Everything has a Season
Good morning friends,
This past week was our week “off", and in many ways it was. We took a few day trips filled with pool days, jump park, cheered Chris on as he ran a 5K for our local DSA, and enjoyed hosting family friends from Ohio. One of our adventures took us back to the Turkey Hill Experience—a place we visited nine years ago, that called for a then-and-now photo.
Nine years! Looking at those two pictures side by side is such a reminder of how quickly a season passes while we're living through it.
Our week off did include a little bit of flower farming. We did some pruning, met customers with custom bouquet orders, and a beautiful cake topper created by one of our customers. We made some new connections, and are excited about growing a friendship and partnership with Alley Mill Farm. Our friends from Lazy Boy Farm, Inc also asked for some bouquets for their potato market stand. They will be at the Kenton Farmer's Market this Saturday if you missed them at Downtown Dover's Market last weekend.
This Week in the Field
Tuesday — Blooms & Berries
We have just 2 tickets remaining for this workshop.
Friday — Open Field Night 5:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Come harvest your own flowers, or we'll have pre-made market bouquets available if you'd rather grab some ready-made blooms.
Saturday — Morning Harvest + Kenton Farmers Market
We're trying something new! The field will be open for our first Morning Harvest of the season from 8:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
You'll also find our flowers at the Kenton Farmers Market alongside Lazy Boy Farms and their perfect potatoes from 8 a.m. - 1 p.m.. Local potatoes and petals sounds like a perfect Saturday pick up.
Everything Has a Season
Last night, we planted our fall sunflower field.
Our summer sunflowers were beautiful, but they were more than ready to be tilled under. We planted Santa Fe, Autumn Beauty, Firecracker, and Chocolate Cherry sunflowers, and if all goes according to plan, they should begin blooming the first week of October.
And here's your reminder: you still have time to plant a few fall sunflowers at home, too! Look for varieties with fewer than 60 days to maturity so they will have a chance to bloom before our typical first frost here in Delaware.
Fall is definitely in full planning mode now, we're saving and drying stems for our fall pumpkin workshops. And speaking of pumpkins—the pumpkin patch is doing great and is right on schedule for our fall activities.
But while we're preparing for fall, we're also thinking about…spring! (we have a pretty detailed calendar to keep things straight around here).
During the hottest part of these August afternoons, when we'd rather not be working in the field, we've been finalizing our spring seed and plug orders, because in less than four weeks, we'll begin planting the front field for spring. Chris prepared the beds and they look INCREDIBLE!
Now this is the part you don't always see
We want you to know that it isn't always rainbows and sunshine out here. Social media naturally becomes a highlight reel of beautiful bouquets, sunsets and rows of flowers. But trust me when I say, my seedlings fry, drip irrigation leaks, wind snaps stems, the rain we desperately pray for can bring rust and powdery mildew, plants get weak, bugs arrive. Things we carefully plan sometimes completely fail.
And to be honest, I know that happens to keep us humble. To remind us that we can plant, water, tend and plan—but we are certainly not in full control. That's one of the reasons I love the field so much.
It makes me slow down.
I notice when something beautiful is happening because I know it won't look exactly that way tomorrow, when something is distressed and needs attention, needs water, support, pruning, or simply needs to be removed so the rest of the plant can flourish.
I wonder if we give ourselves that same kind of attention?
Do we slow down long enough to recognize what's beautiful?
Do we savor the moments we know are fleeting?
Do we notice when we are struggling?
Do we remove the distractions that keep us from flourishing?
Jesus gives us this illustration in John 15, reminding us that He is the vine and our Father is the gardener. He tells us that even the branches bearing fruit are pruned so they can become even more fruitful. Pruning doesn't happen to cause harm, but to remind us how God is preparing us for what comes in the next season.
The field reminds me of that over and over again—to pay attention, to tend what God has placed in front of me, to let go when a season has ended, and to trust the Gardener with what comes next.
He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.” — John 15:2
Everything has a season.
Next week, I'll return to work as a teacher, and our family will begin navigating another change of season.
We will ask for a little patience as we figure out the balance between school, family and a flower field that doesn't pay much attention to our schedules. For the final two weeks of August, you will notice fewer scheduled field hours and more pop-up harvest opportunities based on what's blooming, the weather and when we can open the field as our schedules allow.
BUT this weekend?
Come find me in the field
Let's slow down together, for a little while and enjoy what's blooming right now.