Bouquet Subscriptions for 2024
The 2024 subscription shop is open
Have farm-fresh cut flower bouquets delivered to your door weekly, or bi-weekly. Choose from three seasons or sign up for all three!
Early Spring – March and April deliveries
Spring to Summer – May and June deliveries (No deliveries June 7th or 11th – come see us during the Richland county Ag+Art Tour on Saturday June 8th)
Late Summer to Fall – Mid- August to mid-October (No deliveries August 30th or September 3rd, Labor Day Weekend)
We use a contactless delivery approach. Please leave a vase or a bucket of fresh water out for us and we will leave your flowers there for you. Flowers vary with each delivery. We pick the best of the harvest to include in your bouquets.
Subscriptions also make a great gift. We offer two ways to give a gift subscription:
Order the subscription directly. When ordering as a gift, simply provide the delivery name and address within our service area that you want us to use. In the comments, please let us know if you will let the recipient know or if you would like us to announce your gift via email.
Order an e-gift card. This allows the recipient to decide on the details when they use the gift card to purchase a subscription. Gift cards are good for the year of purchase only.
We can schedule deliveries around vacations-no problem. Customer satisfaction is fully guaranteed.
This service is available in the following zip codes: 29201, 29204, 29205,29206,29209, 29016, 29045, 29169, 29223, 29229
A limited number of subscriptions are available. Subscriptions are closed when sold-out for the season.
Holiday Bulbs and Greens - Last Call!
Many thanks to those of you who came out to our open house last weekend. It was fun to meet some of our followers face to face for the first time and to see old friends too.
If you couldn’t make it, we will be at the Christkindl Market at Doko Meadows on Saturday, December 9th with amaryllis, paperwhites and greenery bouquets. This is a really big market with lots of local makers. Don’t miss it!
Christkindl Market
Saturday, December 9, 2023
10:00am-7:00pm
Doko Meadows Park, 171 Langford Rd, Blythewood, SC 29016, USA
Join us for our 2nd Annual Christkindl Market in conjunction with the Blythewood Chamber of Commerce!
Live Nativity Scene
Arts & Crafts Vendors
Seasonal Baked Goods
Gluhwein and Beirgarten
Food Trucks
Santa Land
That’s it for now! We hope that you are blessed with a joyful holiday season. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Linda
Our Holiday Open House is Tomorrow!
We are so excited to welcome you to the farm for our Holiday Open House tomorrow, December 1, from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm! We will have our paperwhite and amaryllis bulbs for sale as well as forcing kits, which include the bulb and a nursery pot and soil. The forcing kits make great gifts for those who have a busy travel schedule over the holidays. The bulb will stay fairly dormant until it is planted and water is added. I will be closing the online store today and will open it back up on Friday, after the open house is over. We don’t want to oversell and risk disappointment!
At the open house, we will have a selection of potted up bulb gardens for easy holiday preparation or gift giving. Along with amaryllis and paperwhites, these can include some succulents and angel wing begonia so that you have something to keep your “need for green” going through the winter. We can also help you fill your own container, if you have something special that you use for the holidays.
We are also making greenery bouquets. I love doing these for the holidays. Since most of us use artificial trees these days, a vase of fresh greenery can be just the thing to get the holiday scent going at home. Some also use the greens around the house to enhance their other decorations.
Mary Ann Adams from One Hubcap Farm will also be there with her gorgeous wreaths! She will have a variety of sizes available. She can also take orders for later pick-up if you don’t find what you are looking for.
Tina Hall-Franklin from T2K Java will also be there with her hot cocoa and coffee to keep us warmer. She also sells her coffee beans. Tina has a portable pop-up shop so think of her for your events too!
The weather will be a little cooler tomorrow so you may want to wear an extra layer! More like the holiday weather I grew up with so happy for a little chill this time of year. We will be on the front porch of the processing shed, so covered but outside.
We hope to see you there!
Linda
Fall Bulbs Make Spring Blooms
Our Fall Bulb Shop is Live
We know that some of you flower lovers are gardeners too. We are happy to bring some harder to find and high-quality bulbs to our community so that you can share in the joy of growing these beauties. Here are things that you can order from our website:
Anemone
Narcissus
Ranunculus
We also have Amaryllis and Paperwhites available on the Bulb Shop again this year.
