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
Happenings at the Farm
It’s Ag and Art Week for Richland and Lexington Counties!
We are busy getting things ready for our annual open house as part of the Richland County Ag and Art Tour. If you have wanted to see the farm, don’t miss this once-a-year opportunity. This event is free to the public and no tickets are required.
The Tour hours are 10 am to 4 pm Saturday June 11 and 1pm to 5 pm Sunday June 12. Find more information at https://www.agandarttour.com/
As far as our farm is concerned, here is the information on artisans and activities. We look forward to seeing you!
Purple Tuteur Farm
787 Langford Road
Blythewood, SC 29016
Open both Saturday and Sunday
Come see our field with seasonal flowers in bloom. We offer scheduled tours of our operation and self-guided tours are also available. We will have bouquets and some plants for sale during the tour.
Restroom facility on-site
Guided tours at 11 and 3 on Saturday and at 2 on Sunday. Self-guided tours all day.
Artisans on Site:
Ellen Yaghjian, copper sculptor ellenyaghjian.com (both days)
Molly Creek Soap Company , soaps, lotions and cleaning products www.mollycreeksoapco.etsy.com (both days)
5 Miles West - wood working; charcuterie boards, trays facebook page @5MilesWest (Saturday only)
The Flavor Station - ice cream creations www.theflavorstation.net (Saturday only)
Luke Moore - Musician (not acoustic, but soft rock) (Saturday 1- 3 pm) facebook @lukemooremusic99
Late Summer Subscriptions
Our current subscription season wraps up in late July and it is sold out. Some of you have been asking about the next subscription season, so here’s the scoop:
The Late Summer subscription season goes from August 23 until October 7. We will offer 6 weeks (weekly) with deliveries on Tuesday or Friday for $210. We use a 7-week delivery period in case you need to skip a week. The website update is ready now. Use this link to get more detail and/or to order:
https://www.purpletuteur.com/subscription-information
Fall Bulb Sales
We will have Ranunculus and Anemone for sale again this year the last two weeks of October. Plant these in November for beautiful early spring blooms.
Amaryllis and Paperwhite swill also be for sale again this year during November and early December.
More detail on these as their time approaches.
Final Thoughts
As always, we are grateful for your support and encouragement. We couldn’t do it without you. Wishing you a fun-filled 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
Growing Anemone and Ranunculus in the Midlands
Anemone
Ranunculus
If you want to have cutting-garden blooms in late winter and early spring here in Columbia S.C., Anemone and Ranunculus are two great options. While they are very different flowers, they are often discussed together because their growing conditions are similar. They take a little special handling to get started but once you have them in the ground, very little care is required. They will send up multiple stems from each plant, giving you beautiful flowers to bring indoors when not much else is in bloom. Even better, they come back year after year!
Growing Conditions
Both Anemone and Ranunculus need full sun and good drainage. They can be grown in the ground or in pots. If you have clay soil, you may want to use a pot or a raised bed. Too much water will cause the corms to rot.
Both like day temperatures in the 60 – 70 F degree range, with nights from 45 – 55F. This means you can plant them in the fall or in January or February for early spring blooms. The soil temperatures around 55 F are optimal and once it gets warmer, they will go dormant.
Anemone will bloom about 90 days after planting. Ranunculus needs the 90 days and 8-12 hours of daylight. Both will begin to go dormant when daylength reaches 13 hours. They need to be protected from freezing weather. Cover them with heavy mulch if we get freezing weather.
Prep and Planting
Corms : Top - Anemone Bottom - Ranunculus
Both Anemone and Ranunculus need to be pre-soaked for 4 hours before planting. This wakes up the corms. They are alive but dormant when you get them, so they need oxygen during the soak or they will suffocate. Put them in a bowl in a sink filled with water and keep the faucet running slowly, letting the water overflow. This ensures that there is oxygen in the water while the corms are submerged. You can also submerge an aquarium stone into the water to add oxygen and eliminate the water overflow.
Once they have been soaked, you can pre-sprout them to ensure that the corm is viable or you can go ahead and plant them. It is easier just to plant them, but pre-sprouting ensures that you don’t plant a corm that is not viable.
