Greens Report from Sun Valley Flower Farm

Greens Report from Sun Valley Flower Farm

Berried Juniper Debbie Hartman Douglas Fir flower beards Incense cedar Mountain Hemlock Noble fir Princess pine Silver Fir White Heather

Our West Coast Evergreen Division is in the middle of their holiday push, I grabbed Debbie Hartman, our own Queen of Greens to get a report.

Lily: Hey Debbie, how is it going?

Debbie: We are in the middle of an enormous amount of production. I can't believe that this is my tenth Christmas season a Sun Valley and I am thrilled to be doing what I love.

Princess Pine, shorties!

Lily: Explain your main offerings.

Debbie: OK, we have our "Assorted Christmas Box," this a box featuring 5 pounds of Noble, Silver, Incense Cedar, Berried Juniper and Princess Pine. These are the basics of Christmas. We also have a box of  "Tips" in 2 pound bunches of Noble, Silver, Incense Cedar, Berried Juniper and Princess Pine. The difference here, is that the tips have all the extra wood removed, where the regular box is more straight from the forest.

Another popular item has been our 12 pound sampler, which features 2 lbs of 6 items. This has been very popular with supermarkets, since consumers love the variety. Noble, Silver, Princess Pine, Mountain Hemlock, Douglas Fir and Incense Cedar.

Lily: Any challenges this year?

Debbie: We were really worried that due to some dry conditions during the summer, the quality of the Noble and Silver Fir might not be as good as in the past, however, this has not been the case, everything looks phenomenal.

2 pound bunches of Douglas Fir.

Lily: Any surprises?

Debbie: Yes! Our White Heather crop is in early. This crop usually doesn't come in until about Valentine's Day. However, with the recent warm, wet conditions around Humboldt County, it has come to harvest much quicker than we expected. This is a very popular branch, and we are selling it as fast as we can process it in the warehouse.

White Heather, just brought into the warehouse.

Lily: What about your team in the warehouse?

Debbie: I am very fortunate to have Teri as our team leader for the last five years. I couldn't ask for a better person to lead our team. This year, we brought in many team members who were working at our farm in Willow Creek to help out with processing the greens. They are used to working with botanicals, and having people with experience has made the bunches look great.

His name is David, but lately we've just been calling him Heather.

 Lily: What your favorite green?

Debbie:  Geez, tough question!!!  I love silver fir. The white needles on the bottom often grow upward, it is very beautiful. Then there is Mountain Hemlock. The soft blue-green needles pick up the colors of the flowers you pair with it.  Mountain Hemlock is a hidden secret of the greens world. Once people try using it, they are hooked, but many people are still unfamiliar with it.

Really, I love the combination of greens together. They each compliment each other beautifully.

Debbie and Lane, posing with our Women's Day sign. Celebrate Woman's Day on March 8th, 2015.

Lily: Good luck with the rest of your holiday season!

Debbie: Thanks!

   

I'm dreaming of a Green Christmas

I'm dreaming of a Green Christmas

Cedar Christas Greens Christmas wreaths Douglas Fir Pine Sun Valley

It starts with a few carols chiming from department stores at the mall in October. By mid-November, it infiltrates every fifth song or so on your favorite radio station. Soon you find yourself decked out in a reindeer sweater, drinking eggnog and wholeheartedly belting out "Let it Snow!" with your great aunt and third cousins while your sister plays harmony on the piano. The Christmas season is nearly here, and it always seems that music is the first indicator that it's on its way.

Unless, of course, you work in the floral industry.

For us flower folks, Christmas planning starts way back in July. (Click here for my "Christmas in July" post.) While kids do cannonballs off the high dive and their parents cook entire meals on the grill, flower professionals thumb through Christmas planners in trade publications and begin selecting their greens for the coming holiday. At Sun Valley, Debbie the Greens Guru takes prebooks and begins prepping her picking team. It takes a lot of planning on every end of the floral industry for a holiday of this magnitude!

Now that Christmas music is starting to work its way into daily radio rotations, what is happening in the Sun Valley world of Christmas greens?

Debbie gave me some hands-on experience to help me understand...


Debbie demonstrates the proper way to trim Pine









I give it a go...










Scales in each work station measure two pound bunches of entirely
usable greens - these are a great value!










My finished bunches (I think the guy next to me had twice as many!)












Some two pound tips bunches end up in 12 pack assorted boxes like
 this one, which Debbie calls a "Splash of Christmas." This box includes
Noble, Silver and Douglas Fir, Princess Pine, Juniper and Cedar.

















There is a whole section of our Arcata farm Warehouse devoted to processing holiday greens. I'd argue that there are not many places as delightfully aromatic as this department (except for maybe near the Willow Creek rose bushes in the summer)! This is where team members create two pound greens bunches, assemble boxed bales and bulk bales, and prepare greens for other departments to use in Christmas Greens Enhanced Bunches.

This is one thing that truly sets Sun Valley's Christmas greens department apart from others - the ability to pair our flowers and/or berries (like Ilex) with the greens in house. These enhanced bunches truly evoke the feeling of Christmas, but don't take my word for it. See for yourself!




One of our "Fill Your Buckets" ads, featuring Tulips with Cedar and Orientals with Fir!

 While Debbie showed me the tricks and trades of the greens department, she shared a little more insight into the greens industry as well. This season has been a particularly tough one for the whole industry, as a lack of labor force has made it difficult to get product.

Despite the shortage, Sun Valley is stocked with plenty of the three core Christmas greens, which Debbie called the "backbone" of Christmas (you might remember them from my first post): Cedar, Douglas Fir and Pine. To complete Christmas, as Debbie put it, we also have rarer greens like Silver Fir, Noble Fir and Juniper on hand. And those who didn't spend their summers planning out their Christmas lists (or those who didn't plan for enough) will be pleased to find that Debbie's greens team will still be able to fill those just in time, last minute greens orders.

Shortage schmortage!
 

Clockwise from upper left: Port Orford Cedar, Douglas Fir and Princess Pine

Next time you hear "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" crooning over the radio, perhaps you'll remember to book your Christmas greens so all your customers' Christmases will be green.

Make sure you check out our resource pages to learn more about our Christmas Greens Enhanced bunches by clicking here. http://www.thesunvalleygroup.com/thesunvalleygroup/pdf/SV_RP_HolidayTulipsECB.pdf