We have been delivering our subscriptions for 5 weeks now and people who are unfamiliar with our services are always surprised to hear that we have flowers this early. Most of what is blooming now and in the next month or so is prepared in the fall. It is a more challenging way to grow, especially when we have late frosts or freezes, but worth it for the early blooms. There have been years when we lost crops to the late cold. We always plant extra in anticipation of a weather event.
This year, we have had a mild winter, meaning we haven’t had any severe cold snaps that can kill our crops. 4/15 is considered our last frost date. These dates are determined by historical records kept by NOAA (The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). NOAA uses 30 years of historical data to project the last frost date in the spring and the first frost date in the fall. There is more to it, but not for today. We are just celebrating the fact that the forecast looks great for this week and frosty weather appears to be over!
Colibri Poppies
I got a question about the poppies in the subscription bouquets, so others may also be wondering too.
These are a type of Icelandic poppy, bred in Italy. We use a pastel mix for our early spring bouquets. It does come in a few brighter colors too. They need cold weather to grow, so we will probably only have them for another couple of weeks. You can see them in a few forms in our subscription bouquets. The flower forms in a pod and when it is ready to bloom, the pod cracks and falls off. We generally put them in bouquets at the cracked pod stage or when they have just opened.
Subscription Flowers for May and June
We’re just a couple of weeks away from wrapping this subscription season up. Then we’re on to the Spring to Early Summer season, which starts in early May. There is still time to sign up if you want to give this a try or add another season to your home deliveries. These also make great gifts, so if you are stumped for a Mother’s Day gift, a subscription could be the answer you are looking for. To find out more and to sign up, follow this link to our website.
https://www.purpletuteur.com/subscription-information
Ag and Art
Thank you for being part of our community. I hope you have marked June 8th and 9th on your calendars to come see the farm. That is the Richland County Ag&Art Tour weekend and we are a host farm for the event. The event is free to the public and lots of fun. We would love to see you! Hours are 9 am to 4 pm both days. More information here : https://www.agandarttour.com/richland
Best,
Linda