There is something wonderfully hopeful about planting for spring while the farm is still full of summer flowers.

This August, while we are harvesting dahlias, zinnias, sunflowers and all of the abundance of late summer, we are also beginning a very different kind of work: planting flowers that will spend the winter quietly establishing themselves so they can be among the first blooms we harvest in 2027.

At Josephine, our goal is to extend the local flower season earlier into spring—not by forcing summer flowers to behave unnaturally, but by working with varieties that actually prefer cool weather.

That means fall-sown hardy annuals, bulbs and corms, established perennials, and a little extra protection from our hoop houses. And if Mother Nature cooperates, it should mean a much earlier start to seasonal bouquets, spring subscriptions and celebration flowers next year.

What does “overwintering” mean?

Some flowers are much tougher than they look. Rather than waiting until spring to sow every seed, certain cold-hardy flowers can be planted in late summer and fall. They establish roots before winter, slow down dramatically when temperatures drop, and begin growing again when the days lengthen and temperatures rise.

We’ll be using several different approaches around the farm. Some flowers will be direct-seeded outdoors this fall, some will be started as seedlings and transplanted, while the most valuable early crops will be tucked inside our unheated hoop houses for additional protection. We’re also planting hundreds of spring-flowering bulbs and corms this fall.

There are no guarantees when farming with weather, of course. Bloom dates will always be estimates. But planting this way should give our flowers a significant head start compared with waiting until the soil warms in spring.

The very first flowers

Our earliest spring flowers will come primarily from bulbs, corms and established perennial plants.

We’re planting a collection of specialty narcissus in soft shades of white, cream, peach and pink, including varieties such as Kapiti Peach, Mary Gay Lirette, Moonlight Sensation, Replete and Sweet Paradise.

Rather than treating these simply as a cut-flower crop, many will become part of the permanent planting around our peony field, which we are developing into a seasonal photography garden.

We are also adding Leucojum ‘Gravetye Giant’, with its delicate white bells tipped in green, along with smaller drifts of other spring bulbs for texture and colour.

Tulips — but a little differently

Tulips will remain a temporary production crop rather than becoming permanent residents of the peony garden.

We’re planting several specialty varieties including Pink Magic, Avant Garde, Pink Mist, Salmon Symbiose, Charente and La Belle Époque. The varieties have been deliberately selected to give us a succession of bloom times and a palette that works beautifully for both bouquets and spring events: cream, blush, salmon, antique pink and soft lilac-grey.

Some will be planted in temporary raised beds, and we are also considering crate production. That gives us flexibility once tulip season ends and allows those growing areas to be used for something entirely different later in the season.

Ranunculus and anemones

These may be the flowers I am most excited about! Ranunculus and anemones are planted from small corms rather than seed and are particularly well suited to cool-season production. They will be given some of our most valuable protected growing space.

Our 2027 ranunculus collection includes soft white and cream Elegance Bianco and Crema, romantic Pastello, antique striped Pastello Striato, and one of my favourites from this year's planning—Elegance Malva, an unusual reddish-purple that brings a deeper wine tone into the otherwise soft spring palette.

The anemones will include white, blush, pale pink, blue, mauve and striking white flowers with dark centres.

These will become some of the primary focal flowers in our early spring bouquets and celebration work.

Flowers growing quietly through winter

The bulb crops are only part of the story. This fall we are also planting a much larger collection of hardy annuals and biennials.

Some of these will be direct-seeded into the field: Larkspur, nigella, bachelor's buttons, corncockle, bupleurum, orlaya, ammi, Dara, saponaria, calendula and poppies.

Others are being started in trays before being transplanted into either the field or hoop houses: Snapdragons, campanula, stock, Iceland poppies, feverfew, scabiosa, Sweet William, rudbeckia and frilly pansies and violas.

We already grow some foxglove and snapdragons on the farm and collect seed from them as well, so part of our spring program will come from plants and seed that originated right here at Josephine.

Why so many different flowers?

Because growing a lot of flowers isn't necessarily the same thing as being able to make a beautiful bouquet.

As we plan the farm, we are thinking about each flower's role. We need focal flowers such as ranunculus and tulips; tall line flowers such as snapdragons, campanula and larkspur; smaller supporting flowers; delicate fillers such as bupleurum, orlaya and saponaria; and foliage and branches that give an arrangement movement and shape.

That balance is particularly important in spring, when the season changes remarkably quickly from week to week.

And then come the peonies

Our peony field is also being replanted this fall. Approximately 150 plants survived a difficult transition last winter, and rather than viewing the field simply as another production area, we are redesigning it as a permanent flower and photography garden.

The peonies will be surrounded by walkable grass paths and, over time, layers of narcissus, delphinium, lupine, foxglove, columbine and other perennial flowers.

The goal is for this part of the farm to become more beautiful as it matures—not only during the brief but spectacular peony bloom, but throughout the season.

What this means for Spring 2027 subscriptions

One lesson flower farming teaches quickly is that the flowers decide the precise calendar. We will therefore offer spring flowers based on estimated seasonal windows, rather than promising that a particular variety will bloom on a particular Tuesday.

For a spring subscription, that might mean four bouquets over an approximately six- to eight-week period. As each harvest approaches, subscribers will receive their confirmed pickup date.

The promise will be the best of what is blooming, rather than an exact recipe written months before the plants have experienced a Niagara winter.

Celebration and wedding flowers

We are taking the same seasonal approach to celebration flowers and our 2027 wedding work. Instead of promising a specific cultivar months ahead, we'll design around colour, shape, texture, style and seasonality.

Whenever possible, flowers will come directly from our own fields. For important events where weather or timing leaves a gap, we can supplement from other quality growers rather than forcing the farm to produce a flower outside its natural window.

That gives us the freedom to design with the flowers at their most beautiful.

Why go to all this trouble?

Because there is something profoundly different about receiving flowers that actually belong to the season you're standing in. The season itself becomes part of the arrangement.

That's the direction we're moving toward at Josephine: a longer flower season, but one still rooted in the rhythms of the farm.

While the summer fields are still blooming, next spring has already begun. Quietly, underground—and in a surprising number of seed trays!

We can't wait to share it with you in Spring 2027.

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