A Flower Farmer’s Journal: Alliums, Ammi, Sweet Peas and Cake.
Journal snippets from an anthophilous flower farmer, living a flower-inspired life in Napa, California.
Anthophilous: adjective, attracted by or living among flowers (merriam-webster)
June 1, 2023: June has finally arrived. Where exactly May went I’m not sure. I walk the field at dusk, my favorite time to check the flower babes. The moon is rising and I’m surprised it’s almost full. I’d lost track. The Stellata scabiosa is going wild in the aisles. It’s like a flashmob of disco ball starflowers out there right now. Max dashes by chasing a bird and manages to dodge them all. I thank him. Heavy clouds of sweet pea scents drift by. The automatic chicken coop door goes down. The moon rises higher. I add harvest scabiosa to my mental task list, as I head back inside to read outloud for bedtime, The One and Only Ivan, which I highly recommend.
June 2, 2023: The order instructions said go big, go color, go drama. Like music to my ears, this one. I spy a perfectly sized purple allium and decide to use it as the focal point for all three goals. I add sweet peas, double ruffled stock, purple clary sage and two peonies in perfect bloom as big as my hand. Long stems of orlaya dance above the allium and a Honey Dijon rose bud joins the party too. I adore designing market wraps. Especially the dramatic ones.
June 3, 2023: It’s Saturday. Do-Day. The tasks have piled up impatiently during the week and it’s now a race against Sunday evening. But I feel an easing to the season that allows me to stop for a moment amidst the endless tasks. Admire a bloom or two. Weed, but then lay down and ‘earth-bathe’. Gaze up at the 7ft ammi against the blue sky. The spring intensity where I quit flowers at least twice a week is passing. There are less trays I need to keep alive…less seeds to sow…less planning to plan…more blooms to enjoy. Whoever placed a hammock under the persimmon tree, I thank you.
June 4, 2023: Sunday. Creative day. I have designated summer Sundays to be creative day for our family. So far, they’ve played along. Less work, more play, Sunday scaries begone. A new cake to be baked with my daughter. Grilling adventures to be explored with my son. A new flower arrangement to be made just for my own creative soul. These are our Sunday priorities this summer. I walk the aisles with fresh coffee in hand as the fields wake up. I take stock of what is peaking. The white ammi is stunning. I reach high on my tip toes to reach its lacey heads. I twirl it in my fingers and admire the flower kaleidoscope. I remember it was my daughter’s favorite last year, so I pick some extra ones just for her bedroom.
June 5, 2023: I have woken up with a head cold. I felt it coming on yesterday but stayed in denial. Why is rest so hard to actually do? But there is leftover pineapple upside down cake and it will both sustain me, and keep me company while I crawl back in bed to rest. I will be ok. The flowers will wait today.
June 6, 2023: The weather has turned yet again. Foggy, chilly and rainy today. What a wild spring it’s been for us. Rain in June, high of 65. The vineyard managers are freaking out, but my flowers sigh with sweet relief. Max curls up at my feet in bed, while the head cold still rages, and I sip ginger-lemon peel tea. I ponder the imaginary Flower Thief farm stand for the 1,456th time and decide that dried lemon peels from our 1960s heirloom tree, mixed with dried edible flowers from the farm, will be a perfect addition for the tea lovers that will shop there some day. I mentally add it to that growing list of some day, one day, will do…
Hope you are well Flower Thief Friends. Keep growing and dreaming. Always so glad to have you here. xo, E