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blackbirdspring.bsky.social
Blackbird Spring Farm
@blackbirdspring.bsky.social
1.6K followers 2.6K following 2.8K posts
She/her. Uppity farmer. Starting from scratch with no budget. Not a trad wife. Flowers and fiber, and following the ND dopamine.

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blackbirdspring.bsky.social
Blockety block block…..

Just a reminder to block at will and deprive this sort of account of air in this space.

Do not engage.
Trash account that needs to be blocked and ignored. Handle is “truthandlight2.bsky.social” if needed.
September 25, 2025 at 10:46 PM
blackbirdspring.bsky.social
Dahlias😍

#SmallFarm
#FlowerFarmer
#Dahlias

🌱🌺❤️
MN Autumn Lily. A small open centered white collarette hybridized by my meds dahlia friend Mark Neel. She’s dainty and adorable. Audrey Grace. A red formal decorative. Not normal my thing, but she’s a really lovely tomato red! Misses Miley. A truly incredible burnt orange/red formal decorative. This one’s color is distinctive, like I can’t think of another one like it. It’s really hard to capture! Plus, the form is great, the stems are strong and there are like 15 flowers on each plant right now. Perfection. Sandia Barbie. So this one is spouse to be a large pink cactus form. But about half’s the blooms are coming out variegated more or less like this one. And the pink flowers are all lopsided and wonky while the variegated ones are lovely. I don’t know if I have a sport or a mislabel! I might see what the Boleys think.
September 24, 2025 at 12:26 AM
blackbirdspring.bsky.social
Rainy day work was canceled. Today my job is to be Carmella’s lap.

10/10 would recommend. No notes.

#catsofbluesky 🐱🐈🐈‍⬛😹😻
I’m wearing a blue tank top, sitting in front of a rainy window with an orange cat contentedly anchoring my lap. This is what today looked like. I never get a chance to just sit, so I’m grateful Carmella is back to her queen bee self, after her several-month long bout of passing an entire damned spool of thread through her system over length at a time, requiring me to trim it repeatedly in the most disgusting ongoing arrangement of care. You can’t do anything else, aside from surgery. PSA: DO NOT EVER PULL on anything you cat has eaten. It can easily constrict around their GI tract and become lethal in a hurry. If they’re passing it, you can play the grossest long game, if not your only option is surgery. And if they’ve done it once, know they allow likely to do it again. So get creative with storage for whatever indigestible thing they think is there manna of the Gods. This was hanging on a spool holder up on a wall, not readily accessible. It’s not my first rodeo.
September 22, 2025 at 6:39 PM
blackbirdspring.bsky.social
Heirloom Mums are opening up!!!

This is a new one for me, and I got them hoping a little late, so I’m pretty thrilled to have them doing so well.

Mostly just one plant each, which I’ll propagate for next year.

Uggggghhhh, they’re SO GORGEOUS!!!
Nijin Bigo. A large muted orange Irregular Incurved. She’s freshly opened, so those back petals will develop a fair bit, and I’ll keep posting. Homecoming. A midsize (4”) intermediate Incurve In a sort of peachy bronze. Prolific and fancy!
September 16, 2025 at 8:29 PM
blackbirdspring.bsky.social
Daily(ish) Dahlias

