It’s Saturday night in Ringoes, the house is finally quiet, and I’m currently riding that strange wave of post-holiday adrenaline and deep exhaustion. This past week was my very first Valentine’s Day as a flower farmer, and if I’m being honest, I’ve been feeling a little anxious about it all.
When you’re a one-woman show, it’s so easy to fall into the trap of comparing your rows to the massive, climate-controlled warehouses of commercial wholesalers. I have to constantly remind myself that Clumsy Goose Farm isn't meant to be a factory. We are a small, human-scale operation, and that "imperfection" is actually where the soul of the flowers lives.
The Great Tulip Experiment
I spent a lot of my time this week hovering over our winter tulips, wondering: Are they opening the way they should? Forcing bulbs indoors is as much a science as it is an art, and I’ve learned more in the last fourteen days than I did in months of reading.
I’d love to hear from you—how are your Valentine’s blooms behaving? Are they stretching toward the light in your kitchen? Are they dancing in the vase? Seeing how they perform in your homes is the final piece of the puzzle for me.
Looking Ahead to Easter
While I’m still scrubbing the dirt from under my fingernails from February, I’m already dreaming of Easter. This first run was the test; the next one is where the adventure begins. I’m feeling so much more confident heading into this second round of forcing. I know the quirks of my indoor setup now, and I’m ready to get a little more adventurous with varieties and timing.
Thank you for growing with me, for supporting this local dream, and for choosing flowers that have a story behind them.