As spring begins to warm and summer grabs the seasonal baton, our chamomile bed comes to life and blooms throughout the warmest months.

Their delicate yellow and white blooms feel like an “easy yes” for our field. We grow the German variety of chamomile in our raised bed. This is a variety that can be dried and used for medicinal purposes. (And blended for tea!)  If you visit the farm during chamomile season, you likely will find us harvesting their heads in order to dry the blooms. Their dainty flower and sweet smell is reminiscent of honey; sometimes we even add their blooms to our lavender eye masks! They are the sweetest little addition to the bloom schedule every year! 

Next is our lavender! Lavender is the “main event” and a stunning bloom that peaks in mid June. Once the initial bud is fully developed, we allow our plants to remain in the field for up to two and a half weeks. Their bloom is quick, which means patrons have a short window of opportunity to see the flowers before we harvest. Lavender can be allowed a longer period to bloom, however, for our purposes, we need to harvest the plant while the buds are tight on the stem. This allows for more buds to remain on the plant once it is fully dried. 

Following the lavender is the arrival of our sunflowers and zinnias! These colorful blooms give the barn a lovely focal point during some of the hottest months of the year. Sunflowers are easy to cultivate however due to the fact our local deer see them as candy, it can be a challenge to keep them from becoming their evening dessert.  Planting zinnias work to counteract this problem by providing a three foot (deer resistant) border around them. Our sunflowers bloom, at best, 2-3 weeks while our zinnias can last much longer. The more you cut zinnias, the longer they will bloom! Lookout for a zinnia“you-pick” opportunity next summer.

Welcome the newest addition to our farm, Dahlias! Dahlia tubers were planted in the hoop house this past Spring. Late August and into September brought about their blooms and they are thriving - even into October! Our staff has been endlessly delighted by their striking colors, from a deep purple, to tropical looking oranges, pinks, reds, and whites. We are looking forward to sharing more of these blooms with the public in the coming year as these tubers will multiply and will be planted next May for gorgeous blooms in late summer, early fall. Growing these dahlias has provided the farm with some additional color, as well as a variety of flowers to showcase in our café.

Some of our last blooms of the season include our Mexican and Pineapple Sages. These are annual bloomers that will flower until the first hard frost. Depending on the weather, our “sage season” can last quite a while, it is one of our favorites!

Here at Long Row, our goal is to grow a wide variety of flowers that will be blooming throughout every season. We want you, our patrons, to experience our ever changing and beautiful field as often as possible. Thank you for visiting our farm and enjoying each of these blooms over the years. Your patronage allows us to expand and grow and we thank you!  

- Martha