Blue Lobster Flower Farm

07/15/2026

If you’ve followed Blue Lobster Flower Farm for a while, you know it’s time for my annual tribute to Globe Thistle (Echinops). There are few flowers that fascinate me more. I’m drawn to flowers with a little personality—especially the ones that aren’t as widely known. It’s not the most beautiful plant, even when it’s well grown. The foliage is coarse in texture and a little unsightly, but the blooms have a wonderful Dr. Seuss vibe that I love—big on whimsy! ✨ I dubbed it my birthday flower a few years ago because, according to my notes, it is consistently the third week in July when I’m once again harvesting those spiky blue globes. Pro tip: Delay harvesting for as long as you can to allow the richest blue color to develop. The trick is timing. Wait just one day too long and those prickly spheres begin opening into tiny blue flowers, making them past their prime for optimal drying. Harvested at exactly the right stage, Globe Thistle dries looking nearly identical to its fresh form—and stays that way for years! Fun fact: these plants started as plugs from nearly a decade ago. I’d say they’ve more than paid for themselves. That original patch continues to amaze me!

07/11/2026

One of my favorite things about growing flowers specifically for drying is discovering plants that most people have never heard of. Oregano ‘Kent Beauty’ is one of those plants. Despite its name, it isn’t grown for the kitchen. It’s an ornamental oregano with the most unusual “flowers”…which aren’t actually flowers at all! Those cascading pink-and-green structures are papery bracts, while the tiny true flowers are tucked away inside them. Many people mistake them for hops, and once you see the resemblance, it’s hard to unsee it. One of my favorite qualities in a flower is what it becomes after harvest. Kent Beauty doesn’t disappoint. The bracts hold their shape and color beautifully after drying while adding wonderful texture and volume to wreaths, bouquets, and arrangements. A shout-out to Heather Petal Pink Flower Farm , whose YouTube video convinced me I had to grow it. After a bit of searching, I found plants at a farm in Oregon. (I’ve since discovered it in the herb section at a local nursery!) Hardy to Zone 5, loved by bees, and happy with nothing more than full sun and excellent drainage…I’d say this charming little plant has earned a permanent place at Blue Lobster Flower Farm.

What unusual plant have you grown that surprised you? Bonus points if it dries well! 😆😂🤣

07/06/2026

Summer is officially here! ☀️ During our week away in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, a heat dome settled over New England and the warm-season flowers absolutely took off. We arrived home just in time to harvest these beauties, along with several fragrant buckets of lavender. Today has been a welcome change. Overcast skies and temperatures in the 60s have been a refreshing break after the blistering heat of the past week. Grateful for the ebb and flow of summer days—and for coming home to flowers that weathered the heat stress and continued to thrive. ✈️

06/20/2026

I’m obsessed with Paper Daisies, aka Helipterum or Rodanthe as the taxonomists like to say. They are quickly becoming a favorite of mine and it’s easy to see why; easy to grow, extremely productive, long harvest window, tremendous vase life, and vibrant color retention when dried. They look delicate, but a strawflower head will snap off 10 times more easily than that of a Paper Daisy! They’re tough as nails actually! We love the white variety so much that we’re growing the rosey red variety (H. Pierrot Red) for the first time. I don’t know how a flower can look so handcrafted, but Helipterum Pierrot Red reminds me of a homemade Valentine. 💝

For our farm, where so much of the magic happens after harvest, the Helipterum Pierrot Series checks all the boxes: its easy to love, and guaranteed to make people ask, “Wait… what is that flower?”

12/13/2025

Did a big restock at Shop Isabel Souza in Wellfleet today. Just in time for her holiday market tomorrow from 11-4.

12/11/2025

A new selection of my wreaths just arrived at Wild Water Collective in Orleans. You can purchase in person or online!

12/04/2025

Proud to be featured this week in the Provincetown Independent.

All through the winter, the inside of Meryl Gartside’s flower drying shed displays a colorful burst of summer color. During the growing season, Gartside, who runs Blue Lobster Flower Farm […]