2024: Tulips and then ... A Floral Sabbatical (mostly)!

Hello Stems Family and Friends - It’s been a minute! It’s 9PM on New Year’s Eve in Homer. The girls are in bed after watching a fantastic fireworks display from the comfort of our deck. Definitely not as grand as being there in person, but a lot simpler. And I’m going to be honest, we kind of dig simpler.

2023 was a year, and I’ve been a little quiet for the past few months on the Stems-front. I know rumors have floated, and I’m excited to take a minute for some reflection and sharing of our plans for 2024.

This year was no joke. It was rainy, and it was grey. It was hands-down the lowest production year on our farm since we began selling flowers in 2011. With that being said, the tulip season was awesome - especially after the tulip scarcity of 2022 when we only received a third of our bulb shipment the previous fall. We also had Madra working here as a full-time farm manager, which was also simply amazing. Additionally in the spring, Emily and River were around part-time to help keep things moving while we were bustling with tulips, turning over beds, caring for perennials, and getting summer transplants in the ground. Little did we know what the season would bring… (or, rather, what it wouldn’t bring…. Sun. And flowers.)

Madra harvesting tulips in spring 2023

There was also the continuous challenge of business ownership and heaps of unknowns. And our kiddos, getting older and more engaged in the world - with me wanting to go play and explore with them during our few short summer months here in Alaska.

Amidst all of that, and as I wound down into the fall, I made a declaration. 2024 would be different. I would take a break, and take an opportunity to re-assess.

Tulips are in the ground, and it’s going to be another amazing tulip year in 2024! I think we’ve found our sweet spot of ~18,000 bulbs for the season. It’s enough to satiate our Homer community and bring a few runs up to Anchorage without stressing us out too much. Ben loves the tulips, as do I. And I know you do, too!!

I couldn’t get any of these INCREDIBLE Great Barrier Reef tulips for 2024, but at least one friend has a tattoo of them now! And I’m hoping that some of our new varieties will be equally (or at least close) stunning!

But after that, Stems is taking a 2024 Floral Sabbatical (mostly!). I’ll still be tending our family veg garden, and our many perennials. I have one wedding booked, and I may take one more if it was a really good fit! Our farm may be leased for the season, or it may be cover cropped and the soil allowed to chill out and also rebuild and reform after over a decade of production. TBD…

One thing I’ve come to realize in the past few years is what brings me energy in this business. It’s you - it’s the community surrounding the flowers we grow and you bring into your homes and businesses. It’s the hours chatting at the Farmers Market, and the connections that have grown and blossomed through these blooms.

In September, I started working part time for the Alaska Food Policy Council as their new Advocacy & Policy Director. Again, this is a space of relationship and connection, part of a team and a network in this place, Alaska, we call home. It’s energy-building in another way, and I’m delighted at how the agricultural passions of my life are able to intersect in this space.

With my new job, I was able to attend the Alaska Summit for the Intertribal Agriculture Council at the Alaska Native Heritage Center and I was humbled and honored to be able to be there and learning. (If you’ve never been to the Native Heritage Center, it should absolutely be a priority!)

Over the years I’ve had people share different stories of leaving or quitting or changing. Quitting jobs, leaving graduate school programs, changing careers, exiting relationships. My response has always been the same: congratulations. Knowing that there is so much inertia behind our lives, so much invisible force to keep on keeping on. But that isn’t always the best choice, and it’s not always the most fulfilling - but it’s usually the safest. So I always offer sincere gratitude and congratulations to those taking Big Steps into unknowns, breaking away from their inertial forces.

And so here I am! Breaking away from the inertia of this amazing, vibrant, soul-full business to step into a little bit of an unknown and see what I find out.

Ben is pretty keen to keep growing tulips, as am I. He also thinks we grow some pretty awesome carrots, and maybe we revision ourselves as a tulip & carrot farm - ha! I kind of like it, and no matter what happens going forward I know it will be a move towards greater simplicity. What will that look like? That’s a big TBD.

