Happy New Year, Flower Friends!
We have been enjoying our extended hiatus from work this holiday season. We were blessed to spend time with our families and many friends over the past few weeks. I hope you have also enjoyed time with friends and family. Read on for updates on what we’re up to.
Subscriptions
The website is open for those who would like to sign up for farm-fresh flowers delivered to your door. Subscriptions also make a great gift. Treat yourself or a loved one for Valentines Day. This service is available in the following zip codes: 29201, 29204, 29205,29206,29209, 29016, 29045, 29169, 29223, 29229. Sign up here https://www.purpletuteur.com/subscription-information from your laptop or PC (ordering from your phone does not work and I am still researching this).
On The Farm
We had a big push in early November to get all our early spring flowers planted before the real cold set in. They have gotten off to a great start. During January and February, we monitor them and make sure that they are healthy and protected from extreme weather. Most everything is covered with frost cloth and the cloth is held down with sandbags. The sandbags help to keep the covers on when the winds are high.
Pansies are blooming, but not yet tall enough to cut and use in bouquets. They cheer us while we are working in the high tunnel.
Icelandic Poppies in pastel colors will be the first blooms ready to use.
Winter Projects
Over the winter, we get projects done that we don’t have time for when the field is actively blooming. First up this year, the septic system has to be replaced. The work begins next week.. Not the most fun thing to spend money on, but critical. We were lucky that it reached its limit during November, when things were slowing down.
Planning
Every year, we also use January as a planning month. We review the successes and failures of our previous growing year and then move forward with a plan for summer and fall. (Spring is already planted, and we do something similar in July for the early spring). Seeds are being started and plants are being ordered.
Some of the new things that we are planning:
1. A new class about growing bulbs in winter for indoor blooms. This will include lessons on how to force bulbs, followed by a hands-on workshop to build your own bulb garden to take home. I am just finalizing the information and will set the date soon. It will be in February or March, while outside blooms are limited and we can all use the lift that flowers give us.
2. A new section of beds will be added to the field so that we can expand our dahlia production. We tried lots of new varieties in 2023 and we will be increasing production of those that did well.
3. A Thanksgiving bouquet offering, consisting primarily of heirloom mums. I was so thrilled to experience these beautiful flowers for the first time this year. We want you to experience the joy too. We will have a more comprehensive blog post on growing these flowers in the near future.
Ag and Art 2024
We will be on the Ag and Art Tour again this year. June 8-9, so mark your calendars and come on out to our open house. There are new hours this year. Sites will be open Saturday, June 8 from 9 am – 4 pm and Sunday, June 9 from 9 am – 4 pm.
We are looking for artisans to participate on our farm. If you are an artisan or craftsperson (or know someone) with a business license and insurance, you can sign up at https://www.agandarttour.com The deadline for Artisans will be April 15.
New this year, the Richland County group will be holding a Farm to Table Dinner Fundraiser on April 27. More to come on this.
Anyone who wants to sponsor the tour or the dinner can also register at https://www.agandarttour.com There is a lot of local exposure for the cost.
That wraps it up for this first newsletter of 2024. Just a few more cold days before warm weather returns for a while next week! Winter is not over, but we welcome the balmier days.
Stay warm,
Linda
Behind the Scenes - Our Winter Peony Project
New Peony Project
This past winter we added another 40 peony plants to our supply. I selected two new (to us) varieties to include more colors, yellow and white. Both Sunny Girl and Duchess de Nemours are early blooming varieties. Early blooming is a requirement in the Columbia area and all zone 8 regions. They bloom before the end of May, when the warmth makes them go dormant.
We plant bare roots, so they won’t be productive until their third bloom season. They are far more affordable than potted plants and transplant easily. Bigger roots produce more flowers sooner, but they will all produce by the third year. The one shown is Sunny Girl and they are huge. They are priced accordingly.
Sunny Girl
Duchess de Nemours
Peony Bare Root
We use raised beds for our peonies. Peonies need cool weather to grow properly. Planting them in a raised bed keeps them cooler since the air can chill the above ground soil better than planting in the ground. The beds are in full sun.
