One of the many things I’m discovering as a full time flower farmer is that winters don’t feel as long or give me the doldrums much anymore. Since I’m planning and planting a season ahead, in winter, to me, spring seems just around the corner. I see my fancy daffodils popping up, the fall planted flowers growing away looking ready to burst open, and budding in many of my flowering bushes. It’s uplifting! And, noticing the increasing daylight hours since the end of winter solstice doesn’t hurt.
Of course, a portion of the nation is suffering from the icy, wintry havoc, but here in Cape May, whether it’s the Cape May Bubble or the fact that we are so far down south, we’ve escaped a major snow and ice storm and blistering cold temperatures.
As I write this, I’m getting a special weather announcement of an arctic airmass spreading into our area with temperatures dipping into the single digits and low teens. Ugh . . . I’m getting flashback nightmares about last year’s arctic blast.
UPDATE: Thankfully, other than the wind (which is normal here), the temperatures did not dip below 20 degrees. Fingers crossed that the expected temperatures for this coming week will stay in the double-digits and that this will be the last hurrah of the cold in these parts of NJ. What do you think?
Fall and early winter have been about catching up on weeding and preparing the perennials for the winter. If you’ve been following me on social media, you know I’ve been doing some massive and long-needed weeding. Little by little (I’m a big believer in incrementalism), I’ve been chipping away at the weeding and am delighted to say I’ve finished weeding my perennial bed. The hardest part, surprisingly, is not the physical labor but controlling my impatience in wanting to see all the beautiful peonies and roses blooming, RIGHT. NOW. after all this effort! Patience, little grasshopper, patience.
But, above all, I can’t wait to share these beauties with you! 🩷
If the cold and dark of winter badly affects you, take heart, we are on the “edge of spring” (a little poaching from Stevie Nicks) and the flower babies are relentlessly growing away. Look for the beauty that exists in winter (like my hellebores), and know that the first set of flowers signaling the end of winter is just around the corner.
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