Sunshine Creek Farm

The start of the Spring CSA is rapidly approaching! We are gearing up for pulling 4000 tulips and daffodils, and harvesting oodles of anemones from the tunnel so soon. There is nothing like early spring flowers, we love the delightful frills of all the fancy narcissus, and the punches of color from the tulips. So sorely needed after a long winter!

Did you know you can pick up your bouquets this year from two of my favorite local businesses? in Damascus and .and.dale.vintage on Main Street in Gresham will be pick up locations for your weekly blooms. Just select your preferred location at checkout. We will be emailing subscribers in the next couple weeks!

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I’m really excited to hold bundles of peonies in my arms like this again. I’m also excited to be going to the PNW Flower Growers Meet Up in Corvallis this Sunday. Looking forward to meeting other growers local and beyond and learning all I can from the fantastic line up of speakers. Will I see you there? I hope so!

Summer Camp Registration is Open! - https://mailchi.mp/92b7eac70eac/summer-camp-registration-is-open-6188888

This is a painful post to write, but this is the look of death y’all.

I am still going through crates to salvage survivors but it is pretty clear that the recent ice storm devastated my dahlia collection. Our cooler go too cold when we lost power and we acted too slowly to save them. A painful, expensive lesson. So many mixed emotions.

We will for sure not be having a tuber sale this year. From the survivors, we will be taking cuttings to salvage what we have, and generate some stock for trading/selling in a couple months time.

I don’t really know what else to write. On the one hand, I am pretty mad at myself. Major imposter syndrome trying not to take over my brain. Some of these varieties I’ve had since 2018. My old reliables. Some I had thanks to braving the cut throat, heart wrenching dahlia sales. Uuuuugh. Trying not to think about that. Also not trying to think about what this means for my little business and whether we can sustain such a financial loss. Being the only product we can sell nationwide, tuber sales were a huge chunk of our annual income.

On the other hand, I don’t just grow dahlias and I’m thankful for that in this moment. Our CSAs this year are going to be phenomenal (still taking orders for those!), we now have more time for seed starting and maybe even more space for midsummer flowers. Pumpkins are coming too. I do love the variety that each part of the season brings. One loss is not a total loss. But it does still suck because of all the things, dahlias are the most constant year round work. I definitely won’t wait to divide ever again… probably.

ANYWAY, if you got this far, thanks for reading my stream of consciousness ramble. Virtual hugs appreciated. I am sad but also ready to roll up my sleeves, get my hands in the dirt and pivot. Take cuttings. Plant dahlia seeds. Perhaps nab some new varieties I never had room for? It’s going to be okay! But yeah, no online tuber sale 🙃😬🥲

Do you favor ranunculus or anemone? Or perhaps you couldn’t possibly choose just one?

These two flowers are often grown on the same schedule because they are both cold hardy spring flowers grown from corms.

For some reason I have figured out how to grow anemones reliably, while ranunculus are still a bit finicky. Anemones have always bloomed the longest, strongest stems here. They also bloom about a month longer than our ranunculus. I just love their delicate fairy petals. One of my favs ❤️

(But I will also keep trying with those ranunculus. They are amazing too!)

We’ve got some lovely dried flower bouquets out at .and.dale.vintage on Main st in Gresham! Pick up some everlasting color before the snow hits on Saturday ❄️❄️❄️

It’s been such a lovely season for dried flowers and I’m taking notes for all the must haves for next season’s dried crop. Do you have a favorite? So far I’ve got strawflower, statice, and celosia in all the colors 🤩, and cress.

Probably the most classic dried flower selections, but they are classic for a reason… they hold their color so well!

Life has been so very full these past few weeks of non-farm related stuff. Lots of family time over winter break, Bonnie getting so much loving and playtime everyday (at least, that is the goal!), and truth be told, it’s harder to get me outside during these months. I like my cozy fireplace and my sewing room this time of year. That’s just the kind of farmer I am. It’s definitely not year round for me, and I think I actively avoid social media this time of year so I don’t send myself into a panic when I see all the AMAZING farmers who are at it year round. I so admire you! When our kids are bigger, it might happen for me too. But right now, this is what I’ve got. This is also why I do my best when caring for plants that can be ignored in winter 😅

That being said, the kids are back at school now, and the cogs are shifting in my mind as we enter the new year. What will it look like for Sunshine Creek Farm? We have a few things cooking!

1. Subscriptions- we have lots of lovely spots for our Early Spring, Peony and Rose subscriptions. A great gift for V-Day! Tag your lover to remind them and I’ll send a gift card they can give you with all the deets ❤️🥳

2. Dried flowers- we’ll have lots of dried flower bouquets out at .and.dale.vintage and in the coming weeks. Everlasting bouquets are a real treat of color in the dead of winter!

