*Elisa and I in June, 2024. photo by Marie Machin*

Greetings, farm friends!

I’m sad to share that this will be the penultimate newsletter I write for Two Boots Farm. I am heading to grad school in August, and leaving behind my beloved role as Two Boot Farm manager.

I started working at Two Boots in the fall of 2017, and the farm has changed dramatically in the years since. I feel so fortunate to have spent nearly eight years working alongside Elisa and our phenomenal crew; they have taught me so much about the world and shown me so much kindness, love, and grace over the years. I truly couldn’t have picked a better place to work.

When I started at Two Boots, we grew mostly vegetables. I fit right into the role as a fairly experienced vegetable grower, but I had a lot to learn about flowers. On one of my first days Elisa asked me to weed the peonies on the hill, but not knowing what a peony plant without flowers looked like, I weeded currants instead. Months later, it was time to harvest the very first tulips of the season, and Elisa was out of town for a long weekend. Elisa told me to harvest the tulips with the bulbs attached, but I didn’t realize that the bulbs didn’t need to stay on when the tulips went into water. I delivered those same tulips to Ellen at Local Color Flowers, bulbs attached and in water that was surely muddy. No one ever mentioned this faux pas to me, but I still feel a bit embarrassed by it all these years later!

Over the years, we grew more and more flowers, and I quickly became somewhat obsessed with quality control and knowing as much as I could about when and how to harvest each bloom. I’ve done my best to share this information with of crew, and we’ve learned a lot together through trial and error. Every mistake is a learning experience, and we’ve made many mistakes in our time! Still, we developed a reputation for quality, and a loyal following of florist customers. We’ve weathered many storms together, literal and figurative. 2018 was our flood year, 2020 brought the pandemic, 2024 was unbearably hot and we were unprepared for it, and 2025 gave us the federal funding freeze. Of course, even in years without major disasters or trials, farming is difficult work, and each day brings new conundrums. Through it all, we’ve managed to persist, and continue to get better at this work that we love.

We’re very fortunate to have had many crew members return year after year, and almost everyone who has left has remained in touch. The kindness, care, and respect my coworkers show for one another and for the nature that surrounds us is unparalleled, and it is an extraordinary gift to have witnessed it time and again over the years. And, of course, the Two Boots crew is comprised of some of the weirdest, silliest people I’ve ever met, and they keep me laughing every day. I can’t imagine what life will be like without these wonderful people by my side.

I didn’t set out to write a gushing reflection on my time at Two Boots (I was aiming to do that next week!) but I guess I’ve done it. Before I start sobbing I guess I should let you know what we’ll have at market this weekend!

Sunday Market

We’re back at the Baltimore Farmers’ Market this Sunday, July 20th from 7:00-12:00.

The build your own bouquet bar is around for the summer, enjoy it.

We’ll have some dahlias this weekend!

We’ll also have bouquets and bunches of yarrow, alstroemeria, eucalyptus, rudbeckia, and more!

As always, thank you for reading. I can’t believe how often I’m told people read this newsletter every week! It’s an honor to share our work with you each week.

Wishing you all the best,
Amelia, Elisa, and the Two Boots Crew

Reflections on years well spent

Sunday Market