Backyard Flower Friends, Your Local B.F.F.
The Backyard Flower Lab is excited to announce the approval of Backyard Flower Friends as a registered 501c3 organization. This allows us to continue doing the work we've been doing but also allows others to support our cause. Please check out our budding website below.
Late Summer of 2023 Update
Wow! We have really produced some beautiful arrangements for donation this summer. All grown, harvested and bundled with the sole purpose of spreading them into the universe in a variety of ways.
An updated overhead photo of part of the farm. I am making tons of mistakes, and those black areas in the beds represent where I'm struggling with soil or irrigation, or on some days--motivation. But, the big picture is kinda glorious.
The Meadow is a special place at TBFL. We harvest wildflowers from here, as well as filler. It's the source of lupines and daisies and echinacea etc. It's also a butterfly wonderland in summer.
2023 Season Totals
1,537 Pounds of Produce
Countless Field Trips (aka, I lost count)
1,537 Pounds of Produce
We are just getting started with produce donations for the season! Though we had a bumper crop of peaches last year, this year we don't have very many at all. But, we did have a bumper crop of pears which will need picking soon! (apples too!) The apples here are Sansa apples. We picked three small trees of these, they are the first to ripen. Discovery apples will be next.
3,563 Flower Bouquets
Countless Field Trips (aka, I lost count)
1,537 Pounds of Produce
That's not a typo. Since late April, we have delivered (or you could say donated--but I prefer delivered) over 2,000 bouquets to individuals and organizations. We have done this primarily through the refrigerators and farm stand.
Countless Field Trips (aka, I lost count)
Countless Field Trips (aka, I lost count)
Countless Field Trips (aka, I lost count)
Hubbard Woods School field trips are so much fun. The children are so curious, thoughtful, and ready for anything. I look forward to more of these in the fall. The kindergarteners study apples, and the other classes study flowers, bees, pollination, seed dispersal, etc. So, really, I have an ideal setup for some exploration.
We filled 76 Community Refrigerators
We filled 76 Community Refrigerators
Countless Field Trips (aka, I lost count)
The Evanston Community Refrigerator Organization has four refrigerators. Many weeks one was down; so as an estimate, our volunteers filled these three or four fridges 16 times--resulting in approximately 56 refrigerators filled with groceries and flowers.
Upcoming Volunteer Needs
We filled 76 Community Refrigerators
Upcoming Volunteer Needs
Are you willing to drive and deliver food and flowers to Chicago, Evanston, and other nearby locations?
Would you like to join a group of fun-loving people who don't mind getting their hands dirty and enjoy arranging flowers, cutting flowers, pulling weeds etc. for strangers while forging friendships over service?
Do you like walks in the garden or sarcasm? Do you have a lot or zero experience and just want to be involved? Contact me through email flowerfarmer@backyardflowerlab.org or social media. We are always looking for helping hands
The Thousand Days of May Update
Late Spring Update for Volunteers
Dear Volunteers,
I have over fifty beds for flowers, including all the varieties of last year, and several new ones. Once again, I was probably overly optimistic about sweet peas. So far, we have had a bumper crop of daffodils and tulips. Daffodils seemed to all flower on the same day, making it difficult to deliver them to any organizations. I was able to take them to the Golden Agers at Northwestern University Settlement House and sell some to Arch in Winnetka. I also received a photo from the Lyte Collective in Englewood of the daffodils blooming that I planted outside there in the fall.
Specialty tulips were gorgeous this year. I have also been selling these on Instagram and to Arch now and then to fund the food purchase for the Evanston Community Refrigerators. Tulip bouquets have been delivered to the Evanston Community Refrigerators four times now, along with food. Tulip bouquets were also delivered to the Simpson Academy for Young Women for a Mother’s Day program that the RUSH auxiliary board does with new mothers.
In addition to the flower deliveries, The Flower Lab has hosted District 36 teachers for spring walks in the garden and teacher planning of student field trips. We have hosted spring tours for many field trips from Hubbard Woods this spring and anticipate many more. I was a the Earth Day speaker at Hubbard Woods School where I spoke to them about how Sunflowers are, Good for You and The Environment Too. We then all planted sunflowers in plastic cups for observation in the classroom. To tie into that, I plan to plant a circle of sunflowers in the driveway at the farm so that when they grow, they will form a sunflower house for future field trips for kids and adults to enjoy.
These next few weeks will be busy with the Thousand Days of May. I will be sprouting the dahlias, planting the dahlias, and shipping tubers some to share with neighbors and others who reached out and said they’d like to have some if we have extra. We do. Additionally, direct seed sowing will start next week, as well as the laying down of all the soaker hoses and drip lines, etc.