In the meantime, I would love to bring you some incredible color this spring! I have a limited number of tulip subscriptions on our website, and we’ll again have them rolling into the grocery store, ready for Mother’s day, and available locally starting sometime in mid-May.

Thank you, thank you, from the bottom of my heart for all of the support and joy you’ve shared with me over the years! I’m so grateful to call this place home, and to know we are part of your community.

With gratitude,

Rachel (and Ben, Sadie, and Linnea!)

PS. Below are some family highlights from the year. Check out more: 2023 Photo Album from the farm and family

we got to go to Maine in September to visit my family, and eat Lobsters!!!

that trip included hanging out with Chris, Tracey, and Gus, and getting in some amazing cousin love from Swell Farm!

Sadie joined 4-H in 2023, and showed her chicken Daisy at Ag Expo. Both girls are excited to show chickens in 2024, although Linnea is not super excited to be a Cloverbud…

okay, this is a little gross. But it was a lot of my summer as well. Butterscotch-the-horse had SO MANY eye issues. And one of those became a “melting ulcer”. Gross. And incredibly time consuming to treat. Thankfully she is a Very Good Horse. And she’s all better. Thanks, Dr. Marlowe!!

But on a nicer note, fringed tulips are really my favorite.

and finally, a picture of the kids when we were three years into our business….

and me and those same kids in 2023!

Thank You, and see you in 2024!

ASCFG Growers Profile: Alaska Stems

This spring, we were honored to be featured in the Growers Profile section of the quarterly publication for the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers! We’ve been members of ASCFG for 10 years, and it’s been an incredible resource for all things flowers and business.

The Quarterly is a members-only publication, but I’ve pulled out our profile to share with you! Read the article here!

Photos were all by the fantastic Liza Spencer here in Homer.

Niki + Chepo

I just got these pictures back from the fantastic Chelsa J just the other day, and I have to say I teared up a little. From our first meeting, Niki and Chepo were amazing clients. Thoughtful, excited, inspired. They had different ideas on style, and it was a fun challenge to thread the needle to create the natural, organic elegance that would highlight both of them completely. I LOVE big installations, and this wedding was definitely a favorite. This was also the largest wedding we’ve done, and it was actually in Anchorage - several hundred miles north of our farm and studio. Working with Rebecca from La Boum Events (who was 8 months pregnant at the time!) was a dream - she was organized and on top of every detail. My team was unbelievable and this scale of an event couldn’t be pulled off with anything less. With a full mariachi band, incredible colors, over 500 guests, and two BIG scale venues — this wedding was amazing on so many fronts.

Planner: La Boum
Photographer: Chelsa J
Ceremony Venue: Our Lady of Guadalupe
Reception Venue: Dena’ina Center, Anchorage

Tulips 101

I have a lot of time to think about tulips between roughly the third week of April and the third week of May. It occurred to me to share some of these thoughts and tidbits about tulips as we're quickly into the middle of Tulip Season around here! 

• Tulips keep growing in the vase! It can be helpful to cut them over time, otherwise they can get a bit ... unruly!

• The white on their stems is where they were under the soil. We harvest all of our tulips with the bulb on, and on most stems you'll see some part of the white.

• Some of our stems are over three feet long! When they get to you, we've generally chopped them to a bit more of a reasonable size, so you might miss the lovely white bottoms of the stems!

• French, double, lily, fringed, parrot - there are so many varieties of tulips (over 3,000!). Each year we grow 18-20 different varieties of all colors, shapes, and sizes. Some bloom early, some late.

• We plant our tulips in early-October in a high tunnel. We rotate high tunnels, as tulips can be susceptible to 'Tulip Fire' - a plight we (thankfully/knock-on-wood) haven't experienced.

• After we pull up the stems with the bulbs on, we take them down to the pond for a good rinse. They get dirty, and we like to at least clean off the majority of that soil.

