Dahlias? Plus tulips!

In the flower farming world, there are little points of discussion. Such as whether or not to dig up your dahlias or just leave them in the ground over the winter. Also, whether tulips are worth the effort of growing and maintaining. But all of those discussions are part of the journey we like to share with our customers. Informing you all on the beauty and difficulties of flowering farming makes you an informed consumer. Choosing the flowers that are freshest, supporting your local economy and a small company that believes in regenerative practices has a larger impact that just pretty flowers.

Here at Leilani Blue we believe in the power of those first flowers in spring. We grow perenialized daffodils, tulips and ranunculus to get some beauty out of the early spring months. Generally here in Tumwater it is still rainy and cold during that time. In early March there have only been a few sunny days and the weather hasn’t quite warmed much. The main aspect is the brightness. After March 1st, the daylight hours go above 10 hours per day. That means the sun is not setting at mid-afternoon and there is some plant life coming back on line.

This year we planted a thousand tulips, 500 ranunculus and an additional 200 daffodils. They are available as a spring bouquet subscription but also they will be at the farm stand as always at 6535 Littlerock Rd SW, Tumwater, Wa. These flowers should last until the first of the summer flowers start appearing such as dahlias, zinnias and sunflowers. Speaking of dahlias, we are trying two methods this year. The first is to dig up and divide one set, which we have completed. They are in storage in the garage. The second is to leave a row, cut back, under many leaves to try to make it through the winter. When this happens successfully dahlias come up earlier than the divided ones. Here is to hoping dahlias can come to you sooner!

We have been very grateful for all the support our local community has shown us this first year as a flower farm and we cannot wait to bring flowers to you all for all your needs in 2025. Thank you very much!

End of Summer

Dahlia blooming

We had an absolutely wonderful summer selling flowers both at the farm stand and at Tumwater Farmer’s Market. I met many neighbors and had a great time. The field is full of zinnias, black eyed susans, cosmos, sunflowers, dahlias, strawflowers, statice and so much more.

We went to the farmers market every other Sunday from June through September. Lots of families joined us at Peter G Schmidt and all sorts of people enjoyed, commented and asked about the flowers. It was a pleasure to get to know so many of my neighbors and feel part of a vibrant community. Additionally, I also had the joy of meeting so many other vendors and learning their offerings. You can find out about them and others at the Tumwater Farmer’s Market website.

Summer was great and as we wind down the season I want to remind everyone that we have specialty pumpkins! One of my favorites are the brilliant white decoration pumpkins that I enjoy for the fall season. Plus, the dahlias are putting on their final show through the month of September and into mid October.