August marks the heady days of summer. The grass around our farmhouse is so dry and the only thing that has survived is the dandelions.
The month started off with a beautiful wedding at Kiana Lodge, this was my only wedding of the month. Usually August is back to back weddings however this year it is all about September weddings. This has actually given me a little hiatus and enabled me to somewhat keep on top of the farming tasks that are always calling at this time of year.
I always host a workshop at my farm in August where you can come and cut flowers from me field and I give a hands on demonstration on how to create a beautiful floral arrangement. In years gone by this has been held during the day, but with our summers becoming hotter and the flowers and myself start to wilt during the heat of the day I decided to change things up and host what I decided to call The Golden Hour workshop. It was held when the sun was starting set on the field and it becomes magical out there and the flowers take on a beautiful hue. It was such a success and I will continue to host The Golden Hour in future years.
When I last wrote my monthly musings I was patiently or maybe not so patiently waiting for my dahlia field to burst into life. Oh my goodness, it was worth the wait. She has not disappointed. The dahlia field is everything I had hoped for and more. All the hard work that we put in at the beginning of the season has paid off. The landscape fabric has kept the weeds under control and all of the plants are looking so healthy.
Photo credit Jess Vallence
Any free evening I now have is spent out in the dahlia field documenting all of the varieties. I had my lovely friend Beth from Cactus & Clay Ceramics create a custom pitcher or jug - depending on what side of the pond you are from, so that I can photograph all my dahlias in it. It is perfect for the job. It is a race against time as I have around 140 varieties to photograph and some of them start to change color as the season progresses and the weather cools down.
The month was finished off providing flowers for the Freedom dinner at Ciderpress Lane Such a beautiful event raising money and awareness for a very meaningful cause. If you have never been to a Freedom Dinner you need to make space on your calendar, they are such wonderful events. I feel privileged to be a small part of them by providing flowers from my field.
September brings so many weddings and a field packed with dahlias, it is going to be a beautiful month.
Until October, stay healthy & safe.