First farm bouquets of the season with dahlias, zinnias, cleome, variegated scented geranium and foraged queen annes lace.
Dear Sisters,
They’re here! They’re here! F.I.N.A.L.L.Y. Dahlia days are here! Thank goodness, because I’ve got a wedding to do! I’ve been watering, feeding and sweating my fool head off to keep the flowers going in this heat and it’s been worth every drop! Come stroll through the dahlia patch and get a glimpse of my first wedding of the season.
is a certified farmgirl at heart. She’s happily married to her beach bum Yankee husband of 20 years. She went from career gal to being a creative homeschooling mom for two of her biggest blessings and hasn’t looked back since. Debbie left her lifelong home in the high desert of Northern Nevada 10 years ago and washed up on the shore of America’s hometown, Plymouth, MA, where she and her family are now firmly planted. They spend part of each summer in a tiny, off–grid beach cottage named “The Sea Horse.”
“I found a piece of my farmgirl heart when I discovered MaryJanesFarm. Suddenly, everything I loved just made more sense! I enjoy unwinding at the beach, writing, gardening, and turning yard-sale furniture into ‘Painted Ladies’ I’m passionate about living a creative life and encouraging others to ‘make each day their masterpiece.’”
is a “MaryJane Farmgirl” who lives in a large metropolitan area. She is a lawyer who has worked in both criminal defense and prosecution. She has been a judge, a business woman and a stay-at-home mom. In addition to her law degree, she has a Masters of Theological Studies.
“Mustering up the courage to do the things you dream about,” she says, “is the essence of being a MaryJane Farmgirl.” Learning to live more organically and closer to nature is Rebekah’s current pursuit. She finds strength and encouragement through MaryJane’s writings, life, and products. And MaryJane’s Farmgirl Connection provides her a wealth of knowledge from true-blue farmgirls.
an old-fashioned farmgirl with a pioneer spirit, lives in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. As a “lifelong learner” in the “Live-Free-or-Die” state, she fiercely values self-reliance, independence, freedom, and fresh mountain air. Married to her childhood sweetheart of 40+ years (a few of them “uphill climbs”), she’s had plenty of time to reinvent herself. From museum curator, restaurant owner, homeschool mom/conference speaker, to post-and-beam house builder and entrepreneur, she’s also a multi-media artist, with an obsession for off-grid living and alternative housing. Cathi owns and operates a 32-room mountain lodge. Her specialty has evolved to include “hermit hospitality” at her rustic cabin in the mountains, where she offers weekend workshops of special interest to women.
“Mountains speak to my soul, and farming is an important part of my heritage. I want to pass on my love of these things to others through my writing. Living in the mountains has its own particular challenges, but I delight in turning them into opportunities from which we can all learn and grow.”
Dori Troutman is the daughter of second generation cattle ranchers in New Mexico. She grew up working and playing on the ranch that her grandparents homesteaded in 1928. That ranch, with the old adobe home, is still in the family today. Dori and her husband always yearned for a ranch of their own. That dream came true when they retired to the beautiful green rolling hills of Tennessee. Truly a cattleman’s paradise!
Dori loves all things farmgirl and actually has known no other life but that. She loves to cook, craft, garden, and help with any and all things on their cattle farm.
describes herself as a goat charmer, chicken whisperer, bee maven, and farmers’ market baker renovating an 1864 farmhouse on an Ohio farm. With a degree in Design, Mary says small-town auctions and country road barn sales "always make my heart skip a beat thinking about what I could create or design out of what I’ve seen.”
Rooted in the countryside, she likes simple things and old ways … gardening, preserving the harvest, cooking, baking, and all things home. While you might find her selling baked goods from the farm’s milkhouse, teaching herself to play the fiddle, or sprucing up a vintage camper named Maizy, you will always find her in an apron!
Mary says, “I’m happiest with the simple country pleasures … an old farmhouse, too many animals, a crackling fire, books to read, and the sound of laughter … these make life just perfect.”
is a budding rural farmgirl living in Palmer, the agricultural seat of Alaska. Alex is a graduate student at Alaska Pacific University pursuing an M.S. in Outdoor and Environmental Education. She lives and works on the university’s 700 acre environmental education center, Spring Creek Farm. When Alex has time outside of school, she loves to rock climb, repurpose found objects, cross-country ski on the hay fields, travel, practice yoga, and cook with new-fangled ingredients.
