Tulip Tradition

Tulip Tradition

#American Grown Flowers CAGrown summertime tulips Tulip Tradition Tulips year-round tulips

A flower spent should not be said - but
         It's leaving should make us glad - that we
         were privileged to view - a miracle that was
         passing through.

  

One of the best parts of working in the floral industry is all the stories you hear about the flowers. Not just colors, varieties, shapes and sizes, but deep meanings, symbolic actions and thoughtful moments. While the Sun Valley team was down in Miami recently, I spoke with a fellow vendor named Hilliard. He works on the horticulture side of things and we've been booth neighbors at many a show over the years, his accent betrays his tanned skin and his demeanor makes me think of him as a classic British gentleman.

The flower stories I hear are generally positive, yet they often start off with a life changing event.  Several years back Hilliard's mother passed away. Flowers express the inexpressible and sometimes grief and remembrance are the emotions that we have to deal with, taking the bad with the good. When Hilliard's mother died, he and his brothers and sisters took her ashes to the top of a coastal peak in central California. They opened the urn and let the Pacific wind blow the ashes into the sky, said a few prayers, shared some stories and then hiked down the mountain.

Sun Valley Summertime Tulips

Now a dozen years later, Hilliard has one of the more touching traditions I've ever heard. He is an avid mountain biker, still looking fit in his mid-fifties. Every year for his mother's birthday which is in June, he wakes before dawn and hops on his bike with a special cargo tucked into his Camel-Back backpack.

His mother emigrated from England, and all through her life her favorite flower was the tulip, one of the simplest yet poignant flowers cultivated by man. She always had them growing in her garden and explained to her children and grandchildren that they reminded her of the previous life she lived in England.

Every year now, the day before his mother's birthday Hilliard stops by the market and buys a 10 stem bunch of tulips.  As he recounts his tale, he adds that he always looks for our tulips. The folks growing flowers, bushes and all sort of other plants in California have a natural bond. It is cemented by the Pacific Ocean, earthquakes and high real estate prices.  It seems we all do business with people you know, people you can relate to and people you trust.

In the predawn light Hilliard gets on the saddle of his mountain bike and sets out to honor is mom, or "mum" to hear him tell it. After riding a few miles to the old fire road that leads to the peak, he downshifts into the low gears and arduously ascends the mountain.

When he reaches the peak, just as the sun rises in the east, he takes a few minutes to catch his breath, enjoy the view and think about his mom. There is a flat stone placed by time just perfect for such tasks.


When the time feels right, Hilliard takes the tulips from his bag, pulls off the sleeve and snips off the rubber band holding them together. He stands at the edge, looks to the heavens, then back at the beautiful tulips. Then with both hands holding the tulips, he bends his knees and tosses them high into the air, each stem catching the wind and the light differently, spiraling, twirling and spinning into the expanse between here and there.

"Happy Birthday Mum."

Don’t eat the KALE!

Don’t eat the KALE!

#americangrown #LetsTalkFlowers brassica cabbage CAGrown Cailifornia Ornamental kale Pieter Landman

Sun Valley is offering a year round ornamental kale crop.  Although, we kind of like to be fancy and call it by its genus “brassica,” and many folks also call it “cabbage.”  Ornamental kale’s popularity has been steadily growing in the floral industry for several years now, and at Sun Valley we have been planting larger and larger crops to supply demand.  We are currently offering brassica as a year round item, with perhaps a week gap as the farm production moves from our Oxnard farm, north to Arcata in June. 

Brassica growing at our Oxnard Farm

As you would expect, our kale is in the same scientific class as many edible crops.  It is in the mustard family, and is a very close relative to cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and Brussels sprouts(yuck!).  Just to get this information up front, no matter how tasty our Brassica looks, it is not for human or animal consumption…much the way I see Brussels sprouts.

Brassica growing at our Arcata Farm

Being at events where we have arrangements and bouquets featuring kale, it almost always manages to steal the show from the lilies, tulips and iris Sun Valley is so well known for.  Last month we had a beautiful new lily at a trade show, we had arranged the lilies with some brassica stems to add girth. We ended up spending the day looking on, as interested people literally pushed the lily petals aside to get a closer look at the brassica.

Two bouquets from the "Cabbage Patch" collection, by Sun Pacific Bouquet.

Brassica’s current widespread popularity can be attributed to its natural, “Farmer’s Market” type feel. People are enjoying the warm earthy feel of brassica. Simple arrangements that look like the elements were gathered from a back yard garden or a roadside stand are really hot right now.  Also, it being summer, the opportunity to think “Outside the Flower Shop” is really great.  Finding non-traditional botanicals in the woods, on the side of the highway or on the edge of a pasture frees the floral design palette.

We recently had world class floral designer Pieter Landmanon the farm for a film project we are producing.  Even with all the resources, flowers and greens of Sun Valley at his disposal, he walked into the studio with a handful of interesting grasses he has spotted in a neighbor’s unkempt yard.

Integrating a bit of the truly natural world in arrangements is a European touch; however, it seems very American, very “Do It Yourself” and very homestead.  Any of our California Grown Ornamental Kale varieties can also fit this bill, and the size and color make it the best of both worlds.  A “back to the land” element, yet with bulk, lovely color, and intense texture of a more upscale botanical.

Some Brassica options

Traditional brassica is thought of as a winter crop, since the beautiful coloration in the heads comes with cold temperatures.  This leaves brassica off most people’s radar for the hot months of summer. However, we move the crop to our Arcata farm for summer, where our average high temp for summer is 61 degrees Fahrenheit.  No, that is not a typo. This is a chilly place to live, which is perfect for brassica to color up…and for year-round soil grown tulips!  It is also great for not sweating in summer. 

 Here is one of our beautiful "Resource Pages" for inspiration and education, we have created these for many of our crops, see the full collection.

For some nice design ideas, check out this blog post from DesignSponge.

This summer have some fun with brassica, straight out of our garden.