Field and Garden with Lisa Mason Ziegler

Today, I want to dive into the topic of cool flowers and the importance of planting them in very early spring. The basic idea is to plant these flowers in cool to cold conditions to get the best performance out of them, which can happen in fall, winter, or very early spring. Many people have been led away from planting during these unusual times. But I assure you, this is where the magic happens! For flower farmers, planting cool flowers can significantly boost your business.   We’re talking about flowers like: Bells of Ireland Sweet peas Stock Snapdragons Lisianthus Larkspur Status Poppies When planted at the right time, these flowers bloom earlier, grow taller, produce more stems, and are more resistant to diseases and pests. Listen in to learn who can plant in this window, when and what to plant, and more!  Mentions Lisa's Book, Cool Flowers  Lisa's Book, The Cut Flower Handbook Online Course: Cool Flowers from Seed to Harvest The Flower Farmer Club, presented by The Gardener's Workshop ⁠⁠⁠Shop the TGW Online Store for all your seeds and supplies!⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Sign up to receive our weekly Farm News!⁠⁠⁠ The⁠⁠⁠ Field and Garden Podcast⁠⁠⁠ is produced by Lisa Mason Ziegler, award-winning author of⁠⁠⁠ The Cut Flower Handbook, Vegetables Love Flowers, and Cool Flowers⁠⁠⁠, owner of⁠⁠⁠ The Gardener’s Workshop,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Flower Farming School Online,⁠⁠⁠ and the publisher of⁠⁠⁠ Farmer-Florist School Online⁠⁠⁠ and⁠⁠⁠ Florist School Online.⁠⁠⁠ Watch⁠⁠⁠ Lisa’s Story⁠⁠⁠ and connect with Lisa on social media!

Did you know that we have another podcast series? It’s called Seed Talk with Lisa & Layne, and it’s become really popular! This is their top podcast episode of 2024, the one with the most overall listens, and it’s about succession planting Cool Flowers. If you like this one, please consider subscribing to Seed Talk wherever you get your podcasts. You can also watch Seed Talk on our YouTube channel (see the Seed Talk playlist there), or listen to Seed Talk anytime in the podcast section on our website. *Winner, Best of 2024* Seed Talk with Lisa & Layne Curious about planting cool-season hardy annuals beyond very early spring? Wondering which cool flowers you should consider succession planting? Here (in episode #75), Lisa and Layne cover potential consequences of planting cool-season hardy annuals later in the season, what makes a cool flower a good candidate for succession planting, and succession-planting tips for several flowers. Listen and learn how to succession plant for an abundant cool flower garden! Mentions: ⁠⁠⁠⁠”Seed Talk” YouTube Playlist⁠⁠⁠⁠ Episode 50 – Sweet William Variety Comparison: Amazon vs. Sweet Episode 72 – Bupleurum Germination & Succession-Planting Tips Shop: Cool-Season Seeds ⁠“Seed Talk” Topic Suggestion Form⁠ ⁠TGW YouTube Channel⁠ ⁠Sign up to receive our weekly Farm News!⁠ The ⁠“Seed Talk with Lisa & Layne”⁠ podcast is produced by ⁠The Gardener’s Workshop⁠ and co-hosted by Lisa Mason Ziegler and Layne Angelo. Lisa is the founder and owner of The Gardener’s Workshop, where Layne works as Seed Manager. Lisa is the award-winning author of ⁠Vegetables Love Flowers⁠, ⁠Cool Flowers⁠, The Cut Flower Handbook, and the publisher of ⁠Flower Farming School Online,⁠ ⁠Farmer-Florist School Online,⁠ and ⁠Florist School Online⁠. Watch ⁠Lisa’s Story⁠ and connect with her on social media. Layne is an avid gardener, seed starter, and engineer who loves learning and applying her technical knowledge to all areas of life, including gardening and growing flowers.

Our most popular episode of 2024! Here, Lisa was featured on The joegardener® Show podcast, joining host Joe Lamp’l to discuss the Cool Flowers concept and how she got started growing this fantastic group of spring stunners! They covered topics such as: How to determine which Cool Flowers you can grow in your region When and how to start your Cool Flowers from seed The special care requirements of flowers planted in the fall and in very early spring What you should do to prepare in the fall even if you don’t plant until very early spring Mentions Lisa's Book, ⁠Cool Flowers⁠ ⁠The Flower Farmer⁠ by Lynn Byczynski ⁠The New Organic Grower⁠ by Eloit Coleman ⁠Bio360 Biodegradable Mulch Film⁠ ⁠Row Cover Hoop Kit⁠ ⁠Cool-Season Hardy Annual Seeds⁠ Full The joegardener® Show Episode #274 Podcast & Blog Post⁠ Available Here⁠⁠ Joe’s Book, ⁠The Vegetable Gardening Book⁠ Joe’s online course, ⁠Organic Vegetable Gardening⁠ Watch Growing a Greener World and connect with Joe: ⁠Website⁠, ⁠Instagram⁠, ⁠Facebook⁠, ⁠YouTube⁠, ⁠Twitter⁠ Free Resources on our website ⁠⁠⁠Shop the TGW Online Store for all your seeds and supplies!⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Sign up to receive our weekly Farm News!⁠⁠⁠ The⁠⁠⁠ Field and Garden Podcast⁠⁠⁠ is produced by Lisa Mason Ziegler, award-winning author of⁠⁠⁠ Vegetables Love Flowers, The Cut Flower Handbook, and Cool Flowers⁠⁠⁠, owner of⁠⁠⁠ The Gardener’s Workshop,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Flower Farming School Online,⁠⁠⁠ and the publisher of⁠⁠⁠ Farmer-Florist School Online⁠⁠⁠ and⁠⁠⁠ Florist School Online.⁠⁠⁠ Watch⁠⁠⁠ Lisa’s Story⁠⁠⁠ and connect with Lisa on social media!

Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone in Business Today, we're discussing stepping out of your comfort zone, a challenge many face when starting a new business. In new ventures, like a flower farm, we often seek help from peers. While this can be comforting, it may also lead to stagnation. Spending too much time with others who are struggling can hinder our progress. Successful individuals share key habits: They make decisions based on facts, not assumptions. They recognize that time is money. They surround themselves with more successful people. The company we keep influences our behavior. If we only seek help from those at our level or below, we risk feeling stuck. Ask for advice from those who have succeeded. Embrace challenging environments. Recently, I was encouraged to attend a small business conference. Initially, I felt overwhelmed and doubted my ability to contribute. It's normal to feel scared in new situations. But stepping out of your comfort zone—those daunting experiences can transform your business. We all face challenges along our journeys, so let's support each other in striving for growth! Mentions Free Resources on our website ⁠⁠⁠Shop the TGW Online Store for all your seeds and supplies!⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Sign up to receive our weekly Farm News!⁠⁠⁠ The⁠⁠⁠ Field and Garden Podcast⁠⁠⁠ is produced by Lisa Mason Ziegler, award-winning author of⁠⁠⁠ The Cut Flower Handbook, Vegetables Love Flowers, and Cool Flowers⁠⁠⁠, owner of⁠⁠⁠ The Gardener’s Workshop,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Flower Farming School Online,⁠⁠⁠ and the publisher of⁠⁠⁠ Farmer-Florist School Online⁠⁠⁠ and⁠⁠⁠ Florist School Online.⁠⁠⁠ Watch⁠⁠⁠ Lisa’s Story⁠⁠⁠ and connect with Lisa on social media!