Wins & Fails of our 2024 Growing Season

[@cbak1819]

As for spire flowers, Salvia I grow in Buffalo, NY.

[@melindarobb4529]

I don't know you ladies personally, but I love you for being authentic.

[@alwinamoricle8743]

Veronica is a good early summer linear flower, and will rebloom if cut back.

[@rootdesigncompany]

Thank you for the recommendation!

[@jessbeth73]

Ideas for summer and fall spires...I grew limelight millet this year for the first time. If you cut them early they are a fuzzy lime green and stand upright. If you let them develop they arch gracefully. Green drops have a fountain shape as well. Other ideas are Kiss Me Over the Garden Gate, perennial salvia (I have Mystic Spires...so pretty), veronica, amaranth, and goldenrod, celosia.

[@MartinHouseFlowers]

💚 you two!! Also love how you’ve made the distance apart work for you!

[@DavidWhitehead-y7x]

I luv your videos. They are so beautiful. I always look forward to seeing them.

[@rootdesigncompany]

Thank you so much!

[@ILonaMarieT]

LOVED this video☺️ Made my gloriously cool, slow, multiple cups of coffee morning on the screened porch perfect. This has been quite the growing season here. I felt like I was trying to grow an Ohio garden in Georgia. It was not fun. I did have soaker hoses & we got a holding tank for our well installed that did keep most things thriving. But some things just shriveled even though it was watered just from too much sun & heat. I have a whole new gratefulness for Ohio cloudy weather. It’s good for growing😊just as if this week we have a deer who is destroying my beds including my dahlias, & they are prime😭I never had one do it this bad. I think I will tear stuff out early. Wayne read where putting fishing string up around things deters deer, so we may try that. I had a sip & snip with some 12-15 yr old girls & that was fun! One of them used my angelonia, the taller variety anual, and that was pretty in a bouquet! A spire, not supper tall, but one I hadn’t thought of using. I need to get planning for nxt year!

[@pang-ngiavang1956]

There were so many bunnies this year in my garden. I have to replant my flowers two or three times this year!!! My husband finally bought me a bunny trap and I caught all of them (23)! I used apples to trap them!

[@rootdesigncompany]

Wow! 23 rabbits! I will need to try some apples as well.

[@DSmith-lr9nh]

Wow, ladies, I can certainly identify with some of your fails. I have a tiny flower business, a side hustle as I’ve heard you say many times. Can’t get my husband to retire, so I wanted to have something to do too. Long story short, this summer I made many market bouquets for local supermarkets. Just as everything was buzzing happily along, here came the critters! We have badgers that raid the sunflower patch. After much research, I learned they eat a certain type of grub that developes under the roots of the sunflowers. So you go out to a patch of 500 sunflowers, that are about a week to ten days from flowering and they’re leaning in every direction, some dug completely out. We’ve tried everything to get rid of the badgers, and on several occasions I’ve met one face to face while cutting for a bouquet! Yikes!!! I started carrying a .22 pistol with me every time I went out, not exactly what I had in mind when I started my little cut flower farm haha Thanks for sharing, we’ve got to stick together and I’ve always enjoyed a challenge. My motto is ‘nothing worthwhile is ever easy!’ All the Best, Debbie from Kansas

[@EvelynM-vlogs]

My July spiral is Astilbe and my August spiral are glads. I didn't think I would like glads, but I leave them until more flowers are blooming on the stalk and pull off the bottom ones, that makes the spike much shorter and I love it. September was snaps again. I cut my snaps back later than norm so they didn't rebloom until September.

[@phaedragardeness]

Evelyn, I love Glads!! There are some shorter ones that are easier to work with but you can also snip off the top section to make shorter (and use that short bit in a small arrangement!).

[@EvelynM-vlogs]

@@phaedragardeness Hi! What a nice surprise seeing you here. The thing with snipping the tops off of the glads is that it makes them loose their point, I like the point. My glads actually don't get that tall, so I may have the shorter variety, or it may be my growing conditions. They are new for me this year.

[@rootdesigncompany]

Thanks for the recommendations!

[@homemakeronhull]

Always love to watch your videos. ❤ my win was planting a few things for fresh eating- tomatoes, herbs, etc. my fail was not actually eating the food. 🤭

[@rootdesigncompany]

That made me giggle.

[@RyytiTarha]

Thank you for sharing your fails, it makes it easier to actually face my own. We had deer, phesants and rabbits munching away all the buds from flowers. I managed to get some tulips and dahlias, but very little else. One spike I have found prolific is agastache. It started in July and bloomed away 'till September. I am in the zone 5 and it survives our winters well.

