Well, once again I did a miserable job of writing. The last post was about five months ago! So much for this year, I’ll try to do better in 2012.

The weather this year presented an abnormal challenge – or did I say the same thing a year ago? Spring was cold and wet, and we were late getting transplants in the ground. Fortunately we were able to use the flowers from the greenhouses and high tunnels (unheated greenhouses) until we got production from the fields. Summer was hotter than usual, stressing both us and the plants. Then, in August, it started to rain. Since that time there have been very few periods when the ground was dry enough to work. So far this week we have had 2” of rain and more is forecast. It is said that farmers always complain about the weather. That’s true, but the success of our work is highly dependent on temperature, moisture, and light. See the paragraph on winterberry…

Sales at the farmers markets this summer were very good, with one exception. During the past two years many new markets have opened, and the customers have more options of where and when to shop. We tried a new location, sales were terrible, and we won’t be there next year, but Market Square in downtown Pittsburgh gets better every year. While weather is always a governing factor, sales improve there every year. Ligonier is still good, but sales there are down somewhat, especially after the stock market fluctuations of early August. We watch the developing financial events in both Europe and the US and hope that conditions will be the same or better next year – after all, flowers may make you feel good, but they are not essential.

We are continuously looking for new products to grow and sell, and we found a good one this year. While buying seeds to sprout last winter (for us) I found a mention of shoots, which are gigantic sprouts or immature plants, depending on how you look at it. We grew a few pea shoots, then sunflower shoots, and finally popcorn shoots. While we still do a few popcorn and sunflower trays, the pea shoots are a real hit with upscale restaurants. We eat the rejects and enjoy them – they add a special flavor to an otherwise bland salad.

We are pretty much done outside, except for cutting and selling the winterberry (deciduous holly). The past two years we have had late spring frosts, after the plants came out of dormancy, and production was very poor – last year it was zero. This year the bushes liked the weather, and we have a bumper crop, an embarrassment of riches so to speak. Normally we would be done with the harvest, but we still have about 94 of the 100 plants to cut, trim, bundle and sell. Fortunately the weather forecast for the next week is predicting above normal temperatures (along with lots of rain). Cutting in the rain is a nasty job, but cold makes it even worse.

Every fall we have to decide whether to continue the next year. Father Time and Arthur Itis continue to make it harder to work, and we wonder if all this is worthwhile. We have decided, for 2012 at least, that we will continue as we have for several years – farmers markets, wholesaling, weddings, etc. Having made that decision, the next day I ordered lisianthus seeds, which we need to plant this week in order to have blooms in June, the following day we cut winterberry, and the next day the back went into spasms. Might be the wrong decision, but for now, onward and upward.

Hope you have had a good year, and we wish you the best for the Christmas season.

Bob
(the Creaky and Cranky Curmudgeon)

Wow! Mid-June already. Peonies are done, lupin is done, baptisia has bloomed, lilac is history, and hydrangeas are just starting. Four Ligonier markets (out of 20) and two Pittsburgh/Upper St. Clair markets are behind us. On the other hand, much lies ahead.

Peony harvest was a Chinese fire drill. To be stored the peonies have to be harvested at just the right stage of development. Cut too soon, they never open, and cut too late they are already blown open. Frequently you have only an hour or two to catch the bloom at its prime. Normally they mature over a two week period, but this year we had some very hot weather, and harvest took place over about 5 days. We have 300 plants (about 3,000 blooms) and Miss Sally spent a lot of time over a short period harvesting and storing peonies.

Our asparagus harvest is now over until next year. Rain, cold overcast days, and short bursts of heat cut the harvest period about two weeks short. The yield has not been calculated, but it won’t set any records.

Our new, “red” lisianthus is starting to bloom – only it’s some sort of a shade of pink, not red. The catalog lied. We also have lots of orange lilies which were described otherwise, and some “blue” dahlias that look a lot like the purple ones we already had. This is almost as bad as the year I ordered a special Peruvian grass, only to discover it was a local weed, and we already had more than enough.

