Thinking about summer flowers in January

January is a funny time to be writing a newsletter about a flower farm, but it  is  also the time of year that I think about New Year resolutions and heading into my second season of growing cut flowers, it is potentially an opportunity for many goals and resolutions. Resolutions are something I have always embraced. It is my family’s tradition to gather round on New Year’s Eve and read last year’s resolutions and make new ones for the coming year. We always self-assess which ones we feel like we’ve achieved. I’ve usually fallen far short! Along with the growing fad and in keeping with the research about how hard change is for humans, we’ve moved toward setting intentions rather than goals.  I wonder if it is really just a case of semantics, but I like the idea of imagining the kind of person I want to be, rather than the milestones I will achieve.  

Thinking about August flowers

This year I’m adding a wrinkle. Rather than simply imagining the ideal version of me, I want to think about what I’ve learned over the past year and use it to inform my intentions for the year.  The biggest lesson I’ve learned as a “new to the industry” cut flower grower is that no matter how generous other farmers are with information (and they are extraordinarily so), no matter how much reading and research I do on my zone and my crops, every situation is completely unique. My soil (compacted), my location (shielded from the wind), and my weather patterns (last season flooding rains followed by scorching drought) all mean that I have to find my own answers. Although hardy in my zone, snapdragons did not want to overwinter in my soggy field. Another lesson.

While there are lessons about flower farming in there, there are also lessons for life. No one, no matter how well-intentioned, can learn for you or protect you from mistakes. Sure, it is important to solicit and listen to advice, to search out experts, to read and to think, but ultimately, my experiences and circumstances have a lot to do with the flower growing (and life) decisions that I make.

I’m looking forward to the 2023 flower growing season, to all the beautiful blooms, and to the many, many mistakes I will inevitably learn from.  The beginning of 2023 has me looking forward to sharing with you the flowers that grow when I get it right.