This post may contain affiliate links, for more information, see my disclosures here.
April proved to be our busiest month yet here at Two Sisters Flower Farm! With so much good stuff going on, it’s crazy to think that we’re just getting started…
I feel like April is the month where I find my stride. While we’ve been harvesting tulips in our indoor grow space for months now, it’s during this time of year when the first of our outdoor flowers start to bloom. No matter how many years that we grow flowers, it’s always exciting when those first buds pop!
The days are slowly getting longer, and as the weather warms, I don’t mind spending more + more time outside. Here’s a closer look at just how we’ve been spending that extra time outdoors:
Main Tasks:
Divide Dahlia Tubers
Because of our cold climate, we’re unable to overwinter our dahlias in the ground. Each fall once the first frost comes, we dig + lift our dahlia clumps from the garden. Since fall and winter have grown to be large seasons for us, I choose to wait to divide our dahlias until I have more time in late winter.
This year, as it was our first season forcing tulips, I really procrastinated getting our dahlias divided. Now, there’s nothing wrong with waiting until April to divide dahlia tubers (I often find that if I wait late enough into spring, the dahlia eyes become more pronounced and the tubers are easier to divide); however, I do typically like to take dahlia cuttings from varieties that I’d like increased stock of.
With so little time before our tubers need to get in the ground, there’s simply not enough time to take dahlia cuttings this year. Next year, my goal is to accomplish our dahlia dividing much sooner.
Website Updates:
I’m not tech-savvy but having a website + online shop for our customers to purchase products from does simplify so many things for me. Simply put, I love that our customers can learn more about the products we offer + they can purchase anything they like at their convenience- without always having to reach out to me to complete their transaction.
As Mother Day approaches, the one product that becomes increasingly popular is our Summer Flower Subscriptions. These subscriptions make great gifts as it allows the recipient to receive not just one bouquet- but rather bouquets all summer long!
To meet the demand ahead of Mother’s Day, I always aim to open up available spaces + place them on our website for interested customers during April. The flower subscriptions will remain on our website until July (when the subscription starts) or until they are sold out- whichever happens first.
Markets:
When it comes to selling flowers, we don’t regularly attend farmer’s markets. However, there are a few vendor markets that we get invited to each year + we do our best to attend those. For this first vendor’s market, it was hosted at a beautiful wedding reception site + we enjoyed the chance to sell our tulip bunches in a lovely setting.
The thing I love most about markets is getting to meet + chat with so many customers and new friends!
Besides getting to share beautiful tulip bunches, we were also intentional about promoting our U-Pick Flower Garden that will open as soon as the summer flowers start to bloom. Always have to be thinking a season ahead.
What We’re Planting:
Now that we’re about a month out from our last frost date- I start seeding some of the quicker growing flower varieties in seed trays. This month we sowed some zinnias, marigolds and even some cosmos.
I still do my best to pace myself- which is hard because the warm weather has me itching to get flowers in the ground. But honestly, if I can hold off- I much prefer to sow the bulk of our seeds in early May. The reason for that is based on when our customers buy flowers…
You see, when I first started growing flowers, my goal was to always have flowers in the summer “as early as possible”. I’ve since learned that mid-summer is a busy time for our customers as they’re on vacation or busy with summer events; demand for our flowers really ramps up in late July/early August as families begin spending more time at home ahead of the school season.
If I can have our flowers blooming abundantly when demand is at its highest- that’s the best case scenario for our business 😉
Curious about what specifically we plant into our quarter acre field of flowers?! I share our exact map (and seed-sowing schedule) as part of our Quarter Acre Garden Plan. You can find more details here.
What’s in Bloom:
Daffodils! I’ll admit daffodil season felt quick this year. We experienced an early warm spell + the temps really pushed everything to bloom all at once.
We harvested what we could- and sold a good chunk of blooms to eager customers. What I love most about daffodil season is that I never have to worry if we’re not able to get to each flower as it blooms.
Daffodils perennialize so well for us here in West Michigan that I know there will always be more blooms next year- I never have to worry about making our “money back”. We’re still reaping the benefits of the initial investment I put into our daffodil patch when I planted it back in 2020.
If you’re interested in starting your own daffodil patch (or adding just a few of these beauties to your spring landscape), we’ll have plenty of great varieties available as part of our Fall Bulb Sale- so be sure to check back with us come September!
Things I’m Loving:
One of the questions I’m asked most frequently is if we do farm tours?. I have always loved the idea of getting to share more about how our farm really works- especially since there’s really nothing special about it… We’re proof that if we can grow lots of flowers with our limited resources, surely anybody can!
But there’s a lot of logistics to work out when it comes to something like that. In the meantime, I purchased this drone and I’m really excited about being able to give more perspective of how our farm truly operates!
Also- my nightstand is getting a little full with all the books I’ve been diving into- but this month I added two more to my reading list + both were great reads!
- Win at Work and Succeed at Life: 5 Principles to Free Yourself from the Cult of Overwork
- and Be Your Future Self Now: The Science Behind Intentional Transformation
Conclusion:
That’s April in a nutshell. There’s a definite subtle shift in seasons that occurred this month. You can tell that we’re nearing the end of many of our spring blooming crops. While I’m sad to see such beauty fade- I’m looking forward to what comes next.
Now it’s your turn- I love hearing what other growers are up to this time of year, so let me know in the comments below what tasks you’ve been tackling lately.
P.S. If you feel behind- have no worries! There’s still plenty of time to get started with your very own cutting garden.
If you’d like some guidance as you plan, don’t forget about the resources we have available. Both our Garden Planning Workbook and our Quarter Acre Cutting Garden Plan can help ensure you have the best season ever!
Wishing you a beautiful and abundant season ahead 🙂