#dahlias
#flowerfarmer

🌱🌺❤️
Formal Decorative dahlia Skipley Spot of Gold. She’s kind of a pinky peachy yellow blend with a cute little yellow tip on each slightly pointed petal. Kinda love her! A deeply laciniated orange yellow dahlia, Bloomquist Dandelion. Not fully open, obviously, but pretty amazing even now. I love how the textures evolve! A giant cardinal red incurved cactus dahlia, Skipley Bonanza. This form is my obsession ATM, and I’m going to be picking up every single one I can get my hands on over the winter. Next year, there will be a whole riot of them and I’ll be saving seeds. A variegated formal decorative dahlia in streaks of yellow, red and orange, Verkist Festival. I’ll be honest and tell you that this color combo isn’t really my favorite, but this one is lovely. Every flower is a little different, and that’s always exciting. And this year’s collection obsession was Verkist dahlias, which I find to be incredibly underrated. I’ll be continuing to pick up any of these I find on an ongoing basis! I’m trying to find a way to get in touch with the hybridizer, which seems to be kind of a fixture in his neck of the gardening community but who has like zero online presence, lol. It’ll be a project for the winter when I’ve got a bit more time to try to follow up on things.
September 16, 2025 at 8:23 PM
blackbirdspring.bsky.social
My current WIP. In times like these, I need to work slow and complex. It’s like worry beads and meditation all rolled into one

I can’t do traditional meditation, my brain does not empty out, or even slow down. Ever. For the longest time, I thought that was all a a bad metaphor. Yay ADHD

#crochet 🧶
By current project, a fairly complicated crocheted colorwork pattern that will eventually be a blanket of some size (Probably). Worked in half-double Waistcoat stitch. Single crochet leaves the fabric too stiff and awful. Tried regular single, regular half double, and C2C. I unraveled and restarted this project about 8 times before settling in to this, but now I’m committed. Using Wool Ease from my stash. One annoying thing…..SO MANY ENDS to weave in. Will do a binding stitch on the outside edge. But every freaking stripe transition has 4 ends per row. 💀💀💀💀💀
September 10, 2025 at 5:24 AM
blackbirdspring.bsky.social
Check out this majestic beast.

Rick is a hoss.

#cats 🐈😸😻
Rick, the orange tabby cat relaxing majestically on a freshly vacuumed gray and white rug. Rick, our majestic orange dude, doing a sploot.
September 9, 2025 at 8:21 PM
blackbirdspring.bsky.social
Dahlias are here at last!

#DailyDahlias
#dahlias
#SmallFarm

❤️🌱🌺
Bloomquist Behold. A collarette dahlia with orange main petals and coral petaloids, blending toward a yellow center. I love this more than I expected, especially at sunset, when she absolutely glows. Kenora Jeannie. A warm pink semicactus dahlia. The second to open up, and the flowers last FOREVER. Velvet Touch. A deep red formal decorative. The color and texture are indescribably saturated and impossible to capture on camera. She does fade a lot. I love the transition to a more muted palette, but it is arguably a fault in the dahlia world. Mr. Frans. A peachy-orange waterlily dahlia. All of a sudden, there are about 10 buds about to open and I’m here for it.
September 8, 2025 at 9:46 PM
blackbirdspring.bsky.social
Things are heavy for us right now, as they are for many of you.

We’ve started to come to terms with the fact that it’s not going to be safe here for our kids for a while.

Today, I made arrangements for the possibility that we need to make an emergency exit. It’s kind of unfathomable.
A late night selfie in a heavy time. I can see the worry starting to show in my face. I’m starting to lose some mobility in the muscles that control the corners of my mouth, making it harder for me to smile. I’m having to stretch my face and consciously work my facial muscles because I don’t want my kids to think I was never happy. I think it’s part of the ND, though, where my emotions don’t necessarily show on my face without effort on my behalf. I’m realizing that I’ve cultivated a pleasant baseline expression for years and it’s become more of a struggle as I spend more time away from people working on things here.
September 8, 2025 at 8:47 PM
blackbirdspring.bsky.social
Sweet Peas!

I threw these in the ground very, very last minute after my gardening group was fangirling about them for weeks. I’ve never managed to grow them before.

So now I’m pretty in love and I’m gonna scale up significantly next year and get them in on time.

