Smiling Goat Flower Farm

Smiling Goat Flower Farm Southern Maine Flower Farmette

“Tomorrow Freddy is getting a haircut. Please respect our family’s privacy during this difficult time.” 😂After months of...
06/24/2026

“Tomorrow Freddy is getting a haircut. Please respect our family’s privacy during this difficult time.” 😂

After months of dedicated service as Head of Farm Security, Chief Vole Inspector, and General Garden Supervisor, he’s finally headed in for a much-needed makeover.

If you’ve met Freddy, you know he’s a little rough around the edges. His coat mats easily, he spends most of his days patrolling flower beds, and personal grooming has never exactly been at the top of his priority list.

To be fair, he’s been busy.

There were voles to catch.
Mice to evict.
Dahlias to protect.

But the time has come.

Tomorrow, Freddy gets a haircut.

I honestly have no idea what we’re going to get back. Will he still resemble the majestic farm lion we’ve all come to know and love? Or will he emerge looking like a slightly embarrassed house cat who lost a bet?

Only time will tell.

Thoughts and prayers for Freddy as he prepares to sacrifice some floof in the name of comfort. ❤️🐈✂️

Stay tuned for the before-and-after photos. I have a feeling they’re going to be spectacular.

Dear Freddy… Get hunting… 💗This flower chick is exhausted … the great vole battle continues ..
06/22/2026

Dear Freddy…

Get hunting…

💗

This flower chick is exhausted … the great vole battle continues ..

The sea and flowers… I can’t think of a better place to be! Come celebrate World Ocean Day with me at Seacoast Science C...
06/20/2026

The sea and flowers…

I can’t think of a better place to be!

Come celebrate World Ocean Day with me at Seacoast Science Center from 10a-2p today and build your own flower and shell crown!

A little behind-the-scenes reality from the flower farm…The last few days have been less about flowers and more about de...
06/20/2026

A little behind-the-scenes reality from the flower farm…

The last few days have been less about flowers and more about detective work. 🕵️‍♀️🌱

After discovering what can only be described as a vole superhighway running beneath my landscape fabric, I’ve spent every spare minute pulling fabric, digging up grass, uncovering tunnels, and making plans for a major pathway overhaul.

Here’s the interesting part: the landscape fabric wasn’t there by accident. It was installed to help suppress weeds in the pathways and reduce maintenance. In many situations, landscape fabric can be a great tool. I use it in some of my annual growing spaces and love it.

Unfortunately, what works well in one area doesn’t always work well in another.

What I’ve learned (the hard way) is that in my dahlia patch, landscape fabric with stone pathways created a protected space underneath where voles could travel undisturbed. As I started pulling it back, I discovered tunnels everywhere.

Flower farming is one big experiment, and sometimes the lessons come with a shovel in hand. 😅

The good news? While I’ve been busy waging war on voles, the dahlias have been quietly doing their thing. More than 180 tubers have sprouted so far, including 22 new dahlias since yesterday. 🌱💚

A reminder that progress doesn’t always look like flowers. Sometimes it looks like dirt under your fingernails, rolled-up landscape fabric, and a very patient husband wondering how he got recruited into another farm project.

For now, we’re celebrating every new dahlia that pops through the soil and looking forward to a season full of blooms.

And Freddy the farm cat continues to earn his keep. 🐈‍⬛

🌊🌼 Exciting News! 🌼🌊Smiling Goat Flower Farm will be joining the World Ocean Day Celebration at the Seacoast Science Cen...
06/18/2026

🌊🌼 Exciting News! 🌼🌊

Smiling Goat Flower Farm will be joining the World Ocean Day Celebration at the Seacoast Science Center in Rye, NH this Saturday June 20th!

This family-friendly event celebrates our connection to the ocean through hands-on activities, learning opportunities, and community engagement. The Seacoast Science Center’s mission is to inspire the conservation of our Blue Planet through education and experiences that connect people with the natural world.

I’ll be hosting a Create Your Own Flower Crown station featuring dried flowers grown and harvested right here on the farm. Participants can design their own ocean-inspired crowns using locally grown dried flowers and natural treasures, including shells generously provided by the event organizers.

🌼 Choose your flowers
🐚 Add shells and coastal accents
👑 Create a one-of-a-kind crown to wear throughout the festival

I’m honored to be part of an event that brings together science, conservation, creativity, and community while celebrating our shared ocean. 🌊

Spread the word and bring your friends and family for a day of fun and learning. Find all the information and link for tickets here: Learn more and get your tickets at www.seacoastsciencenter.org/world-ocean-day

If you’re planning to attend, be sure to stop by and say hello—I’ll be the one wearing a flower crown too! ❤️

I can’t wait to see what everyone creates!

After Freddy’s recent promotion to Head of Farm Security, it’s become clear that he may be in need of a more professiona...
06/17/2026

After Freddy’s recent promotion to Head of Farm Security, it’s become clear that he may be in need of a more professional appearance. 😂

Just kidding… mostly.

In all seriousness, Freddy struggles pretty severely with matting in his coat, and despite our best efforts, I think we’re at the point where he needs some professional help.

I’m hoping to find a cat groomer in the Southern Maine area, preferably near Lebanon, who has experience working with cats and might be willing to help this handsome farm guy out. Whether that means a shave, a lion cut, or just getting him cleaned up and comfortable again, I’m open to recommendations.

I’ve already reached out to Waggerstown and Grand Paws Pet Salon, but unfortunately availability hasn’t worked out.

