Earth Day Iris

Earth Day Iris

AmericanGrown blue flowers Blue Iris blue planet Earth Day Iris Sustainability

This Friday is Earth Day 2016—a day allocated for collective appreciation and celebration of this Blue Planet on which we all reside.  

It all began in 1970, when 22 million Americans came together to raise awareness about the importance of clean land, air, and water, which eventually led to the creation of the US Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts.  Now, 193 countries join in celebrating the planet, with the aim to protect and preserve it to the best of our abilities.

Lisa Waud and the Detroit Flower House

 Symbols used for Earth Day typically involve images of trees, flowers, or leaves depicting growth and a healthy environment.  Last year began the trend of using Iris as the Earth Day Flower, a fitting symbol of a Blue Flower for a Blue Planet. 

Recently, this Blue Flower for a Blue Planet concept was beautifully captured by our friend and renowned floral designer, Wil Gonzalez.  His floral installment for the annual Bouquets to Art exhibition in San Francisco featured our Telstar iris, and his commentary on the piece was just as gorgeous as the floral art itself:

 "Cool, wet and inviting, the tranquil, watery blue, the continually changing textures of these slowly maturing blossoms over the pass of the next week allow this flower arrangement to evolve...A flower arrangement reminds us to enjoy this moment in time. It will never look the same again."

Wil Gonzalez's living exhibition

Like this ever-evolving floral arrangement, so grows and changes our Blue Planet (and us along with it).  This is why Sun Valley strives to change and evolve with the Earth, rather than fight against it.  We do this by continually improving and innovating our sustainable farming practices as time goes on.

For example, we sustain our blue planet through recycling and reusing our greenhouse drain water, practicing crop rotation, integrated waste and compost management, and steam-sterilization techniques (an environmentally-friendly way to reuse soil).  We have energy-efficient greenhouses, Snap Fans in our hoop houses (see video below), and we, the people, use bicycles to get from place to place, which is friendly for the land and for our bodies.

All of these practices are guaranteed and verified by Bloom Check, a strict certification program for flower farmers in the United States.  It is through these "best practices" that we can achieve a healthy, symbiotic relationship with the planet that gives us (and you!) its gorgeous flowers. We strive to be as refreshing and pure as the most fitting Earth Day symbol, the Telstar Iris.  This Blue Flower for a Blue Planet shows the beauty that clean air, land, and water can achieve.

It's no small thing, Earth Day.  After all, this blue planet is the setting for our entire existence; and truly, the one thing that all of humanity shares, no matter what our beliefs, location, or history.  Let's celebrate it!

Just Say "No" to Fake Flowers

Just Say "No" to Fake Flowers

AmericanGrown artificial flowers fake flowers Hydrangea Rose Lilies stargazer lilies

"When you see the genuine, you don't deal with the fakes anymore."
                                                                                                   -Nima Davani

Can you tell that these are not artificial?

Cut flowers are dynamic; they bloom, they move, they drink water, they drop petals, and change day by day, and in the case of tulips, hour by hour. I just returned from a vacation, where we stayed at a vacation rental, which was decorated with a bunch of artificial flower arrangements. Coming from a flower farm, it was a little weird right off the bat, since I am used to having fresh flowers in my home all the time.  To my surprise, some of these arrangements were actually very well produced and put together. The flowers looked real and the arrangements were pleasing to the eye.

After being in this house a few days, I started to notice things about these bouquets that started to bother me. First, one was a bouquet with anemone, a classic spring flower, paired with red ilex berries that would be harvested in the fall. It was pretty, but I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with it, until I realized, this bouquet was not only a silk fiction, but a seasonal fiction as well.

Another bouquet was placed squarely in a picture window, right in the blazing sun. It was strange to see “flowers” placed in a bright, harsh light. I literally grabbed the vase to rescue the flowers for certain doom, when the lightweight vase with no water caught me off guard.

Surprised, I said, “Oh, these are fake…”

Then I looked around making sure nobody saw me muttering to myself about the flowers. This would not be the first time I’ve been caught holding vase and talking out loud to the contents.

Fresh cut hydrangea fit nicely in wine glasses.

Over the course of a couple weeks something really odd happened with these fake flowers, which never happens with real flowers. I stopped seeing them, I stopped engaging with them, and I stopped enjoying them, because they lacked the basic life force of true cut flowers.

Real flowers need to get fresh water, they may need to be moved and re-arranged as a blossom falls off or a stem expires. They are constantly changing. One of the joys of fresh flowers is following how they change in the night, for me it is a pure joy to see how flower adjusted while we slept.

Artificial flowers just become clutter in a corner, on a shelf or as a center piece. Doesn’t this defeat the whole purpose of flowers? Real flowers need a little attention, but give back a huge amount of personality, color and cheer.

Stargazers compliment hydrangea, in a recycled cream bottle.

When I got back home from vacation, they first thing I did was run out to my garden and clip some vibrant blue stems of hydrangea and a couple lily stems to place around the house.

I quietly said, “Ahhh, that’s better.”

Only to hear my partner say,

“Honey, are you talking to those hydrangea?”

Start the Tradition, Women's Day 2015

Start the Tradition, Women's Day 2015

#WomensDay AmericanGrown FlowerDay IWD2015

Women’s Day is coming Sunday, March 8^th. Now is a great time to bring a new tradition to your family, and to your community. Women’s Day is all about celebrating women.  Its roots go back over a century as the event was first celebrated in New York City in 1909.

Today, it stands as a great opportunity to honor and respect the woman in our lives. Whether you are a woman or a man; we all have amazing, inspirational women in our lives, and the opportunity to celebrate these woman is a special thing.

This year Women’s Day is on a Sunday, a day which many folks are lucky enough to spend at home; maybe going to church, maybe watching a game, or just playing with the ones we love.

Celebrating Women’s Day with your family is a fun way to give flowers to moms, daughters, grandmothers, baby sitters and close friends. Starting this tradition in your family is a great way to cheer for all the accomplishments that come with being part of a family, but often do not get recognized.

Celebrating Women’s Day in your community includes teachers, day care providers, mentors and all the women that make your community thrive.

Flowers express the intangible. They are so simple in their essence, yet the meaning they carry is very potent.  Women’s Day was first celebrated in the United States, so it is only fitting that you join the celebration with American grown flowers. 

American grown flowers for American women is a wonderful tradition to start in 2015.