There’s something special about the last days of autumn on the farm. The pace slows down, the days get shorter, the greenhouses empty out, and the last flowers disappear with the first frosts. After months of working at a steady pace sowing, planting, harvesting, and doing it all over again week after week, we finally reach the end of another cycle.

And every year, I find it just as beautiful and precious.

For a few years now, I’ve had the chance to share part of this cycle with my eldest son, Roméo, who is now 23. In early spring, somewhere in April, he comes to give me a hand getting the season started. We sow together, plant dahlias in the greenhouse, and slowly prepare the farm to come back to life.

Then, when everything starts growing, he goes off to plant trees in northern Alberta. He spends four months growing forests there while we grow flowers here.

And then at the end of summer he comes back, just in time to catch the farm in its final burst of energy and help me finish the season. We harvest, tidy up, fold, stack, clean, and enjoy the last few beautiful days together putting the farm to sleep before winter.

He helps me start the farm in spring, then close it in autumn. In between, each of us lives out our own season.

I don’t know exactly how to explain how it makes me feel, but there’s something immensely beautiful and truly precious about sharing this with him. Seeing time pass and finding ourselves doing the same gestures year after year. It’s our own way of being together, and I cherish it deeply.

But what do we do in winter?

That’s probably one of the questions we get most often. When the fields are empty and the snow covers the farm, many people imagine that we take it easy until spring. And I understand why! From the outside, everything does seem to come to a standstill. But in reality, a good part of our work continues behind the curtains.

In addition to growing thousands of flowers during the growing season, we’ve developed a whole other side of our business: the distribution of bulbs and flower seeds.

We don’t produce these bulbs and seeds ourselves, but we select them from specialized suppliers to offer you varieties that we particularly love, often the same ones we grow here on the farm.

We choose these varieties carefully, not only for their soft colors and funky appeal but also for their quality. The catch is that they’re often only available from specialized suppliers who sell in very large quantities. Not so convenient when you simply want to fill your little garden with flowers! That’s where we come in. We offer these varieties in small batches, so you can also grow these little wonders without having to order hundreds of bulbs or thousands of seeds.

In spring and summer, we select the varieties, plan the sales, and prepare the online store. In autumn and winter, we receive, pack, organize, and ship hundreds of packages containing the promise of flowers to delight you next season.

So while our gardens sleep, we prepare yours.

It’s much less visible than the work we do in the fields, but it makes us just as enthusiastic. Because deep down, what we love is making the world bloom. 

A bit of a special winter

This year, winter will also have a very special flavor for Floramama.

My partner Raphaël is growing something very special: a little baby in her belly who should show their face around Christmas! A little one that her boyfriend Ian and she are waiting for with love. 

And for the occasion, Rapha’s mothers, Nicole and Laure, will make the trip from France to spend a good while with us. And that almost makes me cry with joy because I love those two so much! They are part of the big Floramama family, and even though we aren’t actually related, Rapha, them, and me are just like family in our hearts.

Since Rapha and I are practically neighbors, they’ll unpack their suitcases at my place for the birth, so the little family can have all the privacy they need to welcome their little pea home. They’ll be there to welcome this little bean, enjoy the first moments together as a family, and give Rapha and Ian a real helping hand, but also to give us a precious helping hand with bagging the seeds! Long live mothers!

So this winter, there will be orders to prepare, packages to ship, a new season to plan, coffees by the fire, and somewhere in the middle of it all, a new baby to welcome into the warmth.

Rest is also part of the cycle

Besides the fact that I can do several jobs within one, I think one of the things I love most about floriculture in Quebec is the way the seasons force us to find a real rhythm. 

In summer, everything moves fast. Flowers don’t wait, the days are packed, and the steady pace must be kept, otherwise it’s a disaster! Then autumn arrives, and slowly, nature forces us to slow down. Besides, I’m always so happy to see this pace change, haha!

We put away the tools, close the greenhouses, and bring in the wood.

I savor this slowdown, this time turned inward, and I like to think that while the farm rests, we continue to sow a little beauty.

And in spring, when Roméo returns for the first sowings, everything will begin again.