If you don’t have much gardening experience, I highly recommend trying Amaryllis or Paperwhites for the holidays. They are one of the easiest things to grow and can be grown indoors so that they bloom in December or January when it is harder to get outside.
I really enjoy seeing the photos that people send me of their bulbs in bloom. They bring such joy and there is such excitement for those who are trying for the first time. Here are a few examples:
Beginner Judy H.
Beginner Lynn E.
Seasoned Grower Karen T.
Seasoned Grower Susie
Seasoned Grower Becky H.
On the Farm
The dahlias have been good this year. We tried a few new varieties which we liked and will use again. You will probably recognize these if you had a fall bouquet subscription. They will continue to bloom until the first frost, which is usually around Halloween here in the Midlands.
Hamari Gold
American Dawn
French Can Can
Subscription season is over for this year. Thanks to all of you who participated! We’re already busy getting plants and bulbs in the ground for next spring’s subscriptions.
Next year, we will be expanding our subscription delivery area to include zip code 29169. Deliveries typically start by the first week in March, weather permitting.
Snapdragon Seedlings
These are snapdragon seedlings that we will plant in the next week or two for spring blooming. It is fun to refresh the fields and look forward to the next season of flowers.
Happy Fall,
Linda
Happy Fall! Updates From The Farm
We are enjoying the start of cooler weather and hope that you are too! Here are a few updates that we wanted to share.
Amanda McNulty and I Talk Cut Flowers on Making it Grow
It was such a pleasure to be able to meet one of my gardening heroes and talk cut flowers with her. This being my first time on a TV set, I really didn’t know what to expect. Amanda and the crew made it very easy. Once we had mics on, I couldn’t move around, which is a challenge for me, but she kept me focused on her and the topic at hand.
The set is so comfortable and I felt right at home. After we finished, I dumped some water into the sink that you can see in the background. Oops! There is no plumbing there. There was a mad dash to wipe it up. A learning experience for sure.
The segment will be aired on Tuesday, September 27 at 7:00 pm on SCETV.
Fall Bulb Sale
We are excited to bring you specialty bulbs for your garden and home again this year! You can order anemone, ranunculus, a few specialty daffodils, amaryllis and paperwhites from the website starting about October 15th. There are still supply chain delivery delayss so we will announce again when e have the bulbs.
Bouquet Subscriptions Wrap For 2022
Our subscription season is coming to a close for the year. I want to thank each of you who participates in this service. It does my heart good to bring you flowers and I enjoy your feedback. We will start deliveries back up next March and from now until then we will be prepping the soil, sowing seed, planting bulbs and protecting the plants from the weather as best we can.
Here’s to a lovely holiday season!
Linda
Perennial Phlox
Does your garden have too much sun for Hydrangeas? You may want to try perennial Phlox, Phlox Paniculata. The bloom has a shape that is similar to a hydrangea. They bloom this time of year and are available in a variety of colors. Be sure to select one that is resistant to powdery mildew and you are good to go!
These plants grow tall, with 2 – 4 foot stems, so find a spot in the back of your sunny bed. If you cut them to bring inside, cut the stem near the base of the plant. Often, a second smaller flush will come up before the season ends. As with many perennials, they die back to the ground over the winter. Green shoots start up early in spring.
If you have a bouquet subscription with us, you will see Phlox in the next bouquet. We grow David’s Lavender. In the garden the bloom is pink. When we put it into the cooler it turns purple. When it warms back up, it turns pink again. No other varieties have this chameleon-like characteristic.
Do you grow perennial Phlox in your garden? What is your favorite variety?
Other News:
Thanks to all of you who came to the farm for the Ag+Art Tour. We had between 250 and 300 visitors this year. We appreciate being able to share what we do and what the artisans do during this event.
I will be spending a few days in Massachusetts for the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Grower’s annual conference in early August. This is the first gathering in 3 years, due to Covid. I am looking forward to being face to face with like-minded growers who I usually communicate with over the phone or on social media. I am looking forward to a farm tour too! Five Forks Farm, in Upton Mass will open their farm to Association Members for a tour. You can learn a little bit about them and their story in the last printed issue of Martha Stewart Living. Check it out here
https://www.marthastewart.com/8257345/fivefork-farms-flower-tour
Our summer bouquet season is coming to an end soon. We are offering a fall season of 6 weekly bouquets starting in late August and ending in early-mid October. We would love to deliver our fall bouquets to your door! You can learn more and sign up on our website: https://www.purpletuteur.com/subscription-information
Wishing you much joy in the abundance of summer!
