I may be a little crazy, but I’ve decided to chase a flower dream.

It’s only the fragments of a dream I used to have: To own land, farm, and get back to nature. But maybe this dream is actually the perfect size, and it just took me a little time to come to that truth!

Last year was a hard year in many ways, but being out in my garden and caring for the flowers was so extremely calming, beautiful, and therapeutic. The blooms made me realize how much BEAUTY there is in the world if I just take the time to reach for it and nudge it towards growth. Yes, it takes some elbow grease and time, but what doesn’t? 

One of the things that I really loved about the flowers last year, was the exchange between myself and the plants. It almost felt like a relationship. I took care of the plants, and invested in them, and they gave me flower gifts. It was a back and forth, a give and take. A kind of communication and understanding about what each of us needed and a willingness to fill in those gaps.

But enough of my jabbering; it’s time to get down to business! I’m going to start off with about 800 square feet of in-ground garden space + three raised boxes + my backyard. I’d guess that comes up to about 1200 square feet of garden space this year, but I have a lot of extra room to expand into as needed—almost half a city block! (More details to come, plus a tour of my current and future growing spaces!)

But this year I’m not tilling up the entire area, mostly because 1) I’m staying within my budget, 2) the area is terrifyingly visible, and 3) I don’t have buyers set up yet. All challenges I’ll be tackling this year!

Budget:

I’m flying rather blind as far as expenses go. I have what I believe is a reasonable budget saved up and set aside, but honestly I’m not even sure how much it will cost to water the plants during the summer months!

I’ve already purchased flower seeds and dahlia tubers (along with the 200 or so tubers I divided and saved last fall), so that’s a plus! I also already have enough gardening tools to get by. But I’ll have to purchase extra grow lights and shelves, the soil needs amended and cared for, and I need to buy metal stakes and string to corral the rows of dahlias. Flower arrangements will also have supply expenses. There may be pest situations to attack with a fury before they get out of hand. (Last year I debated bringing in assassin bugs to fight a round of spider mites, but settled on neem oil…) And of course, there are all those little unanticipated purchases that manage to pop up along the way!

Hopefully next year I’ll have a better handle on things and a bit more cash to spend! But here in year one, I’m running everything on estimates. Always fun!

Visibility:

Visibility is an interesting factor. I’m in the middle of the city, so houses are all around. It adds pressure, but pressure isn’t always a bad thing! I don’t want to embarrass the neighbors or incur the wrath of the “block queen” (aka the neighborhood association president :)). The usual freedom to let things get a little messy in your work area (because nobody sees it anyway!) won’t be there. But there’s also a sense of joy. I love this little neighborhood, and I’m very much looking forward to bringing color and beauty to an area that has been under utilized. Last year, even with my row and a half of dahlias, I had people stop by when I was working to admire the blooms. I loved sharing them with one neighbor’s little granddaughters and with another neighbor who is mostly confided to her house (but her eagle eye sees everything from her porch!). I’m hoping my gardens will be a bright spot (literally and figuratively!) in our neighborhood.

Buyers:

This is a big unknown. I have a lot of ideas about how to market flowers, who to talk to, how to approach buyers, but I have no idea if my plans will work. Or whether my original idea will morph into something else. I’ll post more at some point about my strategies and ideas for moving things from simply flower growing to flower selling. That will be the real test or whether this idea becomes a business or remains a hobby. I do have one event lined up to supply flowers for this summer, but as of right now, that’s it! Finding buyers will certainly be a challenge, but I’m not one to give up when the going gets tough!

I guess that’s as good a place to start as any. Here’s a quick peek at one of my growing spaces, with the beginning of its fall cover crop! I’ll do a complete tour of all three planting beds in a future post.

Thanks for reading! I hope you’re finding the beauty in today!