This week on the farm. Another shipment of David Austin bare root roses arrived. Hooray! I have a slight addiction to ordering roses. They have already been planted and are busy growing roots and getting ready for spring growth. The peonies I planted out a few short weeks ago are emerging. Peonies do not like hot Louisiana summers and typically will not bud up. I am working on a micro-climate for them by planting them in an area that will provide them filtered sun during the peak of summer. I'll keep reporting on these little gems as they progress and we can all do the peony shuffle if we get blooms! My studio remodel is coming along. Insulation went in this week, the wood panel walls are scheduled to begin in two weeks. It wont be long and I will be sharing photos and writing about the completed studio. Many joy filled hours will be spent creating flower art in this space. I have been dreaming about this for so long. It is near reality! Until next time,
Peace, Love and Flowers, Y'all. -K
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We've added bi-weekly and monthly flower subscriptions to our line up. Along with spring, you now have a bigger selection to suit your needs. Additionally, we've added delivery in St. Tammany Parish for an additional fee. As always, pick up at the farm is no cost.
Oh the weather outside is frightful, my fields are so delightful.... It's the peak of winter in southern Louisiana and I am feeling truly blessed. Our fall planted crops are thriving in the fields. From bulbs to seedlings to the direct seeded wee ones, everyone is healthy and happy. Including me. Here's a first look at our tulips emerging. All the way from Holland, we imported the bulbs and planted out this fall. The varieties are to die for, I am in love with each of them. Armani - a deep luscious red, yum. Blushing Beauty - So named for it's blushing color, blushing rosy red fades to canary yellow at the edges of the petal, simply irresistible. Camarque - begins as pale yellow with raspberry flames and matures to ivory with raspberry striations. I'm in love! Daydream - a 1980 hybrid with varying shades of soft apricot and warm orange with a rosy glow. This one is fragrant, ohh, la, laa! Impression Mixture- A mixture of the most unbelievably large hybrid tulips, colors are soft apricot, salmon, pink and rose. These are the giants of the tulip patch! Toyota - vibrant hot pink with delicate white edges. Smashingly gorgeous. Along with the tulips, our daffodils are emerging. Sir Winston Churchill, Misty Glen and Chromacolor. White with pale yellow, white with white center and white with orange. I simply can not wait for these guys to bloom and spring to have arrived! These flowers look too perfect to be real, Ranunculus! Planted out as corms this fall, our ranunculus are thriving and healthy, growing essential roots to support the lush blossom that will grace us this spring. Amandine cream, La Belle Gold and La Belle Pink are our selections this year. Also planted out as corms this fall, Anemones! De Caen Mix. These poppy-like flowers are a mixture of vibrant reds, blues, purples, yellows and whites. Oh Snap! Snapdragons, getting tall and already time for me to pinch them back. Amazing how quickly these little ladies shot up. They are enjoying our mild Louisiana winter and will bloom in the spring. We are growing two varieties of snaps this year - Madam Butterfly and Potomac. And then there's BLUE. Hyacinth, in shades of blue. Oh how I love true blue flowers. Getting plump and happy, moving right along and on target to bloom early spring. I enjoyed sharing with you the progress of some of our spring crops. We have many more out there doing equally as well. I'll save for another post and will continue to post our crop updates. Be sure to check out our Spring Subscriptions so you too, can enjoy five weeks of generously portioned bundles of blooms this spring.
Until next time, Peace, Love and Flowers, Y'all. -K There's something so very romantic about a winter wedding and ahh, the reception with a warm toasty fire going. A little jazz music and a lot of happy folks celebrating the love of the united couple. Simply marvelous. Last, but not least, in our series of seasonal wedding colors for 2019, here we are with our top five favorite winter wedding color themes and the winter blooms they were inspired by. Gold, Green and Navy I can see bridesmaids dresses in coordinating shades of blue and green, love this look. I'm dreaming of Blue Cerinthe, Eucalyptus and Winter Jasmine. Ivory, Gold and Black In Louisiana, you don't have to look too far to find anything Black and Gold, a big plus for this color combination. Gold bridesmaid dresses would be absolutely stunning. For the winter blooms that inspired me, Black Beauty Hellebore and English Gold Prim Rose. Wine, Cream and Sage Another beautiful paring. Pieris Japonica and it's clusters of wine urn shaped flowers, Double Cream Hellebore and Eucalyptus. Ivory, Silver and Black Stunning combination, I see jeweled gowns with this one.. oh, la. laa. Black Beauty Helleborus, and Narcissus Silvery Chimes and Ivory Pansy. Taupe, Sage and Wine Bold and beautiful mix. Wonderland Deep Purple Alyssum, Silverdrop Eucalyptus and Fragrant Hellebore. That is it for our 4 season, bloom inspired wedding color picks. I enjoyed this series and hope you all did as well. Drop me a line to let me know, I love hearing from you all!
