Seeds Ordered!

I have just finished ordering seeds...this year from FEDCO, STOKES, GLOECKNER'S, PINETREE, and HPS....there is a new basil with flowers to use in bouquets.  I am trying a cactus-flowered zinnia for the first time.
Found a few new varieties for the plant sale, including a wonderful lime green agastache called 'Golden Jubilee' I grew a few years ago.  Lastly, Cosmos Is Still My Favorite!  I will have Sensation, Dazzler (deep fushia/maroon), Double Click, and Early Wonder (supposed to flower 2 weeks early, that'd be good).   I'll grow several varieties of rudbeckia and several colors of zinnias again...blue ageratum...painted tongue...oh yes, and 10 varieties of celosia.  A yellow/green spiky celosia called Sylphide is new this year...of course it was outrageously expensive but I thought I Had to Have It....for great bouquets, you need great flowers!  

Seeds should all be here before the end of the month, and I will start the first seeds in mid-February.
More on that later.

Zinnias!

Zinnias are so well liked!  They are bright, cheerful, and available in many colors.  I grow several shades of red
Benary's Giants; State Fair mix; and other separate colors of Benary's.

Very easy to grow from seed...I start seed indoors in April but you may plant the seeds right out into the garden in late May (Zone 4 Minnesota).  Keep cutting them and they'll keep blooming for you.

This photo was at Marine Farmers' Market about 2 weeks ago.

Marine on St. Croix, MN Farmers Market

Here I am getting ready for Marine on St. Croix Farmers' Market....it is on Saturday mornings from 9 am till 1230 pm from mid-July till mid-October...hope to see you there!

Garden wedding flowers

Yesterday I had so much fun making large flower arrangements for the altar of Oriental lilies, butterfly bush, cosmos, bupleurum, cleome, and a few other flowers! The bridal party bouquets were beautiful with Oriental lilies, bupleurum, and just a few other stems. Summer in Minnesota is wonderful for us gardeners.

HOT weather

OOF-TA, it is HOT weather for us flower gardeners (and the flowers, too!) I am so happy to get 1/2 inch of rain yesterday...will not have to water the gardens for another day or two. Temps are in the 90's. Perhaps the flowers are better off than us gardeners, as long as they are watered they just keep blooming like crazy. As long as I keep drinking water, I am still over-heated and tired. The rudbeckias are finally blooming this week! I think I am growing 7 or 8 different varieties. Prairie Sun is my favorite, the soft yellow with a more golden petal tip. Oh, Cherokee Sun is my favorite, love all those different forms and rusty colors. Oops, forgot about Cherry Brandy! So very beautiful, dark red shades. There are photos of a few rudbeckia varities on my facebook page Live Flowers LLC.

Farmers' Market tomorrow

Have 10 pails of flowers picked for Marine Farmers' Market tomorrow morning. Going out now to pick 2 more pails....zinnias and rudbeckias blooming like crazy!

www.minnesotaliveflowers.com

Garden wedding flowers from my Stillwater, MN flower farm. My new website is up! It is www.minnesotaliveflowers.com.