To pre-sprout, put them in a flat of damp vermiculite and keep them at 40-50F for two to three weeks. If you soak them and then leave them at 60 or above, they will rot since they stay dormant. Try a refrigerator if you don’t have a cool enough space outdoors. White roots will emerge and need to be handled carefully when planting.
Plant the corms 6 inches apart with one inch of soil over the corm. Anemones should be planted with the point down. Some have odd shapes. If you are not sure which is the pointy end, plant them on their side. Ranunculus need their legs down in the soil. Make sure your soil drains well.
Care
Ranunculus in progress
Water them well when they are planted and then do not water again until leaves appear. After the green leaves are visible, feed them with a water-soluble fertilizer once a week until the blooms appear. Stop feeding when the blooming begins.
Cover the plants when weather gets below freezing. If the leaves freeze but the roots are OK, the plant will come back.
Harvesting Your Blooms
Anemone bloom ready to harvest
Anemone open during the day and close at night. They should open more than once before cutting. Cut at the base of the stem, being careful not to cut newly emerging stems. For the optimal cut, the collar should be about an inch from the base of the bloom.
Ranunculus bloom ready to harvest
Ranunculus petals open from a ball shaped bud. Let the blooms open about half way on the plant and cut the stem at the ground. You can also cut the stem when the bud is colored and soft when squeezed and it will open indoors. The second option is handy if rain or a late freeze is in the forecast and you don’t want to risk losing blooms to the weather.
When the days turn warm and daylight gets to 13 hours, ranunculus and anemone will go dormant. Let the greenery die back naturally, cleaning up the leaves after they are yellowed. Leave the corms in place and they will come back when the conditions are right the next year!
Ready to Give it a Try?
We will offer Anemone and Ranunculus corms on our website by October 20th. We are not shipping at this time, but will have farms pick up dates and we will offer delivery to our subscription zip codes. Watch for the announcement coming soon!
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!
Want Your Amaryllis to Rebloom for The Holidays? Start now!
Now that school is back in session and the weather is beginning to cool off, it won’t be a minute before the holidays are upon us. Now is the time to do what is needed to get your amaryllis ready for their show.
Amaryllis need a dormant period to build that bloom inside the bulb. We can easily facilitate it by taking just a few simple steps now and a little prep closer to the holidays.
1. Bring your bulb in from outside or away from the window and let the soil dry out for a couple of days. The leaves should be long and green, from a season of green growth, helping the plant absorb solar energy. In this example, a new bulb has formed. Cut its leaves too. It may need another year before it is big enough to bloom.
2. After the soil is dry to the touch, cut the leaves to within an inch of the bulb. After the cut, store the bulb for 8 to 12 weeks somewhere dark and cool, preferably at 50 F. Do not freeze the bulb and do not water it. No water at all for the 8 to 12 weeks.
That’s it until 8-12 weeks from now! Simple, right? Now mark you calendar for the date you plan to take the bulb out of dormancy, to remind you to do it.
Then What?
When you take your bulb out of the dark, refresh the potting soil and add a little bulb food to the soil. You may have to stuff the roots back into the pot, but that’s OK. They like being pot bound. Remember to leave one third of the bulb exposed.
Give it a good deep watering. Put it in a warm sunny place. Do not water it again until you see new green growth.
Once the new growth has started, water when the soil dries out. In a few weeks, buds will push out of the bulb and the bloom cycle begins again!
Summer Farm Update
Cheyanne Goes Back to Clemson
With the students going back to school next week, it feels like summer should be over but we have 7 weeks left until fall! Our intern, Cheyanne, headed back to Clemson for her final semester in Agriculture Education. We enjoyed having her work with us and the time flew. Since we’re a small operation, we were able to give her exposure to all aspects of flower production and sales. Her internship professor came to visit last week and gave her a big thumbs up on the experience. We’re looking forward to seeing what she does after she completes her degree!
Our Late Summer to Fall Subscription is Available to Order on the Website!
New this year, we are offering a 5-week subscription starting August 24th and wrapping up by October 15th. Our newest subscription offering brings fall flowers to your door, including dahlias, sunflowers, marigolds and more. Late season dahlias will add beautiful color to your bouquets and with a 4-5 day dahlia vase life, a weekly delivery will keep you in fresh flowers for the season. Our delivery window is 8 weeks so that, in case you need to skip a week, we can accommodate and still complete all deliveries by October 15th. We are offering a small number of subscriptions, so if you are interested, please sign up asap. We don’t want you to be disappointed. Here’s the link to more information: https://www.purpletuteur.com/subscription-information
New Classes at the Farm
We are also excited to be able to offer some classes this September.
