It’s insane to think that just a handful of weeks ago our field was speckled with color and alive with dahlias. Now the field is soggy as the snow from an unseasonably heavy storm devoured us a few days ago. Definitely more than the one to three inches predicted, more like fourteen inches... It was one of those nights where I peeked out the window and couldn’t go back to sleep knowing we were only halfway done with getting all the dahlia clumps out and still had thousands of bulbs and corms to get in the ground. Not a good feeling but this is the life of being a flower farmer; Gather all the information you can and working within your confines. It is atypical for us to see such a heavy snow in early November. Obviously not impossible, just unlikely. We’ll just call it 2020, the year of extremes, up to its shenanigans again.

I poke fun at the year 2020 and its wild roller coaster of a ride, that has impacted every human on the planet. Really though, we’ve had a pretty great year from a business standpoint, thanks to our amazing community. As we come to a close on our fifth growing season, which was our most successful and busiest yet, we really can’t complain. We were able to bring bounty and beauty to our community when it was needed most. During lock-down, we door dashed many bouquets like ninjas leaving blooms on their doorsteps. At a time when people were stir crazy and lonely, we brought them some beauty. A way to connect them with other humans and nature. We gave them something small to look forward to while so much had been taken away. Being able to do this allowed us to escape our minds for a second, giving us hope and much needed human interaction (even if it was just over text or through a screened door). It gave us a tidbit of normalcy in a world where it was anything but. A small distraction for even our young girls who still had waves of sadness crashing down on them as they missed their friends and teachers.

Back in March, just like everyone else, we didn’t know what was around the corner for us. We questioned whether we should even bother planting flowers? However, at the time we were heavily committed to orders of tubers and plugs that we were going to arrive in a mere few weeks. These orders we had to place back in fall 2019, one of the gambles of being a grower. We still had weddings on the books at that time, as well as bouquet subscriptions we had pre-sold. Yet, gatherings were being limited (good bye weddings) and the small businesses hosting as our subscription pickups were mandated closed (hello home deliveries). We were told to stay home, and were getting used to the idea of essential versus the non essential businesses. Thankfully we had been considered essential but we were watching other flower farms in the country have their essential status taken away. We had to pivot and make a decision quick. We also had to move on as if nothing would change. After all, we had commitments and at that time there wasn’t enough reason to assume cancellations months down the line. We were still in the window of having to grow those flowers: sow them, transplant them. Such a weird space to be in. We were also seeing hardship in the imported cut flower industry. What was the aftermath of all that going to look like for us? Good? Bad? Both? Would it affect us being able to purchase our seeds and corms, after all seed shortages were happening. We may have missed the rush on toilet paper but boy, at least we beat out the seed one!!

Ultimately, we decided to more than triple our growing space. We had a feeling that was the right direction to go in. Not only to grow more blooms than we ever had but to also add vegetables. Adding vegetables to our product offerings did a few things. First off, on a personal level we missed fresh vegetables and depending on global food chain didn’t seem to be wise. Plus, locally grown vegetables are more nutrient dense and taste a heck of a lot better! Though we are small scale growers, we wanted to be able to supply some vegetables to our community. Adding vegetables also would cement us in as an essential business, no matter what we would be able to get those flowers and veggies to our customers.

We definitely had to make some quick decisions as we pivoted in the chaos. Still, even offering vegetables we didn’t know what to expect. We didn’t have that many sign ups for our spring subscription. Weddings looked to be cancelling, though we still continued to sow those seeds. We figured it was going to be a slower season. After all, where do flower stand in the middle of a pandemic? We planned on building and working on some bigger projects.

Then all of a sudden… things took off.

Days from late March through just a couple weeks ago is now a blur in my memory. Seed sowing, planting out, harvesting on mad repeat. After spring, when people started getting back into their normal routines, it continued to pick up for us.

All our subscriptions and vegetable share spots stayed at over capacity. We did not anticipate the hunger our community would have for fresh flowers, fresh produce and to support a small local business. To be honest, we’re still stunned. Even now, our spots for the 2021 season are quickly filling up. It is exciting, incredibly humbling and completely unexpected. We weren’t sure if we were going to survive this season with all the world’s happenings but now, we get to go another year!

This past season has also been a tiring year. Twelve to Fourteen hour days were not uncommon these last eight months. From sun up to past sundown the workload had drastically increased. The most break we seemed to take was when we went to bed for the night. Even with a majority of our weddings moving to next year, we still were knee deep in work. Days of opening row, after row and planting in each one meant ultimately harvesting from each one. Packaging. Assembling. Delivering. Let’s just say, when the kill frost finally came a couple weeks ago our girls did a celebratory song and dance! It has been a wonderful season but it has also been a long and tiring one as well. Good problems to have, but we’re also relieved to have things winding down.

Though, things are still very far from done.

As we speak, the snow clinging to the ground outside isn’t the only thing making it feel like Holiday season. As I type this, the house smells of fresh pinecones as I batch bake them in the oven to prepare them for swags and wreaths. Now it is time to replace our sun hats with elf ones as we begin wreath making and potting up hundreds of amaryllis for deliveries before Thanksgiving. Personally, I look forward to this time of year where I get to well… get crafty! Having fun pulling all sorts of ingredients together and make charming creations from simple evergreen branches and dried flowers. I’m also looking forward to getting to play Santa as we go deliver the goodies.

Still, we are far from being able to set our muck boots aside as there is much to take care of in the field. This past week we have been scrapping snow off dahlias, digging them and bagging them up for storage in the garage. At this point, I only have a tail end of a row left to get out of the ground but hundreds of dahlia clumps to divide. We also will be busy tucking in all the tulips, fancy daffs, peonies (so excited to be adding Etched Salmon!), freesia and more. It is the time of year where we hustle to get last minute planting out, lots of low tunnel building and seed starting some spring favorites to let them grow slow and cold in the field and propagation house alike.

Before the snow storm officially rolled in, Graham and I did take a minute to film how we lift those clumps. We talk about timing, how to approach it, some tasks to take care prior to a kill frost or preparing to lift. Well, now that it’s dark by five outside, it’s content creating time! That video should be edited and out soon, it may be too late for some but still relevant and helpful for others! We had to take a long break from writing blogs and filming due to the demands of the growing season but are thrilled to be back at it and hopefully will have some good content coming soon! With so many tasks to tackle, we are looking forward to bringing you along!

We hope that whether you are a flower farmer or just a flower lover that you were able to find some light in the dark of the 2020 year. Remember to take the time to smell the flowers, hold onto the good and love your fellow people.

Farm Update: Putting the farm to sleep for the winter

Sierra Flower Farm

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