If you know of a groomer you’d trust with your cat, I’d love to hear your recommendations!

We love this quirky little farm cat, and besides… he’s got an important job to do. The voles aren’t going to catch themselves. 🐈🌱😂

Drop your recommendations below or send me a message. ❤️

I’d like to officially announce that Freddy has been promoted. 🐈After discovering a dead vole in the yard this morning a...
06/16/2026

I’d like to officially announce that Freddy has been promoted. 🐈

After discovering a dead vole in the yard this morning and a dead mouse in the garden, I feel confident in saying he’s taking his farm security responsibilities very seriously.

For those keeping score at home, that’s two fewer critters eyeing my flower beds.

It’s been busy around here.

I’ve been trying to keep up with watering, savoring my son’s final days of the school year, and soaking in the last few baseball games of the season. The days are full, and somehow the to-do list only seems to get longer.

Out in the flower field, things are slowly but surely moving in the right direction. About a third of the dahlias have popped through the soil, and more seem to appear every day. The seedlings are finally starting to turn a corner too, which feels like a huge win after the spring we’ve had.

I know I’ve been a little quiet here lately, and I’m sorry for that. Sometimes there are simply not enough hours in the day to do all the things and document all the things.

But I promise the farm is chugging right along.

The flowers are growing. The roots are rooting. Freddy is apparently earning his keep. And while the season isn’t moving quite as fast as I’d like, I can feel it building momentum.

And speaking of momentum… I’ll be sharing details tomorrow about a special event I’ll be a part of this Saturday! I’m really excited about this one and can’t wait to tell you more.

Until then, I’ll be over here cheering on seedlings, watching for more dahlia sprouts, and letting Freddy patrol the grounds.

I can’t wait for the season to really take off. ❤️🌱🐈

Today was a whirlwind.I came home from an appointment after work, grabbed the watering wand, filled the barrel, and made...
06/11/2026

Today was a whirlwind.

I came home from an appointment after work, grabbed the watering wand, filled the barrel, and made my rounds through the flower beds to see how everyone is settling in.

A few seedlings have decided they’re simply not going to make it, and honestly, that’s part of the deal. I think I’ll toss some seeds into those empty spaces this weekend and see what happens. Overall? It could be much worse.

And this rain… I could not be more thankful.

I’ve pumped well over 200 gallons of water into the annual plot over the last week, and tonight’s rain feels like the perfect little kiss from Mother Nature to give those babies exactly what they need. ❤️

The best part of the day, though, was getting together with some friends and meeting some new ones for a girls’ night. We spent the evening creating birdhouse feeders, and I am officially obsessed. What a gift to spend a few hours surrounded by creativity, laughter, snacks, and some truly wonderful women.

I can’t wait to watch the birds enjoy their new treat, and I’m pretty sure Freddy will appreciate the free entertainment from the comfort of the porch.

Now I’m completely wiped out.

Here’s to a Wednesday that somehow feels like a Friday, a little rain on the gardens, and the home stretch to the weekend coming in strong. 🌿🐦

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but you’re a great gardener. That plant really should’ve tried harder. 😆Yesterday w...
06/10/2026

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but you’re a great gardener. That plant really should’ve tried harder. 😆

Yesterday was one of those flower farm days.

A handful of seedlings decided the upper 80s were simply too much to handle and called it quits. Meanwhile, I discovered part of my drip irrigation wasn’t actually dripping much at all. After a little troubleshooting, some dirt-clearing, an air compressor, and a sunset repair session, we seem to be back in business.

The good news:
🌱 The dahlias are planted.
🌱 Most of the seedlings are in the ground.
🌱 The irrigation is flowing again.
🌱 Backup marigold seeds are on the way because apparently we’re not done planting yet.

Flower farming is a funny mix of planning, problem-solving, optimism, and occasionally staring at a crispy seedling wondering what exactly its long-term goals were.

Today we’re focusing on the hundreds of plants that are still standing, growing, and doing their thing.

And the ones that didn’t make it?

Well… the graphic says it all. 😅

This weekend was a big one.Approximately 750 plants made their way into the ground… and then some of them promptly got w...
06/07/2026

This weekend was a big one.

Approximately 750 plants made their way into the ground… and then some of them promptly got washed out during the rainstorm and had to be tucked back in. 🌱

Over 300 dahlia tubers are officially planted too. This year I’m trying a new method—digging trenches and planting a little closer together. I’m excited (and a little nervous) to see how it all turns out.

Drip irrigation was checked and laid out. There was at least one trip to the hardware store. Probably more dirt in my shoes than should be possible. And somehow I barely took any pictures because I spent most of the weekend working.

My husband was an absolute trooper through it all.

By 6:30 last night I had crashed on the couch, completely spent. Even Gus let me sleep past 6 a.m. this morning, which might be the biggest miracle of the entire weekend since he’s usually ready to start his day around 4:30.

If I’m being honest, I’m exhausted. And a little emotional.

Flowers mean a lot to me. I truly love growing them. But wow, this spring has tested me. The rain. The cold. The seedlings that seem determined to stay tiny forever.

Still, I keep reminding myself that these plants want to grow. Their roots are searching, stretching, and settling in. They don’t know the forecast, the calendar, or my worries. They just keep doing what they were made to do.

So here’s to another Monday.

Here’s to weekends that make this flower dream possible.

Here’s to warmer days ahead, roots spreading their little wings, and fields full of blooms that will someday make all of this hard work feel very worth it. ❤️

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Lebanon, ME
04027

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