Until next time, Peace, Love and Flowers, Y'all. -K What's this Flower Subscription I keep hearing about? COVINGTON BLOOMERY FLOWER FARM AND STUDIO - FLOWER SUBSCRIPTIONS, broken down into bite sized chunks to further explain the details of this lovely offering. One of my most favorite things to do is plan the crops each year. As a family owned farm on five acres, not a "big guy," it's important for me to anticipate my crop needs. There will be weddings, last minute shoppers, birthdays, mothers day, anniversary ... orders to fill. There will also be my friends who have come to enjoy having farm fresh flowers in their home and/or place of business each week. These folks are my subscription buyers. I have a limited amount of subscriptions I am able to sell each season, an amount of crops I have planned for. I reserve a portion of my crops for weddings and flower subscriptions, the remainder I use to fill orders and the flower stand. Additionally, some of my specialty crops are grown exclusively for subscriptions and weddings and will not be sold on my stand. It benefits me in selling the amount of subscriptions I planned for, and benefits you in that you are provided with the cream of the crop, generously portioned bundle of farm fresh flowers and fillers each week during your subscription period. It's not about making the sale for me. I spent 30 years in the sales world, trust me.. this isn't sales. It's about spreading the love, finding like-minded folks who adore flowers and want to be surrounded by them as often as possible. I am able to welcome you to my farm each Wednesday to hand off your blooms, catch up on the latest goings on and share that experience. In a hurry on Wednesdays, no problem.. I won't keep you. I will welcome you with southern hospitality but am courteous and respectful of your time. I felt the need to add the last paragraph because in my younger years I would have denied myself the joy. Stressing that I couldn't fit it into my hectic schedule. Stop and smell the roses ya'll, this will be a nice addition to your life. Something sweet to make you, and I, smile. Treat yourself, or your loved one with this special gift. We appreciate your interest in our Louisiana grown vintage flowers. Peace, Love and Flowers, Ya'll.
-K The drama and romance of fall weddings lend to some pretty vibrant color choices. After a long hot Louisiana summer, the welcomed drop in temperatures revives the flowers and folks alike. I've spent an enjoyable amount of time viewing the newest fall color trends and selected my top five for you below. In no particular order. Once again, visions of flowers frolicking in my head as I imagine the blooms in these color palettes. I've shared snippets of the seasonal flowers that came to my mind. Red Yellow and Gray: It wouldn't be fall without Dahlias. With their endless color varieties this palette evoked visions of Dahlia Karma Gold, Dahlia Karma Chocolate and Hyacinths in it's many shades of blue. Simply Fabulous. Navy Blue, Gray and Cream Ohh, this one is so soothing to look at. Hyacinth, Hyacinth, Hyacinth.... with its frilly little flowers. And I certainly can not imagine cream without thinking of the princess of all dahlias - Ms. Cafe Au Lait (such a show off). Ivory, Taupe and Red You'll have happy bridesmaids with this color palette. Beautiful. Cafe Au Lait Dahlia (yes, she's deserves ... expects, to be mentioned twice), Double Click Cranberry Cosmos and Fata Morgana Scabiosa. I can't get enough of this one, adore! Ivory, Burgundy, and Slate Dare I say Cafe Au Lait three times.. why yes. Deep Secret Rose, Jude the Obscure Rose and Eternity Celosia. I seriously can not select a favorite, seems my favorite is the one I am viewing at the time. Ever changing. This is beautiful. Cranberry, Sage and Blue I couldn't leave sage out of the fall mix. So prominent in the summer, it works in fall as well. Especially with Cranberry. Rubenza Cosmos, Eucalyptus, Forget-Me-Nots and Deep Secret Roses. Stunning. There you have it, my fall picks (for today). Don't be afraid to go outside of the trends, with a little understanding of the color wheel and coordinating color, all you have to do is look to see which flowers are blooming and select what excites you. If flowers are blooming in the colors you love, they are the seasonal colors.
