Lily's Boots: Willow Creek Part 2 - A Rosehip by any other name...

Lily's Boots: Willow Creek Part 2 - A Rosehip by any other name...

Bigfoot CA Grown Flower farm Lane DeVries Rose Rosehips Sending flowers Snowberries Sun Valley



I first mentioned my trip to Willow Creek with Lane a couple months ago, when I talked about giant Cotinus (which is coming in strong right now). Today I'm ready to move on to another Willow Creek crop - Rosehips, not to be mistaken for roses (the flowers). Rosehips are the fruit produced by rose bushes - lovely berries that change colors throughout the season. The Rosehip experience proved to be another eye-opening part of my day in Willow Creek. Let me start by saying - and this will sound pretty naive - I didn't know that Rosehips came from rose bushes. Okay, laugh all you want. I'm trying to be honest here. So imagine my surprise when I first encountered that wonderful rose fragrance on that lovely day in July. Also, imagine how much I stood to learn about this crop from Lane!



Lane walks through the Willow Creek fields, with Mae Mae and Pearl close behind


The pictures above illustrate what the "Rosehips" looked like when I saw them in July - no berries at all! This was when it first dawned on me that Rosehips come from rose bushes. Now that I was on the right page, I was ready to really learn something!


The Jetsons

 As I've already mentioned, the crop smelled incredible, and it was simply delightful to be near it. It seems I wasn't the only one who thought so. Apparently, bees love this crop. So much, in fact, that Lane called the rose bushes "bee hogs." He had me stand still next to the crop and said, "If you stop and really pay attention, you can hear thousands of bees buzzing and see them flying right over the crops. It's like a freeway!" He was absolutely right. It was like watching bees re-enact the opening credits to The Jetsons.

The bees are not the only creatures who love the rose bushes, although they're probably some of the only ones who benefit them. Last year, deer ate the top growth off of a bunch of our Amazing Fantasy rose bushes. (I'm not even sure how that factored into the crop recovery rate.) I had never really considered deer a pest before that day, but I suppose that's precisely what they are when you're growing a fragrant crop. Luckily, they've left plenty of Rosehips for us this year!

Apparently, the bees and deer aren't the only woodland mountain creatures enticed by our Willow Creek crops...

 

Yes, these are bear droppings.

Bears are also occasional visitors to the farm. However, they are mostly enamoured with the berries and grapes that grow nearby, leaving Rosehips for the aforementioned species. That being said, it's always a good idea to bring Man's Best Friend along on a trip to the farm in case of a possible bear encounter. According to Sun Valley folklore, Grizzly (the pomeranian) actually chased a bear away once. Anyway, I digress....

Just a minute ago, I mentioned the Amazing Fanstasy variety of rose bushes. A very large percentage of the Rosehips we grow are Amazing Fantasy (despite the deer's affinity for it) because it tends to produce the strongest berry out of the varieties Lane has tested at Willow Creek. Once cut, Amazing Fantasy Rosehips can keep their color, shape and luminosity for several weeks.

Our Rosehips are harvested as early as August and as late as Christmas, depending on the progression of the crop and market demand. The month of harvest determines the color of the berry. Early in the season, they start out green; as they mature, they start to resemble Fuji apples - partially green with reddish swirls; finally, they become orange, reddish orange and cherry red at the end of the season. It's as if the Rosehips are aware of the most fashionable colors per season and act accordingly!

Lane leaves himself a production message on his work voicemail
while strolling through a young Amazing Fantasy crop.

It was interesting to see one of our crops looking so very different from what it would become by the time it was ready to be harvested (and to learn where Rosehips come from!). Now I'm just starting to see what they look like off the bush, ready for an arrangement.



Close-up of a rose bush in July



"Fuji Apple" Rosehips off the bush in August


When you are putting Rosehips in a vase, here's what you should know: Handle with care! As you know, every rose has its thorn. (Sorry, couldn't resist.) Rosehips have 'em, too. Like most flowers, cut the end of the stems and place in cool water - no floral solution needed. Because they can last for a few weeks, feel free to mix up your Rosehip arrangements when other flowers fade!

Now I've told you about giant Cotinus and plump, multi-colored Rosehips. I still need to fill you in on other Willow Creek Crops like Chinese Lanterns, Ilex and Viburnum. (Funny, just one day in Willow Creek with Lane provided me several days' worth of blog material!) Look for more Willow Creek posts in the near-ish future!


As ever, you can learn more about our Rosehips by visiting our Flower resource page:  http://www.thesunvalleygroup.com/thesunvalleygroup/pdf/SV_RP_Rosehips.pdf

Lily's Boots: Willow Creek Part 1 - Avenue of the Giant Cotinus

Lily's Boots: Willow Creek Part 1 - Avenue of the Giant Cotinus

Around the flower farm Avenue of the Giant Bigfoot CA Grown Farmers market flowers for delivery Growing Flowers Humboldt County Lane DeVries lily's boots

Willow Creek, California, once a logger town boasting more sightings of Bigfoot than tourists, now hosts scads of heat-seeking Humboldtians during the summer months. The sun-drenched mountainous climate offers at least a 10 degree temperature boost (sometimes over 30 degree increase!) over the sea-level coastal towns in Humboldt during the summer, hence the massive influx of vacationers this time of year. It also hard-freezes in the winter, hence the very low incidence of vacationers during that time of year. This climate provides one of our Sun Valley farms, which is nestled in a, well, sunny valley just up the hill  from the Trinity River (elevation 640 feet), perfect growing conditions for some of our seasonal crops.