September 4th - Making Garden Style Bouquets – Come with a friend to learn the basics of how to make a spiral bouquet to take home using flowers from the farm.
September 11 - Growing Dahlias – Learn to grow these flowers in your home garden (or in a pot on a patio or a balcony). We will cover the specifics of growing them in our hot and humid environment.
You can find out more athttps://www.purpletuteur.com/aboutourclasses
Spring Bulb Sale
We will have amaryllis and paperwhites again this year. Some of you have requested other spring flowering bulbs so we are going to offer additional things that we can grow in our area – daffodils, iris , hyacinths, anemone and ranunculus are included. We will add these to our website shop by early November. Stay tuned!
Behind The Scenes of The Columbia Metropolitan Article
After a year of secrecy, we are thrilled to be able to talk about the Columbia Metropolitan article on local flower farmers! In case you missed it, here is the link: https://columbiametro.com/article/a-blooming-passion/
Photo: Michael Trawick
When Columbia Metro called to tell me that they were writing a story about area flower farmers and wanted to include us, I was thrilled. They needed to come out to take photos in the next week or so. It was March. So many things are not in bloom in March! Of course, I said yes and started getting prepared.
This all happened just days before the Covid lock down. I wondered if they would have to cancel. Fortunately, they did not.
We were in major Tulip season so plenty of those on hand. We had Daffodils, Anemone, Pieris and Hellebore. The Ranunculus was planted but not in bloom. This was the season before we had the hoop house up and the walk-in cooler built, so the Ranunculus would be blooming in April.
As a graduate of Clemson’s New and Beginning Farmer Program, I was able to rent cooler space that year at the Incubator Farm at Sandhills. As grace would have it, Brinton Fox of Boone Fox Farm, was and is a grower at the incubator farm. She was also featured in the article. Clemson was closed for all but essential workers and Brinton and I were able to continue working at the Sandhills site during the lockdown.
Brinton grows beautiful Ranunculus and she already had a hoop house up, so hers were ready! I purchased some Ranunculus from Brinton and they were included in the photo shoot. Grace again, since the photographers would not have been granted access to Clemson to take photos in her growing space during the lockdown.
Farming has many challenges. We work with and around the weather to bring crops to market. Pests and insects can do significant damage and destroy crops. Issues may not be apparent until the crop is supposed to be ready. So, we flower farmers support each other as best we can. We buy from each other before going elsewhere if we need something we didn’t successfully grow. I like to call it “the sisterhood of the flowering plants”.
We got things ready at the farm and waited. I exhaled when Muffie Wells called to confirm their visit.
The day of the photoshoot was so much fun. We got to see other professionals in action. Robert Clark was looking for a cloudy day to take the photos and got it. They took their time finding the shots that they wanted. They asked questions about the flowers and our growing methods. They shot in the field and in our inside workspace, used for making bouquets and bunching flowers. They were genuinely interested. A lovely experience with a group that does so much to raise awareness of the happenings in the Columbia area.
The Richland County Ag+Art Tour is Just a Week Away!
If you’ve ever wanted to see the farm, we have an opportunity for you. We are usually open to the public by appointment only but next weekend, we are opening to the public as part of the Richland County Ag+Art Tour!
Hours are June 12th from 10 am to 4 pm and June 13th from 1 pm to 5 pm
A Little About Ag+Art
The South Carolina Ag + Art Tour is a free, self-guided tour of farms and markets featuring local artisans at every stop. During the tour visitors have the opportunity to see first-hand where their food and flowers come from, watch artists in action, purchase their works and learn more about rural life. The tour is the largest free farm and art tour in the nation with over 35,000 visitors participating since 2012.
This is the second year for the tour in Richland County. As a member of the planning committee, I am thrilled to see it happen again in 2021.
What is Happening at Purple Tuteur Farm during the Ag+Art Tour
Agriculture
Photo: Karen Bickley
Guided Tour of the farm Saturday June 12 at 11:00 am and 2:00 pm
Guided Tour of the farm Sunday June 13 at 2:00 pm
Self-guided Tours all weekend
"Ask a Master Gardener" booth. Master Gardeners will be on site to answer basic gardening questions all weekend
We will have mixed bouquets from the garden available for sale along with a few plants.