Linda
The Kousa Dogwood
Our cousin Susie brought us a Kousa Dogwood the year our mothers passed away. She told us that it would be in bloom on Mother’s Day and I looked forward to seeing it flower. The year was 2006.
The young sapling came in a nursery pot and was about 3 feet tall. This was a good size to plant, as I could dig a reasonably small hole and get it settled in.
I found a spot in our back yard, in partial shade, where it could be somewhat protected and got it planted. After giving it a deep watering, I made a mental note to check on it again periodically, but especially on Mother’s Day.
The next year, the tree had grown but there was not much flowering. It needed more time to get to its mature state and flower. In the following years, we saw just a few blooms.
Last fall, we had some aging pines cut down. They were at risk of falling on our house or on our neighbor’s place. This past winter, we had high winds and lots of cold and several other shrubs fell in the same area. This all happened near the dogwood, which remained unaffected.
We have a hole in the landscape now that needs to be filled. I am excited to be able to select some new trees and shrubs for the ‘privacy fence’ between us and the neighbors. I am looking at flowering shrubs like Weigela, Viburnum and Cotinus. This, however, is not the most exciting thing.
The Kousa is blooming! It has bloomed this year like it never has before. Letting more light in made it explode with graceful white flowers. These proper growing conditions should allow it to get taller and stronger going forward. It is thriving and in full bloom this Mother’s Day week. The happy memories of our mothers and times spent in their loving care are represented in each and every bloom.
Wishing you all a Happy Mother’s Day. Whether they are here or are gone, may the light of their love be with you.
The Start of a New Year - The Subscription Shop is Open!
I hope that your 2022 has gotten off to a good and happy start. We have been enjoying some time with friends and family while the growing is slow-going. For me, this is a time of reflection and for home projects that I don’t have time to do when the farm is in full swing.
Sign up at www.purpletuteur.com
We are ready to open the subscription shop for Early Spring and for Spring to Summer! Here is the link to the website: www.purpletuteur.com . I will make a public announcement a few days after this email goes out. This gives our subscribers an opportunity to sign up first.
Fall will be opened up in June. Thanks to all who made our first offering a success iin 2020.
I’ve had the opportunity to meet with several garden clubs and speak on various growing topics over the winter. It has been fun to meet some of you and others, and I look forward to meeting with two more groups in February. Its great to know that the love of gardening is alive and well here in the Midlands of South Carolina!
Thanks to all of you who supported our bulb sales in the fall. If you got your ranunculus and anemones into the ground in the fall, you should be seeing the early signs of blooms, if not flowers. Ours have both started but are growing slowly during these cold days.
Photo: Becky Haggard
I always enjoy the photos that you send to me of your amaryllis and paperwhite bulbs. It does my heart good to know that you are enjoying them. They are such a ray of sunshine while we are indoors. Our second-year bulbs are poised for the early spring subscriptions. I have been keeping them at 60F to keep them from blooming too early. It is time to turn the heat up to 70F so that they will have the temperatures they need to bloom.
We had such a warm fall that everything we planted to overwinter for spring has had a robust start. As a result, when the weather warms consistently, everything will pop! The extra green/larger plants make them more vulnerable to freezing so keeping them covered is critical. Our hoop house does the job for us.
The snow is a welcome sight for many of our cold-loving plants. We’re hoping this bodes well for great daffodils and peonies this year! We’ve added another 48 peonies this winter. It’s a big job to get them set up but we’ll be so glad to see them in bloom three years from now.
We will be a host farm again this year for the Richland County Ag+Art tour. This year, the dates are June 11th and 12th. This is our annual open house and it is free to the public so come on out!
Thanks so much for all you do to support our farm. We are truly blessed.
Linda
The New Growing Year Begins Now!