We have developed a new relationship with Evanston Grows for produce and floral drop-offs, since, unfortunately, Bella Rue is no longer receiving enough donations to continue their food program.
Evanston Grows is a fabulous nonprofit in Evanston with a huge community impact and many volunteer opportunities in their gardens. We will be able to deliver flowers for up to 300 bouquets a week for their distributions, and though they gave out almost three tons of produce last year, they do not have a source for fruit. Hence, this is a beautiful organization for us to support.
“Evanston Grows is a collective impact organization dedicated to bringing together resources in the Evanston community to reduce food insecurity through increasing access to locally-grown produce and building community connections.”
Check them out here
https://www.evanstongrows.org/
Also, check out the signup below for a Garden Tour and Glass of Wine to kick off the season.
I look forward to working with you all this season as we put something beautiful into the community. I will be updating the website with signup genius links for easier volunteer management and learning lots of new things with you this season.
With Love and Gratitude,
April
Spring 2023 Update
We have a new Greenhouse! We are currently in a steep learning curve on how to use it best, and it might be a wee bit small for the number of things we have started in there right now.
Greenhouse seed starts-- sweet peas, eucalyptus, lisianthus, ranunculus etc.
Stock planted along the back of the gardening garage with netting for support and under a tunnel for frost protection, which seems to be no longer necessary, but you never know when we might have a cold snap.
Spring 2023 Update
Daffodils came on fast this year, we were hoping the blooms would be more spread out, but the heat wave made everything pop all at once.
The first bouquet donations of the spring went to The Golden Agers at Northwestern University Settlement House.
Icelandic Poppy. Need I say more? This is the first bloom of the season, fingers crossed for a zillion more.
Late Winter Update (also known as SPRING FEVER)
The North Garden Bed at The Backyard Flower Lab is in its eighth season. The aisles are wider than is recommended for a production garden, but perfect for slow wagon pulling and flower harvesting. Directly to the North (not shown) are four beds which will grow Russell's grandmother's poppies and dahlias. To the south (not shown) are blueberry bushes and beds for cress. The beds shown will be pl
The South Garden has been fully reworked into a production garden for this season. The large space without a border is where the greenhouse will sit. This garden will produce many kinds of flowers, a few strawberries and an asparagus patch. The long rows are 47 feet. Bed preparation starts early March.
This photograph shows Russell's Orchard to the South of the South Flower Garden. The photo was taken on January 15, so it doesn't look like much, but we'll update this as the trees begin flowering. We have apples, plums, pluots, peaches, apricots, cherries and a few other varieties.
This area of our property is what my husband calls "The Fantasy Meadow." He has been planting it by the ten pound bag of wildflower seeds, iris bulbs, etc., for years. The white landscape fabric to the West is our new Lilac Garden, put in this fall. The Oak Grove is to the southeast.
A small portion of our backyard showing the original vegetable production beds in the far lower right corner. There are seven raised beds here, which seemed like a ton before I started gardening. This year we will plant it with part of our ranunculus and anemones. I'm still looking for more space for ranunculus.
The long driveway to The Backyard Flower Lab is lined with fruit trees and spring bulbs. This is a summer photo; pruning was done on the trees in late February.
2022 Donations
1,542 Pounds of Produce
237 Students Visited Sept/Oct
1,542 Pounds of Produce
Produce was picked and delivered from The Backyard Flower Lab by volunteers to local agencies helping others.
764 Flower Bouquets
237 Students Visited Sept/Oct
1,542 Pounds of Produce
Flowers were cut, arranged, and delivered by volunteers at The Backyard Flower Lab and donated to local agencies serving others.
237 Students Visited Sept/Oct
237 Students Visited Sept/Oct
237 Students Visited Sept/Oct
Hubbard Woods School student field trips continue in the garden and orchard. Kids are studying seed dispersal, nature, beauty, plant structure, and learning about food banks while picking apples to donate. "That was the best part of my day," a smiling child exclaimed as she walked back down the road to school with her class. (she really said that--I was there.)
2000 Daffodil Bulbs
Upcoming Volunteer Needs
237 Students Visited Sept/Oct
Bulbs were planted at agencies in Chicago, or shared with Block Clubs in Chicago so that neighboring communities could hold events and plant bulbs for spring flowering. Bulbs were packaged for random acts of daffodil bulb donations as well.
Upcoming Volunteer Needs
Upcoming Volunteer Needs
Upcoming Volunteer Needs
Are you willing to drive and deliver food and flowers to Chicago, Evanston, Waukegan, Winnetka, Highland Park and other nearby locations?
Would you like to join a group of fun-loving people who don't mind getting their hands dirty and enjoy arranging flowers for strangers while forging friendships over service?
