Growing Together ·

A Michigan Dahlia Farm Trip to Harvest Thyme Farm

A morning in the dahlia fields at Harvest Thyme Farm in Cheboygan, Michigan, a foliage stop at Old Mission Flowers in Traverse City, and the arrangements I made from a bucket of blooms.

A lush arrangement of peach, coral, cream and deep burgundy dahlias with trailing sweet pea vines, raspberry stems and mint in a fluted pewter vase on a carved wooden table, against weathered gray barn boards

Erin and flower farmer Greta Jankoviak smiling side by side in rows of blooming dahlias at Harvest Thyme Farm

Last week I got to have the dreamiest morning at Harvest Thyme Farm in Cheboygan, Michigan, chatting with flower farmer Greta Jankoviak. She grows a ton of flowers, vegetables and pumpkins, and in the fall they have a magical u-pick for dahlias. It was nuts!

I had wanted to go since we were making a Michigan trip, and I had purchased some dahlia tubers from Greta this past spring for my own garden. They’re delightful, and I highly recommend them.

Screenshot of Erin’s Instagram reel titled “My husband came with me to a dahlia u-pick,” showing her husband in a red T-shirt and ball cap in the dahlia field, holding his phone and gesturing, surrounded by orange, coral, pink and cream dahlias. Tap to watch the reel on Instagram.

My husband came with me and lost his mind in the dahlia patch. I thought he’d get bored, but it was so pretty I had to pull him out of there! You can see his reaction (and the pretty pictures he took) on Instagram.

I picked a literal bucketful of dahlias, we stowed them securely in the back seat of our car, and we headed south.

Erin smiling in the passenger seat of the car, holding an armful of Jewels of Opar with tiny red berries, raspberry stems and flowering mint

Next we stopped at Old Mission Flowers in Traverse City, and I got a ton of foliage. This is one of my favorite flower farms. The view of Lake Michigan is gorgeous, and Ginny’s flowers are a treat.

We had about 60 dahlias and just as much foliage, so I made a couple of arrangements, and my stepmother and I made about 7 small ones we scattered around the house.

The Main Arrangement

I was inspired by the peachy Labyrinth blooms (the ones with the more pointed petals) and the orangey ball varieties, with a pop of deep burgundy, for my largest proper arrangement (the one at the top of this post). I used:

  • Dahlias: Labyrinth, Linda’s Baby, Jowey Winnie, Jowey Paula, Valley Tawny, Black Satin, Senior’s Hope, Creamy
  • Foliage: Sweet Peas, Raspberries, Mint
  • Vessel: thrifted
  • Mechanics: pin frog and a Holly Chapple pillow (does that mean I brought all that with me? We drove, so yes I did!)

A Purple and Pink Bouquet

A close-up of Erin holding a hand-tied bouquet of purple, lavender and raspberry-pink dahlias with white sweet peas, pink stonecrop, Queen Anne’s lace seed heads and sprays of tiny red Jewels of Opar berries

I had a lot of leftover purples and pinks, so I made a bouquet and got to pull out some of the foliage I didn’t use in my main arrangement, which was fun.

  • Dahlias: Takeoff, Jowey Winnie, Creme de Cassis
  • Foliage: Jewels of Opar (obsessed), Chocolate Lace Flower seed pods, Sweet Peas, Stonecrop (Sedum)

One Last Bouquet

Erin smiling with a long red braid, holding a loose hand-tied bouquet of white, peach and pink ball dahlias, magenta dahlias, sweet pea vines, raspberries and stonecrop against a dark wood wall

Five days later, my dad and stepmom were going to visit friends, and I wanted to put something together for them to take. Most of the flowers were on their last legs (the fact that the dahlias lasted that long is actually pretty amazing!), but a few were still going strong. So I stripped down all of the arrangements, and these flowers were what was left that looked good. I put them together in a hand-tied bouquet, popped it into a vase, and off it went.

  • Dahlias: Takeoff, Jowey Winnie, Linda’s Baby
  • Foliage and flowers: TONS of Sweet Pea vines and Raspberries, Jewels of Opar, Stonecrop (Sedum), Mint, Chocolate Lace Flower seed pods

Fun price breakdown: the dahlias cost $65 and the foliage was $25, so $90 for all this fun and excitement.

Flowers just make me so happy. I loved getting to see rows of them, pick the ones that inspired me, build multiple arrangements myself, do more with my family, and then create something to brighten someone else’s day. Worth it!

Thanks for walking through my happy Michigan flower time. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!

Love, Erin (handwritten signature with a heart)