Winter Bee
Starting up a blog was a dream I had for some time. It is exciting to be doing something new, with a big learning curve (thank goodness Rachel is more blog-savvy than me). Honestly, also a bit of a rude awakening to the commitment of sustaining the blog.
BUT…I hope you’ll forgive me this long absence because I decided to jump in head first following another dream. I decided to become a flower farmer!
That’s where I’ve been all summer- growing flowers and selling bouquets at my picnic table roadside stand!
The stand with my very first bouquets. 
One of my favorites. The lavender gladiola is a stunner.
Last fall my SIL and partner in gardening crime introduced me to the Garden Answer YouTube channel. I absolutely fell in love with Laura’s cutting garden. By January I was convinced I had to be a flower farmer. In February I picked out a bunch of seed packets, set up some grow lights in the dining room, and started my seedling journey.
I had never in my life grown a plant from seed.
I still have no idea what I’m doing half the time, but I sure learned ALOT this summer!
Considering the terrible wood shortage and skyrocketing cost of lumber last spring I didn’t expect we could make raised beds. Luckily, we had enough lumber leftover from projects over the years to build six of the nine beds planned. Mr. B did not know what he was in for but he’s been a good sport about it. Good thing I know how to drive the tractor!
We laid hardware cloth under the dirt to keep the moles out. 
My new no-till row. Layers of cardboard are under that mulch. Next summer it will be filled with sweet peas and cosmos.
I nurtured my seedlings and got them in the ground, battled slugs and bunnies, and finally put my very first bouquets on the stand July 8. It’s a scary thing to start up a new business! Would anyone buy my bouquets?
My sweet DIL is the best supporter and muscle. She spent countless hours this summer moving rocks, digging holes, learning to drive the tractor, just so I can live my dream.
Snapdragons turned out to be my favorite.
(Don’t tell the others.)
A special wedding gift for Rachel. You know how she loves Disney! 
My DIL and our favorite auger makes planting bulbs a breeze.
There is quite a stack of seed packets are ready to start this February and we just planted out 240 daffodil bulbs in the new Woodland Garden (hey, I needed more shrubs for their foliage!). I WANT ALL THE FLOWERS.
There’s still a wish list of seeds that won’t be available for order until December. 
The new Woodland Garden and another bulb planting helper. 
Another view of the Woodland Garden, I can’t wait until I can harvest the Winterberry!
I’ll keep posting my gardening adventures, and you can also follow me on Instagram @winter_bee_garden or on Facebook winterbeegarden.
So what were you up to this summer? Do you have a dream nestled in your heart that you need to let fly? Let us know in the comments!
