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It's beginning to feel like spring! Easter was a flurry of activity at Lilies and lavender, most of the flowers bloomed on time but a few just refused to behave. The ranunculus was the most troublesome. The first batch of corms rotted in the flooded basement, the second batch turned out to be a short variety sent to me by accident and the third batch has decided that it will bloom whenever it feels like it, thank you very much. This is the first Easter I can remember without daffodils. Lilies, tulips, alstromeria, larkspur and iris all blooming their fool heads off and no daffodils, it just ain't right! The greenhouse is nice and warm helping the lilies to bloom but the fields were just to cold for the daffs.
I have a family of shrews living in my small greenhouse. They are having a grand time dining on my early lisianthus, rosemary and campanula. I found a nice note thanking me for the gourmet salad bar. I rewarded them by putting out traps filled with peanut butter which April and Czara thought were great treats. Shrews 2 lissies 0. And 0 lissies is exactly what I will have if I can't find the shrews a nice vacation spot for the spring and summer season. Speaking of lissies I have another 2800 hundred plugs to plant, ( in anther cold frame without shrews). I just made a nice raised bed for them today and will start planting tomorrow. In a few months I will be over- flowing with lissies !
It seems strange but I have no flowers blooming now. I cut every flower I had for Easter. If the weather cooperates I should have plenty of flowers from the fields and the greenhouses for the opening of the Doylestown farmers market on April 19. Look for lilies, larkspur, iris, tulips, daffodils, spirea, campanula, ranunculus and maybe some azalea.
Mother's day promises lots and lots of pink and white lilies, ranunculus, campanula and maybe lilacs and viburnum. I will also have hanging baskets of begonia, hardy geranium and other mixed flowers. I will keep you updated on the varietes and bloom times of all the flowers .
Happy Spring!
In this, my first blog I 'd like to tell you about my new greenhouse! I have two cold frames but this is my first greenhouse with heat. Michael Harrison, from Garden Heritage, put it up for me with some help from Dylan, my son. We picked a cold, but wind free day in December to put the poly roof on and now I've planted every square inch of growing space available. I've planted 2,000 lilies, 600 tulips, 300 dutch iris, 300 iris reticulata, 100 brodeia, 1,000 daffodils and rows of ranunculus, larkspur, and blue and pink campanula. I grow the bulbs in black plastic crates. They 're heavy but otherwise easy to move. I already need another house because I've ordered too many lilies! What was I thinking? I hope we have a warm spring so I can put lilies in the big cold frame without any heat. Tough love, I know but what's a mom to do? Anyway, I will have lots of flowers in early spring when the farmers markets open.
I will also be selling bouquets here at the farm. As soon as the bulbs start blooming we will put up the canopy. Look for bouquets just before Easter.
To Pre-order Easter flowers contact kate.
215-345-7282
215-313-1429
The Doylestown farmers market will open on Saturday, April 19 and run every Saturday from 7:00 AM to 12:00 noon, through November 22. The market is located in downtown Doylestown boro, on Hamilton st. just behind the boro parking lot which borders State st. All the friendly farmers will be there showing off their early spring veggies, lettuce, baked goods, granola, fresh eggs and honey, you get the picture. Lots of good eats! Oh, and beautiful flowers too! Come check it out.
The food shed alliance, which sponsors the Wrightstown farmers market is still working on a new, permanent location for their market. I'm not sure when it will open but there is a possibility of using the Grange fair grounds as a pickup point for Saturday, March 22. If this works customers will be able to pick up food and flowers for Easter, March 23. I will keep you posted.
