As the first day of Summer dawns, we're thankful for the coming heat as the last of the Spring beds fall asleep. The beauty of this endeavor is seasons take on distinct smells, colors and textures. Spring is delicate and smells sweet. Summer booms bold with color, height and texture.

We are up to our eyeballs in snapdragons! Harvesting nearly 100 every day, the beds have peaked. There will be one or two more weeks of these beautiful spikes, but, as the temps continue to rise, we won't see another flush until Fall. While we're sad to see them go, we're really excited about the sunflowers, dahlias, and zinnias that are doubling in size every day.

This week our bouquets may include snapdragons, ageratum, yarrow, beautiful dianthus, statice and electric forget-me-nots. The wild treasure this week is fern. We foraged these from the four acres of dark forest that surround the flower fields. To us, a bouquet should not just represent the seasons, but also the landscapes where we live. We hope you enjoy!

Happy Solstice,
Laura Beth Dawson
Owner 

Identifying Your Flowers

• Ageratum* - Beautiful, round clusters of bright purple flowers with dark green, round foliage.
• Yarrow - Wide clusters (discs) of tiny white, pink or yellow florets.
• Forget-me-nots - Brilliant florets of electric blue. They almost glow!
• Sweet William Dianthus - Delicate, round clusters of white florets.
• Statice* - Wide, but narrow fins of tight colorful florets. 
• Snapdragons - Snapdragons!!! We're up to our eyeballs in snapdragons. We're harvesting hundreds every day. Long spikes of hooded florets.
• Sweet Annie - Dark, green airy foliage with a beautiful, sweet fragrance.

* Great varieties for drying.
 

Caring for Your Bouquet

Extending the life of your bouquet is easy; And it's reasonable to expect that your bouquet will thrive for 7 - 10 days after pickup. To extend the life of your bouquet follow these simple steps:

• Change the water every day
• Trim the stems with a sharp pair of scissors every 2 - 3 days
• Remove flowers that begin to fade 
• Snapdragons - pluck florets at the bottom of the spike as they begin to fade

Arranging Your Bouquet

When you place the bouquet in your choose of vase, don't be shy. Arrange and rearrange to your hearts content. We strongly encourage you to create an arrangement that fits your style. Maybe you like things more formal. Perhaps your gravitate to wild and untamed. It's okay. Flowers are the ultimate expression of beauty.
 

Drying Flowers

Some of the flowers in your bouquet make extraordinary dried flowers. We've marked them with an (*) in the Identification section above.

1) Remove them from the bouquet
2) Tie a string tightly around the stems
3) Hang in a cool, dark space for 1 - 2 months. A closet works perfectly.