2024 Plan vs The Reality

As I sit here on the Saturday before my first big tuber sale, I have to confess that I'm feeling a bit disappointed. If you have never had a tuber sale before, let me just tell you that it's an emotional roller coaster like no other. Are they good enough? Are they healthy enough? Do I have enough? How come I planted so many damned plants last year and only have this few to sell? Will anyone buy from me? Are my prices too high? Too low? Will they trash me on Facebook? How in the world will I figure out all of the things I don't know yet about Shopify that will bite me in the rear the moment I open?  EEEK!

My disappointment really is tempered by an immense amount of gratitude, and the reality is that I had a LOT to learn this year. I mostly recovered from "great flood" of river irrigation that swept through my field that first time and washed away 60% of my temporary tags. I learned to accept more help than I've probably allowed myself my entire life. I somehow managed to hustle hard enough to survive 5 weeks with a broken well pump. I grew, dug, and divided about 8 times more plants than last year. I made a LOT of mistakes. The biggest being not applying horticulture tags to every single cutting instead of relying on the flimsy plastic sticks. The second was not appreciating how much effort and good timing goes into getting photos of every cultivar for a website. I always considered myself a decent photographer, but let me tell you I was wrong when It comes to flowers for marketing purposes! I hope as the 2024 season closes and the excitement for 2025 kicks off that they truly are Lessons Learned and not Lessons to be Learned. Either way, I'm going to pocket my pride and lock up the gremlins who are trying to tell me my insides don't look nearly as good as all the other seller's outsides and get on with it. 

Here's the list from 2024. Only a small portion are in the sale, either because they are in the crates of NOIDs from the flood, I never confirmed their blooms, or I'm stockpiling what I have for next year's field. I appreciate you for reading and for following and for all the support as I trudge my way into next year with a hopeful heart. Thank you for all the love and care and help you've given to me. I can't tell you enough how grateful I am to be living a dahlia dream life. 

XOXO 

Amy

2024 Varieties in the Field: