It’s another dreary day here in Nashville. Only 2 out of the last 10 days have been sunny, and we have 2 more days of rain to endure before the sun finally comes out to stay a few days starting Friday. I’ve been trying to stick to a Monday-Friday work schedule, but since Saturday and Sunday were the only sunny days last week, I wanted to take advantage of the good weather. I’ve been working for 8 days straight. The lack of sunshine is taking a toll on my mental health. It’s been hard to stay motivated and keep the momentum going. 

Even so, I’ve managed to get lots accomplished while waiting for the all-clear on frost. I’ve planted several hardy annuals. These are annuals that don’t mind the cold and can even take a light frost (but I cover with frost cloth for extra insurance). So far, I’ve planted lisianthus, stock, snapdragons, dusty miller, drumstick, statice, and strawflower. The stock has been a huge disappointment. Since I can’t start seeds in January or February, I ordered in plugs and planted them last month. I’ve been babying them along, covering when there’s a freeze or frost. After this last threat of frost, I pulled the cover off and saw that my little 2” tall stocks were already flowering. This is a one-stem crop, not cut-and-come-again, so the ones in flower are done for the season. UGH. The lisianthus look great, as do the snapdragons I bought to replace my failed overwintered crop. The rest of the hardy annuals were just planted yesterday. My summer annual seedlings are healthy and thriving. I’m anxious to get them in the ground, but I know they’ll be happier if I wait a few more weeks for the soil to warm up.

I’ve tackled a few other tasks while waiting for warm weather. I’ve laid down drip irrigation lines, covered beds with landscape fabric, pulled LOTS of weeds, and potted up hundreds of seedlings from my winter sowing project. Yesterday, I made the first weekly deliveries of spring bouquet subscriptions. I’ve talked to 3 florists who are interested in purchasing my locally grown flowers. I’ve confirmed my return to this year’s farmers market at St. George’s Episcopal. I had a curious neighbor stop by while walking his dogs who wanted to know if I’d be setting up a stand in the neighborhood again, like I did a couple of times last year. I’d love to do this a few Saturdays during the summer.

Last weekend, I had a consultation with one of my flower friends, Kara Jamison of Blooming Joy Flower Company. She and I walked all over the backyard, looking for ways I can optimize my space and grow more flowers. Per her suggestions, I spent last week dividing and transplanting lots of perennials and prepping new beds. We decided that the space I’d allocated for the new dahlia beds didn’t get quite enough sunshine, so I’m having to come up with a new game plan. The rain this week will give me the opportunity to strategize. One of my biggest concerns was how to get an early start on the season when I’m out of the country for a big chunk of winter and can’t start seeds or monitor hardy annual crops I’m trying to overwinter. She suggested I go heavier on crops that don’t need extra winter protection, such as bachelors button, larkspur, love-in-a-mist, bupleurum, orlaya, bells of Ireland, daffodils, and tulips. And I should order in plugs of those crops that have been hit-or-miss, such as lisianthus, snapdragon, sweet william, and scabiosa. If I want to grow anemone and ranunculus, I may need to do it in raised beds to keep the voles away.

One thing I’m starting this week that is sure to improve my mental health is my return to Metro Nashville Chorus! MNC will be competing at internationals this fall in Kansas City, and I’m planning to join them. Farming is very isolating; I need community now more than ever. And I miss having an outlet to sing. I’ll have to go through the audition process again, so it’s not a done deal yet. But I’m excited! I’ll leave you with a few pics of my last Flower Power Friday arrangement.