Our summer help is almost here. One girl is still recovering from school with a family vacation this week, and then the crew will be complete. With all the rain and cool weather the grass and weeds have grown nicely and need to be controlled, and some added help will be most welcome.

Thanks to the greenhouses and high tunnels we have a good collection of colorful flowers and the market displays look fabulous. We have lots of dahlias and lilies, peonies out of storage, hydrangea, Bells of Ireland, cut shrubs like itea, and even small sunflowers grown in cells in the greenhouse. We are also cutting basil for restaurants and the markets. In the next few weeks the assortment will be even better.

Our fifth wedding of the season will be on June 18, and there are lots more after that one. While stressful (for us, as well as the bride) they are fun as they take some added creativity. There are pictures in the gallery of several past events, and there will be more from this summer, later.

In addition to the markets and weddings, we also take orders for special events like anniversaries, engagement parties, bridal showers, baby showers, parties, and receptions. If you want something special that doesn’t look like FTD, give us a call. If you want something really unique we will turn the Queen of Funk loose. She loves to use grasses, weeds, seed pods, and sticks and is most creative.

Bob

Come see us on Thursdays 4:30-7:00pm , Westminster Presbyterian Church parking lot!

http://upperstclair.patch.com/articles/sun-welcomes-first-farmers-market-of-the-season#photo-6384856

Today, Good Friday, is much like the past several weeks – wet and cold.  Seems like a good day to update the news part of the site.

Cold and wet equals nothing done in the fields.  If we were still growing oats it would be time to panic.  Oats needs to be established in cool, damp conditions and should be in the ground by mid-April.  So far there has been only limited plowing in the area as the ground is too wet, and the forecast is for another two weeks of rain, so the oats will be planted super late and the yield will suffer.  This is happening when the price of oats is at a record high, so there will be a lot of unhappy farmers.

We will be unhappy too – not because I wanted to plant oats, but we have lots of flowers ready to go outside, but none of the ground is ready.  The outside flowers will be late, but the greenhouse flowers are doing well and we should be ready for the farmers’ markets:  Saturday May 21 is the opening date for Ligonier, and we will be at Market Square and Upper St. Clair on Thursdays beginning June 2.

Asparagus is late due to the continuing cold and the aficionados are getting restless.  I can’t get through the grocery store without being quizzed several times.  We have cut about a pound, and warm weather should bring a flush, but in general we just have to wait.

We have greenhouses and cold frames already planted.  The dahlias are knee high, there are five plantings of lilies doing their thing, and we have about 2,000 lisianthus growing slowly.  For the first time ever we will have red lisianthus and we are looking forward to seeing just how red it will be.  The day after Thanksgiving we planted the first batch, and those plants are now all of 4 inches tall.  When I say slowly I mean it.  We have several other varieties of flowers planted but these are the mainstays.  We also have about 50 tomatoes planted in the large greenhouse, and some are in bloom.  During the winter we have been growing pea shoots and mini greens for Out Of The Fire Café – the local fine dining place – and they will soon be getting rhubarb and asparagus too.

Every year we have to establish a new team of helpers.  Some years the results are better than others and this looks like a good one.  We have two girls returning, one with 7 years experience here, a new high school girl, and a new young man who is just now getting an associate degree in horticulture and will be at Penn State next fall.  All have been working intermittently the last few weeks and they are all good and happy workers.

Every year we look for new Purple Cows.  The concept comes from a book of the same name by Seth Godin.  A Purple Cow could be new flowers, a new promotion, or new merchandising ideas.  If you are curious about what is coming this year, drop me a line and I’ll know you read this far.

Bob

Late winter 2011 (or is it 2010 – how do you figure these things?)

New England has five seasons.  To the more usual four you add “Mud”.  That’s when the frost is coming out of the ground and nothing is solid – just “Mud”.  We are now in season 4 1/2 – rain and then snow yesterday on thawed ground.  Just perfect for carrying a bunch of plants from one greenhouse with a faulty heater to one that was reliably warm.