#FlowerFarmer
🌺🌱❤️
#SweetPeas
Japanese Takeda (Sakura?) from a small wholesaler group. Absolutely worth the $$ on seed, these are currently growing mostly upright without a trellis after the wind took out one of the posts and I forgot to get it set back up. Accidental experiment, but they’re impressive. Long, strong stems even without pinching. 10/10, hunting more down for next year. Almost Black. Gorgeous and one of my early bloomers. Will absolutely get more of these, too! And they all smell so lovely and delicate. Another Almost Black, I just love the speckling and the rich dark purple. I think this one is Nimbus? It got shuffled over to the Almost Black section, but it’s definitely not that. Beautiful, though!
June 11, 2025 at 12:48 PM
blackbirdspring.bsky.social
Just look at these tubers!

I’m finally getting my dahlia seedlings out into sink pots, and a good number have decent sized tubers already! Granted, I got excited and started them in early February, but still

They’ve done astonishingly well in 6” snail rolls. Will absolutely do them that way again!
A line of dahlia seedlings with a good number of tubers going strong.
June 8, 2025 at 4:42 AM
blackbirdspring.bsky.social
What I’ve been up to instead of social media.

1 ton of compost down today, shoveled solo by my bad self.

I’m probably 20 truck loads in at this point and a little over halfway there?

And I’m late getting things in, but this should make enough difference that it’s worth it!

I hope…..
#SmallFarm
A black pickup truck sits next to farm rows being top-dressed with lovely black compost. The sky is gray with the ever present rain clouds and dusk. It’s a work in progress, but it’s getting there.
May 31, 2025 at 3:35 AM
blackbirdspring.bsky.social
Right! So my current total of dahlia varieties I’m putting in the ground is 610.

There will be losses, but this is about 200 more than I was targeting, and I’m not mad! I’ll be actively trading cuttings all summer.

New to me, not my pictures yet. Sources in alt text.

#dahlias
#flowerfarmer
🌺🌱❤️
Bloomquist Behold. A peach collarette with lavender and yellow petaloids and a yellow open center. Image Source: https://dentdelionbotanicals.com/products/bloomquist-behold AC Skagit. A gorgeous coral/apricot/terracotta semi cactus. A harder one to find! Image Source: https://coloradodahlias.net/wp-content/gallery/b-varieties/ac_skagit.JPG Allen’s Snowy Woods. A creamy white laciniated incurved cactus. Incurved cactus form is likely to be my collection focus for next year. I love them and they don’t her the attention they deserve! Image source: https://www.dahlias4u.com/shop/p/allens-snowy-woods AC Rooster. A large red stellar that resembles a rooster’s collar. I seem to be drawn to reds this year? That would be a bit of a shift, but flowers will surprise you. You never know what you’ll love until you actually grow it. Image Source: https://kitsapdahlias.org/product/ac-rooster/
May 28, 2025 at 2:01 PM
blackbirdspring.bsky.social
Rick in the morning

❤️😻🐈
#CatSky
#Cats
#CatsofBluesky
An orange cat stares at the dormant branches of a maple tree thru a second story window. As much as he loves to watch out the windiw, this cat knows he's got it made here and has no desire to leave, even when the kids leave the back door wide open. A large orange cat snoozes contentedly on the painted wood floor under a window. The weather outside is gray and rainy. Spring is here.
March 29, 2025 at 12:04 PM
blackbirdspring.bsky.social
Y'all...fancy chrysanthemums. Like a lot of them.

Not my pictures, probably getting them too late for them to bloom this year. But I'm doing it.

#anticipation
#FlowerReport
#FlowerFarmer
#Chrysanthemums

❤️🌺🌱
Lava Photo from Kings Mums. https://kingsmums.com/product/lava/ Paint Box Photo from Kings Mums: https://kingsmums.com/product/paint-box/ Kokka Bonmi Photo from Kings Mums: https://kingsmums.com/product/kokka-bunmi/ Gertrude (she's fuzzy!) Photo from Kings Mums : https://kingsmums.com/product/gertrude-2/
March 28, 2025 at 5:43 AM
blackbirdspring.bsky.social
Spring Anticipation!

Looks like today is about purple.

All of these are in my seed orders, so I haven’t necessarily grown most of them yet. Sources and details in alt text, as always.