Art
We have a wonderful group of artisans that will be sharing their talent with us including:
Nancy Husband, Painter, on site during the tour weekend
This Butter Be Good, Skincare, wellness, art & jewelry
Arizona's Sweet Creations, Gourmet candy maker and handmade crafts
Gallery West, Handmade jewelry, making jewelry on-site
Molly Creek Soap Company, Soaps, lotions and other fun items
All artisans will have items available for sale.
Purple Tuteur Farm is located at 787 Langford Road in Blythewood, S.C. We hope to see you there over the weekend!
For more on Ag+Art happenings around the state, go to https://www.clemson.edu/extension/agandarttour/
Remembering Ted Williams
As we mourn the loss of our good friend Ted Williams. I can’t help but reflect on the many contributions he made to my life as a grower.
Born in Japan, educated at Rutgers and worked an esteemed career in the military, Ted lived a successful life. He loved his wife Margaret dearly along with his four children. He was an intelligent, disciplined, deep thinker who demanded excellence and got it. He appreciated the accomplishments of others as much as his own.
Ted was retired from the military when we met. After seeing our garden, Ted encouraged me to apply to the Master Gardener program. He had completed the program and was in a leadership role as Treasurer of the organization. I completed the program and began volunteering at Riverbanks with the Junior Master Gardeners. Ted worked at Riverbanks too. He coordinated the volunteers and ran the Urban Horticulture Center.
During social occasions Ted would always ask me about my gardening activities. When I told him about the farm I was thinking of starting, he was encouraging and enthusiastic. He wanted to help.
The farm remained in the concept stage for a number of years. I ran ideas past him and asked a lot of questions. I went to conferences and reviewed new ideas with him. I had also completed training from a flower farm on flower farming specifics. He was my sounding board and council.
When I finally retired from corporate life, I was ready to move the farm to the incubation stage. I invited Ted to be my team mate in the New and Beginning Farmer program put on by Clemson. This program teaches the business of farming, not anything about growing. We had to develop a business plan to be presented at the end of the class. We met weekly at the farm to review the material and apply it to my business plan. I wrote the material and Ted was my editor. At the end of the program, there was a contest for grants provided by the S.C. Farm Bureau. I had 5 minutes to tell the story. Ted timed me at rehearsals. We took second place and won $2000 for needed farm projects.
Concurrently we were planting a variety of flowers at the farm on a trial basis to see how well they would grow here. I knew what I wanted to grow and Ted had a lot of local growing knowledge. I insisted on sustainable, no-till practices. These were new to Ted but he embraced learning them too. Ted was fully engaged - spreading compost, planting bulbs and other hands-on work.
When Ted had his first heart attack, it was a severe one. Margaret had to deal with so much at that time. Ted was not ready to stop living, however, and he slowly recovered. When he could drive again, he came back to the farm. He wanted to work. He had lost a lot of strength but he was determined. He could strap on a backpack sprayer and feed the plants. At first, I put a chair in the field so he could sit and rest as needed. He came out week after week and built back his strength. He could feed the entire field in 2 hours. After he was done, we would sit and he would review with me what he saw. Maybe something needed more water, some pest infestation was starting up and needed attention or something was almost ready for harvest.
Those were not the only discussions. He told stories about his military life. He was an avid reader. His favorite historical figure was Mahatma Gandhi. He had a keen interest in the workings of Washington DC, regardless of who was in office. Having served in the military he had an insight that made for great discussions. He was soon bringing me books to read and we would discuss them too.
When his health would no longer allow him to work at the farm, he continued to support it by purchasing flower subscriptions for Margaret. Pre- covid, I would deliver and we would catch up for a few minutes on the porch. During the Covid era, I could only leave the flowers on the porch.
One of Ted’s last visits to the farm was during the 2019 Ag+Art Tour. Margaret and two of their girls came and we had a toast after the last visitor left. He was planning to come again this year and I was excited to show him all the progress that we’ve made. He would have been happy to see it.