[@conniegodyn6616]

Enjoyed your video and kudos on the bouquets with the eucalyptus etc. I really like that loose whimsy look that you got with all your foliage. You may not have had the filler flowers but the bouquets still looked great.😊

[@glendahill8806]

Enjoy your quiet wisdom that you share, reflecting on the season and new plans for the next. Perennials are so helpful, and shrubs for foliage. I’m critiquing my choices very differently each season, learning the restrictions of weather, energy and time, building soil fertility and trying to find my own niche in flowers.

[@rootdesigncompany]

We can't wait to get our perennials established. 👍 And you describe gardening wisdom well... learning from everything, finding your niche, focusing on what does well for you!

[@cbak1819]

Lovely🎉 How did you market your flowers in your new location.

[@evakinnear8241]

I love that shirt LaRhonda. Always comforting to see you two! Especially here in NC with all that's been going on. Do you spray paint your cattle panel and supports? The gardens are so beautiful. Feel like I had a number of fails this year, but it always ends up in learning more. Guess my biggest fail was planting lots of English perennials, but not realizing how slow growing they can be, the weeds just took over! Going to try Bio 360 next year, we'll see how it goes. Much love!

[@twosistas19]

Love your gardens and videos. But I was wondering how you both close your gardens at the end of the season? Do you cover with something?

[@apriloestman8304]

We've found dwarf sorghum to be a beautiful linear flower. We plant them close together for a nice bouquet size, and also use them in fall bouquets because the seed heads are pretty too. Delphinium blooms all summer and into fall for us here in Colorado 6a. It gets very hot and our sun is quite intense at this elevation, but the delphs are in dappled shade and so they keep coming back every year. Potomac snaps are a good summer spike too. Cheers to next season!

[@rootdesigncompany]

Thanks for the suggestions! That looks like a great fall spire flower. I will need to look into it. Appreciate the tips!

[@patriciakeys4873]

My spike flower for late summer into fall is the feather variety of celosia. I cut hard every week and get more the next week. Gonna plant more of that in other colors as I only have the white feathers this year.

[@virginiameza6885]

Love you ladies!!! You are both real and down to earth. I’m an aspiring flower farmer…for now it’s my aunt’s back deck. The fail: squirrels feasting on her gorgeous geraniums (she brings them in during the winter and it keeps her going on those dreary months). The win based on my fail…finding that chilly pepper does deter those pesky dudes. Just as we are getting down to the wire to bring the geraniums in…they bounced back blooming and being their old selves.

[@virginiameza6885]

Oh…and your garden is lovely!!!! It’s funny how we easily fixate on the bad. Is that the new shed in one of the shots?

[@rootdesigncompany]

I definitely need to try the red pepper deterrent! I'm glad your fail turned into a win. ;)

[@rootdesigncompany]

Yes, that's the new shed that was built this summer. I'll do a tour once it's a little more finished.

[@janhoover8189]

Love to hear your win/fails! Here are mine. This year started out lovely with the radish ground cover blooming for my daughter’s outdoor wedding then summer brought the year of army worms, escapee goats ate the roses to nubs and tennis elbow. The garden is a disaster;). Wins: redbeets, cosmos were stunning, limelight’s outdid themselves, hyacinth bean vine is mammoth and I found a Peggy martin rose start.

[@rootdesigncompany]

Goodness, we had army worms here in Arkansas, too. They were so bad in the yard it sounded like popcorn when you walked through it. Yuck. But it sounds like your wins far outweighed the fails. :)

[@angelabromley3712]

Fail: putting things off and getting farther and farther behind until I'm too late. We planted too many tomatoes, every weekend is canning and the flowers are neglected. Win: planted forsythia, baptisia and other filler foliage around dads house. Than I take care of the hedges and get the greens for bouquets.

