“Let us live like flowers; wild and beautiful and drenched in sun.” - Ellen Everett
Summer at Long Row is full of goodness. Our field, gift shop, and café reach a climax of activity that far surpasses every other season. Summer is a chaotic delight initially then turns into a sweet rhythm of leisurely serving the public. Even with its collective fullness, each summer month looks dramatically different from the other. This year, June was bursting with garden tours, a makers’ market, and serving gallons of fresh squeezed lemonade! The icing on our “June cake” was our annual lavender u-pick. It was a wonderful success, with over 500 bundles finding their way to new homes. In July, we get the opportunity to step back from the constant hustle to finish projects, rest, and watch the heat of summer settle on our farm and patrons. August will hold the last of our summer blooms, tying the season up with a colorful bow of zinnias and sunflowers. Much like Ellen Everett suggests, we live like flowers - wild and beautiful and drenched in sun…here’s a summer farm update -
Field Update
Two years ago, Chad and Tracy painstakingly reoriented the field to provide better drainage for their lavender plants. Last summer, after experiencing so much loss in the humidity, plants were sent to Clemson University for testing and growing advice. Through their program, we learned that the lavender was succumbing to a fungus that thrives in our thick, humid climate. With their instruction, the owners began the process of opening up the weed cloth to expose the plants to more air circulation as well as amending the soil with compost and pea gravel to aid in drainage. These preventative measures along with treating the field with a fungicide has been met with great success. The majority of the upper field was replanted in the fall of 2022 and those lavenders look amazing! This year, our varieties included: Phenomenal, Sensational, Provence, Munstead, Hidcote Blue, and Edelweiss. Our biggest surprise this year was (remembering) that Edelweiss was planted! This is one of our favorite lavender varieties as it blooms white and is the most intensely fragrant variety grown on the property.
Blooms Coming Soon
What was our large chamomile patch this spring, now holds newly sewn sunflower and zinnia seeds. While sunflowers are not deer resistant, zinnias are! This combination truly compliments and contrasts one another with their lovely, bright, summer colors. Keep a lookout on social media for a “zinnia u-pick” we will offer to the public in the coming weeks.
Hoop House Happenings
Our hoop house is moving right along as Chad has continued to build up our lettuce crop. Almost all of our salads have been made with our harvested lettuce this year!! (Thank you Farmer Chad!) In addition to our lettuce crop, Chad has been growing green onions, garlic, tomatoes and cucumbers.. In addition to vegetables, our experimental flowers reside alongside his crop. Making a jaunt through the hoop house (though hot) is a must on your next visit!
Kitchen Addition Update
The long process of building a kitchen addition has been completed! Many hands have lovingly and meticulously worked on our building since October of last year. Each of them have done a wonderful job of bringing our vision to life. We have officially moved into our new spaces and are loving it! The expanded kitchen space will allow us the opportunity to step into more events, catering options, as well as provide more seasonal offerings for our menu. We have also gained an extra bathroom that can be accessed from our pergola for the benefit of patrons. The farm has been given a completely different look and our team could not be more thrilled with the results. We are looking forward to serving you all through this new facility!
As always, thank you for your continued support of our business! Our days have been full of growth these past few years and that’s largely due to those who visit. If you have not visited us this summer, we want to extend you a personal invitation - we’ve got a seat on our porch swing with your name on it!