Alex grew up near the Twin Cities and went to college in Madison, Wisconsin—both places where perfectly painted barns and rolling green farmland are just a short drive away. After college, she taught at a rural middle school in South Korea where she biked past verdant rice paddies and old women selling home-grown produce from sidewalk stoops. She was introduced to MaryJanesFarm after returning, and found in it what she’d been searching for—a group of incredible women living their lives in ways that benefit their families, their communities, and the greater environment. What an amazing group of farmgirls to be a part of!
Suburban Farmgirl Nicole Christensen calls herself a “vintage enthusiast”. Born and raised in Texas, she has lived most of her life in the picturesque New England suburbs of Connecticut, just a stone’s throw from New York State. An Advanced Master Gardener, she has gardened since childhood, in several states and across numerous planting zones. In addition, she teaches knitting classes, loves to preserve, and raises backyard chickens.
Married over thirty years to her Danish-born sweetheart, Nicole has worked in various fields, been a world-traveler, an entrepreneur and a homemaker, but considers being mom to her now-adult daughter her greatest accomplishment. Loving all things creative, Nicole considers her life’s motto to be “Bloom where you are planted”.
I’m sure it must be a big job to take and edit all these great photos and write such interesting informative articles,….but….it sure is a great TREAT for me/us to be able to view and listen to what you have to say. I’ve already viewed this piece on the dahlias 2 times. Feel sure I will be back. Just fascinating…beautiful…great… I don’t know how you can keep the “faces” of your flowers unblemished? The bugs in my area (Ohio) just go crazy for the dahlias. Again, thank you, thank you, for the joy you share with us!
Hi Mary!
How nice to return to my blog and find your note. Thank you for your kind words. I’m so happy you enjoyed this piece on dahlias. As far as those bugs go, I spray them regularly with a product called Captain Jacks. It’s a great preventative. If I see one earwig or beetle that chews, I’m out there spraying away. I just can’t afford to let the bugs take over and ruin all my hard work! 🙂 I do have a few with blemishes so it’s not perfect, but what garden is, right? Happy Gardening! Deb
Your flowers are beautiful! I can only imagine how heartwarming it is to grow your flowers into such beauties and see them used, enjoyed, and loved in a wedding! There is nothing better than fresh flowers from the garden. I wish I lived closer and could have some of those flowers for my kitchen table! I love your post, it’s such an inspiration for small businesses!
Howdy Krista!
Thanks so much for reading. Glad you enjoyed 🙂
Happy September!
Deb
Very Pretty flower conditioning in the home brings back memories. If you would like to know what I did for a inexpensive cooler send me a message when you get a chance. The wedding flowers are beautiful – I think you’ve found your nitch.
Hi Carole,
Great to hear from you here! I knew you would appreciate this post. 🙂 Blessings to you and all of your creative endeavors!
Deb
How wonderful! My blooms this time of year are many different colors of summer phlox. My oldest daughter just got married a couple of weeks ago at the Justice of Peace so her Australian could stay here in the states. New will be having a wedding in our yard next year end of August. Will Dalias grow in sandy soil? Because it sounds like a later bloomer that would help our boarder when so much of my blooms are starting to fade. Your bouquets were beautiful!
Dahlias need a soil rich in organic matter. If you can get a couple raised beds in I recommend growing them that way. You can order in a horticultural mix from a landscape supply company. Same soil mixture as if you were planting veggies. They’ll love it! How exciting… a backyard wedding… Love it!
Happy September, Brenda! Deb
Yes it will be the second one we have held in our back yard. 3 daughters. This one may be a little higher maintainance that the last one. Wish you were closer I would sure love to use your blooms! Have a great fall. Will be coming your way in a weeks time, best friend and I driving from Michigan to Rhode Island to visit her daughter. Yeah girlfriend road trip!
Gorgeous flowers !! And such great wedding memories, that is something to be proud of! How rewarding :))))))))))))))
Thanks so much, Laura. It’s extremely stressful, but very rewarding too! Thanks for reading! Happy September!
Deb
Well done farmgirl! The flowers are beautiful and you are really filling a need. The wedding pictures are awesome (almost makes me want to have another wedding. Ours was 54 years ago in March) I love hearing what you are up to and seeing the beautiful flowers you grow. Thanks.
Thanks a million, Bonnie! Congratulations on 54… We’re celebrating our 25th this week! Happy September!
Deb
Your dahlias are beautiful. Anna is a lovely bride. Thank you for sharing this post. Quite enjoyable.
Marilyn
Thank you Marilyn. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Happy September,
Deb