This week, I was fortunate enough to accompany Lane on his Sunday afternoon ritual visit to the Willow Creek farm. I didn't bring my boots, but I did bring my dog Pearl, who was happy to ride in the back seat of Lane's extended cab, four-door truck with Lane's dogs Mae-Mae and Grizzly. The farm is about 40 minutes drive (or 30 minutes riding with Lane!) from our Arcata farm via the curvy SR-299, which takes you past magnificent views of hills, rivers and Redwoods. This route is a far cry from the straight-as-an-arrow I-39, which pierces endless miles of Illinois cornfields, that I used to travel by!

Once the five of us arrived in Willow Creek, which has one main drag dotted with a few restaurants, a gas station and a museum/gift store that sells "Bigfoot stepped on me in Willow Creek, California" t-shirts (I know this because I now own one), we turned towards the river and drove past summer cottages and local farms, several of which are organic and sell at local restaurants and farmer's markets, until we reached our farm gate. The first thing I noticed when we began our plummet down the steep gravelly road leading to the farm was the absolutely breathtaking view. In every direction there was something worth seeing: wildflowers and berries to the left, blue skies, trees, the river, and our crops and to the right - simply beautiful!

View of Willow Creek farm from top of the road

When we got closer to the farm, I was overwhelmed by the amazing scent  of rose bushes (from which we harvest rosehips) permeating the air. I don't know if it's because I'm a girl or if it's the same for everyone, but strolling through a mountain valley under blue skies while immersed in the aroma of roses makes me want to run around singing at the top of my lungs. Um, anyway...

I strolled with Lane through Virbunum, Rosehip, Ilex, Photinia, Chinese Lantern and Cotinus crops on this journey to Willow Creek, so there is no way I could share all of the information I learned from Lane in one blog post. Lane is a walking floral encyclopedia, and I think Blogger might have a policy on post length. So, I'm going to break the experience up into a series of posts in order to give you the fullest detail possible on each crop. Since we have a small bit of Cotinus being harvested now, that seems like a good place to start.

Lane and Mae-Mae, checking out Cotinus



Cotinus, known as smokebush by the landscaping trade, simply loves to grow. I don't know how else to put it. From our grower's standpoint, Sun Valley's four acres of "Royal Purple" Cotinus are a dream to grow and maintain, since the crop seems to have an insvisible shield against all kinds of diseases and pests. And its growth rate is nothing short of amazing! Our team trims it down to the ground at the end of its season, and from early spring through September, it reaches about eight feet, which is when its new growth stops.

To illustrate the growth rate... While we were at the farm, Lane showed me pictures he took on previous Sunday expeditions: On April 10th the Cotinus were only sprouts; on May 15th, they had reached six inches. The crops I saw on Sunday were about up to my shoulders in some places (I'm 5'6")! Incredible! I hope I get an opportunity to walk these fields again when the Cotinus is towering over my head!

 

Cotinus Sprouts on April 10, 2011



Six inch Cotinus on May 15, 2011



Shoulder-height Cotinus on July 10, 2011

There is an exception to this amazing height rule, however: Sleepers. When an individual Cotinus plant has too many stems, which can vary from plant to plant, it eventually becomes unable to to support the growth of each stem. On these plants, new growth on some of the stems stops much earlier in the year. These stems are called Sleepers. Fortunately, they are still pretty tall by the time they stop growing (when you consider vase standards); and the lack of new growth means the stems will not wilt anytime soon; and we're able to start harvesting them as early as right now! (Whew, taking a breath!)

 

It's somewhat difficult to see, but the Sleepers are on the bottom left of this picture.
Notice they do not have any new growth at the top.
Not sure what new growth looks like?
Scroll down...



The small reddish bloom at the top of the plant is the new growth.



Continus with new growth - still growing!



I was thoroughly impressed with our Cotinus crop, and I will certainly have a new appreciation for it when I use it in arrangements this coming autumn. (By the way, cut the stems and place in tepid water with flower food when you bring cut Cotinus home.) When you're using Cotinus in fall arrangements, remember you're in the presence of a giant!

The avenue of the giant Cotinus was just one small (well, technically large) part of my overall Willow Creek experience. Be on the lookout for upcoming posts on the other fantastic Willow Creek crops: Ilex, Viburnum, Rosehips... So much fascinating information - so much to learn!

To learn even more about Cotinus, visit our Resource Page: http://www.thesunvalleygroup.com/thesunvalleygroup/pdf/SV_RP_Cotinus.pdf