June at TwoPot Posies: Looking Ahead

June began with strawberries.

Not just any strawberries, but strawberries planted by my mum three years ago when I was pregnant with Sophie. This year they produced their biggest harvest yet, and as I picked bowl after bowl, I found myself thinking about how strange grief can be. One day a strawberry patch is simply a strawberry patch. The next, it becomes something deeply sentimental.

The weather, however, seemed determined to remind us that summer had not quite arrived. June began much like May had ended - cool, wet, and reluctant to warm up. During the first week of the month, temperatures dropped so low that we found ourselves lighting the fire.

Usually, I welcome an excuse for a cozy evening by the stove. But lighting a fire in June felt slightly ridiculous, even by Irish standards.

The garden continued to move at its own pace. Despite the cold, the outside peonies burst into bloom, producing huge flowers that quickly became the stars of the jars. Their timing felt perfect. Just when the season was beginning to test my patience, they arrived in all their glory and reminded me why I love growing flowers.

The first half of June was spent mostly indoors. I painted, worked on projects around the house, and continued experimenting with Ever Still, creating sample photographs and exploring ideas for the future. My motivation hadn't fully returned yet, but little by little it was finding its way back.

As often happens in flower farming, my thoughts also began drifting towards next year.

Many people assume flower farmers are focused only on the season in front of them, but by June and July we are already planning the next one. This is the time when many biennials are sown. Unlike annual flowers, which complete their life cycle in a single year, biennials spend their first year growing leaves and roots before flowering the following season. Sweet Williams, foxgloves, honesty, and wallflowers all fall into this category.

So while summer is only just beginning, flower farmers are already thinking about next spring.

I spent time taking stock of what had worked, what hadn't, and what I wanted to grow more of. Seed inventories were checked, future orders planned, and ideas scribbled into notebooks. There is something I love about this stage of flower farming. Every year offers a chance to learn, adapt, and start again. Given the challenges of this season so far, I find myself more excited than ever to give next year my full attention.

By the middle of the month, summer finally arrived.

The temperatures rose, the sunshine returned, and with them came a renewed sense of energy.

It was also a significant month for our family. My little boy celebrated his preschool graduation and will be starting big school in September. It feels impossible that we are already at this stage. The years have passed so quickly.

Perhaps losing my mum has made me more aware of time than ever before. It has reminded me how quickly life moves and how easy it is to miss the moments happening right in front of us.

More than anything, June left me feeling grateful. Grateful that I have been able to spend these early years at home with my children. Grateful that I have found a way to build something meaningful around family life. Grateful that despite loss and heartache, there is still so much beauty to be found in everyday moments.

With the return of warmer weather came an irresistible urge to make progress.

Our front garden, once mostly lawn, has slowly begun its transformation. Beautiful lawn, admittedly, complete with wildflowers and plenty of charm, but full of untapped potential. Throughout June I found myself shovelling soil, creating new beds, planting shrubs, sowing seeds, and dreaming up new possibilities. The vision for the future of TwoPot Posies is becoming clearer with every wheelbarrow load of soil moved.

I also invested in an irrigation system this month. Practical perhaps, but it felt like much more than that. Every investment, every improvement, every decision to plan further ahead feels like another step towards fully committing to this business.

Sometimes I still find it amusing that a passing idea about a small honesty stand has grown into all of this.

I never imagined I would become a business owner.

Yet here we are.

Learning as we go. Making mistakes. Celebrating small wins. Building something meaningful one season at a time.

And while I am currently so exhausted that I wouldn't mind a few rainy days as an excuse to rest, I find myself looking ahead with excitement.

The garden is growing.

The plans are growing.

And so, it seems, am I.