Spring Equinox + New Moon Greetings!
Somehow it seems only fitting to plant the seeds of my intentions to greet you more frequently on this powerful day, almost a year since my last post!
Today, as we celebrate the Spring Equinox, we welcome back the balance of light with darkness to know the the glory of the Sun will bless us even more abundantly in the days to come.
We also embrace the power of a Solar Eclipse (3.20.23 at 12:12AM EST) and New Moon in Aries, a cardinal sign, that signifies a time of new beginnings. In Aries, this eclipse encourages us to place personal plans, courage, independence, and self-assertion in strong focus. Long-term changes are imminent!
It's Time to Plant Our Seeds!
And planting seeds, we are! We currently have over 5,000+ tulips with their little heads starting to emerge from the snow and are on our last succession of Winter forcing indoors. We are starting thousands of specialty cut flower seeds including, but not limited to Anemone, Amaranth, Celosia, Dahlia, Lilies, Poppies, Ranunculus, Snapdragons, Zinnia and so much more.
My intention for this New Moon Eclipse is to continue to grow our Spirit as we embark upon Season 2 of our small flower farm. Last year was all about learning, growing and creating the basic infrastructure with the limited resources I had available. This season, my aim is to learn how to turn it into a viable business that actually covers its own costs and begins to support me, as well. I've got A LOT of work to do to make that happen.
How We Sprouted
I love romance and I deeply believe we bring that energy to our own lives. A candlelit evening, a room filled with flowers are some of the things I just adore. So after I got the property and during the pandemic, it seemed natural to expand on what we were already doing to add flowers to our gifts of Spirit and to give back to Mother Earth and our pollinators.
Years ago, I became obsessed with Erin Benzakein and Floret Flowers after following her on social media. Then I saw Growing Floret on Magnolia Network and I was a goner. I began our small flower farm after winning a partial scholarship and completing the Floret Flower Workshop and learning a lot of what I needed to know to start a small farm. Or enough to give it a solid go.
Then subsequently, I had the opportunity to learn from Emily von Trapp from von Trapp Flowers and Linda D'Arco from Little Farmhouse Flowers at their The Tulip Workshop at von Trapp Farms in Vermont. Both courses were a huge help in guiding my new chapter. While there was a lot of trial and error, I learned so much from those courses and am beyond grateful for the education and connections to the flower farming community they brought me.
I didn't do all of the things I learned in the classes relating to sales of our flower babies as I wanted to use Season 1 primarily as an education to learn what worked, what didn't, when things grew, what I liked and what I didn't and ALL ABOUT my nemesis the Japanese Beetle that actually had me crying in the field one day wondering WHY I thought I could do this?!
Bluebelle to the Rescue!
Then, one unexpected day... Bluebelle crossed my path. It was LOVE at first sight. I had her named before I even owned her. I knew I needed a mobile flower truck and bouquet bar that could act as our Spirit pop-up for weddings, special events, festivals, markets and parties. Something that I could set up and breakdown by myself and that would bring joy wherever she roams. And that, she does.... with women and men alike!
I was so excited and thought we'd be traversing the Hudson Valley sharing our posies everywhere we roamed. But my new, vintage baby had different ideas. She evidently wanted a spa summer with a lot of TLC before embarking on our adventures.
I had gotten her power steering and brakes that she definitely needed then the next thing I knew, on one of her first outings to an event in Kingston, NY over an hour away... she left me stranded at 11pm at night! She needed a new engine. NOT good. This update took her off the roads for most of the Summer, the busiest season of the year when I planned to use her to sell most of our flowers. Have I mentioned a meltdown? Here came another one.
WHY is all of this so hard???
So, another BIG investment in her well-being had to come our way in the form of a brand new Summit Racing crate engine, a 350 / V8 with a Holley 4 Barrel carburetor. This process took a couple of months because it was NOT easy finding an engine. Bluebelle was NOT to the rescue last year, in fact, she put a real dent in our budget, so this year is her time to shine. Come on girl, we know you are up for the job!
But alas, I Never Give Up!
Me at the Grand Opening of Our new Spirit Shoppe Farm Store
I also wanted and needed a small farm store. A place for all of our Spirit candles, flowers, crystals and gifts of Spirit to live and where our local community can shop. With the help of my fabulous Amish crew, I was able to bring that Dream to Reality. Again, not without its challenges, but at this point - I would not be stopped. Once the seed is planted and nourished, we MUST bring it to harvest!
Building our history from the ground up!
Season 2 • Here We Come!
I realize I opened this post all about planting the seeds of new beginnings and then proceeded to talk about everything we did last year. Those seeds we planted last season are the foundation that we needed and intend to grow in years to come. They did not come easy, in fact... most things did not go exactly as I planned. BUT, they are the seeds of my future dreams and I believe in what I am trying to do.
Our aim is to Lift Your Spirit with all we do.
My biggest belief is that we need more love and nature-inspired beauty in the world. That we are in a time in our history that needs us to show even more love and compassion to one another. I intend to do my part to contribute loving and kind energy with our community by doing just that with every product we grow or make.
I hope you will continue to join me and my beloved Team Spirit that is fueled by all girl power, to help us grow even stronger in the year ahead. We are a small in numbers, but mighty in Spirit team that is beyond grateful for your love and support!
We love sharing our magic with you.
Thank you for sharing our Spirit with those you love.
With love & gratitude,
