Dear Farm Community -

What a week! Last week despite lots of rain we were hard at work prepping for one of the biggest weekends for all flower farmers - Mother’s Day! Hundreds and hundreds of bouquets went out to our favorite Athens & Atlanta florists during the week, and hundreds and hundreds of bouquets went to all of our markets on Saturday. We had an unbelievable weekend serving y’all and are so honored that our bouquets brought joy to so many people this holiday. Thank you for supporting our farm and including our flowers in your celebrations! In honor of such a flowery week, this week’s newsletter is filled with all things ~floral~ !

Cut Flower Care: We often get asked which varieties of flowers last the longest, and the answer is truly whichever blooms you take care of! We understand that it’s easy to get swept away in the thrill of a fresh bouquet and forget to tend to them, but cut flowers are alive and the care you give them will come back to you tenfold. Our official recommendations for taking care of your cut flowers is to change the water and trim the stems about 1/4” every other day! Trimming the stems will allow the flowers to take up the water more effectively, and changing the water will prevent bacteria buildup that will ultimately kill your blooms prematurely (and can sometimes get stinky!) This has been the most effective way we have found to keep flowers happy and hanging around for as long as possible!

What’s in Season! Did y’all know we grow over 60 varieties of flowers through the seasons? Right now we have a whopping 16 varieties flowers blooming in our fields and a handful of beautiful foliage. One flower that people have been abuzz about at market is Nigella - a wild-looking and whimsical bloom that’s surprisingly in the Buttercup family! Nigella is also called “Love-in-a-mist” and when you see all of its delicate green tendrils dancing around the petals it’s easy to understand why. Interestingly enough, another nickname for it is “Devil-in-a-bush," so choose your own adventure and decide what name you like best :)

Other flowers in bloom right now include agrostemma, ammobium, asclepias, bachelor’s button (edible!), baptisia, buplerum, dianthus, campanula, larkspur, nasturtium (edible!), orlaya, queen anne’s lace, saponaria, snapdragons, statice, and yarrow! Say that 10 times fast! We’ll be seeing a lot more varieties coming in through the summer months. If you want to see them too, check out our flower subscription options!

see flower csa options

Pet Safe Flowers: If you have a cat or dog that loves to chomp on anything that they’re not supposed to, it can be stressful to bring home flowers wondering if they’re safe! Fortunately we usually have a few pet-friendly options so you don’t have to go flower-less. Of what’s in bloom right now, bachelor buttons, snapdragons, and statice are all pet-safe! The ASPCA has a great page that can serve as a reference point for your pet-safe flower-shopping needs. A quick google search is usually handy too if the ASPCA page doesn’t have the info you need.

Shares this week have a few exciting new items just coming into season. All shares will be seeing new potatoes! What makes them ✧NEW✧? These potatoes are young and freshly harvested, meaning that they are sweeter and more tender, with a thinner and flakier skin than potatoes harvested later on in the season. They make an exceptional base for potato salads, Bombay potatoes, or potato masala. Large share recipients will be getting our first zucchini and squash harvest of the season!! Cook it up in this recipe for zucchini lemon orzo or have it raw in this simple and summery zucchini salad recipe. Hope y’all have a wonderful week and make some good food!

One last thing!
Farm Tour 5/26: On Sunday May 26th, Diamond Hill Farm CSA members will have the opportunity to take a tour of the farm and see where all of your veggies, fruits, and flowers are grown! Owner Carter and CSA Extraordinaire Averi will walk you through the farm, show you what’s growing, and answer all of your burning questions! You’ll also get the opportunity to pick your own strawberries and stroll through our newly planted orchard. Summer abundance will be in full swing and we’re still pretty on top of weeding ☺ so it’s the perfect time for a visit! CSA members & couples are welcome to bring a +1 farm-curious buddy, and anybody who signs up for a full-season Summer share or weekly-pay CSA before 5/25 will also have the opportunity to join in. CSA members will receive an invitation at pickup this week and new members will be contacted via email after signing up.

Enjoy your week!
Diamond Hill Farmers

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