One of the main focuses in growing cut flowers is to get tall, straight stems that are topped with exquisite blooms.

Since I am a field grower — meaning I do not grow anything under the cover of a greenhouse — achieving this is a bit of a challenge.

I employ a lot of methods to help with that - like horizontal netting to keep our hellacious winds from sending them sideways.

If I managed to beat the weather, the next challenge is bugs. Aphids, thrips and grasshoppers do the majority of the munching on my farm.

To me, creepy crawlies are part of the territory. But I’m also not trying to deliver a bouquet full of them…if I can help it.

The next hurdle is user error. I’m still quite new to horticulture & growing in general, so I make a lot of mistakes. Similar to a medical or law ‘practice’, there’s a lot of “well this worked for that variety so perhaps it will for this one, too”.

Deductive reasoning is usually a reliable approach, as is wishin’ & hopin’ & cussin’.

But inevitably there are always plenty of otherwise perfect blooms that are too short, snapped off, crooked or partially snacked on.

And since I like the notion that winemakers call the juice that mysteriously evaporates from the barrel the ‘angels share’ — I, too, appear to have a lot of angels hanging around!

I like to gather these little bits up to enjoy. As a shorty myself, I guess I’m just drawn to these cute & stumpy specimens.

And over the years I’ve collected tiny bud vases that suit them perfectly.

And since these are generally the only flowers I keep for myself, I try to get creative with them.

There’s just something about dressing up spaces around the house with little bits of blemished beauty.

Frankly, I’m finding a fondness for these little buds. Although big, lush bouquets are still pretty incredible, the dainty displays seem to draw me in more.