[@rootdesigncompany]

Thank-you for sharing! I can relate to too many tomatoes. 😅

[@victoriakreative]

Wins and Lessons for me

[@happypappy]

My fails were sunflowers and Zinnias! I planted my Zinnias way too late-like July! Lol! My sunflowers the last two years have had crazy pest issues! There’s some kind of parasite that attacks the buds right before they bloom and the blossom flops over like something took a bite out of it! Successes were that I planted lots of many varieties of basil! When they flower, they make wonderful long lasting bouquets for the kitchen counter, especially the purple leaf or flowering varieties. They look great with cosmos (also planted late)! I bought MARIGOLD, ALUMIA™ VANILLA CREAM from Jung Seed and love them! I had bushy flowering marigolds everywhere. I also bought a new Blue Lake variety from Jung Seed called Blue Lake Superior and LOVE them! Very prolific truly bushy upright plants with delicious tender green beans! I just reordered 750 seeds when they were back in stock for 2025 succession planting! Finally my favorite annual from the garden center this year is Purple & Bloom Salvia! The strong huge plants the hummingbirds and bees absolutely love and I enjoy watching them enjoy the flowers! (Zone 6b Independence, Missouri)

[@rootdesigncompany]

Your garden sounds like it was a vision. :) Making notes on the Blue Lake beans and marigolds to try those in the future. Thanks for sharing your wins and fails!

[@melanie5894]

Thanks for the video! ❤ our baby was born in April so the garden hasn’t been a priority. The weeds have grown quite well tho!

[@rootdesigncompany]

Congratulations! 👶🏻 Babies and adjusting to a “new life” are definitely priority. 😁

[@jeannet9592]

It's so great to see your video today! Deer and armadillo pressure. Little varmints.

[@rootdesigncompany]

Little varmints for sure. 🙃

[@decoratingyourworld]

Thank you both so much for your honesty. I just recently started following you both and have sooo enjoyed watching the videos. I tried to start my cut flowers 3 yrs ago and my bro died i pulled 1000 seeds and then my mom got very sick pulled 1400 seeds. It has been an uphill battle but im trying cool flowers again this Fall. I would love to know how you make the pathways. Are you cutting down black weed barrier. The weeds are a battle with just me. Oh i'm in Ky. Originally from Tx totally different summers. Always use to perrenials and dry heat now annuals completely different. (Humid). Oh yea did i mention im in my 60s never too late to bloom. Please keep going!! Im so encouraged!! P.s. please HELP.

[@rootdesigncompany]

Thank you for following along! I'm sorry to hear about your brother and mom. ❤ We use a product called DeWitt Weed and Mulch barrier. You can find it on Amazon or at your local hardware store. Here is a link to the page where we list our favorite gardening supplies. www.rootdesignfloral.com/tools-we-use/ It cuts down on weedy paths for sure and takes alot of the work out of gardening. Blessings to you as you figure out gardening in a new zone!

[@bsfairsme33]

Gladiola make some great Spire flowers for summer blooms. You can succession plant them to stagger the bloom times. :) Thanks for the great videos!

[@rootdesigncompany]

Thanks for the recommendation!

[@EdensApple80]

This year was strange for me in terms of cut flowers. My gardens did great in spring and here in fall. Horrible snapdragon year and I didn’t even get zinnias in the ground until the week of July 4th. Maybe a blessing though since we avoided the Japanese beetles in June. There were swarms of dragonflies this year which was interesting. For spire flowers, have you tried salvia in summer and baptisia for spring? Love your videos! Have a blessed Sunday. 💕🌻

[@rootdesigncompany]

Sometimes a fail is a win in disguise, eh? (avoiding Japanese beetles) We haven't tried either of those! Thanks for the suggestions!

[@debrarichey6447]

Love your videos!

[@mhubertcfi]

Will have to sign up for your newsletter! Love these win fail videos. I am going to try growing hot biscuits amaranth summer and fall as I feel the goldy tones go with everything. My lazy find was that I didn’t thin it and loved the this spikes that were produced

[@rootdesigncompany]

I'm considering it for next fall bouquets, too!

[@patriciakeys4873]

I grew amaranth last year and it brought in so many bugs like leaf hoppers everywhere! Didn't do it this year and the bug pressure was way less (no leaf hoppers) although I did have crazy grasshoppers here in zone 7b Oklahoma.

[@mhubertcfi]

@@patriciakeys4873 that’s a fair point. We have heavy bug pressure here too

[@maryjoszymanski8409]

I grew hot biscuits for the first time this year. I love it!! It goes with everything! Just be sure to stake it up really well. It gets extremely tall and very top heavy!😊

[@grisespino5342]

Ammi, daura, fennel, golden rod, hot poker flower, oriental Lily, Joe pye weed, hollyhock, canna, globe thistle. Good luck next year

[@rootdesigncompany]

Thank you!

[@Daisy-Hey-Hello]

Spikes in summer: Leonurus sibiricus (perennial) I wan't really impressed by pictures, but I really liked it in real life. Has a vaselife of a week.