So, Godspeed my friend, on your ultimate journey. Thank you for everything. Your life mattered. You made a difference, no doubt in many lives, but certainly in mine. I am so grateful to you for your kind friendship and all that you taught me. Rest in peace.
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
Fresh Flowers Delivered to Your Door
Our subscriptions shop is open! This year we are doubling down on our charge to get a little joy into your lives by offering 2 seasons of farm-fresh mixed bouquet flower subscriptions.
Early Spring
Season 1 is the Early Spring season. The Early Spring offering will begin February 23 and go through April 30th (OK, technically late winter- early spring). This is the season of tulips, anemone, ranunculus and the hardy annuals (bachelor buttons, nigella, orlaya to name a few). This is a 10-week window, which allows 9-week subscribers to miss a week if needed. (Note: we are getting closer to Valentine’s Day deliveries but won’t have enough blooms to start by then. A future goal!)
Spring to Summer
Season 2 is the Spring to Summer season, including late spring and early summer. This Spring to Summer offering includes lisianthus, sunflowers, zinnias, cosmos, lilies, dahlias and other heat loving flowers. The Warm Season begins on May 4th and continues through July 20th. This is a 12-week window to allow for some other events. First, we are proud to be part of the 2021 Ag + Art tour in Richland County. This will be held (tentatively) on June 11th and 12th so we won’t be delivering on June 10th or 14th. We hope you come and see us and tour the farm that weekend! Also, we will not be delivering flowers the Friday before July 4th or the Tuesday after since typically people get away that weekend.
We hope there is something for everyone in this offering! Please let your friends and neighbors know. Our mission is to spread as much joy as possible by delivering every beautiful bloom we grow.
On another note, many of you have been asking about the flowers in our bouquets so our blog updates this year will include features on the flowers that we grow.
Thank you as always for your continued support of our small farm. We are so blessed to be able to do what we do. While hard work, being surrounded by flowers on a daily basis keeps me smiling and happy. I hope that we will be able to open up the farm in the fall for flower arranging parties and growing classes so that you can spend some time with us in this cheerful atmosphere.
Wishing you many blessings and good health,
Linda
A Flower Filled Book List for the New Year
Happy 2021 to you! We have been enjoying some down time over the past few weeks and it has been a wonderful respite. We hope that you and yours have enjoyed some safe and healthy time with your loved ones too.
January is one of my favorite months. I love the quiet time after the holidays. The decorations are put away and there is a clean slate to work with.
For the farm, it is a month for planning for the year ahead. While the early spring blooms are already in process, the summer and fall are wide open at the moment. Most summer annuals take 90 days to mature, so dreams and concepts have to become solid plans by March but it is great to luxuriate in considering the possibilities for now.
The planning process involves a lot of reading and reflection. Here are a few of my favorite books on various subjects related to growing and using fresh cut flowers. I hope you see something that inspires you.
1. Floret Farm's Cut Flower Garden: Grow, Harvest, and Arrange Stunning Seasonal Blooms
If you are a beginning flower gardener and want to start with just one book, this first book by Erin Benzakein at Floret Farm has a little bit of everything.
2. Floret Farm's A Year in Flowers: Designing Gorgeous Arrangements for Every Season
If you want to see ideas on how to use flowers in more natural styles, Erin’s second book is a great reference. This book gives examples of arrangements by season and shows the elements used in great detail.
3. Cultivated: The Elements of Floral Style by Christin Gaell
For beautiful examples of floral design in pictures and some essays on the creative process I haven’t found a better book than Cultivated.
4. Dirt To Soil: One Family's Journey Into Regenerative Agriculture by Gabe Brown
This is a very readable book about how one family transformed their farm practices from working against nature to working with nature for a healthier successful outcome.
5. The Lean Farm: How to Minimize Waste, Increase Efficiency, and Maximize Value and Profits with Less Work by Ben Hartman
I read this every year. This is essentially a book on process improvement. Based on the principals of the Japanese auto industry, Ben shows how he has applied the concepts to his small farm.
Do you have any favorite cut flower related books? I’d love to hear about them!
May You Be Blessed with a Happy and Healthy 2021,
Linda
P.S. Since some of you have asked, we will be opening the subscription shop by the end of the month. Stay tuned for more updates!
The Holidays are Coming!
