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I think I’ve written here numerous times about how Summer is my favorite season and when it comes to an end I always struggle with a little bit of sadness. I love sunshine, green grass, flowers and summer rain more than just about anything! But mostly I really love the fresh cut flower business that my daughter and I have and even though I am exhausted from the last four months of hard work, it is hard to tell our garden goodbye for the season.
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I thought I would keep it alive today and share some of my favorite pictures from the summer. Honestly, we don’t do too great about taking pictures of our day to day work in the garden because we are so busy! But we do take daily pictures of the flowers and the bouquets that we post to our social medial accounts.
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We grow many varieties of Sunflowers and they are always a big hit!
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My personal favorite is all the old Heirloom Zinnias though. I can’t get enough of them!
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The garden might be our favorite place to spend ours mornings!
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This is our covered work area for arranging bouquets. And the curtains serve a purpose in keeping the sun from blasting us. We made them out of painters drop cloth when our husbands built our work shed about 5 years ago and they are holding up perfectly. They are super useful… and they look cute too!
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My grand-girls are at the age where they are a great help in the garden now. We rely on them for a lot! (Curtains closed here to keep the sun out.)
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When the sunflowers are so tall that even a ladder is hard to reach them… and you have a little girl that can drive the Ranger better than any of us… then this is how you pick sunflowers!
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Tagging bouquets to place on the flower stand.
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Our perfect little jar filling station!
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When visitors come for a weekend, you put them to work!
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Most of our mornings are foggy. It’s such a magical time!
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All Fourth of July bouquets get a flag! They are such a hit that they are purchased out of our hands before we can get them on the flower stand!
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Don’t you agree that Zinnias are beyond beautiful? Their colors are so rich and vibrant and they last in a jar of water for over a week. Our customers love them.
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We even have a reservation box on the back of the flower stand for bouquets that have been reserved. We charge a little more for these and most days we have a lot of reservations to fill.
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And of course Belle is with us every single day!
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A full load of flowers headed to the flower stand.
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And last… but most definitely not least! Our amazing flower stand stocked full of flowers! (Do you see Belle? She would spend all day right there, greeting customers as they come!)
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I hope you enjoyed a glimpse into our cut flower garden and our summer of flowers. We’ll be tilling up all the plants soon and planting a cover crop of clover and wheat. And then the gate will be shut until Spring arrives! Until then, we will soak in the slow days of Winter and make all the sweet plans for next Spring!
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Until our gravel roads cross again…. so long.
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Dori
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I love reading about your flower business and seeing your gorgeous pictures!
Such a beautiful send off to a awesome season!! And YES, those heirloom Zinnias are stunning!
Thank you for sharing a behind the scenes glimpse I to your corner of the world!!
Your pictures are so beautiful! Thank you for sharing ❤️
BEAUTIFUL! Thank you so very much!
The flower stand is awesome! Such a great idea to use an old truck bed. A friend and I stopped by a You Pick cut flower place on a weekend trip this year. It was their last weekend and the owner let us pick a huge bucket full. It was so much fun! Since then, all I can think about is flowers and how they made us so happy. At this time, I am researching ideas and plans and I am “really” contemplating the cut flower business. I have a ton of questions. Would you, have time to answer a few of them? Thanks in advance.
Lori
Oh Dori … your flower stand and the flowers are so lovely! Of course, it’s hard to close down at the end of the season. What I miss most about the winter months is the lack of color, flowers included. All will be well! Soon it will be time to quilt and enjoy the cold days of winter and the cozy indoors!
Always your beautiful flowers bring a smile to my face!
This looks heavenly! I am definitely a summer person too.
My flowers this year were outstanding. Several of my sidewalks
were blocked off by over-achieving cosmos and zinnias.
So happy you shared your photos with us. They will be a
great pick-me-up during the dark days of winter!
Thank you for sharing your beautiful story! Your flower gardens are amazing. The design of the boxes you carry the bouquets in…very clever. Sure wish I lived nearby. I’d be a loyal customer!
I agree, zinnias are the best..Flowers always put a smile on everyones face..
Good morning, Dori. This post was such a fun read. I love flowers too, but I only cut roses and leave the rest to enjoy as I walk thru my small gardens. Your “little” set up is an inspiration to me. I’m thinking of setting up a small veg. garden stand for garden overflow. We live on a busy road, and have pull off parking, so I thought people could help themselves on the honor system with proceeds going to the local Salvation Army. I volunteer at the S. A. thrift store here in Watertown, SD. Any thoughts or pointers you could give me would be appreciated! Thank you for the lovely photos on this cold snowy morning! Nanette
PS: I grew Zinnias this summer and the flowers last really long on the plants. How do you keep your plants from getting leaf mildew?
What a great life! Just gorgeous, thanks for sharing. Happy fall!
Those sunflowers!
I’ve always wanted a flower garden for cutting but no longer have my 36 acre home.
Any suggestions for doing it on less than an acre?
Dori,
So beautiful! I share your love for zinnias. Your garden and arrangements are an inspiration and a dream of mine to have on a small scale someday. Keep posting your lovely pictures. Thanks so much for sharing!
Beth
Love your blog. Just started following you. My mom raised perinnials and sold them for years to other garden centers so having flowers to cut and bring in the house has been in my life for as long as I can remember. We grow zinnias every year as I love them as well. Love the different colors and shapes of the blooms. I just grow the variety and never know what I’m getting but they make me happy. I also love sunflowers but don’t seem to get the small ones. HA I end up with HUGE blooms so not for a vase. Thank you for sharing your story. Maybe when I travel through your state I’ll have to stop by.
Thank you. Such a bright and happy read to start my day!
Beautiful! You inspire me to look for heirloom zinnias next year for my garden. Thanks for posting beautiful flower pictures, it snowed over 7 inches here (Minnesota) yesterday.
Love your zinnias…I don’t have much luck with these up here in British Columbia – it must be very calming working in the flower gardens surrounded by the beautiful farmlands, especially in the early mornings !
Beautiful photos, I totally love your flower stand.
Just beautiful — all of you! A true labour of love!
These are such beautiful creations! I feel better just looking at the pictures. 🙂
What a wonderful way to spend summers.
Beautiful flowers. I especially love the Fourth Of July Bouquets. Thank You for sharing these lovely photos. Your granddaughters are getting so big.
Marilyn
I so enjoy a “visit ” to your flower garden and stand. God bless.
Love the photos. Belle is adorable! I have a Maggie. She is a sweetheart and loves me the most. So fun!
Love the flowers. Just gives me so many ideas of planting more next season. I’ve come to believe I am better at flowers than vegies. I use a 1950 front bumper of an old bus and set flower pots behind. turned out quite nice this year. For three yeas now I have petunia’s that grow on their own around the front of our trailer house.
How beautiful your flower gardens are. They are all worth your labor.
Dori, I have a quilting question for you.
I am saving almost all of my husbands shirts. He died 2 weeks ago an I am struggling with the loss. I have never made a quilt but I was thinking of using the fabrics from some of his shirt to make one.
Do you have any recommendations for a beginner? I have a sewing machine. I would love to honor my husband by making a small quilt – maybe lap size.
Thank you for your help.
God bless,
Elaine
Well, this is my first time reading this. I love her name, because it is close to mine, I love the heirloom zinnias, I would like to know how to grow those, because I cannot get them to grow very well myself, and I love your sheltie. Mine have all passed, and I need another one in my life. Thanks for sharing