I am once again writing about our wonderful flower farms within the town of Sterling. We are lucky to have three within our rural town and I thought a colorful blog about what they offer would be enjoyable during the dreary winter days ahead and give us something to look forward to! All the photos in each blog are from the flower farm. You will see these lovely photos if you follow their social media.
The first blog is about Peterson Patch Cut Flowers owned by Tara Peterson
Location: 804 Margaret Henry Road, Sterling, Ct.
Peterson Patch Cut Flowers
This Spring….
Peterson Patch will be starting their second year as a flower farm! Tara excitedly plans on offering many varieties of tulips this spring including more specialty varieties of parrots, fringed, double, and lily-flowered blooms. She is most excited about the negrita parrot, foxy foxtrot, and Finola tulips.
The farm will have specialty fragrant heirloom narcissus including cheerfulness which has multiple blooms per stem, delnashaugh, and white lion which all smell amazing! Her spring flowers also include ranunculus with colors ranging from whites and pastels to bright, vibrant colors. Anemones will be new this year as well! These are lovely large petaled flowers that look similar to poppies.
Arriving soon after the spring bulbs will be larkspur, bupleurum, bachelor buttons, poppies, bells Ireland and (which smell like cucumber and pears all in one), baptisia, alliums, orlaya, and a big variety of snapdragons. Adding to this wonderful selection are lupines, and sweet peas as well. Sweet peas have become one of Tara’s favorite flowers because the scent is so wonderful.
Something I learned from Tara is the term succession planting. If you, like me have not heard of it, it is the process of planting within 7-21 days so there is a continuous harvest. This is good news for all of us flower lovers!
Tara will be succession planting a variety of lilies including Asiatic, Oriental, and possibly some rose lilies which are double-petaled. I don’t know about you but that sounds heavenly to me!
Summer….
Sunflowers will be making their appearance in June, and she will be planting them in succession every 1-2 weeks for a continuous supply. These plans are barring no pest issues as sadly the deer ate a large number last year. Hydrangeas, delphinium, cosmos, zinnias in all colors and varieties, and rudbeckia as well as yarrow will be blooming at the end of June. One of her favorite flowers, feverfew will also arrive in June, and she enjoys using them as fillers in her bouquets. If all these varieties are not enough, she also will have gladiolus too!
Last but not least are her dahlias which arrive in mid-July, but she is hoping for earlier blooms this year. She has increased her dahlia stock in numbers of tubers will be planting as well as increasing the varieties as she curates a perfect collection for cutting and for her personal enjoyment. She has increased the number of of lisianthus growing this year and they will hopefully be blooming in July-August. Lisianthus have a long vase life, up to 2 weeks! How awesome is that? Her favorites are Roseanne Brown and Roseanne Black pearl, and I personally can’t wait to see them as they sound spectacular!
In addition to the amazing inventory listed above, she also has increased the amount of foliage for her bouquets, accent flowers and other varieties that will be a bit of a surprise as well! Too many to list, and it honestly will give us all something to look forward to in her posts and her roadside stand.
The Farmstand…
The Peterson Patch roadside stand will be open as soon as the tulips start blooming! Which is not soon enough for me. Tara will post on her facebook/instagram when she plans on opening for the season.
farmers markets, such as the one in Voluntown.
Future plans…
She would like to provide tubers to home gardeners in the future and has planted 4 varieties of woody shrubs which once established will provide even more foliage for her bouquets. Foliage is basically a lovely background for colorful flowers to make them pop even more in her bouquets. She is excited about her second season in business and sharing all her beautiful flowers with our community.
The Flower farm is able to…
The Peterson Patch Cut Flower Farm can do small events, special orders and will sell wholesale to florists/event designers. In addition to that, the farmstand will be stocked with all the varieties mentioned in this blog, and if you visit their social media you will see what is available. Tara is excited about her second season in business and sharing all she has to offer with our community.
A note from Marnie…
As with all these flower farms, please remember that they work countless hours planting, watering, weeding, harvesting, and creating bouquets. Your flowers are cultivated with lots of love, sweat, and tears for you. These flower farmers work yearlong with only a short time off, starting flowers in their homes or greenhouses. Many are already starting flowers from seed right now!
It is truly a labor of love produced by them for you to enjoy colorful, fragrant bouquets in your home.
It costs nothing to like their page, and share their posts, so please consider doing so to help them. And better yet, purchase some flowers to treat yourself or a loved one! I can tell you that the farmers will be very grateful, and you may be too if you have fresh, colorful flowers in your home. I know I love it!
Info on Peterson Patch Flower Farm
Facebook:Peterson’s Patch Cut Flower Farm Facebook
Instagram: @petersonspatchfarm
Website: Petersonspatch.com
Art and Musings by Marnie 