Farm Updates

Spike flowers bring height, direction, and drama to a floral arrangement. Their blooms travel vertically along the stem, creating a strong line that naturally draws the eye through a design.

In floral design, spike flowers are often called line flowers because of the shape they create. They can stand tall and straight, bend into an unexpected curve, or add just enough height to give an arrangement movement and structure.

What Is a Spike Flower?

A spike flower has an upright form, with florets or clusters of blooms arranged vertically along the stem. Some familiar examples include:

• Gladiolus
• Liatris
• Veronica
• Lupine
• Foxglove
• Snapdragons
• Kniphofia
• Larkspur
• Delphinium
• Stock
• Lavender
• Butterfly bush

Each has its own shape and character, but all can be used to establish a clear line within an arrangement.

When to Harvest Spike Flowers

For many spike varieties, a good time to harvest is when roughly the bottom quarter of the florets have opened. This gives the open blooms a chance to make an immediate impact while leaving the upper florets time to continue opening in the vase.

If too many florets are already open, the flower may have a shorter vase life. If too few are open, the stem may not hydrate or continue opening as well, and it may not create the full effect you want in a design. The ideal harvest stage varies by flower and variety, so consider the one-quarter guideline a useful starting point rather than a rule for every stem.

How to Store Spike Flowers

If you are using spike flowers right away, storage may not require much thought. If you are holding them for a wedding or another event, two factors are especially important.

Ethylene sensitivity: Some spike flowers are sensitive to ethylene, a gas produced by many fruits, vegetables, and aging flowers. Exposure can cause petals or florets to drop. Keep sensitive stems away from produce and limit their time in storage whenever possible.

Gravity: Many spike flowers respond to gravity, a tendency known as geotropism or gravitropism. When the stems are placed horizontally, their tips may begin curving upward toward the sky. The result can be a flower that bends, kinks, or even zigzags once it is added to an arrangement.

Prevention is simple. Store spike flowers upright in their containers and keep the stems as straight as possible. Even a noticeable lean can encourage the tip to curve.

Creating a Strong Line in Floral Design

A spike flower creates a clear line, and a straight line can make a bold statement. I once created a bridal bouquet composed almost entirely of line flowers. The result was simple, sculptural, and dramatic.

You can let a single spike lead the eye through an arrangement or group several stems together for a stronger vertical shape. Either way, these flowers are useful when a design needs height, structure, or a sense of direction.

Softening Spike Flowers With Airy Blooms

When I want to soften the line of a spike flower, I pair it with something light and airy. Filler flowers such as feverfew or cosmos add movement around the stronger vertical shape.

The spike remains visible, but the smaller blooms break up its outline and create a less dramatic, more garden-inspired feeling. This contrast between structure and softness can make an arrangement feel loose and natural without losing its overall shape.

Letting Curves and Kinks Inspire the Design

Although upright storage helps prevent unwanted curves, I also love when a spike flower has gone a little geotropic and gives me a kink or wave to work with. An unexpected bend can bring energy and personality to an arrangement.

At the end of the day, spike flowers do not have to be perfectly straight or used according to a single formula. Let their lines guide you, pair them with softer flowers when the design calls for it, and enjoy the creative possibilities each stem offers.

The week of the Fourth of July 2026 was a scorcher. The heat and humidity were at an all-time high, but we had a parade float to build from scratch.

Laura, Molly, and I put together a found-materials float using odds and ends from around the farm. With a little creativity and plenty of duct tape, we transformed everyday items into something festive enough for the streets of Wellfleet.

Building a Float From Found Materials

We started with old black flower buckets, the ample supply of cardboard boxes found around the property, random pieces of PVC pipe, and leftover paint. From that collection, we created large, cone-shaped flowers to decorate the float.

For the petals, we cut up cardboard and painted each piece with old paint samples I had saved while choosing wall colors for my home. Then we used duct tape, a farmer’s best friend, to attach the petals to the buckets.

