Mother’s Day 2022 Reflections

It’s no secret that in the flower world, Mother’s Day weekend is by far the busiest of any weekend in the year. As a grower, the biggest factor that I cannot control is the weather. From what I can recall, this year has been more cold and wet than other years prior. Plus side to this weather is that the tulips are in season longer than usual. Downside, practically nothing on the farm besides the tulips were in bloom for Mother’s Day. Thankfully, our dutch iris and a bit of euphorbia were available, but that was not going to be enough. We have a lot of mustard greens that grow wild around the farm so my mom and I foraged a lot of that to serve as filler. We also dry lots of statice and flax pods during the summer so we had that to use as well. Somethings that I failed to do this year that I need to do next year:

1) Pre-make bouquets!

We have always just made bouquets as we go regardless of the market day, but I did not pre-make any bouquets this year because I thought, “meh, what’s the point? It’s going to be busy either way.” I was dead wrong. I now see the benefit to having a stash of bouquets ready to start the day with for Mother’s Day. I will be armed and ready next year!

2) Double tulips are a hit.

I did not order too many doubles this year. They were all the rage this season. For my order for next season, I believe I selected six to seven different double varieties. So exciting!

3) Anti-fatigue mats.

My legs and my lower back are so sore from standing on the cobblestone street. I am definitely investing in a few anti-fatigue mats to stand on.

4) Table risers.

My upper back and neck are wrecked from my working table being so low.

5) Fall plant cold-hardy filler!

I neglected to do this last year and I highly regret it. Not this coming fall! I will be armed and ready to plant some cold-hardy filler this coming fall!

How was your Mother’s Day this year? Let me know!