I’ll start with the most exciting news first: I’ve had my first manuscript request!!! One of the university presses I queried liked the sample I sent in and asked to review the full manuscript. They may turn me down in the end, but I can’t help getting my hopes up about possibly being one step closer to publication. Thoughts and prayers, y’all!

I can’t believe we are already into the second week of April. Spring has only just begun, but it feels like it’s flying by. In a matter of days, the greenhouse has gone from a dreary landscape of concrete and bare tables to a luscious sea of plants as far as the eye can see. Though we’re still a few days away from our last average frost date, spring fever is spreading. Loyal customers are coming in just to walk around and drool over our beautiful plants, not buying them yet because they know it’s too early to plant. I try my best to greet them by name, but there’s SO MANY names and faces to remember. We have another great crew in the greenhouse this year. Every spring as greenhouse manager, I’m learning to delegate more and be assertive about what needs to get done, while trying not to be bitchy about it. I have Mondays and Fridays off this spring, instead of working the Tuesday-Sunday 6-day schedule; having two days off has made a huge difference in my mood and stamina. I used to be so exhausted by Sunday, I’d spend the day on the hairy edge of sanity, trying to avoid any interaction with customers and counting down the hours until I could final get one whole day of rest. I’m a much more pleasant person on Sundays now. 

What started as a teaser for this year’s Flower Power Fridays has become the kickoff for a new season. I’ve been putting arrangements together every week, so FPFs are in full swing. We’re taking a slightly different approach this year. Instead of bringing the arrangements in on Fridays and trying to keep it looking great until our PR guy can take time out of his busy schedule to snap some pictures for social media, I’m keeping the arrangements at home and making my own photos, which I then email to Tyler. This seems to be a much better setup. Here are my last three arrangements.

I made a rookie mistake this weekend with my seedlings. I forgot to water them on Saturday, and when I checked them yesterday, several tiny plants were shriveled and crispy. Only a handful of them have bounced back this morning after being watered yesterday. Looks I’ll be starting over with a few varieties. Fortunately it is still early in the season, and with the temps warming up, I’ll be able to plant them out soon after they germinate. The tulip harvest is nearly over way sooner than I expected. The fluctuations in temperatures this winter forced some of them to bloom early before they’d had time to reach their mature height. This has been disheartening, as I planted over 300 tulips last fall. I had to begin the harvest earlier than planned. But by treating tulips as annuals, I can pull them up bulb and all instead of cutting the stems at soil level. This gives me a few more inches of stem, and I’ve actually been able to make some lovely arrangements. I’ve been storing tulips in the spare fridge with bulbs attached for a few days before using them, which has prolonged the harvest quite a bit. It was a challenge finding room for them all in the fridge. Last week, I found a used fridge on Facebook Marketplace for $150. We’ve installed this in the garage, and I now have my first flower cooler!

With the abundance of tulips, daffodils, and lenten roses, I assembled and delivered my first gift bouquets. I made 35 of them for my coworkers last weekend. I loved sharing the joy and the bounty from my garden with friends.

While I thought I was overrun with jars and bottles, this batch of bouquets really depleted my supply. I’ve put out requests on social media for more, and I’ve found some good deals on Marketplace. Last Sunday, I posted on Nextdoor. For those who aren’t familiar, this app is meant as a forum for neighborhoods to communicate and stay connected. I like to dog on Nextdoor for being such a vortex of negativity. Much like other social media outlets, it has become a place for people to gripe about everything that’s wrong with their neighbors/neighborhoods. I posted a pictures of my jar and bottle collection and one of the bouquets I’d made for coworkers, told about my mission to give bouquets to anyone in need of a little joy, and asked for the items most people would throw out or recycle. The response has restored my faith in humanity. In one week, I’ve collected 18 boxes and bags of jars, bottles, and vases, and there are a few more yet to be picked up. So many people are touched and inspired by my mission to spread joy with the gift of flowers, they feel good about donating their recycling to a worthy cause.

We’ve reached that time of year when my blog posts become more and more sporadic. If you are looking for something new every week, I’m sorry to disappoint you. Hopefully you’ll be pleasantly surprised when a new post appears. Right now, I have to start prepping for a Bates webinar on Wednesday about spring bulbs. To register for this free webinar, click here. See you when I come up for air again!