Anyway, planting is now in full swing.  The early plantings, which started two days after Thanksgiving, are looking good and will be transplanted to the ground beds in greenhouses and high tunnels (greenhouses with no heat) in a week or two.  The first shipment of lilies arrived two weeks ago and the next shipment comes this week, along with dahlias and iris.  We have several thousand gladiolas that we saved from last year and another 3,000 arrived Friday.  We are also growing pea shoots for a local restaurant.  They mature quickly in about two weeks so there are no insects and diseases to worry with.

The roster of plants for this year can be found in the sidebar under “Grow List.”  There are a few new items and some have been discontinued, but most of what was available last year will be back.  We are looking forward to seeing a red lisianthus, the first thing planted in November and now all of ¾ inches tall.  There are also some new gladiola and dahlia colors and there will be more emphasis on grasses, sunflowers, and grains.  You won’t see it, but there is an electric fence in our future.  Last Fall, the deer ate every one of the last sunflower planting.  All 4,000 plants – enough already.

In between rain and snow and cold we are harvesting willow – pussy willow, black pussy willow, corkscrew willow, and fantail willow.  The fantail has some very interesting shapes this year – so ugly they are pretty.

We expect to be at three markets this year.  To the usual Ligonier and Market Square locations we are adding Upper St. Clair.  Ligonier (Saturdays 8-12) will open earlier this year on May 21.  I expect to start at Market Square (Thursday 10-2) and Upper St Clair (Thursday 4-7) on June 2.  Thursdays are going to be endurance contests.

People are still getting married (editorial comment will only get me in trouble) and we are still providing their flowers.  We were involved with 35 weddings last year, from Zelienople to Bedford Springs, and this year looks very similar so far.  There is a nice slide show here on the site with pictures taken over the past five years or so.  The slide show (Gallery) can also be found at the bottom of the sidebar.

We hope you have survived the Winter in good form and look forward to seeing you in May or June.  We’ll have asparagus at the early markets for those who arrive early enough, since it sells out quickly.  Otherwise, look for it at Out Of The Fire Café in Donegal, a great place to dine.

Bob

It’s winter, the days are short and I have a new computer monitor (bigger IS better) so I’ve been working on marketing materials and organizing images. One card had images on it dating back to the purchase of the camera but that’s a whole other issue that I won’t bore you with. We now have an added feature: an image gallery showcasing some of the highlights over the last few years. You’ll find links to it on the welcome page and in the navigation sidebar. Happy New Year!

We’ve been covered up this year and I’ve had little time to add material here but thought I’d share a few images.  Once things slow down a bit I’ll spend some time updating.  Click to enlarge the images.

Usually in this space I talk about flowers, but this time I want to be more philosophical.  In December I bought a machine that will transcribe my vinyl records (anyone remember them?) to CDs, and I’ve started the process.  One old record that I especially wanted to hear was the soundtrack to “Barnum”, an unfortunately short-lived musical that I am reasonably certain none of you remember.  One of the tracks is “The Colors of My Life”, a two part discussion between PT and his wife Chairy (patience, I’m getting there).  Look at the difference between their views:

Barnum:

“The colors of my life
Are bountiful and bold
The purple glow of indigo
The gleam of green and gold
The splendor of a sunrise
The dazzle of a flame
The glory of a rainbow
I’d put ‘em all to shame
No quiet browns and grays
I’ll take my days instead
And fill them till they overflow
With rose and cherry red!
And should this sunlit world
Grow dark one day
The colors of my life
To show the way”

Chairy:   

 “The colors of my life
Are softer than a breeze
The silver gray of eiderdown
The dappled green of trees
The amber of a wheat field
The hazel of a seed
The crystal of a raindrop
Are all I’ll ever need
Your reds are much too bold
In gold I find no worth
I’ll fill my days with sage and brown
The colors of the earth
And if from by my side
My love should roam
The colors of my life
Will shine a quiet light
To lead him home”

Two very different approaches to color – one bold and bright with red, gold, indigo, the other muted earth tones of eiderdown, wheat, dappled green – and both are valid.

