<![CDATA[Lilies and lavender]]>http://www.liliesandlavender.comen-ushttp://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rssCopyright 2012Lilies and lavender<![CDATA[Presentatation ]]>Recently I gave a presentation at the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers National conference in Reston Virginia.  I've published it on the web at this link:http://public.iwork.com/document/?d=ASCFG_presentation_2011_final_copy.key&a=p1304353472

 

]]>Tue, 24 Jan 2012 08:47:45 -0600<![CDATA[summer flowers]]>
 ]]>Fri, 15 Jul 2011 14:48:15 -0500<![CDATA[Hydrangea]]>
Hydrangea, especially Paniculata and Arborescens varieties are reliable and easy to grow in Bucks county.  I've been very happy with Hydrangea Paniculata Grandiflora and Hydrangea Arborescens Annabelle.  But now some new kids on the block with their showy blooms and stronger stems have pushed aside these old, reliable standards.  I absolutely love hydrangea limelight.  My pee gees are nice but the Limelights are better in almost every respect, the color, a pale lime green is spectacular, the blooms are bigger and the stems are strong enough to keep the flowers out of the mud when it rains.   Another new, stronger  Paniculata is Quick Fire.  This one blooms a month before the others and in my garden is ready to cut now.    Hydrangea Annabelle has also been improved upon with two new hybrids that I've fallen in love with.  Hydrangea Invincibelle Spirit is the first pink Annabelle Hydrangea.  What a beauty she is too.  The flowers are a lovely shade of rosy pink which just melts my heart when I look at them.  Hydrangea Incrediball really is an incredible plant. It's an Annabelle  on steroids!   The flowers are 12" inches across and produce flowers all summer on thick strong stems that don't break. All these large flowers  will be great for chuppahs, wedding arches and other, showy arrangements.
I've also invested in two  new hydrangea macrophylla  varieties.  Let's dance starlight and Let's dance moonlight.  These pink varieties bloom reliably every year on new and old wood which means I don't have to worry about losing the blooms to a late frost or an intern with an over zealous urge to prune every shrub in sight.  ( It has happened ).  I cut the first few blooms this morning.  Just five flowers made a perfect bridal bouquet.  Macrophylla Hydrangea don't grow as quickly as the Paniculata or Arborescens Hydrangeas so I will have to be patient and wait a few years before I get armloads of flowers.  In the meantime I have some very pretty Niko Blue Hydrangeas which will be ready to cut next week.  BTW, deer will eat hydrangea if they're hungry enough.  I found out the hard way last week.  Lucky for me I planted most of my hydrangea inside the deer fence.  
Dahlias will be blooming soon but that's another story.
Visit me this Saturday  at  Doylestown or Rittenhouse square farmers' market to take home some of these beautiful, new  varieties of Hydrangea flowers.
 ]]>Thu, 23 Jun 2011 21:59:00 -0500<![CDATA[Interns needed]]>Lilies and Lavender is looking for interns for the 2011 season.   Anyone interested in spending the summer learning how to grow cut flowers please contact me.  No experience is necessary just a good attitude, curiosity about flower farming and a willingness to work hard in all kinds of weather.  Interns must be able to work a minimum of 20 hours a week including either Sat. or Sun.  and be able to commit to the entire season through the end of Oct.   Duties will include planting, watering, weeding, harvesting, bouquet making and preparing for and selling at weekend farmers' markets. This job includes lots of bending, stooping and lifting.  Interns must be physically fit and have no back or knee problems.

If you are interested in applying please contact kate by email.

Kate@liliesandlavender.com

]]>Sun, 05 Jun 2011 08:37:06 -0500<![CDATA[Ranunculus and Delphinium]]>I know I'm fickle, but ranunculus is my  new favorite flower.  It's hard not to fall in love with a flower that comes in so many beautiful colors from pastel pink and creamy yellow to bright red and deep purple there are even picotee ranunculus in white and pink with pink or red tips.  Their soft romantic shape and beautiful colors make them a perfect wedding flower.  
I planted 800 tubers in my cold frame last fall, and put hoops and row cover over them for extra protection. When the temps dipped below 5 degrees for a solid week last January I thought they were gonners.  No problemo, the leaves stayed nice and green, waving happily at me when I checked on them.  I did have some problems with voles but they were a mere appetizer,  apparently not nearly as tasty as the tulips.  I've been cutting about 600 stems a week for the last two weeks.  This week I'll have another 600 or so.  They don't show any signs of stopping so I'll probably have them for another two or three weeks.  Just in time for my June weddings.