Until next time, Peace, Love and Flowers, Y'all. -K Here are our top five picks for Summer 2019 Wedding Colors. This was a tough one, summer is always so vibrant and fun. I'm writing this on a cold and sunless January day. I viewed these colors for hours while fantasizing of my fields of upcoming blooms. These are in no particular order, I love each of them equally. I've shared with you snippets of my summer flower crops I imaged when considering the color palettes. I tend to think in flowers, of course. ;) Tangerine, Orange and Yellow has thoughts of Pat Austin Roses, Hemerocallis Double Talk, and Lily Salmon Classic dancing in my head. This one could be a lot of fun, so many options. Pinks and Powdery Blue Dreaming of Blue Allium, Arena Apricot Lisianthus and Belinda's dream roses. Ohh.la.laa. Lemon and Watermelon: Phab Gold Roses, Conca D'Or Lily and Dianthus. Oh.Em.Gee. Copper, Teal and Ivory Blue Allium, Ferncliff Dahlia, Jude the Obscure Rose. Gorgeous. I can't get enough of this color palette. The bridesmaids dresses would be fabulous! Copper, Safire and Magenta Miranda Lambert Rose, Echinops blue glow and Babylon Dahlia. Oh those Miranda Lamberts, such an intense pink. Absolutely divine. There you have it, our top five selections for the trending colors of Summer 2019. What are your favorites?
Until next time, Peace, Love and Flowers, Y'all -K Many of you already know my thoughts about color "trends" from previous post, toss them and go with what excites you. If the flowers are blooming in a particular color palette, they are truly the colors representing the season. But, if we must... I have to admit I truly enjoyed selecting from the current trends my very favorites for you. These are in no particular order, I adore them all. It was difficult to narrow it down to five! When I imagine a color, my thoughts are illustrated with flowers. Therefore, I've included snippets of my spring 2019 crops that inspired me in my selections so you too can enjoy magical thoughts, illustrated with flowers. Blush, Dusty Rose and Gold. I see visions of LaBelle Pink Ranunculus, Godetia Grace, Hummingbird Poppies, Carmaque Tulips and Magnolia leaves, showing off their gold underside. Sage, Blush and Soft Gray Olive leaves, Stock Quartet, blush colored Ranunculus and Silvery-White Strawflower come to mind. Dusty Blue, Blush and Ivory Blue, a rare occurrence in the flower world which makes it all the more sought after. Hyacinth in shades of blue are in bloom in the spring. Ohh.la.laa. Also, Delphinium Belladonna, so airy and sweet. Fields of blush ranunculus, tulips, and snaps are always putting on a spring show. Mauve, Blush and Slate Gray Dramatic and Moody has a place in every season. This one really excites me. Armani Tulips, LaBelle Pink Ranuncs, Silvery White Strawflower, oh.my. The list could go on and on. I simply can not wait to create bouquets for this bold palette. Dusty Blue, Peach and Taupe Impression Tulips, Delphinium Belladonna, Poppy Hummingbird, Snapdragon Madam Butterfly, all blooming in shades of Peach and Dusty Blue. Last but not least, I couldn't help myself, I just had to add a number six. Looking through my 2019 spring crop and admiring my LaBelle Gold Ranunculus, there was no way I could pass of up on this color trend. Shades of Yellow and Dusty Blue I'm dreaming of LaBelle Gold Ranunculus, Dusty Blue Hyacinth, Blushing Beauty and Daydream Tulips, Amandine Cream Ranuncs and Sir Winston Churchill Narcissi. What are some of your favorites?
Until next time, Peace, Love and Flowers, Y'all -K Kids and video games is a someone heated topic. Some say they play too much and should spend more time outdoors. Others will argue it is great for hand-eye coordination and self control. As a grandmother, I'm all too familiar with the young generations interest in video games. This summer, I learned to find a nice balance. My grandson wanted the hottest new (non-violent) video game, and I needed my fields weeded. Perfect! I offered to buy it for him in return for spending the day outdoors, weeding my fields. Without hesitation, he hopped on it. In the end, my fields were tended to, my grandson purchased his new game, and after spending the day out in the fields, he found his inner farmer.
It is fair to say he now finds equal enjoyment working in the fields as he does playing games. Not only does he help around the farm, he pots up seeds and cuttings and takes them home to care for in his own little sacred garden. Until next time, Peace, Love and Flowers, Y'all. -K It was a hot August day, buckets of blooms sat waiting on my studio floor for the storm to pass. I was to open the flower stand that morning and had prepared the blooms the evening before. Sitting idle with available blooms isn't something I handle well. Certainly I had a few to spare, right? What does a farmer-florist-horse enthusiast do when trapped indoors, surrounded by flowers? Create an equestrian inspired arrangement, of course! Searching through my iphone photos of Tucker, I found the image below and put it on the laptop screen. Several hours and buckets of blooms later ... my little masterpiece above. I was never able to open the farm stand that day. However, as the rain poured down upon my flower fields, I enjoyed every last second while creating my Tucker-Inspired flower arrangement. What a great way to spend a rainy day.
Until next time, Peace, Love and Flowers, Ya'll. -K |
Karin SmithFarmer, florist, lady with the feed bucket. Horses and flowers make my heart go pitter-patter. Or sometimes clippity-clop. Categories
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