A raised bed can be made with mounded dirt and no boards, but we use these for ease of harvest. If you are planting these at home, you can use a pot (at least 24” in diameter). If you have a retaining wall, the soil behind it is elevated too, making it a good spot.
We had a week to get this done to beat three days of rain that would have made it much more difficult. The first day we got the supplies to the farm. The second day we built the frames. They are set right on the grass since the soil will smother it. We put hardware cloth in the bottom of the beds to deter moles and voles.
The next effort was to fill the beds with soil. We mixed topsoil and mushroom compost together. Any compost with pine bark (most of them) should be avoided. The bark carries something that the peonies are vulnerable to. Mushroom compost works well. The fertilizers were also mixed into the soil at this point. This part took two days.
The last day’s effort included laying the irrigation, planting the roots and mulching. In our climate, the roots need to be planted just one inch below the top of the soil. This will also help keep the plants cool. We mulch with coastal hay. This forms a weed barrier and breaks down easily, providing a little nutrition to the soil.
Building the raised bed
Raised beds done!
Filling the beds with soil
Completed! Planted, irrigation set up and mulch added
Whew! We made it before the rain. Now, the test of patience before they bloom. Green plants will come up this spring. They may even have a bud or two on them. We will pinch them off. The goal is the get the best root system established before they really put a lot of energy into blooms. This will result in a much stronger plant. Since they can live for 30 years, it is important to give them a good start.
If you are growing peonies, I would love to hear how you care for them.
The Business of Growing Flowers in South Carolina Evolves
About 75 interested parties came together to discuss commercial flower growing in South Carolina yesterday and I was glad to be among them. The meeting included participation by the SC Department of Agriculture, the SC Center for Cooperative and Enterprise Development, Clemson Cooperative Extension, Matson Consulting, the SC Small Business Development Center, and the SC Specialty Crop Growers Association. We also had flower farmers from the upstate, the midlands and the low country and some who are considering flower farming. I had the pleasure of seeing some fellow flower farmers in person for the first time since Covid.
With 60+ flower farmers in attendance and another 10 – 12 that I know of that did not make it, the supply of local flowers in South Carolina is growing quickly. If we can find ways to create a consolidated supply and distribution mechanism to provide local flowers to florists, event planners and corporations, we can strengthen ties and build a stronger financial basis for the floral industry and for flower farmers in our state. For example, Charleston is a leading destination for weddings in the country. Why not maximize the revenue that stays in the state by making it preferable to use local flowers over those that are imported from (usually) South America?
To be fair, there are florists and event planners is all 3 regions of the state that are huge supporters of local flowers. They understand that the flowers are fresher. They know that they can get beautiful varieties that cannot be shipped successfully. They are willing to utilize the decentralized distribution methods that we have today.
The complexity of buying from multiple small farms is one thing holding others back. They may not be staffed to coordinate with multiple sources. They may not be able to purchase flowers in large enough quantities from one or a few farmers to meet their needs. They also may not be familiar with some of the flowers that can be made available and need more education.
While this was just an introductory meeting, I am optimistic that this group has the energy to define solutions to these challenges. I look forward to our next meeting.
“If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together”. African Proverb
Happy New Year 2023!
Thank you for a wonderful 2022. Every subscription, custom order, wholesale delivery, Ag&Art Tour visit, Garden club talk and visit, our feature on Making It Grow, every farmer’s market and retail purchase and our first Holiday Open House helped us to grow. We could not do it without your support, and we feel so welcomed and inspired by your community feedback.
In 2023, we are looking forward to bringing you more joy through flowers. We’re trying some new (to us) bloomers and expanding on the most popular ones.
We’ve made it through the first weather test, Storm Elliot, with very good results. The wind and extended cold period caused some damage. Fortunately, most things are already showing new growth thanks to healthy root systems that were blanketed by the warm earth. These plants will be slowed down a bit but will be robust in Spring. We did lose our Cynoglossum but this can be re-seeded in February for a later appearance in our bouquets.
There can be an upside to the cold too. This should be a good year for tulips, daffodils and peonies. All of these plants like a cold period and should benefit from Elliot’s effects.