Another flower on my favorites list is Delphinium.  I'm growing two new tall varieties which really wowed me last season, Guardian and Aurora.  The older varieties of delphinium hate the hot humid Bucks County summers but these varieties kept blooming till Sept.  They are just beginning to bloom now in beautiful shades of blue, pink and lavender.  

This week I will not be at the Rittenhouse farmers' market.  This weekend is the Rittenhouse row spring festival.  The farmers' market is scheduled and most of the produce vendors will be there.  I've decided that the logistics of setting up, parking and breaking down are not worth the amount of business I'm likely to get.  From past experience I know that most people attending a street fair do not want to buy flowers and carry them around all day.  I will be at the Doylestown farmers' market this Sat. and will return to Rittenhouse next Sat. June 4.

]]>Tue, 17 May 2011 12:51:47 -0500<![CDATA[Easter]]>Yesterday the interns and I had great fun spreading rabbit manure on the shrubs.  What a treat, for the hydrangea, not the humans. We pinched our noses and imagined the gorgeous blue, pink, green and white flowers which will be our reward this summer. Rabbit manure is a great fertilizer, despite the smell,  and I'm very lucky to have two free, local sources.  If anybody knows where I can get some spent hops from a brewery please contact me.  I can pick it up.

 I'm eager to get started tilling and preparing beds for all the wonderful annuals that will be blooming this summer but all this rain is keeping me out of the fields.  Working soil that is too wet, especially the clay I have,  causes the soil to lose its structure. The soil will pack tightly, leaving less room for water and  air to penetrate. This compression forms tight clumps of soil that become clay bricks  when dry and is very  difficult to remedy . This is called compacted soil. I  try to avoid compacting the soil as compacted soil is very difficult to work.  Roots find it hard to penetrate as do gardening tools and equipment. Water absorption is greatly reduced so compacted areas will easily become a wet hole in subsequent seasons making for an even later tilling date.

To remedy this situation I will be  tilling in large amounts of compost  and planting cover crops.  This will help break up any compacted layers of soil. A crop with a long taproot such as sweet clover is  best. Of course the best plan of action is to avoid tilling until the ground is dry enough to work.  Waiting is difficult, especially after such a miserable winter, but it will pay off in the long run with beautiful, workable soil.

 ]]>Tue, 19 Apr 2011 14:55:42 -0500<![CDATA[Daffodils ]]>Those daffy daffodils have finally decided to bloom.  I picked 500 yesterday evening.  Over the next two to three weeks I should have about 8,000 more.  when I moved to this property 15 years ago there was one long row of struggling daffodils along the front of the property.  I dug up as many as I could and transplanted them by hand to eight rows behind the house .  I don't know exactly how long it took but I do remember hoping they would bloom the next season.  Boy howdy!  I haven't purchased any daffodil bulbs since then and they have multiplied at least ten fold.  Daffodils are my first crop to bloom en masse in the spring and I'm always excited when I see the first hint of sunny yellow showing and I can begin picking.  When the weather gets warm they all open at once and I put away my to do list for the day and just harvest daffodils.  Harvesting flowers is one of my favorite tasks. It's floral meditation.   I'm only harvesting daffodils, not running around delivering or picking up supplies, or packing the van, just harvesting.  Three or four hours go by and I don't notice my knees hurt until I reach the end of the last row and start walking back to the processing area with my buckets.  One of these days I need to order some knee pads.  Back to reality and my 56 year old knees!  Actually, my knees are still serving me quite well, they only complain after three or four hours of abuse.   People have asked me what my favorite flower is.  I never have the same answer.  Today it's those beautiful daffodils calling me outside with their bright, sunny petals.  They always make me smile.  
 ]]>Fri, 08 Apr 2011 06:28:55 -0500<![CDATA[Winter again?]]>Apologies to all my customers at the Rittenhouse Square farmers' market.  I know I promised to be in attendance three weeks ago.  I really want to be there but apparently my flowers don't.  They prefer warmer temperatures and are refusing to behave.  Last year I had over 1,000 daffodils on March 25.  This year, maybe 50.  The forsythia, quince, muscari and delphinium are being equally stubborn.  The tulips aren't even showing buds yet.  Oy, what's a girl to do !  They will bloom, eventually.  I hope to be at the market with a van full of beautiful flowers next Sat. but no promises, because today it's snowing!  My boss is the weather.  Sometimes she's a great boss and sometimes, #@?!
Last week I used all the  flowers that were blooming for a baby shower.  I'm very happy that  I decided to grow some bulbs in crates and also had a few anemones and hellebore left .  Forsythia can be forced easily and Pieris Japonica is blooming it's fool head off.  I can't cut any more from the Pieris or I won't have any shrubs left.  I love the way the hang down over the edge of a container like little pearls.  
Yesterday another grower friend of mine and I made 19 arrangements for the  Bucks County chapter of the Fox Chase Cancer center.  We had to buy most of the flowers.  Oh my, the snow is actually sticking now and coming down like big balls of cotton.  Back to the flowers, we had lots of fun selecting pink flowers from the wholesaler and then mixing them with greens, pieris, and quince to make some lovely arrangements that looked like an early spring garden. 
I love going to the local auction in the winter.  There's always cool stuff for flower arrangements including these blue vases, perfect for a baby boy shower.Iris, tulips and forsythia in blue vaseIris, tulips and pieris in a crystal bowl

