It has been a glorious month of flowers for my North Texas garden and especially considering it was July in the Southwest.So many of our Southwest Summers can be brutal. Truly, neither fit for man nor beast and certainly not conducive for a flower farmer and her flowers.Do I sound dramatic? Well I might, but seriously it is so true.When I hear Summer In North Texas I cringe and I live here!This post is dedicated to my Mama, she would have been 97 today and she is the woman who inspired me to plant and grow!Her nimble fingers tended to my sister, Dad, me and the farm.She was a beautiful and powerful role model for me.We grew flowers together from the time I was old enough to take care of them myself.Thank you Mama, I love you!We have been making the most of these showy blooms with colorful vessels and bouquets on the patio.You know I have just given into the environment that I live in...I can amend the soil, adjust the water and fertilization methods.But I can't fight the weather!I'll swim upstream in other areas of my life...but not flower farming.A voluptuous and colorful mixed bouquet in a well worn wrought iron basket on a unloved rocker which I rescued when I was working in the furniture hospital in Southlake.I miss that part of my life, I think that I will need to find another furniture hospital near me.You might enjoy that little tale of this rocker, it is right here.Whimsical bouquets which last so very well.The garden thrives when I plant flowers that like heat, imagine that one...Now I am envisioning expanding the Flower Farm, I am, I really am!I love having my own multitude of flowers to cut anytime I please, they bring me a giddy joy on these hot Summer days!I always place the fresh picked bouquets in a vessel filled with water and leave them on the patio for a few hours so the lady bugs, random spiders and such can make their way home before I bring uninvited guests into our rooms. I would feel sad knowing that a Lady Bug couldn't fly home.Plus I don't like seeing a glistening web or two from a dining room chair, I am sort of afraid of spiders.Well, I actually I am afraid of spiders, there I said it!But I do befriend snakes...
Zinnias and Sunflowers bloom more the more you cut them!
Lucky for me.
The beginnings of a natural Summer wreath and the tutorial you can find right
here.
I enjoy arranging flowers in random vessels.
My youngest daughter gave me these assorted turquoise mugs and creamers.
Adding whimsy to our homes is always a positive thing to do and of course flowers brighten up the day.
And for when I am not in the flower patch tending to the flower farm.Well, I am wearing flowers on my shoes...Keeping flowers close to our hearts acts as an insulation against bad vibes.Wouldn't you agree??
Thank you for joining me today!Up later this week, an awesome Summer pasta recipe!
You and I share the flower farm dream. Wouldn't it be just amazing to be completely surrounded by flowers we could cut any time? Yours are beautiful!!
ReplyDeleteI love my gardens, and mini flower farm, it make my heart happy!
DeleteKeep your dream alive my friend!
Jemma
Just beautiful. Flowers make my heart sing. 💐💕
ReplyDeleteThank you Kris and I couldn't agree more on how flowers make us so happy!
DeleteOh Jemma, what a delight to read! You are the flower lady, and you are courageous to practice your art in the HEAT of Texas. I know that heat, living in Los Angeles for 29 years of my life. I can feel your passion about the flower farm industry, and I wish you continued success. I have the feeling that your challenges with the extreme heat are a good exercise in problem solving and perseverance. If you can manage to keep things healthy and growing in such a state of affairs, you will know so much as you continue on. BRAVO!
ReplyDeleteMy garden of blooming beauties sustains me on these hot and restless Summer days.
DeleteI now need her as much as she needs me!
The harmony of the garden and the hum of natures soothes my fevered brow and calms my wandering spirit.
We should dabble with the soil, it is truly good for the soul!
Jemma, what a cheerful post! Cheers to your mama and my dad, who would have been 97 yesterday (31st). :) ♥
ReplyDeleteThe flowers are gorgeous, and I love how you let go and give in to the inevitable. However, I think you might be just a tad humble when speaking of your abilities with flower farming....but truthful when it comes to the spiders, hehe. The sunflowers and zinnias are such happy flowers. Mexican sunflowers would do well in your region, too. Mine got a late start, but the hotter the better, and they're really just now starting to flower in my garden. They'll go on as long as the heat does, through October most likely.
Happy August!
Good Morning!
DeleteWell, yes I am terrified of spiders...so silly I know, and yet a snake doesn't really bother me too much. Hmmm...I like this idea of a Mexican Sunflower. I am thinking Fall planting and maybe even some dahlias. Thanks for your visit and tips too!
And I misspoke when I said my father would have been 97 on the 31st - it was 99! My mother would have been 97 this past March. :)
DeleteYour flowers are beautiful. You'll have to expand your varieties next year so you can increase your little flower farm. I get lost in the detail of each flower not so much insulation... Keep planting you could have a great fall crop too.
