Am I a farmer? Or a professional gambler? Sometimes I’m not 100% confident in the answer. I mean, yes, I am a farmer but almost everything I do is just one big gamble. Each day I place my bet against some of the toughest in the game. Bugs, rain, hail, extreme heat, deer, wind, and that one rabbit that for some reason LOVES sunflower seedlings, the list goes on and on. Sometimes I win big and other days I go home with my tail tucked and head hanging low.
The gamble doesn’t stop at the growing phase; it carries on into every flower that is harvested and put into a bouquet. I can’t tell you how many times I ask myself, “is this bloom going to last over a week?” One of my biggest fears is having you take your flowers home only to wake up the next morning and find a completely melted zinnia, or a sunflower that has dropped all its petals.
And let me tell you, you cannot always trust a zinnia. One day they are looking their best, and the next it’s like you’ve deprived them of water for a week. Stop being so dramatic zinnias, you’re stressin’ me out!
Just know, if this ever happens to you, and you find yourself with a bloom or two that didn’t last, I am truly sorry. I never intentionally put an iffy flower into a bouquet, but inevitably, it does happen. I touch Every… Single… Stem… that go into your bouquets and if it’s tucked inside that sleeve, it means that in that moment, it made the cut. Sometimes I have no way of knowing that a flower is going to embarrass me as soon as you get it home when it decides to die. But I guess, that’s just part of the gamble.
When you’re dealing with nature, there are lots of things that you have no control over. But I promise you, I am doing my best to deliver you the cream of the crop. And the bottom line is, they ARE going to die. Flowers aren’t meant to last forever. Their job is to bloom, thrive, and then say goodbye. Their purpose is to help keep us in the present. They serve as our reminder that some things don’t wait until we “have the time” to enjoy them.
To be a farmer, and I supposed a gambler, you’ve got to be prepared for the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. When you win, it feels big. The crop survives, the weather cooperates, and people are telling you they thought their flowers would never die. But when you lose, that’s when you hope you have thick skin. Maybe the seeds didn’t germinate, the wind knocked out an entire crop within a matter of minutes, or a bouquet only lasted 3 days, and you know what, it hurts. You feel it deep in your soul and it makes you question why you even tried to begin with.
The funny thing is, all it takes is for me spot one perfect flower in the field and just like that, I’m back at it. I guess I can understand how some people become addicted to gambling.
So, farmer or gambler? Maybe they are one in the same.
A big thank you to those that buy our flowers. Thank you for choosing the present and enjoying your blooms while you can. And if every once in a while they are shorter lived than usual, just know that I bet on a bloom and lost.