]]>Fri, 01 Apr 2011 09:08:18 -0500<![CDATA[Funding from the USDA?]]>Yesterday  it was 65 degrees and this morning we had snow. Welcome to spring.    I've already moved lots of plants from the nice warm greenhouse into the cold frame.  I was afraid they would be frozen this morning but they're doing just fine.  I need more space in the greenhouse to start seeds so I hope it gets warmer soon.  The scented geraniums are taking up too much room but can't be moved until it's 38 degrees every night.  This happens every year, too many plants, too little space.   I have another greenhouse with heat but I've already spent so much money on propane that I don't want to turn the heater on unless I absolutely have to.  
The daffodils are almost ready to bloom,  maybe a few tomorrow and definitely by next week.  The voles and I are slugging it out to see who gets the tulips.  At the moment I think I'm winning.  I haven't seen any new damage since I put out the poison a few weeks ago.  I think the voles won the first round and ate about 1/3 of the tulips before I realized what was going on.  Hopefully I won't have to use any more poison.  Ah the peaceful life of a flower farmer. There aren't many dull moments, especially in spring.

]]>Mon, 21 Mar 2011 22:03:32 -0500<![CDATA[Get The Most Out Of Your Flowers Mar 16, 2011 by Local Color Flowers]]>Ellen Frost from Local Color Flowers in MD wrote this and I like the idea so much I'm reprinting it here.
Tags: , , , ,  | 1 Comment

The wedding reception is coming to an end. The lights are coming on. Your guests are beginning to leave. 
The tables have been cleared…except for the centerpieces. Ah…the centerpieces. What to do with centerpieces? Having the catering or venue staff throw them away (which happens ALL THE TIME) is not a great GREEN option. Greening your wedding should be all about Reducing, Reusing and Recycling. Here are some ideas about what to do with your wedding flowers and centerpieces when the wedding is over.

Share Them: You can always encourage guests to take the flowers home with them. This is a nice way to have the flowers do “double duty.” It’s also always nice to give flowers to people — since they make people so HAPPY! One thing to think about is whether you want your guests to take glassware or just the flowers. Lots of times, glassware is rented from the florist. In this case, tell the catering or venue staff or your wedding planner that people should be encouraged to take the flowers but leave the vase.

Donate Them: Last year, we had several socially conscious couples donate their flowers/centerpieces. The first couple was Josh and Annie. Their unique (awesome!) centerpieces were made out of locally grown fruits and veggies displayed in an eclectic mix of bowls, plates and cake platters. This was one of my fave weddings of the season, both because the centerpieces looked amazing, but also because the couple made arrangements with the Capital Area Food Bank to pick up the over 300 pounds of produce at the end of the night and donate it to needy individuals and families.

Compost Them: You can always compost your flowers! What a great way to give back to the earth. The easiest way to compost your flowers is to ask your florist or caterer to compost them for you. If they don’t compost, you can hire a commercial composting company to come to the reception site, pick up the flowers and compost them. There are a million good reasons to compost (but that’s a whole other post!). For now, let’s just say it’s great for the earth and totally worth the effort.

Local Color Flowers is a Baltimore-based floral design business. We create personalized arrangements and bouquets
from fresh, seasonal, and sustainable flowers cultivated by local specialty growers. We are committed to responsible use of resources, supporting the local economy and promoting neighboring farms. We provide our clients an environmentally and socially conscience alternative when purchasing flowers.

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1 Comment

  1. Weddzilla Blog Editor
    March 16, 2011

    Excellent advice, Ellen! We made a game out of giving our centerpieces away to guests, inviting them to each complete a word puzzle for a chance to win their table’s centerpiece. Composting and donating are wonderful options, as well.

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