Come Up With Name For It?) XD

So now that I’ve completely lost you, let’s get back to flower farming. lol

I don’t know if I could be a flower farmer without being a florist too. Making bouquets is (it might seem obvious) a creative act for me, not just a job task. And it gives me tremendous pleasure.

Being on the farm also fills the need I have for a physical challenge. My father has worked in construction his whole life and I’ve always heard my mom speak well of his work ethic. So I think I grew up with an appreciation for hard, physical work.

It may be difficult to describe to someone who is not like me, but I have a very intense personality. And I need an outlet for that – whether that’s physical or otherwise. (Side point: I sometimes wonder if that’s why thunderstorms make me feel safe. And just yesterday I was pondering the abstract thought: Is my mind drawn to intense music (hard rock and songs with heavy base) because they remind me of heavy rain and thunder…?)

Well, when anticipating the season I thought it would be a challenge to tote water from the tanks to my plot, and then water all 1000 sq feet of it. (And it still might be at some point) But I’ve realized since then that I enjoy the physicality of it and I think it also makes me feel as strong and as skilled as my father, which is satisfying. It’s interesting the way our psychology works.

I was able to catch up on most of the work I had last week. The rain came to my assistance there. Otherwise I think I would’ve pulled my hair out – there were other things to do besides watering. And it was like having a friend come to the farm and help out with at least one thing.

This year has been an interesting learning experience. I’ve seen what it’s like to have delayed or ruined harvests. I’ve seen how mono-cropping shapes your business. I’ve also seen the value of focusing on fewer crops when you have a small space. I’ve seen what flowers I wish I had more of and how often I should’ve succession planted them. I’ve also learned how to let things go. It’s necessary sometimes. And the knowledge has been very valuable.

I’ve seen my neighbors have vegetables dropping off their plants while I waited for my first cherry tomato – this was the result of shade. I’ve seen that there are some things that are out of your control. And you have to try your best to focus on what you can control and find joy in that.

…

You may remember that I’m also investigating the possibility of leasing land next year so that I can have a bigger (and hopefully sunnier) place to farm. Literally 1/16 of an acre would be great. I looked up real estate in my area: the only leasing opportunities listed were like 50+ acres. I decided to find out if there were any government resources that could give me the information I needed. I found fsa.gov (The Farm Service Agency – a national, government agency). I emailed and unfortunately they didn’t have any information that could help me. But they did recommend that I reach out to my local extension office. So I did.

I spoke to my local Ag Agent and unfortunately he told me that there was no existing resource. He said that besides word of mouth, people usually just struggle through having a small space until they’re able to buy something larger…

So, I was on my own. There is more research to be done. And I am definitely praying about it. Perhaps expansion is not what’s best for me right now. We’ll see. But I think I need to step away for a bit and regain my energies before throwing myself into more investigating. Disappointment is part of the process and you need to be able to manage it when it comes. Important life fact: pace yourself.

Beautiful bouquets went out this week. The combination of shape, height, focals and filler was (smile*). It’s fulfilling to be able to put together something stunning when you don’t have everything you want. I hope I don’t become redundant. There are only so many words you can use to describe arrangements – especially if you talk about them every week :D

You can keep up with the visuals on social media of course: Instagram and Facebook – lovelyrainflowerfarmmd. And I’ll see you next week ;)

Toodles!

Kerri