The Height of the Season on the Farm

August is the height of the season in every sense! The fields are lush, the harvests are abundant, and the days are long and full. The farm feels alive, buzzing with pollinators and bursting with every shade of color. Every direction you look, something is blooming. It’s the kind of month where I barely stop moving. The to-do list is endless with non-stop harvesting, weeding, bouquet-making, market prep, field maintenance, and more…and then doing it all over the next week. But when I do pause, I’m often hit with a moment of gratitude. There’s a kind of magic in seeing the beds I started from scratch a few months ago now overflowing with flowers. It’s hard work, yes, but it’s truly so fulfilling.

This is what I’ve been building toward all year. Each bed is thick with growth, the dahlias are finally hitting their stride, and the zinnias are established and blooming! Every few days I harvest and somehow, by the time I return, the field looks even fuller than before. It’s this beautiful, nonstop cycle of growth and giving. The long winter planning, the spring sowing, the meticulous transplanting, the endless weeding was all leading to this. It serves as a great reminder of the power of growing things from the ground up. The pace is intense, and the days are long, but there’s a rhythm to it now. A flow that comes from experience, repetition, and connection to the land. It's a kind of dance between chaos and calm, and honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Behind the scenes is the quieter, less glamorous side of flower farming: constant field maintenance. It’s not the part that shows up in the beautiful photos or on market days, but it’s absolutely essential to keeping everything running smoothly, especially in August, when the plants are producing at full speed! This time of year, I’m deadheading religiously. Snipping off blooms that are past their prime to encourage the plants to keep producing new, beautiful flowers. It’s a tedious task, but one that pays off in more blooms, stronger stems, and longer vase life. For plants like dahlias, zinnias, cosmos, and snapdragons, deadheading is the difference between a steady stream of blooms and a slowdown that can be hard to recover from in a short season like we have here in Montana. Then there’s weeding, oh the weeding. Since my field is brand new this season, the weed pressure is high. The goal is always to have weed-free beds so the flowers can get the space, airflow, and nutrients they need to thrive. It allows each plant to be as strong as it possibly can. At this stage of the season, it’s a constant battle to achieve this, with new weeds sprouting every day. As the farm continues to develop, I’ll likely put in weed barriers for the perennials and some annuals to lighten the load a little bit each season. Irrigation is another constant concern, especially with our hot, dry Montana summers. The flowers require more water here while fighting the intensity of the sun. I have lots of help from my family in this department, we are constantly monitoring for any signs of stress from the plants, adjusting watering accordingly, and checking for leaks that could affect the water pressure. It’s been a hotter than usual summer but so far, the flowers have held up beautifully!

Another important task this month is pulling spent crops to make room for cover crops. As certain flowers (ranunculus, cress, etc) finish their run, I will clear the beds and sow crimson clover, a nitrogen-fixing cover crop that helps restore and rebuild the soil, which the field needs! I love knowing that even after a crop is gone, the bed is still working and feeding the soil, supporting pollinators, and setting the stage for future growth. Finally, I’m monitoring support as the plants grow taller. Montana is known for it’s wind, and this summer has been no exception. As the plants grow taller, their more susceptible to wind damage, so support is absolutely necessary. Dahlias are growing heavy with blooms and need sturdy staking to prevent them from flopping. Sweet peas and rudbeckia are climbing, and if they don’t have something to cling to, they end up tangled or broken. I'm regularly checking netting, retying twine, and adding t-posts where things are starting to lean. Just like people, sometimes even the strongest plants need a little extra support to keep growing tall :) Field maintenance isn’t the most glamorous part of flower farming, but it’s the work that keeps the farm productive, healthy, and beautiful well into the fall and the seasons beyond. It’s steady, grounding work, and serves as a great reminder that even in the busiest months, tending to the smaller tasks is what allows things to thrive.

