Reflections
I love the quiet that follows the holidays because it is a natural time to regroup and reflect on the season and in turn, begin planning for the next year. This year, I took on (too) many new opportunities and (painfully) learned some valuable lessons as a result. I’m re-evaluating what the vision of Eleven Mile Farm is, and where I will channel my energies this year.
The changing variables of Nature are insurmountable, and attempting to sustainably farm makes me feel like my expertise is painfully inadequate at times. In the face of frustration, I frequently ask myself “Is this worth it?” Transitioning from an avid gardener to a flower farmer is not as straight-forward as I thought.
To answer that question quickly- yes, I do still feel this is worth it.
Failures included the Vole Hotel disaster, which destroyed an expensive and hard worked anemone and ranunculus field (I can provide more details to anyone who has not heard the story), my Sweet Pea vines (too little water and an unhappy placement in the field, I think), my Snapdragons (totally shocked and disappointed as I dedicated 2 full rows to them and expected masses of color but got pithy flowers), and epically- the Branching Sunflowers, which were decimated by deer due to a failed electric fence. Almost all of these failures were due to human error….and I don’t like failing at things.
I am learning to get over it.
There were wonderful successes starting with the Tulips. The success of forcing tulips through the winter and having stunning 24 inch long stemmed gems by March 1st made me proud. It is such a fantastic way to embrace color and kick off the season after several long gray months. Next- my Foxgloves patch. Ignorantly, I ripped out last year’s crop thinking that we would be tilling and reforming beds. I should have let them be. However, I planted and successfully grew a beautiful crop this year that I now know how to handle over the year. And the Dahlias- I rebounded this year and had a stellar crop of over 75 varieties and 600 plants. They carried us through the end of October.
Most importantly, I learned that to grow as a business woman, I need to rely on others. I am beyond grateful to my team and volunteers without whom I could not physically get the job done. They brought strength, laughter, and creativity, and I learned as much from them as I hope they did from me. I am grateful to my customers- the old and the new. I continue to reach new people and to share what we are doing here with the hopes of inspiring others. I am grateful for my collaborators who join with me to create incredible visions and experiences that we in turn share with others. Finally, I am grateful for my family. They support me on this journey and tolerate my spending so many hours in the fields.
I learned that I cannot support this business only by selling my flowers wholesale. I am too small to be able to grow sufficient quantities of flowers to make it profitable given my level of expertise. This pushed me to get creative and try some different opportunities like making my own seasonal arrangements, collaborating with a number of floral designers, and importantly, stepping out of my comfort zone and starting to teach. I gave several presentations and tours to Garden Clubs and hosted several private workshops in the Flowershop space. And I found that I really love talking about what I’ve been doing and inspiring others to support and practice the Slow Flower Movement, which means buying local, seasonal flowers grown using sustainable practices.
I have a number of ideas for how 2022 will look- hope you’ll stick around for the ride!