3. The dahlia tuber dividing is about to begin! Have I ever started this late? No. Do I know how it will go? No! But if they are in prime condition, you’ll get first dibs for our tuber sale in March 🙂

That’s it for now! Kudos to you if you made it this far! We love and appreciate all of you! Let me know how your winter is going in the comments. I like social media breaks but I do miss connecting with all of you ❤️ Be well! ❤️

Happy happy 5th Birthday to our sweet Elsie Rose! You are fearless, caring, silly, creative, and always up for some fun! We are so so proud of you and all you are. Witnessing you grow has been the greatest honor of our lives. No matter how fast you grow, you’ll always be my baby, and we can’t wait for the next five years and MORE!

Happy Birthday to Bonnie, who is one year old!

We met our fur baby when she was eight weeks old, and what a whirlwind it has been these past ten months. Our sweet little Bon Bon is not so little anymore but still full of beans 😂. Smart as a whip, cheeky with the counter surfing and a total snuggle bug, we love you to bits Bonnie Rae!

50% OFF PUMPKIN SALE!

All of our pumpkins and squash at .and.dale.vintage and are on sale!! Pumpkins at Poppy & Dale will be gone by Tuesday, November 21st as the shop flips its decor for the holiday season. Bow & Arrow will have pumpkins through the end of the month.

This weekend is your last chance to get your pumpkins for pie and decor and whatever other delicious treats you might be making! Get your pumpkins now and save them through the winter for delicious soups and stews, they are perfect for long term storage. Each pumpkin has a tag with the variety and it’s best uses. Yumo!

It was a peculiar dahlia season for us at Sunshine Creek. Between our international family trip in July, and summer camps all through June and August, the dahlias were very much left to their own devices with automatic watering at fingers crossed.

But despite it all, we still had a beautiful season with lots of stand outs with reliable blooms and vigorous plant health. The clumps are already all dug so we can make room for 2024 tulips, and I’m looking forward to dividing in the next couple weeks. Pictured here are some of our favs this year that will be in our Spring dahlia tuber sale!

1. Bloomquist Tory P
2. Oh Honey!
3. Chewy
4. Hamilton Lillian
5. Coseytown Dexter

Some exciting news for our 2024 Spring Flowers is also on the horizon so stay tuned ❤️💕

I love fall most of all ❤️🍂🍎🎃

Heya folks! TOMORROW IS THE DAY! The farm will be open 11:00-4:00 for our fourth annual pumpkin patch fundraiser for ! We are raising money for our scholarship program and we sure are excited to see you!

We will have hot drinks from the amazing , and loads of gorgeous organic pumpkins and flowers for sale.

There will also be family circus workshop going on, and an amazing clown show planned for 1:00 pm. Craft activities will be happening for kids, including juggling ball making and pumpkin painting. Wahoo!!

This is our one event of the year where our farm is open to the public, and it’s been a delight planning it. Parking, entry, and circus workshop are free all day!

Finding beauty 🍂💐💕

Yesterday I made my first wreath… and then another and another and another…

Ten wreaths in I am thoroughly hooked.

These wreaths will be for sale at our Children’s Harvest Fest this Sunday, and afterwards you’ll spot them at some awesome new locations I am so excited to collaborate with!

The pumpkins are rolling in! The compost we loaded into the field last Spring really made a big difference in our pumpkin sizes. We have some whoppers this year! I love pulling them all out of the field and grouping colors together, there is no color combo I don’t love 😍🎃

Do you have a favorite color or variety? Leave a comment and let us know! 👇🏼

Photo dump of the dahlias before a big haircut tomorrow ❤️💜💕

Bouquets will be back at on Tuesday, after I drop off my kiddo at preschool. 9:30ish find them in the little red wagon before you go and grab your coffee 💐☕️❤️

Can you spot the 🐝?

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One benefit of not cutting many flowers is that the plants are just an explosion of color!

The garden roses are entering their first flush. Every year we cut them back and they seem so unassuming. Then they leaf out, bud up, and retake their throne as queen of the flowers 😍

I could definitely get used to this 🤩🤩🤩

We interrupt this regularly scheduled flower content to bring you a celebratory post for my darling sweet Robin, who turns six years old today!

It is not lost on me that my first born arrived earth side just days before Mother’s Day, this joyful child who made me a mama.

I am so in awe of you Robin. You’ve jumped into childhood with both feet and seem to be absorbing life like a sponge. Always curious, adventurous, loving, creative. You feel so fiercely, are always down for a game, or a snack. We love you so much! I can’t believe how life is flying by, and we are so proud of you ❤️❤️❤️

Right on cue…

Flowers are out at , come early and get them before the heat of the day! Thank you so much for supporting your local farmers!

We hope you have a beautiful Mother’s Day weekend 🩷🌸🩷🌸🩷

Mother’s Day Flowers this weekend! We will have pint sized mixed tulip bouquets at , and larger wrapped bouquets at starting this Friday! It’s going to be hot this weekend, so get your flowers EARLY and keep them in a cool spot out of direct sun.

Check out my stories to see some of the colors but I’m especially excited for our double pink tulips and all the gorgeous bluebells and geum that are blooming just in time! Treat your mama, or treat yourself!! This is the last of the tulips, once they are gone, that’s it till next year! Can’t wait!