• We have a home-built cooler (on wheels, although it's never yet moved!) where we can store a couple thousand tulips for several weeks. We wrap them in newspaper and store them standing upright with their bulbs on. The cooler stays between 35-38F and can get a bit chaotic in the middle of the tulip season!

You can order farm fresh tulips in the Homer-area at our online store, or sign up for a weekly or biweekly subscription.

Renee + Beth

A woodland fantasy, Lord of the Rings inspired summer wedding on the shores of Kachemak Bay, at Neverland (aka Second Star Mansion). Renee and Beth were so excited and so imaginative - it was a dream to work with them for their incredible day! Hanna and her team from Relic Photographic were fun, laid back, and professional - their photos are incredible. 

One of my favorite parts of wedding work is pulling together the set up - the vendors are working on their pieces and family and friends are helping out, playing on the lawn, finishing up last minute details. This was a wedding with a million thoughtful details, incredible style, and a whole lot of love (and that DRESS!). Thanks, Renee and Beth, for letting us be a part!

“Rachel, YOU OUTDID YOURSELF. I have been crying on and off as I think about how beautiful our day was. You made it exactly how we wanted it to be, and more!!”

— Renee

Flowers: Alaska Stems
Photography: Relic Photographic
Venue: Second Star

For more information on working with Alaska Stems for your wedding flowers, please see our wedding page and our wedding inquiry form!

Kelly + Logan

photo: Tyler Rye. This bouquet has already walked down the aisle, been thrown to the ladies, and done a little wading in the ocean. Tough stuff, right?!

I love working weddings, and I love getting to know my clients through the process. A nurse and a boatbuilding engineer, it was so much fun to work with Kelly and Logan. Truth be told, with his project management background Logan tested the wedding planning waters and was my primary point of contact for their florals. He also build the arch and all the tables for the reception!

photo: Tyler Rye

They had a beautiful, minimalist aesthetic of olive and other greenery and white blooms. Across nearly 80 feet of banquet tables we laid loose greens with brass candlesticks, white candles, and beautiful mixed succulents in gold glass mercury votives. It was romantic and elegant, and a great option for long tables without going for full-on garland. 

Photo: Tyler Rye

This awesome arbor beautifully framed one of my favorite couples as they exchanged their vows. We used simple greenery and a few subtle accent flowers, with Kachemak Bay and mountains creating an unbeatable backdrop!

Photo: Tyler Rye

The pictures from the beach are amazing. Tyler captured their adventure, love, and kindness so well! I'll leave you with a few more of his great photographs, and a big Thank You to Kelly and Logan for giving me the opportunity to participate in this true work of love. 

Photo: Tyler Rye

Photo: Tyler Rye

Photo: Tyler Rye

Flowers: Alaska Stems
Photography: Tyler Rye
Day-of Coordination: i do Events
Venue: Driftwood Inn

For more information on working with Alaska Stems for your wedding flowers, please see our wedding page and our wedding inquiry form!

Spring means tulips!

April 20th. Our first real tulip harvest for 2017! It's on. Tulip season is a big one around here. There's a lot of build up and excitement getting to this point. The winter was a long and cold one, and we aren't the only ones desperate for a little color and freshness in our home. Read below for more on our tulip venture, but if you just want to get your hands on some....

Where do people get these beauties? A few choices:

