Planting Fall Flowers: Trials, Joys, and Possibilities

There is something hopeful about planting flowers in August.

Maybe a little foolish too.

Here in Southwest Louisiana, August is hot. The ground is hot. The air is hot. Getting baby plants established can be a trial, and this year we are making it even more interesting by direct sowing everything.

Zinnias.

Marigolds.

Sunflowers.

And then there are all the experiments.

I picked up a pile of 15-cent seed packets from Dollar Tree, and I am probably more excited about seeing what those cheap little packets do than I should be. Karen, on the other hand, is looking forward to planting some of her specialty zinnia seed.

That is part of the fun.

We know some things.

We are guessing about others.

And we are planting anyway.

This Year's Flower Field Has a Different Purpose

For the last two years, we planted flowers at Greentown Gardens primarily as a you-pick flower field.

We enjoyed it.

We learned from it.

But customer turnout was low.

Financially, the flower planting has roughly broken even over the last couple of seasons.

Breaking even is not exactly the dream when you start a business, but anybody who has spent much time farming knows that some years, breaking even is a win.

It is not the goal.

It is just reality.

The good news is that we still love growing flowers.

That part has not changed.

So instead of asking whether we should stop planting them, we started asking a different question:

What else could these flowers become?

This fall, we are experimenting with a different direction.

A Flower Field You Can Step Into

I want rows of harvestable cut flowers, but I also want to create spaces inside the flowers.

I can see a room made from sunflowers.

Another room surrounded by zinnias.

Grassed walking paths between the rows.

And somewhere among it all, a semi-permanent fall tent that could be used by photographers and, possibly one day, for small weddings.

The photography idea is the one we are actively working toward.

Family pictures.

Senior portraits.

Maternity sessions.

Engagement photos.

Fall mini sessions.

Wedding photography.

Basically, if someone needs a beautiful outdoor background, I want them to be able to look at Greentown Gardens and think:

Where is this place, and how do I go take pictures there?

The limited wedding idea is still very much in development.

I am a qualified officiant through the Universal Life Church, so there are some interesting possibilities there too.

Will it happen?

We will see.

Anything is possible if it is meant for me.

First, We Have to Grow the Flowers

The vision is the easy part.

Now I have to prepare more than two acres.

I will disc the field, lay out the rows, plant everything, pack the middles, and begin creating the grass walk paths.

Then comes one of the oldest farming strategies known to mankind.

Pray for rain.

There is no convenient water source on this field, so the Universe is going to have to cooperate with the watering schedule.

Historically, farmers are excellent at praying.

There are plenty of things that could interfere with a fall flower field, but I am not going to make a list of them.

I do not want the Universe thinking I am asking for a challenge.

Let's just say there are a lot of moving pieces.

We prepare what we can.

We plant what we can.

And life gets a vote too.

Know How Much Growing Time You Have

One thing that matters when planting fall flowers is knowing when cold weather normally arrives where you live.

I am in Zone 9B, and our average first frost is around November 15.

That gives me a window to work with.

Your window may be completely different.

So before you decide it is too late to plant something for pollinators or try a late flower patch, find out your area's average first fall frost or freeze date.

Do not rely only on your USDA planting zone. Your zone tells you about typical winter minimum temperatures. It does not tell you exactly when your first frost normally arrives.

You can look up historical frost and freeze information through NOAA climate records or use a freeze-date calculator based on weather stations near you.

Then ask yourself:

How many growing days do I actually have left?

You may have more time than you think.

The Flowers Have More Than One Job

If this field turns out beautifully, I would love for photography to become another income stream for Greentown Gardens.

Maybe someone will want a dozen flowers.

Maybe we eventually try a small flower farmstand.

I have toyed with that idea for a while.

But there is something hard about cutting a pile of beautiful flowers, turning them into bouquets, and then watching unsold bouquets end up in the compost.

That is hard on the soul.

So I like the idea of letting the flowers do more than one job.

They can be cut flowers.

They can become photography backgrounds.

They may eventually become part of small weddings.

And even if none of those things happen exactly as planned, they can still feed butterflies, bees, and other pollinators.

That matters to me.

Stewardship is part of why we do this.

I Don't Actually Plant Flowers for Other People

This may sound strange when talking about ways to make money from a flower field, but I do not actually plant flowers for other people.

I plant flowers because I love flowers.

Selling some is a bonus.

Watching people enjoy them is a bonus.

Finding a way for the flowers to help pay for themselves is definitely a bonus.

But I want the blooms whether anybody buys one or not.

I want a beautiful field.

I want pollinators moving through it.

I want Karen to be able to disappear into the flowers with her camera looking for those tiny green spiders she likes to photograph.

And I want the serenity that comes from walking through something beautiful that we grew ourselves.

If the right layout also becomes something that helps fund Greentown Gardens for years to come, that would be wonderful.

Who knows?

Sometimes one season is just a test run for something much bigger.

Perfection Kills Dreams

I am not looking for perfection this fall.

Perfection has killed more dreams than a bad seed packet ever could.

If I waited until I had irrigation, every pathway finished, the photography program completely built, the wedding idea perfected, and every possible problem solved, I probably would not plant anything.

Instead, I am going to disc the field.

Plant the seeds.

Try the 15-cent packets.

Plant Karen's specialty zinnias.

Hope for timely rain.

Watch what happens.

Adjust what I can.

And enjoy the flowers.

Will we end up with sunflower rooms, zinnia rooms, beautiful grass paths, photographers wandering through the field, and couples getting married among the blooms?

Maybe.

Will every seed germinate and every idea work exactly as I pictured it?

Probably not.

But that is not really the point.

The goal is to keep growing something we love and remain open to what it might become.

So if you are wondering whether you still have time to plant a few fall flowers, check your average frost date.

Look at the days you have left.

Plant something.

Feed a few pollinators.

And give yourself permission to see where it goes.

As for Greentown Gardens?

Stay tuned.

We do what we can.