[@rootdesigncompany]

Just googled it. :) It looks kinda similar to Veronica. Might have to try it!

[@marysustar8537]

Veronica are a nice spike that blooms early and late summer.

[@rootdesigncompany]

Thank for the suggestion!

[@barbthreinen2628]

Your flowers are so beautiful. So when I raise flowers they are full of bugs and holes in leaves etc. What do you use for insects?

[@rootdesigncompany]

We have tried a molasses spray for our flowers this year with pretty good results, but some bugs nibbling on our hard work is inevitable. Here is a link to our homemade bug spray we've tried in the past: www.rootdesignfloral.com/neem-oil-bug-spray/

[@KaylaBrubacher]

Love hearing all this from u experts ☺️ I was wondering what flower is growing on the arch trellis at 2.35 in the video???

[@rootdesigncompany]

That is a white runner bean, probably "White Giant". :D Those were in Rosita's garden so I'm making an educated guess.

[@jennydefran]

LOVe your videos! What is growing on your trellis?

[@rootdesigncompany]

We have love in a puff and white runner bean growing on our trellises this year.

[@donnabauerofbrilliancebyde1178]

Good to see you girls! How do you begin a new customer base when moving? I moved last year and this began a new in a new community and did not do well

[@rootdesigncompany]

It's hard to get started in a new community, and we've found that some communities have more demand for cut flowers than others. I would suggest to try a variety of outlets and hone in on what does best. Maybe focus on having a pop-up for mother's day for starters?

[@patriciakeys4873]

I've been struggling with the same issues. I moved from Denver, zone 5b, to Oklahoma, zone 7b and my goodness... what a difference! Also battling wind and bug pressure too. Lost a little 27 ft hoop house to 80 mph wind. It didn't fly away, just crumpled into what was growing inside. We have to use those ground spikes that actually screw into the ground about a foot and are heavy duty, because of tornadic winds. So not knowing anyone here except my daughter, I went to the farmer's market. Last year it was just in my small town, lower income area and flowers didn't really sell well because of the economy. This year I did my town and a larger city where I did way better. Next year I'm going to drop my town and just do the city market. I use square to take card payments and it shows me how many returning customers I get vs new customers. I also have competition where there are two more flower vendors. When they are not at market I do really well. Next year I'm going to have my web site up and also IG and will spending more time on social media. Planning on pushing the Bouquet Club for season 2026 during the 2025 season.

[@pang-ngiavang1956]

What are spy flowers?

[@karenm5681]

She’s saying “spire” flowers, meaning any flower that is a tall skinny shape.

[@rootdesigncompany]

Spire flowers are any flowers with an elongated "spire" shape. Snapdragon, Delphinium, Larkspur, Foxglove, all fit into our "spire" category. :)

[@wswchen]

Thank you for sharing this! I had one single groundhog in our garden,and it ate SO MUCH!! The devastation from deer is nothing compared to this awful guy!

[@lindacannella7560]

Oh the bunnies 😡 it’s a wonder we can grow anything with all of the different pest pressures!! The rabbits dug under our deer fence, so be sure to extend your fence underground 😅

[@rootdesigncompany]

Yes, I’ve heard they do that! 🫠 Ugh, I’m sorry.

[@kimberlydavis5960]

bunnies for me too… grrrrr. I have literally been face to face with them and they look at me like I’m a bother. They are also not really ruffled by my dog. Need to come up with a new plan for next year if I want peas and beans.

[@esmereldagreen5747]

Weeds, bugs, mildew and rabbits....my season....

[@rootdesigncompany]

Sounds like we’re all fighting the same garden battles. 😅

[@brittanyklein6349]

In Ohio and drought drought drought.

[@rootdesigncompany]

I’m sorry. 😞

[@flowerfairy1950]

What a gorgeous opening view 🧡 My critters: wallabies 🦘🦘🦘 chomp! chomp! chomp!

[@rootdesigncompany]

I guess we can be thankful we don’t have wallabies. 😅🤷🏻‍♀️ Can you fence them out?

[@flowerfairy1950]

@@rootdesigncompanyUnfortunately not (3 acres). More than half is natural 'bush' designated for Wildlife. My small Pollinator Patch is the plants safe haven which is crammed full. It would not be a problem if we had kangaroos as they are grazing animals (there's a mob of kangaroos that visit a property close by) but wallabies are more solitary and, lovely as they are, are a nightmare.