Wow! We have had such a busy year at the farm. So many infrastructure projects are done which allows us to provide you with more flowers over a longer season. There is much to tell about all that has been accomplished but that will have to wait until winter arrives and things finally slow down. For now, we are in the season of Amaryllis and Paperwhites!
Ednie Photos
For growing instructions, see our blog post here: https://www.purpletuteur.com/blog/2019/10/31/amaryllis-and-paperwhites
We have bulbs and forcing kits again this year. We have again searched out larger bulbs and more unusual varieties to make available to you in Columbia. You can order them from our website and select a day to pick them up at the farm. See our selection here: https://www.purpletuteur.com/garden-bulbs
We will also have a selection for sale at the Jingle and Mingle event held Thursday, December 10 at The Lake Murray Visitor's Center (2184 North Lake Dr. Columbia, SC 29212), 4-7pm. If you live out that way, you will also be able to pre-order online and pick up at the Visitor’s Center during the event.
Thank you so much for all the support you have given us this year. It means so much and keeps us going.
Wishing you many blessings over the holiday season,
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
Updates From The Farm
Since it has been awhile since I posted anything, I wanted to let you know what we have been up to!
I hope that you have enjoyed the long cool spring as much as I did! In addition to delivering our spring subscriptions, we’ve been taking advantage of the cool weather all season to get extra projects done at the farm.
Spring Subscriptions
This year we were able to start the spring subscriptions in March, earlier than in years past. Everyone is tired of winter by then and it has been our goal to get flowers to people as early in the year as possible. We added some new flowers to our bouquets, including several new specialty tulips and ranunculus in several colors.
Masks and hand sanitizer were de rigeur on subscription delivery days!
We are wrapping up the final deliveries this week. With Covid in our midst, we all seemed to appreciate the beauty of fresh flowers a little bit more this year. Since we had to be extra careful with the drop offs, I still haven’t seen some of our new subscription holders in person! I hope to be able to meet you as conditions improve.
Thanks to all of you for a wonderful spring season!
The new barn/studio
On-Farm Projects
As you may know, we are transforming the old barn into a new barn/studio. We will have a walk-in cooler for the flowers along with a large work area. There should be room for small gatherings inside, but there is also a large covered porch on the front where we can gather when the weather is agreeable. We’re looking forward to holding some classes/workshops there in the future. I expect that we will have this ready before the summer is over.
The salvage tarp is used to kill the grass where the new beds will go without using pesticides. Darkness and heat can do the job.
We added a shade bed for plants that require little sun. Hellebores and ferns have been planted there and a few other things will be added in the fall. These will be ready for use late winter of 2021.
We are also working on some new beds that will be covered by a new hoop house in the fall. A hoop house is an unheated green house. This will allow us to grow flowering plants over the winter in conditions that will make them bloom over the winter. We’re hoping to have flowers ready by Valentine’s Day 2020.
Hello Summer!
First real warm-season harvest.
Summer temperatures and humidity have arrived! We have been turning the beds and planting more heat-loving summer flowers and foliage. Our warm season favorites are finally getting the conditions they need to thrive. Zinnias, celosia, cosmos, dahlias, rudbeckia, sunflowers and lisianthus are some of what is coming on now.
We are also trying some new warm season growers – alstroemeria, lavatera, bee balm, jewels of opar and Greek oregano. We will see how they do in our heat and humidity!
Where to Find us This Summer
1. You can pick up our flowers at the Lake Carolina Farmers Market or contact us through the website www.purpletuteur.com or through our facebook page to place a special order.
2. I am also working with one of my classmates from Clemson’s New and Beginning Farmer Program to make flowers available at the Soda City Market when it opens again. Once I have the specifics on this booth location, I will send an update out.
3. We also offer bouquets at B79 in Blythewood as flower capacity allows. Follow us on Instagram for announcement of pop-up sales at B79.
4. A few other discussions are underway in an effort to make farm fresh flowers available to you, so stay tuned!
What’s Next?
We have had several requests for a fall subscription offering. We are looking at this now. Certainly, with the prospect of a second wave of Covid 19 in the fall, this may be the best way to get flowers to everyone safely. We will be looking at the feasibility for this over the summer.
Finally, I want to thank you all for your continued interest and support in our small farm. It is our pleasure to bring you fresh blooms and to make you smile. In these challenging times, everyone can use a little joy.
Linda