Spring is just around the corner and I’m more than ready to get outside and try my hand at gardening! I think one of the best things to come out of 2020 was watching people turn to the earth and mother nature for comfort and peace.  I adored watching some of my favorite people try their hand at gardening.  In fact I enjoyed watching their journey’s so much, that this year I’m embarking on my own journey of starting a flower garden.  

I do have some experience with planting and keeping flowers alive. Every year I buy petunias, begonias, and pansies and plant them in pretty blue planters around the house. I add one new planter each year and last summer I was up to six fairly large planters. In addition to my planters this year, I’m hoping to grow flowers directly from seeds!

I’ve been chatting with blogger friends (looking at you Whitney Caves) and following flower farm accounts to try and learn as much as I can about the art of gardening.  It’s amazing what you can learn by following other bloggers and gardeners.  I’ve also been reading the Cut Flower Farm book from Floret Farm and it’s incredibly helpful.  I had no idea so much planning and organizing went into starting a garden! Although I feel overwhelmed at times, I’m excited to embark on this new journey and challenge myself in new ways. 

My plan for this year is to start small. We are going to build one small raised garden bed (probably 4’ x 4’ x 10.5”). There is a sunny spot on the far side of our deck and gazebo so I think I’m going to place the garden bed there. I’ve gone back and forth between starting the seeds inside and transplanting after the frost, or just directly seeding a few weeks after the first frost. I think I’ve decided on the latter option. It’s definitely a riskier choice, but we don’t have the space or tools to grow seeds inside. So I’m literally going to throw caution to the wind and plant the seeds sometime in late May or early June and hope something grows!

GOALS FOR THE GARDEN 

My goals for this garden are simple.  I truly have no idea how the flowers will grow in our yard and if the placement of the flower bed will yield any harvest.   I’m going into this with zero expectations. But, what I do hope to gain are:

• Creating beautiful memories planting with L;
• Learning a new skill;
• Spending more time outdoors;
• Finding peace and joy through a new connection with mother nature. 

TYPES OF FLOWERS

I bought all my seeds from Floret Farm.  I had no idea what and how much to buy.  I completely guessed on how many seeds to buy, so there’s a very good chance I will have bought way too little or way too much.  But the types of flowers (and colors) I’m hoping to grow are: 

• Zinnia Oklahoma Pink
• Zinnia Lilliput Salmon
• Zinnia Oklahoma Carmine
• Zinnia Oklahoma Salmon
• Cosmos Purity
• Cosmos Daydream
• Breadseed Poppy Pink Peony
• Bells of Ireland
• Chinese Forget-Me-Not Blue Showers
• Shirley Poppy Supreme
• Stock Katz in Bright Rose

FAVORITE GARDEN RESOURCES

Below are a list of accounts and/or blogs that I follow for inspiration and helpful tips. 

• Whitney Caves Instagram and Blog
• Ashleigh Byrne Instagram and Blog
• Home with the Wileys Instagram and Blog 
• Floret Farm Instagram 

There are tons more resources out there for starting a garden, but these are just a few I refer to on a regular basis.

I hope you are excited to follow me on this journey! To kick things off, I’m partnering with two friends to gift a lucky follower a beginner’s gardening kit on my Instagram.  Be sure to follow all of us for the details!

Slainte,

Shannon