Summer is winding down! Every week I wonder how many more blooms I’ll get this season. So far, I’ve made 26 bouquets (19 large; 7 small). Not a lot, but it’s my first summer growing cutting flowers. I’ve been experimenting and want to keep it fun. I probably could have produced more but:
- I intentionally left lots of flowers in the garden for the bees and butterflies. My pollinator garden is working! Butterflies, including monarchs; bumble bees, wasps (not necessarily welcome, but allowed), and our beloved honey bees have all been busy in the garden.
- I was lazy about “succession planting.” After getting my first batch of flowers in the ground, I never got around to planting anything else.
- I made some mistakes about the types of flowers I planted. Sunflowers make me happy, but they’re tall and block a lot of light. Plus, they aren’t “cut and come again.” They’re “one and done.” The cosmos were a bust. I’m not even sure I’ll do cosmos next year, regardless of the species. I like hardier looking flowers. I’ll repeat the Zinnias (both the giants and the green envy). Ditto for the Black Eyed Susans. In fact, I’d love to try other kinds: Cappuccino, Cherokee Sunset, Cherry Brandy… I’ll do marigolds again, because I love them, but need to find a different, LARGER variety. Next year, I’m wondering if I might be able to plant some late blooming, fall flowers, but what? Dahlias intimidate me. Goldenrod is great for bees, but not necessarily honey. I’ll have to do more research! In the meantime…
ENJOY THE LAST FEW DAYS OF SUMMER!
Jill and Craig have hundreds of blooms and tens of thousands of bees on their one acre patch of land in north Baltimore County. Come see them at the Hereford Farmers Market (Sept 14), the Perry Hall library (Sept 28), and the Hereford Fall Fest (Oct 19/20).
Windtree Bee 