• Weekly/bi-weekly subscriptions. Folks who are signed up with us for regular flower deliveries get top priority on our flowers! We provide big bouquets of fresh flowers in the Homer-area for $25/week, delivered on Mondays. We'll start deliveries on Monday, 4/24!
• KenaiFoodHub.org. Starting *next week*, we'll be listing tulip bunches for sale on the Food Hub. You could login today and buy salmon, oysters, rabbit, chicken, basil, sorrel, cucumber starts and so much more. But you'll have to wait until Friday, 4/28 to order tulips!
• Individual orders. Are you hoping to bring some tulips to a friend? Brighten up your home sooner rather than later? We offer vase arrangements and hand tied bouquets of tulips ranging from $10 to $60 available for on-farm pick-up or delivery (charges apply). Call us for availability and to schedule a pick-up or delivery. 435-7209
•  Save-U-More. As soon as we're able to fill our other orders and we're swimming in tulips (probably by Wednesday, 4/26) we'll start having tulips available at Save-U-More in Homer. We do these on consignment and work to keep them as fresh and stocked as possible. If you HAVE to have flowers, you may be better off calling us directly but we work pretty hard to keep the store stocked!
• Online Store. Similar to Save-U-More, once we have a solid cooler full of blooms we'll open up our online store for orders. On our store you can place orders for deliveries, and you can always purchase flower club cards and gift certificates for the farmers market!

If you're still reading, and want to know more about our tulips....

I don't really know how it all began. But early on in our flower growing life, we decided to try tulips. We started fairly big, with around 1,000 bulbs. We were terrified of voles and other bulb-eating rodents. Before planting, we dug out the bed and lined it with 1/4" hardware cloth. Shoveled in some soil, planted bulbs, covered with soil then topped with hardware cloth that connected to the underlying piece. UGH. It was backbreaking at the beginning and at the end. 

It didn't take long to realize two things. One: Fresh, local tulips are AMAZING and truly unlike anything else if you haven't experienced them. Two: The hardware cloth had to go. It was a mess. So we worked on upping our rodent-trapping game, ditched the hardware cloth, and picked up the pace on tulips each year. 

This past fall, the amazing crew at Twitter Creek Gardens helped us put in almost 9,000 tulip bulbs. It's our first year with fall-planted bulbs in the new high tunnels, and I'm terribly excited about it. I'm nervous, per usual, about the huge number of new varieties. I'll admit some of the buds are looking small, but Ben assures me that they'll beef up. Spring. A time of fabulous growth and potential, and always a small degree of anxiety on my part! 

We pull all of our tulips out, bulb on (if at all possible). While some tulips will perennialize, they aren't as good as daffodils at that exercise, and they take up valuable soil in the high tunnel. They also store really well in the cooler with their bulbs on! We harvest at least once, and if it's sunny sometimes three or more times in a day. The goal is to pull them with just a hint of color for the longest storage and vase life potential!

We wash all of our stems pretty well. In talking with some other farmers this winter it sounds like maybe a bit too well - it takes a lot of time! But, it's part of our system and part of our awesome final product so we'll keep it! After washing they are wrapped in newspaper around the tops to keep them straight, and stored in buckets, totes, bins...by the end we're scrounging around for anything with four sides to stash our tulips in!

When it's time to make bouquets, we'll pull out big bunches of wrapped stems, cut off the bulbs, and lay them on the table in big piles. We bunch into 8-stem hand-tied bouquets or vase arrangements in regular or large sizes. 

In about a month we are done with tulips, and pretty excited for a break. I'll start putting in an order for fall bulbs, and all of our energies will shift to summer blooms. 

In October, our crates upon crates of bulbs will arrive. We'll rally a crew of wonderful help. We'll dig out beds, nestle in the beautiful silky smooth bulbs, cover them with soil and tuck them in for the winter. We'll set traps with peanut butter for the voles, and cross our fingers for a cold (but not too cold) winter. We'll wait patiently, and then not-so-patiently for the spring to come. As soon as the soil starts thawing, I'll start carefully digging around in the beds - looking for deep stems. Ben will lightly chastise me (I'm always digging around...patience, he reminds me. Patience). Then the stems will poke through, the leaves will flush out, the buds will form and then again we'll be greeted with the bright streaks of spring color. I really love tulips. 

Remote, rustic elegance

Homer sits on the edge of Kachemak Bay, with majestic views of mountains, glaciers, ocean and volcanoes. Every wedding venue has its unique charms, and they all are breathtaking. We are so lucky to live and work here! Last summer we had so much fun taking that unique beauty a step further, across the water to the south side of the Bay.