#Dahlias
#5Spot
#Poppies
#Irises
#FlowerFarmer
🌺🌱❤️
Bearded Iris "Get Back.” White ruffled standards and t falls with a golden-amber base. Beards orange and strong, sweet fragrance. She’s real pretty! Photo from the Iris Encyclopedia: https://wiki.irises.org/TbFthruJ/TbGetBack Dahlia “Chilson’s Pride.” A pink and white informal decorative with kind of loose and slightly ruffled petals. She’s not rare or hard to find, but she’s very pretty in a sort of soft and classic way. I’m excited to add her to my gardens! Photo from Connells: https://connells-dahlias.com/products/chilsons-pride Nemophilia “Penny Black.” Kind of an inverted Five-Spot, with almost black-purple petals edged in white. It’s not really a cut flower, as it’s almost a ground cover, only up to about 6” tall with flowers that are less than an inch across. I love it. Phot from Hirt’s Garden: https://hirts.com/penny-black-20-seeds-200-mg-nemophila/ Poppy “Lilac PomPom.” Fluffy and almost pink it’s a great texture and just a cheerful addition all around. Photo from Swallowtail Garden: https://www.swallowtailgardenseeds.com/annuals/poppy_peony/lilac-pompom-peony-poppy-seeds.html
February 15, 2025 at 6:20 AM
blackbirdspring.bsky.social
Todays lovelies.

Not my pictures, just things I’m preparing to grow this year, details and image source in alt text.

#FlowerFarmer
#dahlias
#irises
#celosia
#rudbeckia
❤️🌺🌱

I can’t really deal with what’s happening to us all now, so I’m trying hard to find joy in the future.
Celosia “Rose Gold.” Perfectly shimmery pastels in peachy-rosy shades. If I can just freaking grow it. I know it's supposed to e easy, but celosia and I are not friends. Nevertheless, I'm persisting. Photo from Floret: https://library.floretflowers.com/products/celosia-rose-gold Rudbeckia "Sahara" Lovely daisy-like flowers in shades of Terracotta. Another one I haven't really succeeded with. Yet. Photo source, Uprising Seeds: https://uprisingorganics.com/products/rudbeckia-sahara Bearded Iris "Starring" White standards over dark purple falls with golden crow . Photo source : Iris encyclopedia : https://wiki.irises.org/TbPthruT/TbStarring Dahlia "Rivers Can't Elope." Perfectly peachy stellar variety. Photo from Rivers Dahlias: https://www.riversdahlias.com/shop-dahlias/p/rivers-cant-elope
February 14, 2025 at 5:02 AM
blackbirdspring.bsky.social
Todays flowers

All in my seed inventory to be grown this season, but not my pictures. Details and photo sources in alt text.

#dahlias
#irises
#carnations
#poppies
#FlowerFarmer
❤️🌺🌱
Dahlia “KA’s Rosie Jo.” A warm raspberry informal decorative. Image source: https://rivermerlefarm.com/products/kas-rosie-jo California Poppies, “Thai Silk Apricot. Ruffled apricot to golden yellow to warm coral in abundant blooms. Image source: https://www.edenbrothers.com/products/california-poppy-seeds-thai-silk-apricot Carnation, “Marie Chabaud. A buttery yellow French carnation with ruffled petals and rich scent. Photo from The Incredible Seed Co: https://www.incredibleseeds.ca/products/dianthus-seeds-marie-chabaud Bearded Iris “Ring Around Rosie.” Creamy white stands edged in yellow over white falls with wide yellow borders and deep purple veining under a lemon yellow beard. Photo from the Iris Encyclopedia: https://wiki.irises.org/TbPthruT/TbRingAroundRosie
February 13, 2025 at 5:40 AM
blackbirdspring.bsky.social
More beautiful things!

All in my seed inventory to be grown this season, but not my pictures. Details and photo sources in alt text.

