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Ep. 71: End-of-Season Reflection: Thinning the Weeds and Making Space to Flourish Next Year
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The first frost often marks the end of the flower growing season, and it’s the perfect time to pause and reflect. In this short solo episode, Jennifer invites flower farmers and gardeners to slow down and look back on the year with honesty and gratitude. She shares how to “thin the weeds” in both the garden and in life so you can focus on what truly thrives.
Learn how to rest your garden, reset your mindset, and prepare for a new season of growth. Whether you grow flowers for profit or for joy, this gentle conversation will remind you that every ending creates space for new beginnings and that letting go is part of flourishing.
✨ In this episode:
- Practical ways to reflect after the first frost
- What to release in your garden or business before winter
- How to plan now for a thriving, more intentional next season
Read: Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown
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Connect with Jennifer | The Flowering Farmhouse
- Podcast Website: thefloweringfarmhouse.com/the-backyard-bouquet-podcast/
- Instagram @thefloweringfarmhouse
- Instagram @thebackyardbouquetpodcast
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Transcript
Seasonal Reflection and Gardening
00:00:01
Jennifer Gulizia
Hey, flower friends, and welcome back to another episode of the Backyard Bouquet podcast. Today, i wanted to hop on here and just share a short reflection with you today.
00:00:12
Jennifer Gulizia
This is going to be a little bit different than our normal interview style episodes. with the season coming to an end for those of us in the Northern hemisphere, i just thought this was a great opportunity to pause and to really reflect on the season.
00:00:28
Jennifer Gulizia
We had our first light frost at the farm this week, and it wasn't the kind that freezes everything solid. and I'm so used to, it gets so cold here normally when we have our frost that everything is covered in ice crystals and it takes my breath away.
00:00:44
Jennifer Gulizia
But this year we had a really light frost, but it was enough to damage the blooms and remind me that the season is changing. Our leaves are burnt. The flowers are beyond the point that I want to sell them. so It's an opportunity for us to slow down, to regroup, refocus, and to start putting the garden to bed for this season.
Personal and Garden Rest Needs
00:01:05
Jennifer Gulizia
And as the garden starts to quiet down, I'm really feeling it myself this year too. i truly am tired this year. I don't know about you, but my body is exhausted. In the middle of the summer, I can easily hop out of bed and get going at four o'clock in the morning. And now I don't have a snooze. I don't even have an alarm clock, but I just find myself a little bit more tired in the morning, needing one more cup of coffee to get going. And maybe it's because it stays dark so much longer in the morning.
00:01:37
Jennifer Gulizia
I don't know, but I definitely know that my body is craving that rest and I know my garden is too, but at the same time, oh my gosh, the colors this fall in the Pacific Northwest are absolutely incredible.
00:01:51
Jennifer Gulizia
Every time I show up at our farm, we don't live on site at our farm yet. The fall foliage this year is absolutely incredible. It takes my breath away, but I also noticed the leaves are falling really quickly and there's that chill in the air where I'm okay not getting to the farm super early in the morning because it's so cold outside and the days are definitely getting a lot shorter.
Mixed Emotions on Season's End
00:02:17
Jennifer Gulizia
And I can feel that the plants are tired and ready to be put away for their winter's slumber. And, you know, it's always, it's always so bittersweet this time of year. Part of me hates to see the season end. And at the other time, at the same time, because my body is so tired, I'm i'm almost relieved. I don't know about you, but there's a sense of relief when that frost comes and it's like, okay, the hustle can stop.
00:02:43
Jennifer Gulizia
It's time to slow down. It's time to reflect. It's amazing how just that one single moment can literally flip the switch and change from that hustle to slowing down and really thinking about what's next and prepping, prepping for spring, prepping for that winter slumber.
00:03:06
Jennifer Gulizia
there's There's still so much that happens this time of year. i remember in my early days, people would say to me, well, you've had a frost. So now you're done for the season, right? And In one ways, yes, the flowers were done harvesting, but it feels like there's so much to do, so much to prepare to make sure the garden is properly tucked in and ready to thrive next year. The one thing that i love about this time of year is that we have the opportunity to reflect and to look back on the season.
Garden and Life Metaphors
00:03:37
Jennifer Gulizia
I mean, I cannot believe it's the middle of October. 2026 is two and a half months away. and this is the time of year where I really like to walk my rows and notice which plants survived, not only survived, but thrived this year for me. Like what did really well.
00:03:57
Jennifer Gulizia
And also what brought me joy this year and what plants did I not enjoy? I hadn't grown scabiosa for a few years and I think I remember why. I do not like to harvest scabiosa.
00:04:09
Jennifer Gulizia
I don't like to harvest cosmos. I only grew a few cosmos and I actually really loved them and wished I had more this year. So cosmos, I'm going to add a few more of those next year. The scabiosa, I'm not sure if I'll grow those again or not next year. I might take a break from them.
00:04:25
Jennifer Gulizia
And then of course the dahlias, they pumped out. But then even in the dahlias, there's certain varieties when you look at them that just didn't perform as well as other varieties and I need to make those decisions of which plants are going to stay and which ones are going to go.
00:04:40
Jennifer Gulizia
And what I love is this is the time of year for reflection. So the garden serves as such a great metaphor for life too. I mean, when you're reflecting, it doesn't just have to be what flowers are you not going to grow next year? or What flowers are you going to grow? But what parts of your business are going to stay or what parts of your business are going to change? Did you have a really great CSA and you want to expand it or did you really not like doing wholesale and you're going to eliminate the wholesale, this is the perfect time of year when everything is fresh in your mind to really think about those.
00:05:13
Jennifer Gulizia
I know for me, i look at the analogy that if I put too much in my garden and cram everything together, nothing can really survive and thrive and grow well.
00:05:25
Jennifer Gulizia
But when I start to thin things out and give things space and room to grow, that's when they can really flourish. So I'm really looking at my life that same way. What what things can I let go of to make room for other things to grow?
00:05:40
Jennifer Gulizia
What I like to remind myself is that thinning isn't failure, it's wisdom. You are creating space for those strongest roots to take hold, whether that's thinning things out, commitments in your life, or it is thinning out actual flowers to make more room for things to get bigger and fuller.
00:05:59
Jennifer Gulizia
As I'm cleaning up our garden, I'm reading the book Essentialism, The Disciplined Pursuit of
Essentialism and Joy Evaluation
00:06:04
Jennifer Gulizia
Less. This book was recently recommended to me and a mastermind that I'm part of, and it's written by Greg McKeon. I hope I'm saying his name correctly.
00:06:15
Jennifer Gulizia
And he says that for him, everything is either a hell yes or a hell no. And so he looks at life as, does this bring me joy? Does this serve me? Does this help my business? And if it's a strong yes, then that stays. And if he can't give it that firm yes,
00:06:35
Jennifer Gulizia
It's a no, and it's time to clear it out to make room for other things. And that's how I'm trying to treat my garden right now. Did this bring me joy? Did this bring profit? Was this profitable or did it suck my time? Did I spend more time harvesting or deadheading and trying to stake it than it did being able to cut and create a profit from this?
00:06:57
Jennifer Gulizia
We can't grow everything and we can't please everyone. So what are the things that are going to move your business forward? and light you up and bring you joy. Those are the things that I'm going to say next yes to next year. And I really encourage you to do the same.
00:07:14
Jennifer Gulizia
encourage you to walk, not just your garden, but your garden of life. What are those commitments that you're saying yes to right now that are maybe keeping you from being able to grow your business or do that thing that you really want to do?
00:07:29
Jennifer Gulizia
And also what's thriving and deserves more attention. Did your dahlias do really well this year and you want to create more space for them in your garden? Did creating CSA bouquets light you up and bring you so much joy as you deliver them to your customers and you want to expand your garden space so that you can deliver more CSA bouquets next year?
00:07:49
Jennifer Gulizia
What are the things that are breeding you joy and what are the things that are taking up space that are those weeds and no longer bringing you joy? What I love about being a flower farmer and a gardener is that every season gives us the gift of beginning again.
00:08:06
Jennifer Gulizia
And we get to decide what we're going to plant next, what we'll release, and how we're going to make room for what matters most. So I really challenge you to really think about this as you're putting your garden to bed for rest for the winter.
00:08:21
Jennifer Gulizia
What do you want to say yes to? What is no longer serving you that you can pull from your garden or from your product offerings or from your sales outlets so that you can really focus on those things that light you up?
Reflection and Growth Focus
00:08:35
Jennifer Gulizia
Mary Oliver said, tell me what is it that you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? And that really hit me. We may have a new garden every year, but we have one life.
00:08:48
Jennifer Gulizia
and that life goes so quickly and what are you going to do with that one wild and precious life so we're heading into the weekend right now if you're listening to this as this first comes out and i encourage you just to reflect spend some time walking in your garden looking through those pictures from this year what brought you joy and take some time whether you journal you walk you take photos or you simply notice just remember It's okay not to grow it all or to do it all.
00:09:19
Jennifer Gulizia
Find what lights you up, what brings you joy. And it's okay, give yourself permission to thin out those weeds. Sometimes the bravest thing we can do is make space for what's meant to bloom.
Engagement and New Beginnings
00:09:32
Jennifer Gulizia
All right, if this reflection today has resonated with you, i would love to hear from you. Please hop on over and visit me at thefloweringfarmhouse on Instagram. You could send me a DM and let me know what are you gonna release for next year or what are you ready to go all in on?
00:09:47
Jennifer Gulizia
What are those weeds that you're going to thin out or what are those seeds that you're going to plant more of next year? i hope this has encouraged you to really use this time, the end of the year, to reflect on what you're going to grow to bring yourself joy, to move your business forward, and what you're going to give yourself permission to release.
00:10:07
Jennifer Gulizia
All right. Thank you for spending a few moments with me today. Here's to gentle endings, intentional beginnings, and the courage to keep blooming.