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Suburban Flower Farm, 12732 SE 254th Place, Kent, WA (2026)

09/17/2021

How to Stake Your Dahlias

1. Push your stake* 6-12 inches into the soil near the base of the stem. The heavier/ taller the stem, the deeper your stake needs to be buried.

2. Using a length of twine** (usually 3-6 inches depending on the girth of the stem,) gently tie the stem against the stake. It doesn't need to be tightly secured, just tight enough to provide support but loose enough to allow for growth.

3. You will likely need to use more than one stake for each dahlia plant. Every large stem needs support & not all of the stems will be conveniently placed right next to another. Stems will often grow horizontally before shooting up to reach for the sun. Just push the stake into the soil near the bend where the stem begins to grow vertical & tie it up from there.

*Choosing Your Stake
Natural materials like branches, or twigs will be better for the environment and blend into your garden more discretely than store bought plastic rods. There are some really nice decorative metal stakes available but they're pretty expensive.
I used some old IKEA twigs that had been collecting dust in my garage. My twigs are about one third of an inch (1/3") wide at the base & are anywhere from 4-6 feet tall. Anything long & thin but sturdy enough to bear the weight of the stem & bloom will work.

**Twine Time
It's important to use something flexible like twine or a natural fiber yarn to tie the stems to the stakes. Metal wire or fishing line will cut into the stem as it grows thicker.
I had some twine left over from arranging flowers for a wedding that I had used to wrap boutonnieres & tie up bouquets/nosegays. I've found that one can never have too much twine. It can be used in a million craft & gardening projects.

09/17/2021

Time to stake your flowers!
I'm a day late in posting this reminder because it's already raining, but it's not too late to prop up your plant babies.
Big double blooms like dahlias, zinnias, & some sunflowers collect rain water in their petals. Their waterlogged blooms become too heavy for their stems and they flop over. 😟
You can always cut the broken stem down to the next leaf set & use the flower in an arrangement but stems don't often break in the most convenient place. They usually break too close to the bloom & short stems on big blooms can be hard to use in a vase.
So, stake those stems full of buds before they snap!

08/09/2021

Sedum Autumn Joy is one of my absolute favorites. The way the bloom washes over each stalk is just so beautiful and I love the soft blue-green foliage.
The spent flowers look so sad, though, that i started pruning them back 3 or 4 inches once the flower turns brown. To my surprise, I ended up getting continuous blooms until the first frost!
The subsequent flowers aren't as dense or tufty as the first set but I love being able to enjoy my Sedum a while longer each year!
The flowers work really well in arrangements at any stage, -green, pink or copper- as long as their leaves are removed below the water line. The herbaceous stems are delicate so use extra care when pushing them into floral foam. I love them in arrangements with my yellow day lillies (which for some reason magically last about a week for me in a vase) and my Salvia 'Ignition Purple'.

Sedum 'Autumn Joy' is a low maintenance perennial with succulent stems & leaves.
It's pink flowers bloom from August into November and mature to a lovely copper shade.
♡Height: 1-3 feet
♡Width: 1-3 feet
♡Zones 3-11
♡Attracts Butterflies
♡Great long lasting cut flower

08/02/2021

Coming home to my garden tomorrow after a long sister visit! It'll be hard to leave but I'm looking forward to seeing Nick & my furbabies.
Thank you for watering my tiny nursery & sending me these pictures of new blooms, Nick! I'm so excited to see my first hollyhock & dahlia blooms of the year. 🥰 🌱🌸

07/27/2021

https://kingcd.org/programs/better-soils/healthy-soil/

https://kingcd.org/

Next up: Best ways to apply fertilizer to maximize its affect & minimize its toll on the environment.

07/25/2021

*BOGO FREE 1 GAL POTS*
$4.00
1 gal Sunflower 'Italian White'
Helianthus debilis

An old favorite that combines the big bloom size of Giant Sunflowers with the well-branched, floriferous habit of smaller daisy-formed varieties, 'Italian White' is an elegant look for the garden or vase!
The blooms are 4 inches across, with a deep chocolate eye, slightly ruffled white petals, and a ring of primrose between the two. These very sturdy, well-branched 5 to 7 foot plants produce an incredible number of blooms over a very long season, giving you enough to fill every vase in the house without robbing the garden of fresh, gleaming color. The long stems make these great flowers for cutting, and they are exceptionally tolerant of dry soils.
The plants are a good size for the back of the border, as well as next to outbuildings and even as stand-alone temporary screens or hedges!
Sunflowers are the kings of the natural sunny summer garden, attracting butterflies and birds.

07/25/2021

*BOGO FREE 1 GAL POTS*
$4.00
Cosmos 'Double Click Bicolor Pink'
Cosmos bipinnatus

Pick up in Kent, WA
PM for pick up info
Venmo or PayPal to reserve
Local delivery for orders over $40

Free-flowering, free-floating white and pink puffs offer a pageant of eye-catching, breathtaking color. With 100% double blooms on sturdy stems, this cosmic shade of double cosmos is marvelous in flower arrangements. With old-world, once-upon-a-time allure, this floriferous, long-blooming strain is wondrously easy to grow.
The long stems of this unique cosmos are smothered in double, ruffled blooms in shades of blush and rosy pink. A fun addition to the cutting garden or flower border and one of the easiest and most productive cut flowers per square foot you can grow.

