Over a year!

I kind of can't believe it has been over a year since my last post.  I used to be so great at posting frequently.  I guess that is what happens when your entire routine changes.  We moved back to Michigan.  We bought a house.  We started a farm.  We got married.  And that was all in 2013!

Things are moving along nicely though.  My flower farm is growing.  We are now cultivating around an acre of land.  I've filled our property with shrubs, peonies, roses, perennials, bulbs, hops, clematis, herbs, and coming soon....lots of fruit!  Nearly everything we grow can be used for wedding and event decor.  Plus, we can eat lots of it.  We also grow our own veggies and I'm hoping to get back into canning this summer or next.

Another exciting change is that we are about to become poultry parents!  We have 2 khaki campbells ducks, 8 indian runner ducks, 7 araucana/ameraucana chickens, 2 speckled sussex, 2 silver laced wyandottes, 2 golden laced wyandottes, and 2 barred rocks coming to us this spring.  The ducks will be here early April and the chicks arrive mid May.  I'm crazy excited to finally have them.  The coop and run are coming along.  My chick brooders are almost ready.  Eeek!  I'm ready for the cuteness!  I'll definitely be sharing pictures.  Fuzzy. Cuteness. Overload.

I miss the old days of garden tours with friends in North Carolina.  It was such a joy to have such wonderful friends to talk gardening with.  We are wonderful friends today but I'm sad that I haven't been back to NC since we left.  I'm on a mission to come back this fall.  I was planning a trip last fall but I just couldn't get my act together.  Fall bulb planting seemed to stretch on forever!  I guess that is what happens when you plant 3,000 tulips, 500 allium, 1,000 daffodils and hundreds of other bulbs and shrubs.  Snow didn't fly until late December which bought me some serious planting time, whew!

Our snow melted super early this spring, mid March.  Last night it started to snow and now we are approaching 9 or 10 inches of fresh snow!  Ugh, mother nature you are cruel.  The weekend will be in the 50's though so it won't last long.  The tulips are about an inch or two tall depending on the variety.  Perennials are starting to pop up.  Spring is the best isn't it?  I started tapping sugar maple trees earlier this week and will resume sap collection when it starts running again.  I absolutely love making maple syrup.  It makes me feel so farmer chick!

I'm going to try to pop in here a little more often but I can be found on instagram @perbellusflowerfarm, facebook at /perbellusflowerfarm and of course, my farm blog Perbellus Flower Farm, here on blogspot.

I hope you all are well and enjoying 2016!

Michelle

Mexico and Monkeys!

The same day that we toured Chichen Itza, we stopped at this amazing sinkhole.  The hole is 90 feet down to the water surface.  The water is another 150 feet deep.  These pictures do not do it any justice.  It was so green and lush!  I could have swam all day.  As you can see it's a very popular stop.

We also spent a day at Xel-ha.  It is a huge cove full of sea life and fun activities. It's all inclusive too.  Once we got there we went for a walk on some of the trails.  Then we went underwater cave diving.  By far, the biggest highlight of the day.  Then we tubed part way down the river and then just snorkeled the rest of the way down and floated around the cove, exploring for hours. We also did a Mayan steam bath. Perfect after floating around in salt water all day. They had tons of dolphins there but I'm against dolphins in captivity and the exploitation of such an intelligent creature, so I will not support that.  Even one of the tour guides told us to avoid the dolphins because they aren't truly happy doing what they do.  They only want their reward, fish.  (off my soapbox now)

Our resort was an eco friendly resort.  It was a jungle setting complete with its own Mayan ruins.  It had hiking trails, a small river for snorkeling and tubing, ruins, Mayan ceremonial acts, and of course, the beautiful beach.  We spent many hours lounging on the beach beds and chairs.  It was also the first topless beach I'd ever been too.  No. I did not go topless. Not that there is anything wrong with it.

Our resort had wild monkeys!  They were outside of our room for three mornings.  I fed one of them some grapes (after seeing the hotel employees feeding them fruit).  They are so adorable.  

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Mexico!

In January we ran off to Mexico for a week.  It was our first time so we did the touristy visit. What a gorgeous place!  First stop, Chichen Itza!

Wildly Inspiring

These are some of the flower farmers that put a smile on my face in these snowy winter months.

Floret Flowers

Love 'n Fresh Flowers

Bathtub Gardens

Worlds End

Bare Mountain Farm

LynnVale Flower Farm

The Painted Tulip

Sunny Meadows Flower Farm

Enjoy!