Turning Farm Finds Into Flowers and Fireworks

Next, we gathered sturdy weeds from around the property, including dock stems and allium seed heads. The allium seed heads already looked like tiny fireworks, so they were the perfect addition. We brightened them up with spray paint and incorporated them into the display.

What began as a pile of buckets, boxes, weeds, pipe, and paint slowly became a playful floral float. It was resourceful, a little improvised, and very much at home on the farm.

Parade Day in Downtown Wellfleet

On parade day, our friends joined us on the float. A group of children under six was put in charge of throwing parade candy, which naturally meant we were out by the time we reached Preservation Hall in the center of town.

Luckily, the float looked beautiful, and our trusty John Deere tractor helped make us enough of a spectacle. I could not believe the crush of people lining the route as we passed Winslow’s Tavern and Town Hall. It was amazing to see so many people out celebrating together.

We kept everyone on the float refreshed with juice boxes, water, and lollipops. The team and I had such a great time taking part in this Wellfleet tradition, and we are already looking forward to doing it again at next year’s parade.

July brings a new sense of abundance to our Wellfleet flower farm. With long days, warm sun, and beds full of movement, the garden settles into the rhythm of midsummer on the Outer Cape.

Tall spires rise above the rows, bright flowers turn toward the sun, and airy stems soften the spaces between them. In July, we harvested foxglove, sunflowers, yarrow, dianthus, verbena, echinacea, zinnias, chocolate lace flower, snapdragons, veronica, rudbeckia, and cosmos.

Together, these flowers gave us an expressive midsummer palette filled with color, texture, and the loose, garden-gathered feeling we love.

Tall Flowers With Grace and Movement

Foxglove brought height and a sense of romance to the field. Its bell-shaped flowers climb tall stems, creating a dramatic line that still feels natural and at home in the garden.

Snapdragons offered their own strong vertical shape, with densely flowered spires that added both color and structure. Veronica echoed that upward movement on a more delicate scale, bringing slender accents that could be tucked between fuller blooms.

Verbena added lightness. Its small flower clusters seem to float above fine stems, creating space and movement. Together, these ingredients helped July designs feel abundant yet relaxed.

The Warm Colors of Midsummer

Sunflowers are a natural expression of July. Their open faces, bold centers, and warm petals bring an immediate sense of brightness to the field and to the arrangements they enter.

Rudbeckia offered another version of that summer warmth. Its golden petals and dark centers added depth and contrast, especially alongside sculptural echinacea. Both flowers feel connected to meadows and sunny summer borders.

Yarrow helped carry those warm tones through a design. Its flat flower clusters provided a quiet counterpoint to the rounded centers and radiating petals around them.

Color, Detail, and Airy Texture

Zinnias brought joyful color and an incredible variety of forms to the July harvest. Their layers of petals and sturdy stems made them a versatile choice for bouquets, centerpieces, and event flowers.

Dianthus contributed smaller, ruffled blooms and intricate detail. Chocolate lace flower added delicate umbels in deep, earthy shades, introducing an elegant contrast to brighter flowers. Its fine structure gave arrangements a lacy quality while its color made the surrounding palette feel richer.

Cosmos brought softness to the mix. Their fine foliage, slender stems, and open flowers move easily in the breeze and keep a colorful design feeling light.

Designing With What July Provides

One of the pleasures of seasonal floral design is discovering how different flowers come into conversation with one another. Bold sunflowers and zinnias can be softened by cosmos and verbena. Foxglove and snapdragons create height, while yarrow and chocolate lace flower build layers through the middle of an arrangement.

Each combination is guided by what is thriving in the field, so every bouquet and centerpiece reflects a real moment in the Wellfleet growing season.

For Cape Cod weddings and special events, July flowers can feel bright, romantic, wild, elegant, or playfully unexpected. The beauty lies in allowing the season to lead.