If you want to have a spring cutting garden, fall is the time to plan and prepare for it. Now is the time to assess what is working and what is not working in your garden, so that you can make adjustments in the cooler fall weather. Here are a few things to consider:
Perennial Sedum Autumn Joy
1. Plant perennials and spring flowering shrubs – while you can do this in the spring also, fall is always best. In fall, the new plants have several months to get their roots established before blooming. We are adding two varieties of hydrangeas and a forsythia this year. October is a good month to plant in our area.
Hardy Annuals Bachelor Buttons and Orlaya
2. Select hardy annuals that you want to grow and purchase the seed. You can start to prepare the beds now and then sow the seed in October. Hardy annuals are those that prefer cooler temperatures to grow. This includes Bachelor Buttons, Bells of Ireland and Larkspur to name a few. If you want to learn more about these flowers, I highly recommend the book “Cool Flowers” by Lisa Mason Zeigler. It is an excellent source of information and easy to read.
Spring bulbs Ranunculus and Daffodils
3. Order spring flowering bulbs and tubers – daffodils, iris, hyacinth, anemone, ranunculus and peonies. All of these produce lovely spring flowers. These can be grown in pots if you don’t have a lot of space or need to protect them from moles and voles in your yard. We will be offering some of these for sale in the next couple of weeks – so stay tuned!
To get everything off to a good start, now is the time to do a soil test. This will tell you whether or not nutrients need to be added to your soil when you plant. Clemson offers this service to the public. It can be difficult to understand but you can call the lab and they will help you understand what you need to do. Read all about it here: https://www.clemson.edu/public/regulatory/ag-srvc-lab/soil-testing/index.html .
Happy Planting!
Top Tips for Growing Peonies in the South
We all have certain flowers that connect us to happy memories. Peonies do that for me, so naturally I wanted to grow them on the farm. In our hot and humid climate, I tried a couple of times with limited success. Perseverance pays off and we have 3-year-old plants on the verge of blooming for the first time!
Here are a few tips for growing peonies here in the Midlands:
1. Peonies are expensive to purchase but they will live a very long time. Many people have told me that they have dug up the plants from their grandparent’s house and moved them to their own yard. For our climate, select early season varieties. They need to bloom before the heat really sets in.
2. Grow them in a raised bed or a pot. They need to be exposed to as much cold air as possible. Something above ground will stay cooler.
3. Put them in full sun. They need sun to bloom well.
4. They need a mixture of soil, minerals and compost. Mushroom compost is recommended since many other types of compost include pine bark and it carries something in it that makes peonies more vulnerable to disease.
5. Bare roots are the best value. Find the biggest ones with the most eyes. Plant them so that the tops are just one inch below the surface. If they are planted too deeply, they won’t bloom since this insulates them from the cold. In colder climates, they are planted deeper.
6. If you purchase bare roots, expect to wait three years for flowers. They will not have any blooms the first year. They need their energy to develop a good root system. The second year, they may have some blooms but it is recommended that you deadhead them so that they can continue to focus on their roots. The third year will bring on the flowers.
7. There are potted plants available at some of the local nurseries. These are good too but the selection is more limited. Expect to have a transition year in your garden if you plant a potted plant. They may need a year to adjust and you may not have blooms the first year so don’t give up.
8. Each year add a thin layer of compost and some minerals (I use Azomite) to nourish them. Don’t put down a thick layer because you don’t want to bury the tuber.
9. After the bloom period, I put some shade over them so that the foliage stays healthy longer, providing more energy for next year. Expect the foliage to look ratty after the heat sets in. Everyone’s plants look less than lovely.
10. When you do cut the foliage back, don’t put it in your compost pile. Throw it away as it may carry disease.
What tips do you have on growing peonies? I would love to hear them!
If you want to order from a specialty nursery, I highly recommend Peony’s Envy (https://peonysenvy.com). They are so helpful and they have a great deal of information on their website if you want more education on these beauties.
We will be including our peonies in our subscriptions while they last. We still have a few Spring to Summer spaces available. Sign up at https://www.purpletuteur.com/subscription-information.
Happy Gardening!
These are Amaryllis and Delphinium
Doubling up now since the season is changing and soon many new flowers will be showing up in the bouquets!
This is Amaryllis
Amaryllis is something that most of us are familiar with for the Christmas holidays. At that time of year, they are most often red, white or a combination of both. Beyond the traditional, amaryllis come in many colors and some alternative flower shapes as well. They make an excellent, long lasting cut flower.