#FlowerFarmer
#Dahlias
#Irises
#Scabiosa
#Calendula
🌺🌱❤️
Calendula “Sherbet Fizz.” A lovely pastel calendula with rosy reverse in the petals and nice cupped form. Photo from Stocks and Green: https://www.stocksandgreen.com/products/calendula-sherbet-fizz-marigold-seeds Scabiosa “Night and Day.” Black and white pincushion flower mix. Photo source: Outside Pride https://www.outsidepride.com/seed/flower-seed/scabiosa/scabiosa-seeds-night-and-day.html?srsltid=AfmBOorI_43BXYbL4pCMj4YJfcmfqMrlhd3k4Gp8Rh1y6BAkZ8ZaMtbe29M&gQT=1 Dahlia “Hollyhill Lilibet” A lovely creamy white waterlily with lavender backs and tips. Source: Crazy 4 Dahlias http://www.crazy4dahlias.com/other-fully-double-dahlias/hollyhill-lilibet-wl-wh The Bearded Iris “Center Line.” Light creamy pink with dark purple veins. Orange beards. Photo source The Iris Encyclopedia: https://wiki.irises.org/TbAthruE/TbCenterLine
February 12, 2025 at 6:05 AM
blackbirdspring.bsky.social
Today’s pretty anticipations!

All in my seed inventory to be grown this season, but not my pictures. Details and photo sources in alt text.

#FlowerFarmer
#Dahlias
#Irises
#Poppies
#Amaranthus
🌺❤️🌱
Peony Poppy “Flemish Antique.” A fluffy fully-double bicolored salmon and cream peony poppy. I almost waitlisted her and then I caved, and I’m glad I did. They have short vase life, but I love them enough that I grow them anyway. I’ll find better ways to use them. Looking to find event florists to sell to, where the vase life is less of an issue, because these are gorgeous and not easy to find in the wholesale markets. Photo source - Uprising Seeds: https://uprisingorganics.com/products/peony-poppy-flemish-antique Bearded Iris “Sharp-Dressed Man.” Purple stands, dark purple falls and an almost iridescent red-orange beard. Sweet fragrance. What can I say, I love them all! Photo from the Iris Encyclopedia: https://wiki.irises.org/TbPthruT/TbSharpDressedMan Dahlia “Sandia Bertha.” Deep purple-rose waterlily, in the way only Sandy Boley seems to produce. Petals look like velvet, and there are a million of them. Photo from Dahlia Obsession: https://www.dahliaobsession.com/store-2/p/sandia-bertha Amaranthus “Autumn Torch.” A golden green and gold spike amaranth. I’m trying to find ways to expand my color palette a bit but keep things connected enough that they don’t clash. Also, I’m not great at Celosia for some reason, but Amaranth sprouts up if I even look at it. So I’m always trying with the Celosia (maybe this will be the year! I have several gorgeous ones to try!) but I also grow Amaranthus, even though they overlap a lot in their niche. Photo from Floret: https://library.floretflowers.com/products/amaranth-autumn-touch
February 9, 2025 at 7:54 PM
blackbirdspring.bsky.social
Right, well I'm back.

Time to start getting excited about what’s coming this year.

Gonna try to get back to posting pretty things, not mine (yet) links to source in alt with details.

#DailyDahlias
#FlowerFarming
#Anticipation
❤️🌺🌱
Sweet Pea “Nimbus.” Kind of gray and eggplant flake-type sweet pea. Moody and gorgeous. But don’t eat these. They’re very much in the danger zone. Photo from Floret: https://library.floretflowers.com/products/sweet-pea-nimbus Bearded Iris “Golden Panther.” Golden orange all over. Warm and frilly and extravagant. Love her. Photo from the Iris Encyclopedia: https://wiki.irises.org/TbFthruJ/TbGoldenPanther Dahlia “Dutch Pearl.” Rosy coral with almost lavender tips, waterlily or informal decorative, kinda depending on who you ask. Pretty excited about this one. Photo from Sarah Raven: https://www.sarahraven.com/products/dahlia-dutch-pearl Nasturtium “Purple Emperor.” A deep rosy plum vining nasturtium. This sort of antique color is pretty unusual in a flower that tends toward oranges and reds. I’ll be putting nasturtiums from 12 😬 varieties throughout the gardens. You can’t beat them as beneficials. Photo source: https://www.plantsofdistinction.co.uk/edible-flowers/edible-flowers/nasturtium-purple-emperor-1945e
February 9, 2025 at 2:45 AM
blackbirdspring.bsky.social
I just finished inventory and status check of my tubers. I need to get them sold to pay some bills and buy this year's seeds and stuff.