The bride often sets the stage in selecting her gown and the attendant’s dresses.  These colors are a good indicator of where we will go with the other elements of the ceremony and reception.  Last week a bride came in after selecting cranberry attendant’s dresses.  She also wanted bright autumn colors for her bouquet and the reception and we’ll have a lot of fun putting this all together.  We’ve also worked with a flower child getting married in a meadow and requesting “twigs, grasses, berries, and, by the way, a few flowers”.  Another bride was in a simple but sophisticated silver gown and had very simple, pastel flowers at the country club reception.  We are seeing more black and white weddings, which can go either bright or muted and are a lot of fun.  Burnt orange was the base for another unusual wedding.  An Oriental bride had a white dress with burgundy embroidery and back panel, and had a bouquet that was mostly red.  Her table decorations were tall and minimal, in contrast to the low arrangements that we usually do.  In November we had two weddings that used light brown and chocolate brown roses, something new for us which I’m sure we’ll use again.  Grass (not the smoking variety) is big and we’ve used it as part of the centerpieces for several weddings.  It can look like a small lawn with flowers “growing” through the grass, or it can be in pots with taller flowers several inches above the pot.

It is possible to take a cookie cutter approach to any wedding – roses, baby’s breath, carnations, etc.  It’s easy, boring, and cheap.  When we do a wedding I try to get into the bride’s head and find out what she really likes and then design something to fit – something unusual and memorable that will really make the ceremony and reception sparkle.  When the wait staff says, “Wow!  We’ve never seen anything like this!”  I’m on my way to a good day.

For us, weddings are a challenge and fun.  There is some strain and concern, but the reward is a happy bride and a lovely event.  The flowers can be bright and bold, to satisfy Barnum, or soft and the colors of the earth to satisfy Chairy – either will work.  Just not dull and boring.

Happy New Year All

We are now officially receiving fewer daylight hours than night hours, and the flowers know it. Once we reach short days with the autumn equinox they mature slower and have a shorter vase life after they are cut. It looks like we could have frost next week and that would put a halt to all outside production, although we will still have lilies, dahlias, and some other flowers from inside the greenhouses (heated) and high tunnels (no heat).

We had two weddings this weekend and following are photographs from one. The bride was Asian and selected a white dress with deep red embroidery. She asked for an all red bouquet for which we used red alstromerea, red roses, red coxcomb, and a few white lisianthus buds. There were a few greens and a willow “cage” surrounding the flowers.

For the first time we made all the table centerpieces alike, with ginger, white dendrobian orchids, red and white roses, curly willow, Italian ruscus greens, and leucodendrum in three vases of different heights. We think it looked good.

Our farmers market at Market Square in Pittsburgh got displaced with a week’s notice when the grand potentates decided to rebuild the square. We got moved four blocks to an area behind the Hilton at Gateway Plaza and most of our former customers never found us. Insult was added to injury by the first Steelers pregame concert and game. Two weeks later, just last week, G-20 Summit came to town and the market was cancelled (with good reason). What started out remarkably well is finishing badly.

This year we have certainly lived in interesting and challenging times. Whacky weather, including a late frost that killed lots of perennials we were counting on, deluges, droughts, etc. Some great weddings and some that were just ordinary. A challenging economic situation that left us wondering what to prepare for the markets week by week. New consumers, and old consumers that no longer come to the markets. Too much help some weeks and not enough other times. We are completing our busy season wondering just what next year will bring, and how to prepare for it.

Ending on a more positive note, we have signed our first weddings for 2010 and are receiving inquiries for other dates. Weddings are fun as they provide new challenges and opportunities to be creative.

Sally The Skier says “Think snow”.