8 degrees.  Let me say that again. 8 degrees.  That may not seem very low to everyone, but for someone in the south, that’s crazy.  We haven’t reached these lows in 40 years!  

In my past life when we reach low temperatures we cover outside spigots and that’s about it.  Since becoming a flower farmer, I have a new appreciation for weather events that are way outside of our normal.  This year was a first for me.  I had 25,000 baby plants in the ground happily overwintering in our mild weather.  This is my entire spring crop.  The crop that is the most profitable and the most sought after in my market.  I’m banking on this going well.

We did everything we could.  We had the whole family out covering everything with frost cloth and securing it from the wind.  We unhooked the water supplies, brought outside animals inside, reinforced chicken coops, mulched new perennials, and we prayed. 

This is the part of flower farming that I don’t often see on Instagram.  The losses.  20,000 of those baby plants died.  I walked through the field in the days after, and as I uncovered everything I knew that my loss was bigger than I had anticipated.  I let myself be sad. I let myself think about the hundreds of dollars and the hundreds of hours I lost.  I let myself be afraid for a moment of the lost opportunities, lost profit in the spring, and what that might mean for my business.  But only for a moment.

This is farming.  Pushing ahead, making the best of what I have.  Finding the opportunities that are still in front of me.  I have reordered seeds and have restarted thousands already.  I’m finding solace in knowing that I’m not alone and that I still have time to try again.  

Nothing is wasted. 

For now, I’m going to cling to that, and hope that hell doesn’t freeze over again anytime soon.  

And I’m dreaming of a flower-filled Spring.