Last year I went all in on spring flowers. And a lot of them were a complete failure.
In order to get an abundance of flowers in the spring, you need to plant in the late fall or into the winter.
That means you have to be prepared to deal with weather fluctuations and know what certain plants can handle weather-wise and what they can’t.
I was not prepared. Nor did I have the knowledge about what flowers could handle what.
Here are the five mistakes I made last year (and what I am doing to avoid them next year.)
Mistake 1: I overcomplicated just about everything.
Snapdragon seedlings, patiently waiting to be planted, as they sat in their tray for about three weeks too long.
Last year I tried to grow about 25 new things I had never grown before. It turned into a confusing mess.
I couldn’t remember what needed to be planted when, and when I did finally plant it, of course I didn’t label it (because I always think I will remember everything despite a lifetime of experiences that prove otherwise.)
Each raised bed had four to eight different flowers, and when things started to grow, I couldn’t tell what was a weed and what wasn’t. I also had no idea what was going to bloom and when.
How I am fixing it:
This year, one raised bed gets one kind of flower.
It’s easy to get excited and try a bunch of new things. But most of us are busy people who want to enjoy our flowers and garden… not be a slave to it.
This fall, in raised beds, I am planting tulips, ranunculus, anemones, poppies and snapdragons. That’s it. Only five flowers.
Mistake 2: I didn’t have cold weather protection ready.
One bed of snapdragons (that mostly survived until spring)
I really half-assed my winter preparedness.
I used leaves around the base of my seedlings to insulate the soil, which worked great… until the wind blew them away.
I had some frost cloth, but not enough, so when we had the week of very sub-freezing temperatures in January, there were a lot of causalities.
How I am fixing it:
This year, I have the appropriate amount of frost cloth and low hoops. As I plant, I’ll be putting down leaves and putting up frost cover right away. (The frost cloth will hopefully keep the leaves in place so the wind doesn’t take it away.)
Mistake 3: My seed starting was out of control.
Me, panic planting my dying seedlings
I tried way, way too many new flowers that I started from seed. I had a whole confusing spreadsheet about what seeds to start when and half of them died before I even got them out of the tray.
I truthfully had no idea when things would actually bloom so everything was blooming at all the wrong time.
Since I tried a little bit of everything, I didn’t have enough of anything.
I tried to do way too much and I lost track of things.
Each kind of seed has a different germination rate, growth rate, and needs a different set of circumstances to thrive.
Plus some seeds are hard to start (and then keep alive.) Seed starting takes daily work and a lot of organization and it takes up A LOT of space. Plus it’s daily work to check on them and make sure they have enough water, but not too much water.
How I am fixing it:
This year, because I knew I would have a newborn at home and wouldn’t be able to keep any seedlings alive anyway, I ordered plugs from Farmer Bailey’s. (I anticipate selling my extras, so if you want to grow poppies and snapdragons, let me know.)
Mistake 4: I uninstalled some of my drip tape and brought it inside in the beginning of winter.
These seedlings all later died. RIP.
I’m not sure why I did this. (I think I probably read somewhere it was best to do this? Who knows.)
And while it didn’t matter for all of winter (because it rained) when we had a dry spell in the early spring, I didn’t have my irrigation set up and I didn't have the time to set it up. It stressed a lot of my plants, which invited pests.
How I am fixing it:
I am leaving all my drip tape in place. This spring, I’ll just need to fix the leaks rather than reinstall everything.
Mistake 5: I expanded too much in my business.
A business, now matter how small, takes a lot of time and mental energy to start up and expand. (Plus, I have a full-time demanding job and a small child I need to keep alive.)
The learning curve for everything (website, marketing, growing, etc.) is steep and I simply overloaded myself with too much to learn and too much to do. I had a successful year, but I did too much.
How I am fixing it:
- My dahlia tuber and dahlia cuttings sale next year is smaller and more manageable.
- I am not switching websites like I did last year — thank god. I am officially proficient at Shopify and setting up a store doesn't take me FOR-EV-ER like it did this year.
- I am buying plugs instead of seed starting.
- I am growing fewer kinds of flowers.
- I am focusing only on spring and fall flowers.
- I simplified how people can order so there is less back and forth communication about orders.
- I’m not expanding my grow space (I added 100 square feet of raised beds last year. So much work.)