ReplyDeleteThank you Carole, once I got my mind disciplined and focused on what I could grow, instead of what I couldn't the game changed!
DeleteYour flowery shoes are perfect. I think I am doing pretty well if I have flowers in the beds in front of our house. I really need to try growing some for cutting. Yours are just lovely.
ReplyDeleteGood Morning!
DeleteThese shoes are fun and comfy too:) I always have a flower garden with me wherever I go now! hehe....
Love all your happy bouquets! I love zinnias and sunflowers. They are such happy flowers!
ReplyDeleteYou know, I grew up here in Texas and I don't remember summer being so hot! And we didn't have air conditioning. The 100+ days weren't as frequent then. Not sure why they are now but they are exhausting. Thanks for your cheerful post. Made my day!
Imagine no air conditioning! Well, I can't imagine that. We either have climate change going on or cycles of some kind! Thanks for you sweet words and I am glad you enjoyed this post! Out to the garden now, while it's still "cool," wink...
DeleteYou and I share a passion for little bouquets -- in mugs, bottles, whatever and wherever they fill fit. I love to walk in a room and see some fresh flowers -- even a bloom or two! I feel your southern heat feelings when it comes to gardening. Here it might be the opposite problem but not in the summer. But lucky you can have some sort of outdoor presence in February!
ReplyDeleteI have to say again -- I ADORE those zinnias!
Your bouquets are beautiful. I love sunflowers and zinnias. Your shoes are adorable!
ReplyDeleteStunningly beautiful! I can't get enough flowers! ❤️
ReplyDeleteThese are all so beautiful. The sunflowers are a favorite of mine!!
ReplyDeleteI had to laugh at your inviting critters into your home. I just tossed a bouquet that had brought a whole slew of baby caterpillars into the dining room. I still feel them crawling on me as I type. The funny thing is that my grandson saw them a day earlier and thought they were cool so didn't say anything. Lesson learned. Spray them off with the hose before bringing them in! btw...I'm learning to embrace heat loving zinnias and sunflowers even though my heart longs for foxgloves and delphiniums.
ReplyDeleteYou are quite a gardener, my friend. Very talented!
ReplyDeleteOh, my word! These photos are just breathtaking...looks like something you would see in a magazine! You do an amazing job, sweet friend...both growing them and photographing them!
ReplyDeleteOh Jemma, your flowers are wonderful. So many different kinds and colors to brighten your garden and even your home. I love the sunflowers. And the words you said about your mom were heartwarming. The Zinnias look like a sturdy flower, and funny I've never planted them. The yellow sunflowers look so pretty in the turquoise mug. I think you really have a green thumb.
ReplyDeleteHappy August, dear friend.
love, ~Sheri
Beautiful bouquets! I didn't plant zinnias this year. I don't seem to have much luck with them.
ReplyDeleteBrenda
Oh, I just drool looking at your gorgeous zinnias and amazing sunflowers. I would love to stroll through your garden and talk flowers. One of these days when I get back to Texas I want to do that. Love all your arrangements. When you have an abundance of flowers isn't it so much fun to use different containers and play.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry your area has such intense heat, but I must say it produces a bounty of gorgeous blooms! Next year, I need to be more diligent with finding zinnias to plant - and cosmos, too. I didn't have any luck this year.
ReplyDeleteThose are all just gorgeous, Jemma. I have all pastel flowers this year..but I love the brighter colors for fall. Thanks for the beautiful pictures. xo Diana
ReplyDeleteOh Jemma, they are beautiful. You truly do have a green thumb.
ReplyDeleteLove all the vases you use for your beautiful blooms.
Have a great rest of the week.
Mary
Your flowers are gorgeous! I love the zinnias and sunflowers together.
ReplyDeleteYou have the magic touch of love for your flowers for them to look so fresh and vibrant in the Texas sun!
ReplyDeleteJemma, these memories of lessons learned from our mothers grow dearer with each passing year, don't they? I love when you write about the potato farm years in Idaho. For me it was grandparents' farm in Lawrenceburg TN that we visited regularly. My dad was youngest of 6, a late life baby who grew up helping his mother in her flower and vegetable garden while his older brothers worked with their dad. He would have loved seeing you in your flower garden. As I'm sure your mother would you. She'd be so proud of you!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful bouquets, Jemma--your Mama would be proud! I know exactly what you mean about fighting the weather ;) Hugs, Cecilia
ReplyDeleteHello Jemma,
ReplyDeleteLove how your flowers are growing!!! Sooo pretty!! Pinned a ton... sigh! You definitely have a gift for gardening.
Barb :)
This post is a delight, especially as you've dedicated it to your Mama.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous flowers, such wonderful colours and I so enjoyed the read too, thank you.
All the best Jan