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| Sunflower Power |
Hello Friends, Happy September
I am sharing with you some of the bouquets I designed this summer season.
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| The Power of Pink |
The garden season was challenging for me this season as we were on the edge of being declared in an extreme drought. Challenges that I faced were short flower stems, irregular shaped flowers and slow growth. Another challenge was a Japaneses Beetle infestation. Earwigs use to be my least favorite insect, but the Japanese Beetle has taken the Earwigs place. In fact I have come to like Earwigs after dealing with Japanese Beetles. I hate Japanese Beetles, hate, hate, hate them. They ate my dahlias and African marigolds before I could use many of them. Because of the beetles I will be looking at growing other variety of flowers that I hope they do not like.
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| Strawflowers a new favorite |
I was able to keep up with my flower subscriptions and have the Flower Shack open once or twice a week.
I was not able to offer Special Occasion bouquets to the public, but I was able to fill requests from friends and past customers.
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| Delivering Smiles |
I am already planning what I will do different for the 2024 garden season. I will be trying a few new variety of flowers and I will stop growing a few others due to the beetle problems I mentioned above.
Happy September
♥
Carla
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| Foxglove beauties |
I’m so sorry to read about you beetle battle! That beetle is relentless. I hope you can find effective ways of ridding them from your beautiful garden and life.
ReplyDeleteWe fought them for two years when we first moved to lower Michigan as they ate our newly planted orchard to bits. We have, it seems, win the battle and we hope the war. Best to you in all things Carla. btw, I love your blog 😊❤️Kate
They are all so gorgeous that I cannot pick a favorite. I saw bushes with zillions of holes in the leaves. There were many Japanese Beetles on the leaves and they were all eating and reproducing at a speedy rate! We have been plagued with earwigs since we moved here over 30 years ago. All I can say is, they are better than centipedes or spiders. But I have been pinched and bitten by them! They get in your shoes and socks, and in the toilet paper layers.
ReplyDeleteOh Carla so sorry about the beetles eating your beautiful flowers. Nature can be a great thing and also harsh. We had those beetles in our one house and they did do a lot of damage to my flower garden. I hope you can find other varieties for next year. I know your customers love your home grown beauties. I wish I lived closer to have a subscription. Have a good week. Hugs. Kris
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry that this was a challenging summer for your flower shop. It's been a struggle here too in more ways than one but we soldier on. The weeds grew in such abundance and were so tall because it rained almost every day all summer but I've never been so busy as this year harvesting and pickling and preserving food. Blogging had to be put aside but I've managed to visit my blog followers. Caring for my husband has also taken more of my time this year.
ReplyDeleteI also had a Japanese Beetle problem as soon as myAsiatic lilies were out. They are the yuckiest beetle to deal with, that's for sure. The rain kept washing off the diatomaceous earth I sprinkled on.
I hope things will be better next year.
Hugs, Julia
Betlte
I’m sorry to hear about your Japanese beetle battle. They are my arch enemy here in Missouri, every year! They bother my Japanese maple the most but also my ferns and hostas. I wanted to mention that they don’t seem to like my herb garden which is great. They leave the the lavender, rosemary, sage and basil alone. If you don’t already, may I suggest mixing some herbs in with your flowers. It may help. All the best for a beautiful Autumn🍃🍂
ReplyDeleteJosie
So sorry to hear that that dreaded beetle ruined your flower season. However the bouquets you were able to create were very pretty. Good luck for next year. Janice
ReplyDeleteOh, those Japanese Beetles. I'll have to look them up, not familiar with them. Your bouquets are wonderful. The foxglove is so pretty, and I love their soft color. Keep making your thoughtful bouquets, Carla. They are such special gifts.
ReplyDelete~Sheri
I'm sorry it was a disappointing season but I know that what you were able to do, you did well and with love. A pox upon the Japanese beetle population! xoxo
ReplyDeleteSorry about the season you had. Praying next year will be back to normal for you. The flowers are so pretty. Take care and enjoy the rest of your week.
ReplyDeleteNature is so unpredictable...I'm so sorry you had to deal with the beetles and drought. The bouquets you were able to make were gorgeous and I'm sure they were well appreciated. I do hope next season is a more fruitful one. Fingers crossed!!
ReplyDeleteI hate Japanese beatles too! Gross yuck disgusting! My garden didn't do well this year. The critters really got to it!
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry to hear they caused such problems for you Carla. I had hoped the drought would make them disappear, but I was wrong. They ate so many of the leaves on my climbing rose, thankfully it was done blooming before they attacked it.
ReplyDelete