As the saying goes, the one sure thing you can count on is that life will change. We here at Millwood Flower Farm are evolving with the changes in our lives. My son, Seth, and I found so much joy bringing joy to others through flowers. We will never forget the Ocala Downtown Market, the wedding proposal, graduation photo shoots, our first DIY wedding, Amber and her boys exploring the field, the workshops and tours. The flower farm handed us a new community. We will never stop growing flowers here and searching for ways to create beautiful habitat (even if just temporary) for birds, people, and other critters.

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Don’t you just love the fresh greens and sherbet colors of spring? Spring is a season of newness and my soul feels saturated with possibility. In Florida, we are blessed to have the support of the Institute for Food and Agricultural Services (IFAS) available to us. Using sustainable methods to grow flowers, herbs, and vegetables is important to Millwood Flower Farm. What we put into our soil can leach into the water supply, affecting not only our drinking water, but the health of our beautiful and special springs.

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Usually if the weather gets below 55 degrees, I jokingly state that it’s going to be “below freezing” because to me, here where I live, 55 degrees is dang cold! But this holiday season we had some truly freezing temperatures. In fact, we had 5 nights in a row in the 20s. Brrrr. And scary, too. Most of Millwood Flower Farm’s spring flowers are planted in the fall, so when deep freezing temperatures hit us, especially so early in the winter, it can be a game changer for us.

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So here is the plan for the new keyhole garden at Millwood Flower Farm. On the west outside row there will be blueberries and strawberries. I have read they are good companion plants, and should look really pretty to me. Like I always say, “aesthetics matter.” Our goal is always to have everything be pleasing to the eye, so it will bring people (including ourselves) JOY. There are currently about 6 or 7 blueberries already planted on that side. My hope is that I can successfully transplant some of them to give them more room and be able to plant a few new ones for a total of 10 to 12.

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Things are getting a bit untidy around here. It happens every summer. The weeds grow like … weeds! I haven’t been feeling particularly energetic since losing Joe, so instead of tackling the field, I, Natalie, am starting a new project in our original raised bed area. I’m creating a keyhole garden. Before a couple of years ago when Seth kept mentioning making a keyhole garden, I had never heard of it. This shape is the inspiration.

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In April and May, we have a rainbow of shades available from our flower field, so I thought I would highlight a few by color range. Let’s start with purple and blue, because this may just be the best time of year to find blue flowers. On a near daily basis we are harvesting bachelor’s buttons. True, there are few pinks, but for the most part the blooms on these girls are cobalt blue. Blue flowers are eye-catching and really stand out when they are surrounded by softer colors. Another outstanding purple flower in our field is larkspur.

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