Shipping 1-5 for $13, 6-10 for $20, 11+ ill get you a quote.

I'll ship them when you want them, but if they freeze they'll be mush.

DM me to order.
China Town, a chaotic pink and white Riot of thin petals KA Peppercorn. Red with white to yellow tips with high petal count and laciniated tips. Changed a lot over the season, but bloomed generously. Southern Belle. Rosy pink informal decorative that like a waterlily. Great in bouquets, luminous at sunset. Tuber Sales List: DM to Purchase Venmo, PayPal, zelle, maybe credit card through stripe if I can figure it out Mystery Tuber : $4 $5.00 Advance China Town Impression Famosa Wishes n Dreams Dutch Carnival $6.00 Cornel Garden Wonder Jowey Winnie Kelvin Floodlight Larry's Love Vancouver Zingaro $8.00 AC Devin AC Paint AC MP Bashful Bee-Yond Black Satin Cafe au Lait Cafe au Lait Rose Caitlin’s Joy Cornel Bronze Diva Fatima Flamingo Foxy Lady Fuzzy Wuzzy Gitt’s Crazy I’m a Hottie Jessie G Maarn Nettie Onesta Pink Pearl Platinum Blonde Puget Sparkle Snickerdoodle Spartacus Thomas Edison Wannabee White Isa White Nettie $10.00 Apple Blossom Brown Sugar Clearview Peachy Coralie Fleurel Light’s Out Mikayla Miranda Penhill Dark Monarch Solo Southern Belle Who Me Zwink $12.00 Cafe au Lait Mini Hollyhill Gloria KA Peppercorn Peaches N Cream $18.00 Bloomquist Jean Note: These are particularly ugly tubers. They’re small and just not pretty. But they have an eye. And mine grew beautifully last year.
January 13, 2025 at 12:39 AM
blackbirdspring.bsky.social
Snow day!

Struggling to get back into my groove. It’s been a rough holiday break out here.
Emmylou, a white boxer wearing a navy coat looks up at the camera with powdery snow on her lips. It’s snowing here and we all went out to play for a little while. I think this is actually the first time my kids have actually been able to play in the snow. Almost every time it snows here, we all seem to be sick!
January 6, 2025 at 12:49 AM
blackbirdspring.bsky.social
At the county ER after a night of low-level but frequent seizures to try and figure out what’s making him sick and lowering his seizure threshold.

Special needs parenting over the holidays when your regular team is unavailable in all its glory.
Me and my son lying on a hospital bed in the county emergency room while we wait on test results. He’s wearing his green hulk Jammies and I at least took a shower last night and have on a clean hoodie. Honestly, had a bunch we might be heading in to a hospital visit and that prompted me to push through the exhaustion and at least get to a minimal level of personal care and hygiene.
December 27, 2024 at 3:07 PM
blackbirdspring.bsky.social
It’s been a hard week.

My son is having breakthrough seizures because we’re still not settled on meds that don’t have problematic side effects. We’re heading into our 4th med. It’s just one of the most helpless and disheartening things to deal with as a parent.

Carmella knows I’m struggling.
An orange and white cat curled up on my lap purring determinedly. Yes, I’m still wearing the same green hoodie from Christmas Day. Don’t judge.
December 27, 2024 at 2:45 AM