The Gradual Transition to Fall

As much as August is about celebrating the abundance of summer, it’s also about preparing for what’s next; Autumn! The fall sunflowers and rudbeckia are quickly getting closer to blooming and I’m watching new rows of celosia, asters, and amaranth become more established, promising color well into September and beyond (hopefully). These are some of my favorite transitional flowers, they’re all rich in texture and tone all the way up until the frost hits. This month, I’m also working on something I’ve been really excited about: expanding my native flower bed that will not only offer beauty in future seasons but also provide a crucial habitat for our local pollinators. I’ll be sowing varieties of lupine, blanket flower, coneflower, solidago, and more to be added to my already small collection of native plants. These flowers are well-adapted to Montana’s climate and so beneficial to bees, butterflies, and other insects that rely on these food sources. These native flowers will be overwintered in place, quietly settling into the soil through the colder months, then emerging strong and early next spring. It’s a long-game investment, but one that reflects the deeper sustainability goals I’m building into BB with each season.

Another big part of August’s rhythm, and one of my favorite parts of this seasonal transition, is the preservation of flowers for drying. As I continue harvesting armloads of fresh blooms, I’m also selectively cutting varieties that will dry beautifully and hold their shape, color, and charm for months to come. I try to grow as many flowers as I can that serve a dual purpose: stunning in a fresh bouquet now, and equally beautiful as part of a dried wreath or everlasting arrangement later. Right now, my studio is slowly transforming into a forest of hanging flowers. The drying racks (and every spare rafter, beam, and hook I can find) are filling up with strawflower, statice, celosia, zinnias, and amaranth, all hanging upside down to preserve their shape. I’ve also gathered plenty of bunny tail grass, pennycress, and poppy pods, all of which add interesting texture and movement to dried designs. The process is simple but rewarding: the bundles hang for about two weeks in a dark, dry spot until they’re crisp to the touch and able to hold their form. There’s something incredibly grounding about this part of the work. Drying flowers feels both nostalgic and hopeful. It’s a way of pressing pause on the fleeting beauty of the season. When the first frost eventually comes and the fields go quiet, these dried blooms will carry the spirit of the season forward and into fall wreaths, and everlasting arrangements that will last for years!

I also can’t help but reflect on what this season has meant to me personally, it’s my very first season farming and selling in Missoula, and it’s not even over yet!

When I made the decision to move here and start fresh, I really didn’t know what to expect. I was leaving behind the familiarity of the spaces, routines, and connections I had built, and essentially starting from scratch in a new place. It was exciting, yes, but also incredibly vulnerable. Building something from the ground up is never easy and doing it twice in 5 years felt like a huge risk and another leap of faith.

But from the very beginning, Missoula showed up with open arms.

The welcome I’ve received has been more than I could have hoped for. Friends and family rallied around me and the community has embraced Beverly Blooms with such kindness and curiosity. Every encouraging word at the farmers market, every returning customer, every person who signed up for a CSA share, sent a message, or told a friend about the farm has helped this dream take root. And for that, I’m endlessly grateful.

I’ve felt genuinely supported not just as a business, but as a person. From loyal customers to fellow farmers and florists who’ve offered advice, connection, and camaraderie, to local business owners who’ve said yes to partnerships and pop-ups, it really feels like I landed in the right place.

Every Saturday I’ve spent at the market has been a joy. There’s something really special about seeing someone pick out flowers that I grew from seed, watching them light up over a sunflowers or take a big sniff of the sweet peas. And even those who don’t buy anything but stop to chat or offer a smile. They’ve filled me up more than they probably know.

Every little moment of support, every gesture of kindness has all added up to something really meaningful for me. I don’t take any of it for granted.

As the season continues and I look ahead to fall and beyond, I feel not just hopeful, but rooted (pun intended). And that’s all because of this incredible community.

Thank you, Missoula, for making this first season so fulfilling. I can’t wait to keep growing and growing!

With a full heart and tired hands,

Chase