We hope that you weathered the storm without a lot of damage and have much to look forward to in 2023. We will continue to try to make you smile through the beauty of fresh flowers.
Happy New Year,
Linda
Last Call for Bulbs!
Thanks to all of you who came out to our first ever Holiday Garden Market! We enjoyed meeting some new flower friends and seeing some familiar faces too. Since our first year was a big success, we are looking at doing it again next year. For the second year, we will do a weekday and a Saturday for those who can’t get out during the week. Please let us know if there is anything you would like to see us offer.
Selling bulbs, forcing kits and bulb gardens is a great way for us to bridge the revenue gap between cut flower seasons. And of course, we have to offer bouquets! Our greenery bouquets have been well received too, so thank you.
This is our last week for bulbs. If you are ordering now, bulbs will not be in bloom by the holidays, but will bring some sunshine into January for whoever grows them. We have a selection of Hot Pink (Bolero) and Soft Apricot (Rilona) and White (Denver) that will be great choices, along with Sparticus, the red and white striped bloom that works for Valentines Day too. Forcing kits make a great gift for those who travel during the holidays and are home in January and February.
For the gardeners in the group, we still have a few anemone and ranunculus corms available. Check out the website for the color selection. You still have time to soak and plant them for gorgeous spring blooms!
So, if you order by 12/9, you can pick up at the farm on Saturday 12/10. For orders over $40 we will deliver next Tuesday 12/13. We will be taking the bulb shop off our website on 12/9 at 8:00 pm
Subscriptions
For those who want to provide a bouquet subscription as a gift, or to get your order in early, we will be setting up the subscription shop on 12/12 for spring and summer subscriptions. Stay tuned!
As always, thank you so much for all of your support of our flower farm. We feel so blessed to be able to provide flowers to our community and we couldn’t do it without you!
Linda
Fall Bulbs Make Spring Blooms
Our Fall Bulb Shop is Live
We know that some of you flower lovers are gardeners too. We are happy to bring some harder to find and high-quality bulbs to our community so that you can share in the joy of growing these beauties. Here are things that you can order from our website:
Anemone
Narcissus
Ranunculus
We also have Amaryllis and Paperwhites available on the Bulb Shop again this year.
If you don’t have much gardening experience, I highly recommend trying Amaryllis or Paperwhites for the holidays. They are one of the easiest things to grow and can be grown indoors so that they bloom in December or January when it is harder to get outside.
I really enjoy seeing the photos that people send me of their bulbs in bloom. They bring such joy and there is such excitement for those who are trying for the first time. Here are a few examples:
Beginner Judy H.
Beginner Lynn E.
Seasoned Grower Karen T.
Seasoned Grower Susie
Seasoned Grower Becky H.
On the Farm
The dahlias have been good this year. We tried a few new varieties which we liked and will use again. You will probably recognize these if you had a fall bouquet subscription. They will continue to bloom until the first frost, which is usually around Halloween here in the Midlands.
Hamari Gold
American Dawn
French Can Can
Subscription season is over for this year. Thanks to all of you who participated! We’re already busy getting plants and bulbs in the ground for next spring’s subscriptions.
Next year, we will be expanding our subscription delivery area to include zip code 29169. Deliveries typically start by the first week in March, weather permitting.
Snapdragon Seedlings
These are snapdragon seedlings that we will plant in the next week or two for spring blooming. It is fun to refresh the fields and look forward to the next season of flowers.
Happy Fall,
Linda
Happy Fall! Updates From The Farm
We are enjoying the start of cooler weather and hope that you are too! Here are a few updates that we wanted to share.
Amanda McNulty and I Talk Cut Flowers on Making it Grow
It was such a pleasure to be able to meet one of my gardening heroes and talk cut flowers with her. This being my first time on a TV set, I really didn’t know what to expect. Amanda and the crew made it very easy. Once we had mics on, I couldn’t move around, which is a challenge for me, but she kept me focused on her and the topic at hand.
The set is so comfortable and I felt right at home. After we finished, I dumped some water into the sink that you can see in the background. Oops! There is no plumbing there. There was a mad dash to wipe it up. A learning experience for sure.
