It's been a while since my last post, and Oh my, how things have changed. I decided to take a break from writing in July and treat it as a summer vacation, and weekend trips started in early August. At the beginning of the year, I started strong, excited, committed, and ready to start my own business. By spring, I felt behind, overwhelmed, and unmotivated to sell. A month into summer, my farm row is filled with many blooms I didn't want to part with. Again, feelings of motivation slipped away like mulch on a hill in a rain storm. My confidence level dipped, and I worried about giving blooms away with bugs on them. Bugs—good or bad, flowers grown without pesticides will carry bugs inside.

With the help of my friends, I concluded that a flower farming business would not be for me. I found myself hooked on what everyone else was doing. I had to soul search and remember why I started growing flowers in the first place. It wasn't to sell them. I started my cut-flower garden because I couldn't find the desired blooms I longed for. I couldn't find the colors I wanted and didn't have the funds to purchase large quantities. I started growing for myself, to harvest at any time, to play and create arrangements using old blooms, fresh blooms, or chewed blooms. Flower farming is about growing the varieties that sell and harvesting before buds can open their eyes and stretch out their petals. I got caught up in the hard work. Why would anyone do such hard work as a hobby that makes no money? I guess it comes down to you. What makes you happy and feel good? I've always been proud of my hard work, and enjoying mine through an extravagant arrangement on my coffee table is enough payment. So now what? I still need to find a way to fund my hobby; tubers, bulbs, corms, seeds, soil, mulch, help, and time all add up. This winter, I can work on a backup plan. For now, I'll revel in the abundance.

Week 34 recap:

• Deadheaded zinnias.
• Recorded garden work, harvesting, and deadheading.
• We started grout in the bathroom renovation.

Plans for week 35:

• Move daylilies.
• Move Oklahoma rose bush.
• Clean companion planting bed.
• Clean the studio and get ready for seed starting.
• Start carnation and lisianthus.

Week 34 blooms:

• Amaranth
• Basil
• Canna
• Celosia
• Crape Myrtle
• Full Sail Roses
• Globe Amaranth
• Marigolds
• Petunias
• Phlox
• Sunflowers
• Zinnia

A garden is a place to wander, find solitude, and revel in the beauty.