Last summer we had so much fun taking that unique beauty a step further, across the water to the south side of the Bay. Katelyn and Van were married at a family home in Tutka Bay – surrounded by an incredibly beautiful rocky shoreline, trees dripping in green, and rising mountains. The day was sunny and hot, tucked back against the shore. Coming across the Bay was a different matter, with waves crashing and soaking some of those on the back deck of the boat! Thankfully our florals were tucked safely in the cabin, and a dryer was available on the other side for some wet clothes!

Shawna and Madilyn (Madilyn Robinson Photography) heading across the Bay. This photo is looking back toward the Homer Spit and Land's End Resort. 

Wedding party flowers, packed and ready for a (protected) boat ride across the Bay!

Soft, classic and elegant – this wedding featured a beautiful color palate of whites, greens, silvers with soft blush accents. We got to deck out a few outhouses with arrangements, and hang garland on a seaside deck. The bride’s family built an amazing structure over the deck, complete with chandelier! Hanging wreaths and a fabric-backed arbor with off-centered florals set the scene beautifully.

photo by Madilyn Robinson

A sweet touch in one of two outhouses for guests.

photo by Madilyn Robinson

photo by Madilyn Robinson

Shawna and I had a fantastic time, working around the decks and winding wooden pathways to add floral accents around this incredible property. Katelyn was a wonderful, sweet bride from start to finish, and all of the friends, family and fellow vendors were fun company on this beautiful day. The wild blueberries were pretty amazing as well!

Heading home after a fun, and long, day! The *best* way to commute to work - by boat!

photo by Madilyn Robinson

As the light returns here in Southcental Alaska, it's fun to be planning our crops and 2017 weddings, and dreaming of these sunny blue sky days! We still have some availability in our schedule - get started with a wedding inquiry form and I'll be in touch within a few days. 

“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.”

— F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

2016 Highlights: Bridal Bouquets

As we say goodbye to 2016, we're excited to reflect on successes and opportunities heading into 2017! Here are some highlights of bridal bouquets and a wide range of styles and color palattes from the wedding season. Getting married in 2017? Learn more here and contact us for more information!  

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photo credit: Joshua Veldstra

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photo credit: Joshua Veldstra Photography

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photo credit: Chugach Peaks Photography

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photo credit: personal friend of the bride, Amanda

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photo credit: friend of bride, Emily

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photo credit: Chugach Peaks Photography

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photo credit: Ceremony Photography

Expanding Opportunities in the Farm Revolution!

Since moving to Alaska eleven years ago, I’ve had amazing opportunities to wear a lot of different hats. For eight years I worked for Cook Inletkeeper, engaging here in Homer and around the state on efforts to help build and support healthy, vibrant communities. Last year, as I started looking to move on and focus on our farm and design business, one of my ‘swan song’ grant proposals to the USDA was funded. The proposed project was to develop an online ‘Food Hub’ for our community, run as a pilot for two years with funding then hopefully successful enough to exist on its own into the future. I’m writing about it here because I’m passionate and excited about marketing and access to local flowers and food. I live in a fishing community (both sport & commercial), the self-proclaimed ‘Halibut Capital of the World’, and yet you can’t really buy local seafood at the grocery store. We have the highest density of USDA-funded high tunnels in the country, but precious few market outlets for this aspiring cottage industry of small scale farmers.

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'Little Emily' works at Emily Garrity's Twitter Creek Garden. Photo by K.Boone for the Kenai Peninsula Food Hub. 

