Happy Monday evening, I hope all is well in your world. It’s certainly been a bit busy over here – but when isn’t it busy!?

What’s in the ground…? So far around 800’ish

• Snap Dragons – mix color & the Dark Prince from The Chocolate Flower Farm in Langley
• Lisianthus
• Fever Few (three different kinds)
• Asters
• Strawflowers (sooooo many!!)
• Statice (Pastel Blue, White, Yellow, Rose & Russian)
• Stock
• Grasses: Mexican Feather Grass, Feather Top, Frosted Explosion
• Artichokes
• Marigold Beast
• White Marigolds
• Bee Balm
• Salvia, Blue Monday Sage
• Campanulas
• Calendula
• Star Flower
• Queen Anne’s Lace
• Cress
• Golden Balls
• Honey wart-Pride of Gibraltar

In the new perennial garden: around 35’ish total — not of each….

• Delphiniums
• Dusty Miller
• Yarrow (yes I planted more to add to the 16 that were coming up, I added red, a white diamond and a Queen C (something or rather that’s pink)
• Jacob’s Ladder
• Dianthus
• Two different kinds of Phlox

What’s waiting in the greenhouse…? around 700’ish in trays that obviously I will not be planting all of….

• Amaranths: Golden Giant, Red Spike, Hot Biscuits, Coral Fountain & Burgundy
• More Cress
• Zinnias (8 different kinds)
• Cosmos (13 different kinds) I’m not sure if it’s an unhealthy amount….lol…it might be a bit excessive, but I will sell the ones I don’t need/want/can’t fit?
• Dragon’s Head
• Hyssop
• Maximillian Sunflowers (yes, I have over 72 of those that spouted….soooo freaking excited!! Lot of people will be getting those as gifts this year!!)
• More Marigold Beast
• Giant Yellow Marigolds
• More White Marigolds
• Baptisa
• Lupines
• Several different kinds of Celosia
• Sunflowers
• Basil (3 different kinds)
• Mountain Mint
• Spearmint

I still have Glads & Dahlias to go in — Not only mine from last year, but I bought some and my friend Tonya of Mountain View Flower Farm gave me some Polar Bear White Glads and some dark chocloate colored Dahlias that she grew from seed from — you guessed it — the Choloate Flower Farm!

I’m certain that I’ve missed something, but it will be okay. And literally – friends – honest to Pete – I stood there looking at my garden and thought to myself – I have no flowers….I have nothing to make a bouquet with. I started to fret and furrow, and stress….it’s ridiculous! If I don’t have anything to make flower bouquets out of after starting over 1,000 seeds, then there is something most certainly wrong with me!!

Of course I have things to make bouquets out of, but nothing big….like a show stopper, like a Lily, or hydrangea, or….what else would be a focal point? Well, actually, I do have Lilys, I’m hoping they come back anyhow. So far, they are up and out of the ground, so hopefully, those will be happening for me this year. As usual, it will all work out. I should look back at the bouquets last year and see what I used as focal points…. I know I used sunflowers a few times. I followed the advice of Lisa Mason Zigler at The Gardeners Workshop, and started sunflower seeds indoors. I was supposed to plant more, but haven’t gotten to it yet….so there might be a lull in producation, but I will get on it this week-I’m only one person with the help of two every now and then!

I do have three spring subscriptions that are sputtering along. I’ve been able to do two of them with my beautiful daffodils, but not the third. I just started the third this weekend, the Lilacs are in full swing, but I ended up having to have help from a wholesaler with some fillers, and this week I will have a bit of help from Carolyn, and maybe Tonya. I will be taking two weeks off after this, hoping that my Stock will be blooming by the end of the month?!! We shall see!

I was trying to recall why I wanted to do subscriptions….then I remembered that I have flowers, and have a lot of them come bloom time, and people do not buy from my stand because I’m so far out of the way, having the subscriptions helps me share the flowers and earn a bit of cash to support my flower habit. I know I said I was only going to do 10 this year…did I say 10 or was it 6….I don’t remember, but I do know I have 11….some are weekly, some are bi-weekly. I have some sort of a system in my book…that I hope I don’t mess up?!! The super nice thing is….my people are amazing, and patient, and kind and tell me “whenever….no worries…and we love your flowers”. I’m trusting that more and more!

The irrigation isn’t in yet, Joe has been extremely busy with work, it’s all he can do to keep up with the planting of the trees and mowing of the lawns, and now he has a cold that our grandson gifted him…but it will happen. I’m happy it will be in soon, but I will not fret about it too much yet. I think my niece and I will get more in the ground this week. I watered with a hose last night, and am thankful that we have an irrigation system that will be put in soon, I wouldn’t be able to haul the hose around the place without pushing down and breaking flowers all along the way – fighting hoses isn’t my favorite things to do….

We had the grands Friday and Saturday night, then a lunchen date with a friend in town on Sunday, so not much happened in the garden, but the lawn did get mowed, and two filbert trees were put in the ground, and I did get a few things in the perrennial garden. It will all come together. It will be okay….I think…if it’s not, we will think it always should have been?

We certainly enjoyed the time with the grands, lots of play time in the yard, went to a park, stocked grandmas flower stand, picked up money from grandmas flower stand, planted some flowers for their mom, made cards to go with the flowers, ate some yummy food, rode bikes, fed chickens, played in the sand pit (which is now called the arm pit becasue the three year-old called it that) and of course read some books! They do not sit still long enough to have a pj & movie night, but they love bathtime and story time, so that’s good!

Lily-Bean is doing well. She’s up to 11 pounds 2 ounces – eating, growing and pooping – all good, healthy important things to do! Her blood work has been coming back within normal ranges. She had her two month check up today, she is a bit delayed in the gross motor skills, but that is to be expected. She is right on with the other things on the chart (which, don’t ask me what they are, because it’s been a hot minute since I’ve had a 2 month old!) The doctor cannot find her reflexes in her legs, my daughter asked about it on the SMA page, but coudln’t really get a straight answer – because it’s unknown – nobody knows, it’s only guessing at this point – because everyone is different. She isn’t holding her head up much yet, but it appears she might be making some progress with that. There are so many things that go along with SMA – it’s not just the legs that get fatiqued, the lungs, digestive system, vocal cords…so much that can be impacted by it, but we have no clear answers as to what level Lily-Bean will be dealing with yet. It’s a wait and see, love her every day she is here, and love her just the way she is. We are looking forward to the day that we get to babysit her & read stories to that little peanut!

I took tonight off from much of everthing, with all the running around and doing stuff, I decided to only work today, came home to gaze upon my babies in the greenhouse, dream and pull a few things a friend ordered from me, and sit on the couch to eat chocolate covered almonds and blog….while Joe sniffels and snorts his way though this cold, poor guy! Awe the joys of germ carriers…..hopefully it goes as quickly as it did for the little one.

Well, I best get a move on. Until next time my friends, hugs to you!