We grow them just as you do for the holidays: indoors in a warm climate. See our blog post on how to grow them here. This year for bouquet season, we have used hot pink, white, burgundy and red striped varieties. They also come in green, orange and yellow. We will probably try some of those as well in the future!
This is Delphinium
Delphinium is actually a whole genus of plants but what we use specifically is the Guardian variety. The colors are gorgeous shades of blue and white. We grow these from plugs (baby plants grown in a greenhouse) since they are difficult to germinate. As they require cooler temperatures to grow well, we plant these in the fall. They overwinter in the garden and break out into bloom in early spring.
There are other great varieties to grow. Belladonna has more of a spray growth habit and is also nice for cutting. Pacific Giant is the same shape as the Guardian but much taller. These are well suited for the back of the garden border where they add height and drama. Probably too tall for bouquets.
In some areas delphiniums are perennial but we treat them as annuals since they typically can’t make it through our “famously hot” summers. They are repeat bloomers, so when you cut them, cut close to the ground. The stems start off a little short and get longer with each cutting.
Our spring season subscriptions are winding down. If you missed them and want farm fresh flowers delivered to your home or business we still have openings for our spring to summer subscriptions. For more information, see our website at : https://www.purpletuteur.com/subscription-information
Happy flowering,
Linda
This is Ranunculus
Ranunculus (Anemone Coronaria) is commonly known as Buttercup. The corms (bulbs) come in yellow, orange, pink, red and white. Known as the “rose of spring”, the flower is shaped like a rose.
Ranunculus starts blooming in mid-March in Columbia. If you want to add them to your garden, they are a perfect partner to anemone. The growing conditions are the same. The ranunculus corms can survive our winters in the ground. They do best when the daytime temps are in the mid-60’s and the nights are in the 40’s. They will keep blooming until the daytime temps are consistently in the 70’s. After the heat comes on, they fade away until November or so. Then they green up and take up the sun until the March blooms appear.
Ranunculus blooms need protection from the rain. Each plant will bloom several times while in season, so even if a flower gets drenched, all is not lost. Just deadhead it and wait for the next one.
In addition to these there is a variety known as butterfly ranunculus. These are more of a spray form and the flowers have wax coated petals that give them a shimmer. They come in soft pinks, yellows and a pale salmon color (pictured). From Italy, these are fairly new to the United States. Only two wholesalers can distribute them here which makes them more expensive. We are growing some for the first time this year and experiencing some problems but still hopeful that some will make it into spring bouquets.
There is a proper time to cut every flower in order to maximize its vase life. For ranunculus, the right time is when the flower petals are barely open. When properly cut, they will last a good week in a vase.
What do you think of ranunculus?
Thanks to all of you who have ordered your subscriptions. Although the spring season is sold out, we still have some available for the spring to summer season. You can sign up on our website, www.purpletuteur.com.
As always, we appreciate all the love and support you show us here at our farm. It keeps us motivated to try and bring you the best and most beautiful blooms.
Many thanks,
Linda
This is Anemone
We are about a week away from getting enough blooms to begin delivery! Thanks to all who have signed up. We have just a couple of spots left for Friday delivery for the early spring season.
This is the first in a series of blogs introducing some of the flowers we grow.
Anemone (Anemone Coronaria) is a late winter/early spring bloomer for us in Columbia. The corms (bulbs) come in many colors and in single double flower forms. In addition to the longer stemmed varieties that we use for cut flowers, there are short-stemmed versions that are nice to have in the garden.
All types can survive our winters in the ground but the flowers don’t do well in the rain. If you don’t have time to be concerned about every bloom, you simply dead head those that have gotten wet. Otherwise, you can grow them under cover to protect them from our wet spring weather. Each plant will bloom several times while “in season”, so even if a flower gets drenched, all is not lost.
Anemone does best when the daytime temps are in the mid-60’s and the nights are in the 40’s. This translates to March for us. They will keep blooming until the daytime temps are consistently in the 70’s. After the heat comes on, they fade away until November or so. Then they green up and take up the sun until the March blooms.
