CSA 2014 : Week 2

The hot weather had arrived just in time for the longest day of year!

This week’s CSA bouquets are filled with

• Purple Campanula (bell like flowers)
• Dahlias (red in this photo, some people got orange or pink)
• Yellow Yarrow (be sure to smell this one! it’s got a really unique scent!)
• Orange Asclepius (this is one of my favorite Summer flowers)
• Sunflowers
• Safflower (the green “flowers”. They are still in the bud stage which we love. It may bloom orange).

Last week we met Capital Flower Growers and Seaberry Farm on the blog. The provided some of your flowers this week too.

The campanula, yarrow, dahlias and sunflowers came from Capital Flower Growers and the Safflower came from Seaberry Farm.

This week your Asclepius came from our friends at Plant Masters down in Gaithersburg.

Husband and wife farmers, Carol and Leon Carrier have been farming for over 30 years. They grow flowers and plants and can be found at The Montgomery Farm Women's Cooperative Market year 'round and The Olney Farm Market (Sun 9-1 @ MGH grounds 5/9-11/7) and The Potomac Farmer's Market (Falls & Democracy,Thurs. 2-6)

Leon and Carol are always so generous with their flower knowledge. We love working with them!

Now that the weather is getting hot, be sure to keep your flowers in a cool spot out of direct sunlight. Keep them filled with water (add water every day) and change the water every other day.

Enjoy the flowers! Happy Summer!

CSA 2014: Week 1!

It’s our first week of the CSA and we’re so excited!

For those of you who are CSA members, this week’s CSA bouquet is filled with peonies, larkspur, snapdragons and bells of Ireland.

Your snaps were grown in Jarrettsville by our friend Matt Bauer of Flowers by Bauer's.

The larkspur and peonies were grown by our friends  Rick and Wenfei Uva from Seaberry Farm out on the eastern shore.

The Bells of Ireland were grown by Capital Flower Growers, a collaborative effort by Wollam Gardens and Greenstone Fields.

From left to right, the flowers are Bells of Ireland, larkspur, peonies, and snapdragons.

Since everything is TALL this week, if you’re going to display your bouquet as it’s currently arranged, choose a tall vase that will allow your flowers to show off all of their blooms!

Since this is our first week for flowers I thought I’d share some tips about how to keep your flowers looking fresh for as long as possible.

1. Replenish the water daily. Change the entire vase of water every 2 days.
2. Trim the ends of your stems before your put them in the vase and each time you change the water.
3. Keep your flowers out of heat and direct sunlight.
4. Be sure the vase you are using is CLEAN.

Each flower has a unique vase life (how long it will live in the vase). Your flowers will be happier and live longer if you follow these tips!

Hope you enjoy these early summer blooms! Don’t forget to use the hashtag #locoflocsa if you share photos on social media.

If you are reading this post and still want to sign up for the CSA, there is still time. Sign up on our website today! (the price will be prorated!)

See you next time!

Design Classes at Butterbee Farm!

We are beyond excited to announce an upcoming collaboration with our friends at Butterbee Farm! This summer, Local Color Flowers will be offering two design classes AT Butterbee Farm in Pikesville. What could be more fun…visiting a flower farm, meeting the farmer, cutting and choosing your own flower  and learning to create beautiful designs with those flowers!

Our first class will be our Mid-Summer Head Wreath Class on Saturday, July 26 at 11am. Attendees will choose blooms and foliage and learn to create whimsical, natural head wreaths and other floral hair pieces. Everyone will get to take their head wreath home! (thanks to Readyluck for the gorgeous head wreath photo)

Our second class will be our Down on the Farm Summer Centerpiece Class. The farm will be in full swing in August and all our attendees will choose blooms, herbs, and foliage to create a beautiful centerpiece to take home.

Sign up today! Happy Summer!

Baltimore’s Best Local Flower CSA!

Summer is around the corner and Local Color Flowers local flower CSA will be starting in just two weeks! We’re so excited for this year’s CSA! Here’s how it works. Sign up today and pay $250 for 10 beautiful local flower bouquets over the next 5 months!

