Weeks 10-13, 2025: life happened
Hi there! I wish I could tell you I’m behind on posting because I was away on a wonderfully restorative vacation, but sadly that’s not the case. Do you ever experience a run of bad luck? You know, when a bunch of things happen in a short amount of time and you wonder, What the heck is going on? Without going into specifics, 2025 has been a bit unkind, but even through stressful times I try to remember that it can almost always be worse. Remembering that we have a roof over our heads, food in our bellies and our health (in general) puts things into perspective. It reminds me that everything passes eventually, good and bad. Just breathe, do what you can and move on. As March comes to a close I feel optimistic that “the spell” has been broken and that the days ahead will be brighter.
They already are, in fact. Now, on March 29th, the ranunculus are growing beautifully in the greenhouse this year despite some really cold overnight temps the last couple of weeks. Though they’re planted in a double wall greenhouse (unheated) they do require two layers of frost cloth and a layer of 6 mil plastic to avoid freezing. If that does happen (and it has) the corms are safe because the ground hasn’t frozen, but if the foliage freezes solid it dies off and the corms send up new growth a couple of weeks later. Not the end of the world, but it does set the plant back a bit, which isn’t ideal since we want them to bloom before it gets too hot. Interestingly, I’ve had the foliage freeze in the past, and by the afternoon had revived, and I suspect it’s because they weren’t frozen solid all night, but rather for a short amount of time in early morning. My theory, anyway.
So, to catch up on the blog let me take you back on what’s been happening the last few weeks. It’ll be the fastest/easiest way for me to get back on track, and these days time is definitely limited!
Week 10 - March 2-8: This week I started soil blocks of Forever Silver (white), Pink Pokers and Apricot statice. This is the first succession of three plantings of statice. I’ve found I can never have enough for fresh bouquets, and it’s invaluable as a dried flower. This round will be ready for the first bouquets of the bi-weekly subscription, which starts at the end of July and runs through the end of September. I also started the first of two rounds of Ageratum, which I love as a filler with sunflowers of all colours. That vibrant purple/blue brings a pop of colour that looks good with any shade of sunflower. I’ve eliminated a lot of fussy fillers over the last couple of years but this isn’t one of them. It’s hardy, prolific and has a decent vase life. I also started the first tomatoes for the greenhouse (Brandywine and Super Sweet), fertilized the plants and created more dried bouquets.
Week 11 - March 9 -15: March break! The first trays of Ranunculus (Salmone, Rosa, Crema and Marshmallow) were planted out in the greenhouse. I started peppers for our family’s vegetable garden (Early Calwonder, Hungarian Yellow Sweet Banana, Pimento and Summer Red, for interest’s sake), and a couple different varieties of spinach and kale for an early greenhouse planting. I've not grown a ton of vegetables in the past (save for tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchini, which grow reliably for me), but with each passing year my interest in growing them seems to expand. I think earlier attempts of other favourites like cabbage and cauliflower left me feeling so defeated I thought, What’s the point if they’re just going to get decimated? But, after five seasons of dealing with pests, I’m not so intimidated by them anymore. Pests will always be present in the garden, and it’s a matter of figuring out how to minimize the damage. (Planting “bait” plants, like sweet peas for aphids, companion planting and not planting one variety of something in one location has all helped minimize damage by pests.)
This year I’m bringing Celosia back into the mix. I didn’t grow any last year and I found myself missing it. This week I sowed seeds of Flamingo Feather, Pampas Plume (old seed, excellent germination) and Shimmer into soil blocks (180 blocks to a tray). I also started more tomatoes: Chocolate Cherry, Early Girl and Yellow Pearshaped, as well as Sweet Neon Purple Dianthus. I’m a big fan of Dianthus as a filler flower; it smells amazing, is prolific (blooms reliably for about a month) and has an excellent vase life when cut at the right stage (a few petals open on the flower).
According to my notes (thank goodness for those, because I’ve already forgotten what I did two weeks ago!) I also started San Marzano tomatoes, Rainbow blend peppers and Bloomsdale and Butterflay spinach. I am so excited about trying spinach this year. It’s my absolute favourite vegetable, one that I try to get a daily dose of, and I’m eager to see how it grows with an early planting out in the greenhouse.
Week 12 - March 16-22: I started soil blocks of Silver Rose strawflower, Vintage White and Bright Rose. Some of the seed is new, and some of it is from last year. Strawflower is one of those seeds that doesn’t age well and should be purchased new each year. To top it off, some of those packets from Johnny’s had a germination rate of 62%! Safe to say I double seeded each block, and even then the germination has been poor. I’ve since started more, and will likely have to make a last-minute order from Stems to top off what I have because I want a LOT of strawflower this year.
The second succession of Bupleurum was sown in soil blocks, moistened, and brought out to the cooler, where it’s sitting on the cold floor (mimicking the outdoors) in darkness. I tried this method after listening to a Gardener’s Workshop podcast, and it worked beautifully. I had more Bupleurum than I needed, which is always a good thing. Turns out it dries really well and can also be used in dried bouquets.
Ageratum #2 was started, a 128-cell tray of Snow on the Mountain Euphorbia (one of the few foliage I grow from seed now), and soil blocks of Corelli Lavender, Voyage White and Arena Red lisianthus were potted up to 128-cells. Long overdue, admittedly.
Week 13 - March 23-29: I started more strawflowers this week and did a quick inventory of my Cornel Bronze dahlia tubers, which are in amazing shape. I have about a 95% success rate this year and am now swimming in this variety. I’m glad I didn’t order more, which is what I sometimes do because, let’s face it, things can go wrong during the long storage season and it’s a “premium” crop. That being said, I was feeling confident that I had a good system down (rinse, dry in early November, store in crates in cooler until I have time to divide after wreath season, and store in wood chips in a closed container in our basement.)
This week I received my Van Noort perennial/shrub/dahlia order, and am now in the midst of inspecting and watering before potting up. Most of what I ordered is for personal landscaping projects, but some will double as back-up for the business. By “back-up” I mean it’s really comforting to have a wide selection of perennials and shrubs to rely on as “cuts” when things go wrong in the annual flower garden. As the cool kids say, If you know you know. (Actually, the cool kids write IYKYK, but whatever…). This year’s “investment” incuded 120 lavender plants: Grosso, Phenomenal and Super Blue. It’s always been a favourite of mine, and I’m eager to include them in both our landscaping and in the cut flower garden. Who doesn’t love lavender, after all?
So, that’s been March. Apologies for the information dump. but this was the only reasonable way for me to catch up at this point. I sure am eager to welcome a new month, even if it’s the messiest one of the year! I can picture it so clearly: the snow melting off the greenhouse, drip, drip, drip: the sun streaming through the windows overhead as I sift through the dirt, potting up tomatoes, eucalyptus and anything else that has outgrown its home: a cup of tea. Maybe I’ll work in silence, as I so often do, or maybe I’ll listen to a playlist. Sometimes it’s REM, The Hip, or some random 80s greatest hits mix if I feel like dancing. (Africa, by Toto, will always get me out of a slump - try to stay angry or frustrated or sad, I dare you.)
See you next week. No, really, I promise.
🤎🤎🤎
~ Liisa