The segment will be aired on Tuesday, September 27 at 7:00 pm on SCETV.
Fall Bulb Sale
We are excited to bring you specialty bulbs for your garden and home again this year! You can order anemone, ranunculus, a few specialty daffodils, amaryllis and paperwhites from the website starting about October 15th. There are still supply chain delivery delayss so we will announce again when e have the bulbs.
Bouquet Subscriptions Wrap For 2022
Our subscription season is coming to a close for the year. I want to thank each of you who participates in this service. It does my heart good to bring you flowers and I enjoy your feedback. We will start deliveries back up next March and from now until then we will be prepping the soil, sowing seed, planting bulbs and protecting the plants from the weather as best we can.
Here’s to a lovely holiday season!
Linda
Summer Farm Update
Cheyanne Goes Back to Clemson
With the students going back to school next week, it feels like summer should be over but we have 7 weeks left until fall! Our intern, Cheyanne, headed back to Clemson for her final semester in Agriculture Education. We enjoyed having her work with us and the time flew. Since we’re a small operation, we were able to give her exposure to all aspects of flower production and sales. Her internship professor came to visit last week and gave her a big thumbs up on the experience. We’re looking forward to seeing what she does after she completes her degree!
Our Late Summer to Fall Subscription is Available to Order on the Website!
New this year, we are offering a 5-week subscription starting August 24th and wrapping up by October 15th. Our newest subscription offering brings fall flowers to your door, including dahlias, sunflowers, marigolds and more. Late season dahlias will add beautiful color to your bouquets and with a 4-5 day dahlia vase life, a weekly delivery will keep you in fresh flowers for the season. Our delivery window is 8 weeks so that, in case you need to skip a week, we can accommodate and still complete all deliveries by October 15th. We are offering a small number of subscriptions, so if you are interested, please sign up asap. We don’t want you to be disappointed. Here’s the link to more information: https://www.purpletuteur.com/subscription-information
New Classes at the Farm
We are also excited to be able to offer some classes this September.
September 4th - Making Garden Style Bouquets – Come with a friend to learn the basics of how to make a spiral bouquet to take home using flowers from the farm.
September 11 - Growing Dahlias – Learn to grow these flowers in your home garden (or in a pot on a patio or a balcony). We will cover the specifics of growing them in our hot and humid environment.
You can find out more athttps://www.purpletuteur.com/aboutourclasses
Spring Bulb Sale
We will have amaryllis and paperwhites again this year. Some of you have requested other spring flowering bulbs so we are going to offer additional things that we can grow in our area – daffodils, iris , hyacinths, anemone and ranunculus are included. We will add these to our website shop by early November. Stay tuned!
Behind The Scenes of The Columbia Metropolitan Article
After a year of secrecy, we are thrilled to be able to talk about the Columbia Metropolitan article on local flower farmers! In case you missed it, here is the link: https://columbiametro.com/article/a-blooming-passion/
Photo: Michael Trawick
When Columbia Metro called to tell me that they were writing a story about area flower farmers and wanted to include us, I was thrilled. They needed to come out to take photos in the next week or so. It was March. So many things are not in bloom in March! Of course, I said yes and started getting prepared.
This all happened just days before the Covid lock down. I wondered if they would have to cancel. Fortunately, they did not.
We were in major Tulip season so plenty of those on hand. We had Daffodils, Anemone, Pieris and Hellebore. The Ranunculus was planted but not in bloom. This was the season before we had the hoop house up and the walk-in cooler built, so the Ranunculus would be blooming in April.
As a graduate of Clemson’s New and Beginning Farmer Program, I was able to rent cooler space that year at the Incubator Farm at Sandhills. As grace would have it, Brinton Fox of Boone Fox Farm, was and is a grower at the incubator farm. She was also featured in the article. Clemson was closed for all but essential workers and Brinton and I were able to continue working at the Sandhills site during the lockdown.
Brinton grows beautiful Ranunculus and she already had a hoop house up, so hers were ready! I purchased some Ranunculus from Brinton and they were included in the photo shoot. Grace again, since the photographers would not have been granted access to Clemson to take photos in her growing space during the lockdown.
