The Journey to find the Wonder Flower, Part 1

Yesterday morning, a brilliant flash of orange from our hoop houses made me stop in my tracks. What vivid flower could this be? Why, it's the beautiful Ornithogalum---a mouthful of a name for an extraordinary plant. This elegant flower is native to both South Africa and the Mediterranean, and features a cluster of star-shaped, bell-like flowers gathered at the head of a long, leafless stem. It’s simply beautiful, so there's no surprise why it's been dubbed "the Wonder Flower." How did we get our paws on such an exotic beauty? Well, our man-with-a-plan, Mr. Lane DeVries, made a special journey to Israel specifically to find the varieties that we offer you today.

Ornithogalum dubium: The Wonder Flower

There are not many US companies who offer Ornithogalum, and this is because growing the wondrous thing can pose several challenges--without the right growing environment or variety, its long stems can become tangled or curved, and its cluster of blooms can be sparse and scattered. When Lane made his trip to Israel in 2011, he was looking for the best that Ornithogalum had to offer. He wanted ample, abounding heads of blooms atop longer, straighter stems. He found this with Ben Zur.

Ben Zur, holding a prized Ornithogalum.

For the last 25 years, Ben Zur Nurseries has been working with plant tissue culture, hybridizing varieties to produce stronger, healthier plants as well as first-generation bulbs. Lane had gone to see Ben's latest work with the Ornithogalum, and found "The One"--the brilliant orange Ornithogalum dubium. It was, quite literally, the only one of its kind in the greenhouse. Lane noticed it immediately, not only because it boasted a taller, straighter stem than its sisters, but (most importantly) because its blooms were thickly gathered together at the top. Ben Zur called this outstanding variety AV-13, but with its adoption by Sun Valley, we know it as Royal Valley.

Lane picking AV-13

"The One"

Now that you've heard the tale of Lane's journey across the sea to hand-pick our beautiful star-of-Bethlehem, stay tuned for Part 2 next week, in which we will explore why Ornithogalum is so beloved, what it needs to grow so beautifully, and I will also unveil some sweet photos of all our Ornithogalum varietal colors.