There is a proper time to cut every flower in order to maximize its vase life. For Anemones, the right time is when the collar under the bloom is about a half an inch from the base of the bloom. They may wilt if you cut them sooner. When properly cut, they will last a good week in a vase.
If you are thinking that you knew of anemone as another flower, you are right. There is a shrub-like perennial called Japanese Anemone (Anemone hupehensis). The blooms look very similar to the bulb form but they bloom in a spray in the fall. This is why botanists revert to Latin names for flowers. Many common names apply to multiple plants but each has its own unique Latin name.
What do you think of this flower? Have you grown it? Is there another flower that you like to see this time of year?
I hope you are as excited for Spring as I am!
Best,
Linda
Fall is Just Around the Corner!
Hello Friends!
We’re happy to be back after some time off in July and August. While we still have flowers in these hottest months, the work is more of an effort in the heat and we can work less hours outside. With the arrival of September, the temperatures are finally starting to trend downward, and everything, including me, is starting to perk up!
We continue to offer flowers at the Lake Carolina Farmer’s Market and at Soda City (through Fabel Farms) until the end of October. Thanks to all of you for your support of us and the other vendors at the markets.
As fall arrives, the dahlias will be coming on. We planted a few new varieties over the summer and look forward to seeing them. We will also have sunflowers and lisianthus in our bouquets now.
The infrastructure projects at the farm continue to move forward. Our walk-in flower cooler was completed last week! I have been renting cooler space at another farm which was a big help, but nothing beats the convenience of having a cooler on site. So grateful that my husband Rufus, a.k.a. Mr. FixIt was willing to take this project on.
In addition to the work being done on the processing shed, we are putting up a hoop house (a.k.a. high tunnel, unheated green house) this fall. This will allow us to extend the growing season to the colder months. The first goal is to have local flowers for Valentine’s Day. The beds are ready for planting and the structure will be added over them. There is much to be done to make this happen, so stay tuned!
We are planting significantly more flowers this fall than we have to date. The community support for our subscriptions continues to grow and we are forever grateful for that. We are delighted to have orders for several DIY weddings next spring, not only for the flowers but for the hope that there will be a vaccine and we can gather in greater numbers. We also anticipate that event planners and florists will have increased demand so we want to be ready to support these sister businesses that buy local flowers as we are able to.
We had hoped to have some classes this fall, but there is still much to be done before that can happen. We will continue to work toward that goal in 2021.
We will be offering amaryllis and paperwhites again this year between November 1 and December 15th. More on that to come!
We feel blessed to be able to provide to you and your loved ones with these little bundles of happy beauty. Thank you all for your continued support. Stay healthy and happy,
Linda
Hello Spring!
Spring arrived a couple of days ago but today really felt like spring. The cherry trees are blooming and the sky is thankfully clear. The temperatures are warming up and the day length is now longer than the night. These are excellent conditions for getting the fall-planted flowers out of dormancy. The covers are off the beds and we can begin feeding to further encourage growth. In another month to six weeks, we will be able to have blooms like these available on a consistent basis.
Wishing you a wonderful season!
Getting Ready for Spring
Larkspur
In warm climates like South Carolina’s, spring flower preparation starts in the fall. We plant ‘hardy annuals’ in the fall to provide them with enough cool weather to thrive. This group of flowers blooms profusely in the cooler spring and then they fade in our summer heat. This includes things like Bells of Ireland, Bachelor Buttons, Corn Cockle and Larkspur. Most are started from seed sown directly in the garden.
Here at the farm, we have been nurturing many of these varieties since last September. They have needed the heat of late summer to germinate and get established. Then, as the days got shorter and the temperatures dropped, they slowed down above ground but continue to develop strong roots. As the weather has warmed up, the plant growth has resumed. When we get the magic combination of longer days and consistently warmer temperatures they will burst forth, revealing the miracle that they are.
Between now and then, the fluctuating temperatures call for some special attention. The plants are getting larger and the vegetation is more vulnerable to cold. Frost cloth is used to protect them when we get temperatures below freezing. A freeze is in the forecast for next week, so everything is being covered so that it is protected.
Looking forward to the end of winter and the day when we can share the spring blooms with you! If you are considering a bouquet subscription, there is still time. You can sign up at www.purpletuteur.com
Dianthus under cover