Around the country, food hubs are all the rage. Although they come in many flavors, ours - the Kenai Peninsula Food Hub - is essentially a weekly online farmers market. Robbi is our Food Hub Manager (she’s also our Farmers Market Manager and director of the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival) and we’ve worked with farmers, customers and community partners throughout the region to start us off on the right foot. It’s a straightforward process: As a producer, I log in to our website weekly and update what I have available (including a price, photo and description). I have two days for my updates – then it’s the customers’ turn! From Friday through Monday at 10PM anyone can log in and fill up their carts with locally grown flowers, food, household goods and crafts. Late Monday night all producers receive an emailed ‘pick ticket’ – it outlines exactly what I sold and to whom. I have Tuesday to harvest and arrange, and then Wednesday I bring in my flowers. This year our food hub operated on Wednesdays out of the Kachemak City Community Center. The community gave us a good deal on the rental, it’s a large indoor space with ample parking, and they have plenty of tables available for use.  Through the dedication of some volunteers and the Kenai Soil & Water Conservation District, we were also able to run a food hub location up in the Central Peninsula (Kenai/Soldotna) area.

Robbi is also one of the Food Hub's most active customers! Photo by K.Boone for the Kenai Peninsula Food Hub. 

Throughout this winter, in addition to working on planning for our farm, I’ll continue to work with Robbi and all of our community partners and other local farmers to help continue developing our capacity to not only grow but to market and sell our flowers, vegetables, fish and other locally-grown and created products. Around the country, we’re in the middle of an incredible small farm and local/slow food/flower movement. It’s inspiring to work with such a vibrant community in Southcentral Alaska to figure out how best to translate that movement into sustainable small farms throughout the region. 

Gratitude.

Thanksgiving tomorrow. I love this time of the year - family and friends, food and music. The annual Homer Nutcracker, the Chamber Christmas Tree lighting, the Pratt Museum's holiday party complete with a Santa in the homesteader's cabin. All of it comes wrapped in a daily rhythm of cold (mostly, usually, hopefully) and short days, long nights. 

And opportunities for reflections of thanks, and forward leaning to a bright future. 

This year I'm thankful for (in no particular order):

• Toddler Sadie, who is learning to navigate the world, make choices, push boundaries, empathize with others, be grateful and kind. Sometimes. Also thankful for our quick healing from pink eye earlier this week. Yowzers.
• Baby Linnea, who is pushing past her baby state as she nears the one year mark (next week!). She has one word ("HOT"), and she's practicing standing all by herself. She's opinionated and cheerful. I'm so thankful for our healthy kiddos.
• Transitions! I've been mulling over my dreams for years now. It's still a slow and steady project, but I'm SO THANKFUL for the opportunity to lean in to Alaska Stems - to our farm and our design business - in 2017 and beyond. And I couldn't do it without....
• Ben. This goes without saying, but as my graduate advisor told me when I started my M.S. in Wildlife Biology, "You must always remember what is important. These are the three things that are important: being kind to children, respecting your elders, and telling the people you love that you love them." It's not your standard advice for starting off grad school, but it's how I knew I was in the right lab. So with that, I'll take another opportunity to express my deepest gratitude and love for Ben. In parenting, farming, design, critical thought, and navigating this crazy complex world - I'm so thankful. 
• Instagram. I know that sounds silly. But truly - the vast majority of those I follow are engaged in farming, flowers and design. They create things and support beauty and kindness around the world. It's a source of daily inspiration that I've been especially thankful for during the past few months. 
• Being a part of a physical community. It's a broad and diverse community, despite it's fairly narrow (and cosmic) reputation. And I love it. I love engagement in day to day life in a place. Digging in and committing. It can be a challenge sometimes for my travel-loving heart to wrap around the relatively stationary life in a single community. But with that sacrifice comes huge payback in personal grounding.

May you all have a season that is filled with gratitude. With empathy and compassion for those around you - friends, family, neighbors, strangers on the street. May you do something each and every day that helps make the world just a little bit of a better place. I'll be working to do the same, and I hope our paths cross along the way!

(all photos in this post are thanks to the wonderful Katie Boone of Ceremony Photography. Check out her fun post about her trip to photograph Food Hub producers up here in Alaska this past September.)