First Year As A Small Farm

2013 marked our first year in business as small farmers.  Overall I thought it went pretty well.  Especially since it was such a crazy year.  We bought a house, tons of moving (three 26 foot u hauls), got married at our home, started a business, and worked full time to top it off.

My downfall is that I am a wicked procrastinator.  I will put off anything even though I am fully aware that I will be worse off for it.  I tend to start off okay each spring but then I just fall right off the wagon.  It is a struggle each day.  One that I am going to keep trying to overcome.

Despite that, the garden grew quite well.  I was able to sell lots of pretty bouquets at the market.  I met tons of wonderful new people and networked with other farms and businesses.  In regards to cash in vs. cash out, I nearly broke even.  Not too bad for my first year.  Of course, I'm not counting my hours worked.  That would be mentally painful.

I have lots of big new plans for the coming season.  I'm going to start raising culinary and medicinal herbs.  I have drawn out a beautiful garden plan for the back yard that includes around 16, 4' x 8' raised beds.  I'd like to start offering herbal wreaths, garlands, bouquets, sachets, and eventually, herbal body care products, tinctures, vinegar, dip mix, seasonings and oils.

I also hope to open the farm to private parties such as baby and bridal showers, garden club tours and herbal workshops.  Hopefully this can be accomplished by 2015.

I would like to wholesale more in the future too.  I do love the farmers market but it is very time consuming so I may phase myself out of it.  Hard to say for sure though.

Seed catalogs are starting to arrive in the mail so it is back to dreaming and planning.  Always my favorite time of year!

The Big Year

I'm still here!  I do believe this has been the longest I have not blogged.  Wow and sorry for the absence. 

Well, so much has happened this year.  The new house, the farm, the wedding, it has been crazy.

I only have a handful of photos from our wedding but the rest will be finished soon.  A close friend took our photos as a wedding gift!  I wanted to keep the wedding affordable and we did.  Around $5,000 for the whole thing.  Not bad at all.  We spent money on the wedding tent which included all tables, chairs, linens, lights and dance floor.  Food and drink.  Plates and utensils which were all compostable.  My dress and Andrews Suit.  The D.J..  Cake and Bartender.  And last but not least, two bathrooms.

My dress was custom made for me by a wonderfully talented friend.  We used pieces from my grandmother and great grandmothers wedding dresses.  Plus, an antique Victorian skirt and some other found materials.  I think it turned out beautifully.  If only I hadn't gained weight throughout the summer.  Turns out I'm a stress eater.

These guys, let me tell ya!  I have had the pleasure of laughing at their shenanigans for over 10  years.  Each one has a heart of gold.  From left to right: Kevin, Devon, Andrew, Jared, Kevin and Josh.

 Shelly, in the green dress, is my maid of honor.  I met here when we around 8 years old.  All these wonderful girls have been in my life since we were children and I can't imagine life without them. The girls got to pick their own color and dress and these aren't bridesmaid dresses.  Just regular dresses they can wear again.  My cousin did our hair too.  From left to right:  Ella, Nicole, Mandy, Me, Shelly and Tanya.

 

My most prized photos are the group shots of the entire reception party.  They put a big smile on my face. Even our high school principle and his wife are with us.  I recommend getting one of these during your wedding if you can.  See if you can spot my moms small, crowd surfing dog in the upper shot.

 

The farming went great too.  It was hard though since I worked full time from June through August.  I managed to take bouquets to the market for about two months.  I could have gone longer but I wanted to be done this this year.  The flowers did really well.  There were some failures however.  Zinnias were horribly diseased so I only harvested them for the wedding but that was worth it. 

 

The vegetables did great except for the tomatoes, broccoli, and zucchini.  Disease and bugs, ugh.  At least I know what I have to do next year.

 

We still have tons to do.  I have to wait for a few more good days to get some plants into the ground.  Pushing it a bit late, I know.  I'm a procrastinator, so instead of using the beautiful days of September and October to work, I'm now stuck with November.  There is snow on the ground today!  Learn as I go, I guess.

 

I have some folks interested in my flowers for weddings next year and a few other sales opportunities as well.  I'll be working part time off the farm so I will have more time next year.  Thank goodness!

Still Here

I'm busy these days!  The wedding, work, the house and of course the farm.  I have been selling at the Saturday market in Traverse City for three weeks.  It is a ton of work but I really enjoy it all.  Here are some photos of our farm stand.  We have sold out all three weeks.  Woo hoo!