Do you like walks in the garden, or sarcasm? Do you have a lot or zero experience and just want to be involved? Contact me through email flowerfarmer@backyardflowerlab.org or social media. We are always looking for helping hands
Where We Shared Produce and Flowers in 2022
New Trier Township Food Pantry
BellaRu Catering Food Distribution
BellaRu Catering Food Distribution
BellaRu Catering Food Distribution
BellaRu Catering Food Distribution
BellaRu Catering Food Distribution
Family Promise
BellaRu Catering Food Distribution
Connections for the Homeless and Hilda's Place, Evanston
Connections for the Homeless and Hilda's Place, Evanston
Connections for the Homeless and Hilda's Place, Evanston
Connections for the Homeless and Hilda's Place, Evanston
The Beacon Place Community Center, Waukegan, IL
Connections for the Homeless and Hilda's Place, Evanston
The Beacon Place Community Center, Waukegan, IL
Field Trips, Hubbard Woods School, Winnetka
Connections for the Homeless and Hilda's Place, Evanston
The Beacon Place Community Center, Waukegan, IL
Hubbard Woods School classroom walking field trips to study flowers and fruits and nature and wonder and bugs and sunshine and....
Northwestern University Settlement House Food Pantry, Early Childhood and Golden Agers
Northwestern University Settlement House Food Pantry, Early Childhood and Golden Agers
Northwestern University Settlement House Food Pantry, Early Childhood and Golden Agers
Imagine Englewood If, Chicago
Northwestern University Settlement House Food Pantry, Early Childhood and Golden Agers
Northwestern University Settlement House Food Pantry, Early Childhood and Golden Agers
Lyte Collective, Chicago
Northwestern University Settlement House Food Pantry, Early Childhood and Golden Agers
Lyte Collective, Chicago
Photos
How To Help
Get Your Hands Dirty
Contact us to help with the harvest of fruit, cutting or delivery of flowers and produce, or just for a casual tour. flowerfarmer@backyardflowerlab.org
Help us Reach Organizations
Send us a line if you know of people or organizations in the community that would benefit from the spreading of joy through flowers or homegrown produce. flowerfarmer@backyardflowerlab.org
Schlep
Volunteer to deliver flowers or fruits to organizations or individuals. opportunities are typically posted on social media. Or email flowerfarmer@backyardflowerlab.org
Share your Expertise
Let us know if you have skills and energy you'd like to lend. flowerfarmer@backyardflowerlab.org
About Me
I’m an introvert and former science professor who recently discovered the abundance and joy of growing flowers and food. I’m blessed with a four-acre backyard in the suburbs of Chicago, including a wildflower meadow, a large orchard, and a productive flower and vegetable garden. Depending on who is asking, I might even have a beehive or two. I also have a part-time gardener and orchardist (husband) who laid the groundwork for this (literally) over many years.
If you’ve run into me recently, I’ve been a mess. My hands have been coated in soil that doesn’t scrub off, even with a “good honest try” and some “elbow grease.” Most days, my mother would be shocked at the dirt under my fingernails, especially on a Sunday. I’m farmer-tanned and sweaty, wearing gardening clothes in every situation, especially when not socially appropriate.
And I’m joyful.
Flower growing has been regenerative for my spirit. I drift to sleep at night thinking about my morning garden work, and if I’m restless, I walk through the garden rows in my mind. My coffee is taken in a mug among the rows of flowers that need staking or tomatoes that need picking.
Sprouting of The Backyard Flower Lab
This year I have grown more flowers than any one person or family of six needs, and I want nothing more than to share this abundance. But really, who “needs” flowers? It’s a question that’s been on my mind a lot as I deadhead, collect seeds, and marvel at the miracles of nature and the matter that grows from such a tiny seed in my garage to the ten-foot-tall sunflowers with dried heads that the doves and finches are now enjoying in my absence. Maybe everyone needs flowers. The literal fruits of the garden may be shared easily, so why not the flowers? To share joy through flowers and homegrown food, I’m formalizing my project through the startup of The Backyard Flower Lab.
In my new “Lab,” I’m running “experiments” in growing, nurturing, sharing, color, beauty, food donating, seed collecting, apple ripeness, peach picking and preserving, tour-giving, and joy-sharing. As the apple and peach harvest season approaches, I may need extra hands for picking and delivering the fruit to those in need. As flower season is still mostly in full bloom, I’m open to ideas of any organizations that would accept large buckets of dahlias, zinnias, marigolds, hydrangeas, etc., or helping hands to arrange these and donate them as smaller bouquets. Reach out if you want to help, have ideas, or if you want or need a tour. The Backyard Flower Lab is a work in progress and will be, for a while-- a beautiful, messy work in progress.
Much Love and Gratitude,
April Collins Potterfield, Ph.D.
Head Flower Farmer, The Backyard Flower Lab