Marigolds do not get much love as a cut flower. Most people use them as a companion plant for tomatoes; they have a natural insecticide and a fragrance that repels critters like rabbits from your garden.
They are absolutely fool-proof they never get any kind of fungus or other heat and wet related problems. It is this ordinariness that prevents many from seeing their possibilities as a cut flower. Now that they have been growing since early spring there are stems long enough to cut and arrange.
I put Marigolds together with Bright Lights Cosmos, Bi-colored and Red Coreopsis, Pinwheel Zinnias, and Persian Carpet Zinnias. The Marigold has a nice ferny leaf so leaving them on is all you need for filler.
Flowers are the most profitable and successful organic thing I offer at the farmer's market. From now on any food I grow I am keeping and eating, giving to friends or canning. Its just too hard to get enough to be able to sell it in bulk, and its not worth it to see all that work walk away in a bag for a few dollars. Food always was my loss leader, Im really there to sell folk art. But with my truck in the shop and my freelance jobs backing up I will probably only do the farmer's market every couple of weeks or so.
Im going to be on a blog break for a few weeks while I paint for a show with a 7/31 deadline. This is a national juried show with good prize money. Ive come close -honorable mention which wasnt a money prize but I did get a great easel and some paint. This year I actually have a strategy and hope it pays off. The show isnt until October, the July deadline is just to see if you can get in. I had one painting get in last year but the other one was rejected. So, I need to focus. I'll be back in August. Enjoy the dog days everyone.