Farming has many challenges. We work with and around the weather to bring crops to market. Pests and insects can do significant damage and destroy crops. Issues may not be apparent until the crop is supposed to be ready. So, we flower farmers support each other as best we can. We buy from each other before going elsewhere if we need something we didn’t successfully grow. I like to call it “the sisterhood of the flowering plants”.
We got things ready at the farm and waited. I exhaled when Muffie Wells called to confirm their visit.
The day of the photoshoot was so much fun. We got to see other professionals in action. Robert Clark was looking for a cloudy day to take the photos and got it. They took their time finding the shots that they wanted. They asked questions about the flowers and our growing methods. They shot in the field and in our inside workspace, used for making bouquets and bunching flowers. They were genuinely interested. A lovely experience with a group that does so much to raise awareness of the happenings in the Columbia area.
Updates From The Farm
Since it has been awhile since I posted anything, I wanted to let you know what we have been up to!
I hope that you have enjoyed the long cool spring as much as I did! In addition to delivering our spring subscriptions, we’ve been taking advantage of the cool weather all season to get extra projects done at the farm.
Spring Subscriptions
This year we were able to start the spring subscriptions in March, earlier than in years past. Everyone is tired of winter by then and it has been our goal to get flowers to people as early in the year as possible. We added some new flowers to our bouquets, including several new specialty tulips and ranunculus in several colors.
Masks and hand sanitizer were de rigeur on subscription delivery days!
We are wrapping up the final deliveries this week. With Covid in our midst, we all seemed to appreciate the beauty of fresh flowers a little bit more this year. Since we had to be extra careful with the drop offs, I still haven’t seen some of our new subscription holders in person! I hope to be able to meet you as conditions improve.
Thanks to all of you for a wonderful spring season!
The new barn/studio
On-Farm Projects
As you may know, we are transforming the old barn into a new barn/studio. We will have a walk-in cooler for the flowers along with a large work area. There should be room for small gatherings inside, but there is also a large covered porch on the front where we can gather when the weather is agreeable. We’re looking forward to holding some classes/workshops there in the future. I expect that we will have this ready before the summer is over.
The salvage tarp is used to kill the grass where the new beds will go without using pesticides. Darkness and heat can do the job.
We added a shade bed for plants that require little sun. Hellebores and ferns have been planted there and a few other things will be added in the fall. These will be ready for use late winter of 2021.
We are also working on some new beds that will be covered by a new hoop house in the fall. A hoop house is an unheated green house. This will allow us to grow flowering plants over the winter in conditions that will make them bloom over the winter. We’re hoping to have flowers ready by Valentine’s Day 2020.
Hello Summer!
First real warm-season harvest.
Summer temperatures and humidity have arrived! We have been turning the beds and planting more heat-loving summer flowers and foliage. Our warm season favorites are finally getting the conditions they need to thrive. Zinnias, celosia, cosmos, dahlias, rudbeckia, sunflowers and lisianthus are some of what is coming on now.
We are also trying some new warm season growers – alstroemeria, lavatera, bee balm, jewels of opar and Greek oregano. We will see how they do in our heat and humidity!
Where to Find us This Summer
1. You can pick up our flowers at the Lake Carolina Farmers Market or contact us through the website www.purpletuteur.com or through our facebook page to place a special order.
2. I am also working with one of my classmates from Clemson’s New and Beginning Farmer Program to make flowers available at the Soda City Market when it opens again. Once I have the specifics on this booth location, I will send an update out.
3. We also offer bouquets at B79 in Blythewood as flower capacity allows. Follow us on Instagram for announcement of pop-up sales at B79.
4. A few other discussions are underway in an effort to make farm fresh flowers available to you, so stay tuned!
What’s Next?
We have had several requests for a fall subscription offering. We are looking at this now. Certainly, with the prospect of a second wave of Covid 19 in the fall, this may be the best way to get flowers to everyone safely. We will be looking at the feasibility for this over the summer.
