Archive for the ‘Crops – Flowers’ Category
May 16, 2010 – Peonies and Ants
Very few things go together more than ants and peonies. There’s hardly a peony anywhere not covered with ants. The ants neither harm nor help the peonies, but can just be a pain for bringing them into the house. You can cut peonies at the “soft marshmallow” stage before they open up and shake off ...Read more.
November 8, 2009 – Fall Ritual – Digging Gladiola Bulbs
A November ritual is to dig out the gladiola bulbs for winter keeping. Many of the bulbs provide two new bulbs (corms) after cleaning. Like garlic, once you buy some, each year you can increase your supply without having to buy more. one year ago…”Late Lettuce”
August 31, 2009 – Flower Arranging
Linda at work in the barn arranging flowers. The bench is in an old stall with the old feed bunk converted to a high table top for easy stand-up flower arranging. one year ago…”Masanobu Fukuoka”
July 31, 2009 – Midwest Living Photo Shoot
Thursday and Friday a crew from Midwest Living magazine descended on the farm. At a photo shoot like this, they leave very little to chance, including bringing their own potted sunflowers. They also bring various hard good props (in case we don’t have enough junky old stuff lying around)! On Friday, they started at sunrise. ...Read more.
July 28, 2009 – Sunflowers!
Once again, dumb luck descends upon High Hopes Gardens. Midwest Living magazine is planning on coming out to the farm this Thursday and Friday to shoot for a story on sunflowers. We have been sending small amounts of garden products to sell at the Des Moines Farmer’s Market. The editors were scouting the market for ...Read more.
February 24, 2009 – Willow Bouquet
At this time of year, anything new in the house is welcome. Linda made this willow arrangement from the willow patch. It looks much better than this in place – we’ll watch spring arrive a few weeks early as the catkins emerge. one year ago…”San Jose Farmer’s Market and Poas Volcano”
November 16, 2008 – Pulling Glads
Even though it was a cold, blustery day, it was time to get the gladiolas out of the garden. It’s always a cold blustery day when the glads come up. This year Emma was drafted to help. Poor April doesn’t know she was caught unceremoniously squatting in this photo. Emma shows off a couple of ...Read more.
August 19, 2008 – Costa Rican Agaratum Folklore
When the Costa Ricans visited our farm a few weeks ago, one gentleman excitedly moved me over to one of the gardens to tell me something. He pointed at the agaratum as said, “In Costa Rica, if you have an agaratum flower in your wallet, your wallet will not run out of money for a ...Read more.
July 6, 2008 – New Blooms
There are a few new blooms on the farm this week. These are a variety of allium that were on super close-out late last fall. They add spunk to bouquets and attract beneficial insects as well. These are the more common elderberry blossoms – this is the first year we’ve had a profusion of blooms, ...Read more.
March 17, 2008 – First “Bouquet” of the Season
Linda gathered the first bouquet of the season yesterday. Here’s a seasonal willow bouquet to brighten up the late winter. New bird sounds appeared over the weekend – robins, red wing blackbirds, and killdeer. It just feels different outside – as if spring might really arrive soon! one year ago…”Leaving SXSW”
March 8, 2008 – Faith
Today Linda started the first seeds – some flowers that are slow germinators. They get the heat mat treatment to get a good start. When the high temperatures are 30 degrees below normal, it takes faith to plant flowers! one year ago…”Thingamajig Thursday #63″
November 18, 2007 – Digging Gladiolas
It’s time to get the gladiola bulbs out of the ground. It’s a little like Christmas or winning the lottery. Many times you plant one bulb, and get back two, or sometimes even three! This particular bulb has produced two new bulbs. The original bulb is on the bottom, barely visible in this photo. So, ...Read more.
September 19, 2007 – Banquet Flowers
This is a big flower day. We’re providing 25 table bouquets for a banquet. Enough flowers made it through the frost and it is a big evening of picking and arranging. The packing and transport is one of the trickiest parts Linda hired the girls to help since it was such a big job for ...Read more.
September 15, 2007 – Mid-September Frost!
It’s early for a frost. Very early. Here’s Linda out last night covering some of the flowers in the garden. We rolled out every tarp, old sheet, and even an old dish towel or two to try to survive the night. We’re especially worried about the flowers since we have 25Â centerpieces for a dinner to ...Read more.