This gorgeous, hard working floriferous plant will be super happy in full sun... but I've had mine growing in part shade in my west facing side yard & they're still doing really well.
In containers they need to be watered about every other day but they don't like soggy roots so let them dry out a bit before soaking them again.
You can train the stalks to grow taller by thinning the flowers per stem to just one to two buds or just let them go wild for a cottage garden look.
Cut the buds just as they begin to pop to get the longest case life. Usually about 5 days with daily water changes.

This is one of my favorites!

07/21/2021

$2.00 ▪︎4" pot
Lemon Balm
Melissa officinalis

Lemon balm is valued as a culinary, cosmetic and medicinal herb, but it can also add lush texture to garden beds. Use fresh sprigs to top drinks and as garnishes on salads and main dishes. The fresh or dried leaves make a great cold or hot tea, and the dried leaves can be used pot-pourris. Traditionally valued as a medicinal herb, lemon balm has mild sedative properties. Lemon balm is easy to grow from seed sown in the spring or early fall.

Lemon balm is one of the easiest lemon-scented herbs you can grow and is suitable for flower borders, herb gardens, containers, or vegetable gardens.

Use the fresh leaves to add to flavor to foods and teas, or toss them into your bathwater.

Include the dried leaves in potpourri.

To dry lemon balm, cut a bunch of stems on a sunny morning, tie them loosely and hang them in a dry, airy location out of the sun. When thoroughly dry, store in a tightly sealed glass jar in a dry, dark location, such as a cupboard, for one year.

•Use as a mosquito repellent

07/21/2021

$2.00 ▪︎4"pot
Lobelia 'Fountain Blue'
Lobelia erinus

Plant Height: 10 in - 12 in
Plant Width: 6 in
Bloom Size: 1 in
Additional Characteristics: Bloom First Year, Butterfly Lovers, Cut-and-Come-Again, Flower, Free Bloomer
Bloom Color: Blue
Light Requirements: Full Sun, Part Shade
Moisture Requirements: Moist, well-drained
Resistance: Heat Tolerant
Soil Tolerance: Normal, loamy

One of the best sources of color for the cool-season container garden, Fountain Blue offers larger, earlier blooms than most other Lobelia varieties. You will love the floriferous nature of this cascading plant, which tumbles over the sides of hanging baskets, window boxes, and other containers!
The azure-blue flowers arise among rich green leaves on this zealous little plant. Lobelia Fountain Blue will flower into the fall season.
It reaches 10 to 12 inches tall and about 6 inches wide, with a neat, rounded habit and 1/2-inch blooms. Great for the annual bed as well as containers of all types!
Fountain Blue is a great improvement over earlier Lobelia varieties.

07/21/2021

BOGO FREE ▪︎ 1 Gal pots

$4 ▪︎1 gal pot
Zinnia elegans
Park's Picks Deep Red

Plant Height: 3 ft 6 in - 4 ft
Plant Width: 10 in - 12 in
Bloom Size: 4 in - 5 in
Additional Characteristics: Double Blooms, Flower
Bloom Color: Red
Light Requirements: Full Sun
Moisture Requirements: Moist, well-drained
Soil Tolerance: Normal, loamy
Uses: Beds, Border, Containers, Cut Flowers, Ornamental, Outdoor

The waxy, tightly packed petals create a pompon bloom that is almost incredibly full, dotted by a cheerful greenish-yellow central eye. And these tall, bushy plants just keep producing all season long!
These well-branched, vigorous plants reach 40 to 50 inches in the garden. Perfect for the vase, the blooms last and last. No wonder they're Park's Picks!
Zinnias are one of the easiest annuals to grow, bringing bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and other pollinators and beneficial insects into the garden. They are outstanding in beds, borders, and containers, and are the perfect cut-flower -- the more you cut, the more you get!
Zinnias thrive in the sun and heat of summer, and ask only well-drained soil. Their biggest enemy is mildew, so water them with a soaker hose or other ground-based spray to minimize wetting the foliage -- or, if this isn't possible, water them early in the day, so that the leaves can dry off before nightfall. Space the plants generously to prevent overcrowding. When cutting the blooms for the vase, trim off all the foliage; unlike the blooms, it does not age well.

07/21/2021

$2.00 ▪︎4" pot
Statice Soiree
Limonium sinuatum

Bloom Start to End: Early Summer - Late Summer
Plant Height: 24 in
Plant Width: 15 in - 18 in
Plant Height: 24 in
Plant Width: 15 in - 18 in
Bloom Color: Purple
Light Requirements: Full Sun
Moisture Requirements: Moist, well-drained
Soil Tolerance: Normal, loamy
Uses: Beds, Border, Cut Flowers, Everlastings, Ornamental, Outdoor

Annual statice, a vivid Mediterranean flower, is noted for its papery, funnel-shape calyces that bloom in summer. The flowers are actually small and white, growing in the colorful calyces that remain long after the flowers have faded away. Annual statice works beautifully in mixed borders, rock gardens, cut flower gardens, meadows, and cutting gardens. These plants also make an excellent choice for cut flowers.
They can also be dried easily: Pick bright flowers on sturdy stems, then hang in loose bundles in a cool, dark place.
Annual statice performs best with little interference and is drought-tolerant once established.
It prefers well-drained, sandy loam. (It rots in overly wet soil.) However, it isn't picky about nutrients, preferring to grow on the lean side, with little to no additional fertilizer.
Plant annual statice in full sun for the brightest colors and sturdiest stems. They tolerate a bit of shade, but the plant will likely flop and need support.

Suburban Flower Farm

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