Finally, I want to thank you all for your continued interest and support in our small farm. It is our pleasure to bring you fresh blooms and to make you smile. In these challenging times, everyone can use a little joy.
Linda
Life with Corona's Influence
Hopefully you are well, if socially isolated, as I write this. We are certainly living in turbulent times. I expect that we will see some fundamental changes to life as we know it when we get through this period of uncertainty. Many of us are of the age to have experience other turbulent times. They can be very unsettling but as we know, this too shall pass. Not without disruptions and disappointments. Wishing you as much normalcy as possible through this transition to life with Corona in our midst.
Here on the farm, we are continuing to plant, grow and harvest. We will deliver our subscriptions as planned. We will be taking special requests and fill them as our flower supply allows. We offer delivery for these special requests for a small fee.
We’ve added many new beds for more growing capacity, both in sun and in shade. Work is progressing on the new barn. Our fall planted hardy annuals came through winter just fine. A couple of additional weeks of warmth and they should begin to bloom!
For 2020 flower subscription holders, we have flowers for you! As you know if you have subscribed before, it is hard to predict when the first blooms will be ready in spring. So much depends on the weather conditions and they vary widely from year to year. I will begin checking in with each of you to see who wants flowers this Friday or next Tuesday. This will not be the start of the weekly deliveries. There will be gaps until spring really gets going, but most of us are hungry from some blooms this time of year so I like to get them to you as soon as possible.
What are you doing to adjust to live under these circumstances?
New perennial beds
Future home to the flower cooler and a classroom
New shade beds
Winter hardy annuals uncovered for spring
This is an early blooming tulip called Double You
Wishing you and yours good health along with faith, hope and love.
Linda
5 Annual Cut Flowers That Flourish in Our Hot and Humid Summers
Its still summer. Sigh. Our “famously hot” summers are no joke. The hot and humid weather is a challenge to us and to most of the plants that we try to nurture through to fall. There are those, however, that do well or do their best in these conditions. Here are my top 5:
1. Zinnias
Zinnias
Who can resist these happy blooms? They come in every color but blue. There are multiple sizes and shapes available. They can be started fairly easily from seed and if you cut and feed them weekly, they will produce flowers for your home for weeks. They are prone to powdery mildew, so here in Columbia, plant them further apart than the seed pack recommends. I plant mine a foot apart (Benary’s Giants) so there is plenty of airflow between the plants. Cutting them frequently also keeps the vegetation thinned out, further improving the airflow.
2. Basil
Basil
Yup, you read that right. All bouquets need greenery to make the blooms pop. Basil does the trick. Using Mrs. Meyer’s Lemon or Cinnamon also adds a lovely fragrance to your bouquet. When growing basil as a cut flower, you need to let the plant bloom and let the stem get woody before you cut it. This is the opposite of what you would do if you are growing it to eat. Basil grows well in full sun in the spring, but in the summer give it a little bit of shade to keep it happy.
3. Globe amaranth
Globe Amaranth
This sweet bloom doesn’t even get going well until it gets hot. Really hot. It may seem like it isn’t going to do anything, but when the heat rises, it produces a profusion of blooms from a single plant. It will keep producing until the fall frosts arrive. It comes in white, light and dark pink, red and orange.
4. Sunflowers
Sunflowers
These magical blooms are not bothered by the heat. We grow the pollenless single stem varieties for bouquets, but the branching varieties will also do fine when we’re wilting. Did you know that you can affect the size of the blooms by how you space the plants? Planting them 6 inches apart will give you blooms that are right-sized for a bouquet. At 12 inches apart, the larger, more typical flower head with form from the same seed. Be sure to cut them before they are fully open so that bugs don’t ruin the blooms.
5. Celosia
Celosia
This comes in many forms – spike, fan or brain and wheat. They all add texture and color to your bouquet. They come in good variety of colors so you can use this to round out the mix. Be sure to pick this one before the seed forms or you will find little black droppings on the table under your bouquet.
If you want to have something to cut in your garden in the hottest part of summer, these plants can fill the bill. Do you have any other favorite annuals that do well in this heat?
Happy Gardening!
Linda