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April Newsletter

 
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In the garden
01
     April is the month when the garden really starts to come alive, and I feel more alive right along with it! The warmer temperatures start to bring the first signs of real growth, with plants getting bigger from one day to the next. The bright greens against the rich dark browns epitomize spring to me, yet I am also so thankful for the bursts of color in the anemone bed (pictured above). This month marks our USDA Zone's average last frost date, meaning I can put away all of my frost cloth and hoops. Here in the South, our spring is fleeting and the heat of summer will be here before we know it. Let's not miss a moment of this short, cool, beautiful season--if we survive the pollen that is…
 
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Who is ready for a Pop Up??
02
     Last year, I periodically sold my flowers through a pop up stand that I set up outside Honest Coffee downtown and it was so much fun!  My favorite part was getting to meet people (many of you!) and be able to personally tell people about the flowers and how I grew them. The staff there now calls it “Flower Fridays” and I am so excited for it to return! 
     That said, I wanted all of you to be the first to know that THIS FRIDAY, APRIL 18TH I will have the flower stand out for the first time this year! Location: Honest Coffee in downtown Huntsville. Time: 9am till 12 or until I sell out. Come out for coffee and flowers and get some gorgeous snapdragons or a mixed bouquet for your Easter table. Hope to see yall there!
 
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Seed Starting
03
      Hope y'all love the professional photography above, complete with yellow plastic pitchers and half-dead trays of plants in the background. In my world, for every table of pretty green seedlings, there is a trail of muddy tools, dirty trays, scattered water pitchers, and dead plants. In that way, seed starting is like life, there is beauty and growth and there are also messes and failures. We don't get the beauty without the mess. We don't get success without some failures. May I learn to accept both for the growth they provide.  
Oh, and also, all of my 'warm season annuals' are started and hardening off outside, ready to be planted later this week!
 
 
 
Cool Flower Spotlight
04
     In the spotlight this month: Bupleurum. This green-gold little beauty has quickly become one of my favorites, as much for its simplicity as for its intricacy. It is a cool season hardy annual that I planted in the fall. I directly cast seeds out into the garden, and small little plants had grown by the time the cold arrived (pictured below). Want to know the best part? I did absolutely nothing for it all winter long. I did not cover it with frost cloth and it didn't mind one bit! There are now stems as tall as 3ft out there and many more tiny gold blooms on the way! It makes the sweetest, wiry green filler for any bouquet. And you don't have to be a flower farmer to grow it! It would be a great plant to grow as a home gardener – just toss it out in the fall and wait for spring!
 
 
 
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Pictured: Bupleurum after the snow in January
God's Word in the Garden
05
     This month we celebrate Easter, which for Christians marks the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The morning that our Savior conquered death once & for all. It is the miraculous moment in history in which Jesus came from death back to life.
     Above is a picture of the Dahlia tubers I grew & dug up last fall. It was my first time doing this, and I thought I dug them too late. They all looked dead to me, but I tossed them in a crate & set it in the corner of my garage for nearly six months. I was sure nothing could come from them, because I messed up. I failed to dig them at the right time, and didn't store them the right way. Nevertheless, I pulled that crate out a few weeks ago and moved it into the warmth. Last week, I peeked in and guess what I saw? Little green sprouts. Life. From that dead-looking shriveled, forgotten about tuber, life has appeared. (continued below..)
      
 
John 11:25-26 tells the story of Jesus returning to the hometown of Lazarus, 4 days after his (Lazarus') death. Talking to Martha (one of Lazarus's sisters) we read:
 
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 
26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
 
Shortly after these words, Jesus calls Lazarus out of the tomb, alive. It would not be long before Jesus himself would be where Lazarus was - dead in a tomb. But when Jesus walked out of the tomb alive, it meant that from that moment on, we too have hope for life after death. Life eternal with Him. We were as dead as Lazarus after 4 days in the tomb. As dead as that Dahlia tuber, seemingly forgotten in the crate in the dark corner of the garage. 
Yet life has appeared. The hope for life was there all along. 
That hope is Jesus. 
OUR hope is Jesus. 
Just as Jesus asked Martha, He is asking us: Do you believe this?
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If you made it to here, you deserve a huge thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts. YOU are why I love this flower journey, because you represent the reason I love flowers so much – that they were made to be shared. As always, I would love to hear from you, please reach out anytime. I am so grateful for your support and thankful we can enjoy a life made more beautiful by flowers. 

With love—
Allison

 
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Garth Road
Huntsville, AL 35802, United States