Pick-ups are at Local Color Flowers studio located in Charles Village at 3100 Brentwood Ave between 4:30-7pm.   Pick up dates are: Jun. 4, 18; Jul. 9, 23; Aug. 6, 20; Sep. 3, 17; Oct. 1, 15 2014.

This year, we’re excited to add a new feature to the CSA! Each week after you pick up your wrapped bouquet, you can check out our blog for a new post all about the flowers in your bouquet, the farmers that grew them and how to arrange them when you get home. We can’t wait to share this with you!

We’re also offering a short, one hour CSA “design” class that will give you tips about how to care for your CSA flowers when you bring them home. The class will take place Wednesday, May 28, 2014 from 6-7pom. Sign up today!

We’re so excited to see you all for the first pick up on June 4th!

Farming with Hillen Homestead!

Last week we took a field trip to Baltimore City flower farm, Hillen Homestead. Hillen Homestead, run by Maya Kosok and her lovely husband Max and their adorable baby girl,  is literally just 2 miles from Local Color Flowers studio. Do you know how lucky we are to have a flower farm so close by? VERY lucky!

Hillen Homestead is located in central Baltimore City on a vacant lot where rowhomes used to stand. It’s not gigantic and it’s not overly picturesque…but man is is productive! It’s a perfect example how urban farming can be a great option for small flower farmers. This will be our second year buying from Maya and we couldn’t be more excited.
Carling and Stacy started by tilling beds and spreading compost from Chesapeake Compost Works.

I planted lots and lots of basil…and ageratum and zinnias.
.


We passed our time talking about flowers and farming and designing and business.  What could be better? It was a fun morning for all of us. Not only did we get to spend a day outdoors helping our friends, we also got to have a direct hand in the flowers we’ll be using this summer.  It was another amazing way to connect with our farmers and the flowers they are growing.
Thanks so much to Maya and Max for letting us come help.
Happy Spring and Happy Planting friends!

Mother’s Day Week At Local Color Flowers

Mother’s Day is just around the corner and there are SO many great options for gifts involving locally grown flowers this year!

Moms love flowers (doesn’t everyone??)! Order your Mother’s Day bouquet or arrangement today! All bouquets and arrangements are made with locally grown cut flowers from farms within 100 miles of Baltimore! Delivery is available in Baltimore City on Friday May 9. You can also pick your order up at our Charles Village Studio Friday from 9-5pm and Saturday from 8am –noon.

While a single arrangement is awesome, maybe your mom would like the gift that keeps on giving! A subscription to our 2014 Local Flower CSA! The CSA begins in June. Members receive 10 bouquets over 5 months. It’s an amazing way to experience the changing of seasons with flowers!

If your mom really loves flowers, how about signing her up for one of our design classes! Attendees get to learn more about locally grown flowers along with designing an arrangement to take home and enjoy.

If you’re out and about and want to pick some flowers up on the go this week, Carling will be out at the Union Memorial Farmer’s Market this Wednesday from 11am-1:30pm. This is a great opportunity to pick up a wrapped bouquet, a locally grown plant and much more.

Our friends at Chesapeake Wine Company in Canton will also be selling wrapped bouquets starting Thursday afternoon. These babies go fast so be sure to get over there early!

Beginning Friday, Green Spring Station Celebrates Mother's Day with complimentary local flowers from Local Color Flowers.  Stop in any boutique and receive one beautiful stem – shop many stores and make a collection or, enjoy just one. One per customer at each store and available while supplies last Friday and Saturday (May 9 and 10).

Like I said…lots of great options! Happy Spring!

Living On Through Peonies

When Seaberry Farm mentioned yesterday that they had single peonies available this week, I knew right away that these were Mel’s peonies.

Before Mel Heath died, he sold off most of his plants and farm equipment. Seaberry Farm took much of what was available. Wen Fei confirmed that the peonies that were available were Mel’s. She said:

“We go around our farm everyday saying things like "go cut Mel's peonies" or  "go get Mel's tractor"…we miss him greatly.”

We miss Mel too…  but today especially, I’m thrilled to have our first peonies of the season be Mel’s peonies.