February 07, 2018

Flower Farming Books

February 07, 2018/ Nicolette Irving

I love reading! Give me a good book over TV any day and I'm a happy gal. But sadly I don't have (or make) the time during the busy farm season to do much reading - probably because I fall asleep as soon as I sit down. So winter is my chance to catch up on all the reading that I daydream about during the summer. While historical fiction is probably my "escapist" reading of choice, winter reading is also about catching up on research and new ideas too. So here are some recommendations from this winter, plus all time favorites for inspiration and reference that have a permanent place at my desk.

January 28, 2018

Sweet Pea Seeding + A Giveaway!

January 28, 2018/ Nicolette Irving

Even though winter has been more severe than anyone predicted or hoped, I'm still full steam ahead with preparing for the coming season. The very first flowers that I seed in the winter are sweet peas. I have tried for the past 2 years to overwinter them in the field and in the hoop house, and both methods were unsuccessful - the vines were too damaged by wind and cold to recover, even under a layer of row cover.

November 28, 2017

How we plant ranunculus and anemone

November 28, 2017/ Nicolette Irving

I am a researcher by nature, always wanting to figure out how other people do things and seeking out the best way to approach something new. But I'm not one of those people who just researches endlessly and never takes action. I'm all about getting my hands dirty (obviously!) and a big believer in the "don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good" philosophy. I've spent countless hours researching the myriad of ways to grow ranunculus and anemone. As they are some of the earliest spring blooming flowers, I am determined each year to have an amazing crop. After a few years of trial and error, I finally believe that we've arrived at a great system.

October 17, 2017

BIG News! We are moving + expanding!

October 17, 2017/ Nicolette Irving

After over 2 years of searching for property, lots of ups and downs and heartbreaks (and definitely some tears on my part) we finally found the perfect piece of land to truly put down roots and call home. We have BIG dreams that we can now finally start to build! We purchased our 28 beautiful acres in Asheville - and the new farm is only 12 minutes from downtown.

July 28, 2017

Dahlia Season is Finally Here!

July 28, 2017/ Nicolette Irving

Each year I look forward to the arrival of dahlia season and when the flowers are blooming in abundance! These beauties do take some effort to grow on a larger scale, but are worth every drop of sweat.

May 11, 2017

Spring Updates from the Flower Farm

May 11, 2017/ Nicolette Irving

Does anyone else feel like Spring has absolutely flown by? My guess is that it feels this way because here in Western North Carolina we've been experiencing warmer than usual spring weather... I'm talking multiple days with highs in the 80s throughout April. I suppose the bright side is that the flowers are blooming earlier than anticipated or hoped.

March 18, 2017

Ranunculus Love Affair

March 18, 2017/ Nicolette Irving

This has been a weird winter... very mild overall and remarkably un-winter-like. February brought weeks with highs in the upper 70's (possibly even hit 80 a day or two) and March brought lows in the teens and with a couple inches of snow. Thankfully the ranunculus and anemone, which started blooming in late January, survived, as did the thousands of cool flowers out in the fields.

February 27, 2017

How I Became a Flower Farmer

February 27, 2017/ Nicolette Irving

I get asked this question a lot: "How did you become a flower farmer?" It has taken me a couple of years to articulate my story, but I finally received the structure and encouragement to sit down and start writing - so I did.

January 12, 2017

Snow on the farm

January 12, 2017/ Nicolette Irving

I LOVE snow! After spending many years living in the West, snowy winters and especially skiing are what I miss the most now that I'm in the South. But this year I found myself dreading the possibility of snow. The anxiety of cold temps, collapsed hoop houses and buried plants had me feeling just fine with a snow-free winter.

November 19, 2016

What Flower Farmers do in the Fall

November 19, 2016/ Nicolette Irving

Contrary to what most people assume, fall actually is the busiest season on a flower farm. Even though most of the flowers are done blooming, the backbreaking labor of fall clean up and planting is only just beginning.

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