This morning felt like a big milestone on the farm. I finally got everything planted.
Alongside all the veggies and food crops for our family, I spent the early morning hours out in the garden planting a few hundred flower seedlings while the kids were still asleep inside. These quiet mornings before everyone wakes up are some of my favourite moments this time of year. Just me, muddy boots, and trays of flowers waiting to go into the ground.
Most of the seedlings were more than ready to leave their trays. The strawflower, statice, feverfew, billy buttons, and globe amaranth were all getting root bound and stretching for more space. I've been watching the weather closely for weeks, waiting for nighttime temperatures to finally stay above 10c before planting these heat loving flowers out into the field.
I picked a cooler overcast day to transplant them to help reduce transplant shock. Hopefully it gives them a gentler start while they settle in. Now I'm just waiting for that first burst of growth once they establish and June heat finally arrives. If it ever arrives. It's been such a cool wet spring here in Ontario and everything feels a little behind this year.
There's always a moment after planting where I stand back and wonder if everything will survive. Farming has a funny way of making you hopeful and nervous at the exact same time.
I also direct sowed several flowers this week including bachelor buttons, globe thistle, bells of Ireland, and larkspur. I am especially excited for the globe thistle. They are such beautiful architectural flowers and the bees absolutely love them.
Over in the pollinator garden, a few things are finally starting to come up from the seeds I direct sowed last fall. Seeing tiny seedlings appear after a long winter always feels a little magical.
Now comes the hard part. Waiting, watering, watching the forecast, and hoping everything takes off.
