Hi Reader, I’ve been making bouquets for several years now and whenever I tell people what I do they always say: “Wow you’re so lucky!” And I know you aren’t thinking of weeding or the 95 degree days in July… you are imagining picking flowers in a sundress. I’m not going to lie, the best part of working with flowers is picking them in the cool morning while the sun rises. I’ve offered U-pick flower events annually, and everyone has loved them. So I have an exciting announcement to make!...
4 months ago • 1 min read
Remember me Reader? You may not even remember my name or how you signed up for my email list since I haven’t sent an email in over a year! I think the best thing is to reintroduce myself, explain where I’ve been and then you can decide if you’d like to keep hearing from me or not. I’m Annika DeMaster of Willow Haven Flowers which I started in 2019 as a summer job to make some money for my college education. I spent five summers growing flowers, making bouquets and running a business. I had a...
4 months ago • 1 min read
HelloReader, Did you grow up reading Anne of Green Gables like I did? Maybe you loved the dreamy descriptions of the lake of shining waters and violet vale just as much as hearing about her misadventures. Anne’s love of flowers practically leaps off the pages. This quote from the book shows the transformative power of flowers: Before flowers… “The parlor at Green Gables was a rather severe and gloomy apartment, with rigid horsehair furniture, stiff lace curtains, and white antimacassars that...
almost 2 years ago • 1 min read
Dear Reader, Last week I told you that the flower for the month of March was a Daffodil. If you didn’t see that email you can read it again here. But I want to give you some of the background of Daffodils and where there name comes from in this weeks email. Daffodils are part of the Narcissus family which is a species of Amaryllis. Flowers are commonly white or yellow but some of them could be orange or even pink! But don’t eat them because they contain alkaloids which are toxic! But it has...
over 2 years ago • 2 min read
Flower Highlight- March The Daffodil! The Daffodil is for you if you are a cheerful person and you may be delighted by bright colors, baby chicks, and walking through long grass. If you’ve ever wanted to paint a room in your house yellow you may be a daffodil girl. Dear Reader, This week I’ve finally gotten a chance to breathe and so now I’m going to try to get back to writing weekly newsletters. Last week I submitted the first draft of my undergraduate thesis which is on the spiritual nature...
over 2 years ago • 1 min read
Hello Reader, Stop looking for Thanksgiving decorations! IF you want decorations that will wow your guests and prompt conversations then you need a dried flower arrangement. Eating together is a great way to build connections and to see each person as a gift. Creating a beautiful and welcoming atmosphere will help encourage those family connections. You can use the information I sent in the last two emails to start conversations around flowers and the history of dried flowers. History of...
over 2 years ago • 1 min read
Hello Reader, Now that you’ve been introduced to dried flowers you may be wondering which flowers dry well and which ones don’t. After flower farming for three years I’ve watched a lot of bouquets age and learned what flowers look best the longest. Not just their vase life but also how well they dry. To decide which flowers to dry you want to look for a few different characteristics: flower structure, moisture content, and variety. Look for flowers that have a small calyx and hold their...
over 2 years ago • 1 min read
Hello Reader, Have you ever noticed that as your flowers die some look nicer than others? Even after the water is gone the flower still retains its shape and color. This is because some flowers dry extremely well! They will keep their color for weeks or even years after they have been dried. Flowers that dried in my cooler There is a long tradition of drying flowers that has continued since ancient times. The ancient Egyptians used dried flowers in their burial rites and the Romans used them...
over 2 years ago • 1 min read
Hello Farm members, How is your lawn doing Reader? Ours is pretty crunchy. We don’t have the luxury of watering the grass. Maybe you do or maybe you have gotten more rain than us this summer. Well, the crops are getting crunchy and dried out too. There hasn’t been a big soaking rain here since early in July. Since we need about 1” of rain a week for the plants to be healthy that means that there are a lot of sad flowers. So you may have noticed that your bouquet this week is a little smaller...
almost 3 years ago • 1 min read