A July Harvest From Wellfleet

By July, the farm is alive with color and motion. From the soaring stems of foxglove to the delicate petals of cosmos, the month gave us flowers with both strength and softness. It was a generous harvest, grown here in Wellfleet and arranged with a sense of place.

If you are planning a Cape Cod wedding or special celebration and would like locally grown, seasonal flowers, we would love to hear what you are envisioning. Get in touch with Sea & Soil Botanical Design to learn more about flowers grown and arranged here in Wellfleet.

June is a turning point at our Wellfleet flower farm. Spring still lingers on the Outer Cape, but the longer days invite the garden into a fuller, more abundant season. Beds that were green just weeks earlier begin to offer layer after layer of color, shape, fragrance, and movement.

This June, we harvested an especially beautiful mix of lush focal flowers, tall spires, delicate filler blooms, fragrant stems, and textural greens. Each variety brought something different to the field and to the arrangements we created from it.

The Lush, Romantic Flowers of Early Summer

Peonies are among June’s most anticipated blooms. Their generous petals and soft, gathered shapes make even a simple bouquet feel abundant. Because their season is brief, every peony harvest feels worth celebrating.

Snapdragons added height and movement, with flower-covered spires that gave arrangements a natural sense of rhythm. Campanula brought clusters of bell-shaped blooms and a gentler form, while dianthus contributed compact, ruffled flowers with delicate detail.

Together, these blooms captured one of our favorite things about June. The season can feel fresh and light while also offering the fullness people love in wedding and event flowers.

Texture From the Field

Some of the most important ingredients in an arrangement are not always the largest. Cress, bupleurum, and yarrow brought structure and texture throughout the month. The branching stems of cress added an airy, garden-gathered quality. Bupleurum offered fresh green movement, and yarrow’s flat-topped flower clusters created a beautiful contrast to rounder blooms.

Feverfew dotted bouquets with small, daisy-like flowers, bringing brightness without overwhelming the composition. Veronica added slender spires that led the eye through an arrangement and kept each design feeling loose and alive.

These supporting flowers help create the layered, meadow-inspired style that makes seasonal floral design feel connected to the landscape.

Warmth, Fragrance, and the First Hints of Summer

Calendula and sunflowers brought warmth to the June palette. Their open faces felt cheerful and generous, a perfect match for the brighter days arriving on Cape Cod.

Lavender added both color and fragrance. It is one of those flowers that changes the experience of an arrangement before you even notice every detail. A few stems can bring a calm, familiar scent and a graceful vertical line.

Echinacea also came into bloom, with prominent centers and radiating petals that feel right at home in a natural, garden-inspired design. Along with sunflowers, it offered a preview of the stronger shapes and textures that carry the farm into summer.

Why June Flowers Feel So Special

June holds two seasons at once. Peonies bring the romance of late spring, while sunflowers and echinacea point toward summer. Snapdragons, campanula, feverfew, veronica, calendula, cress, bupleurum, yarrow, dianthus, and lavender fill the space between them, creating combinations that are varied, expressive, and entirely of the moment.

Growing and designing with what is blooming nearby means letting the season guide the work. The result is not just a list of flowers. It is a portrait of the farm at a particular point in the year, shaped by Wellfleet’s coastal climate and the natural character of each stem.

For weddings, special events, and everyday arrangements, June offers so much to work with. The flowers can be romantic, playful, airy, fragrant, or bold, often all in the same design.

A Month in Bloom

We love watching the farm change week by week, and June gave us plenty to appreciate. From the ruffled abundance of peonies to the sculptural centers of echinacea, every harvest reflected the shift from spring into summer on the Outer Cape.

If you are planning a Cape Cod wedding or special celebration and would like locally grown, seasonal flowers, we would love to hear what you are envisioning. Get in touch with Sea & Soil Botanical Design to learn more about flowers grown and arranged here in Wellfleet.