hampden flair and ridiculous ranunculus

Dear Readers,

Valentine's Day! Any reason to celebrate in the dark days of February is a good reason to me!

Vday is a crazy, crazy time for florists. I've blogged about Mobtown Florals, Crimson & Clover, and Local Color Flowers-- all amazing design studios with wonderful people behind them. The fourth florist that we work with is The Modest Florist, owned and operated in Hampden by Libby Francis-Baxter and her very tiny dog.

Libby's work is more traditional than the others', but it also has a flair of Hampden attitude/pizzazz that I find entirely charming.

I love how she used our apricot-colored baby zinnias above! Libby makes an effort to both buy locally and keep her designs affordable. When I started the farm in 2013, she was just moving in to her space on the corner of 36th and Chestnut; she has been a big supporter of Butterbee ever since. The feeling is mutual!

Buy Local for Vday! Meanwhile, I'm dreaming of the day we can provide flowers early in the year... I've always wanted to grow ranunculus, ever since it was featured in my sister's wedding. You need a hoophouse (which is a not-insulated version of a greenhouse) to grow them, since they like cool but not freezing temperatures. They're the white and orange ones below...

Siggggh! So gorgeous. I want! (Design in pic by Local Color Flowers). The flowers grow from corms, which are like bulbs; the corms get planted in the fall, and the flowers come up in the late winter/early spring. Here's a great article about growing them, for all of your gardeners/farmers out there...

I wish you a nostalgic Facebook stalking of flower farmers' photos! Spring is coming...

Laura Beth