How To Get 700 Tulips Into a Mini.

How To Get 700 Tulips Into a Mini.

#LetsTalkFlowers Convertible Mini International Floriculture Exposition Miami Beach Mini Cooper Pieter Landman Sun Valley

Take a cherry red convertible Mini and fill it with about 700 tulips. Which shines brighter: the dramatic tulips or the awesome vehicle?

Mini with tulips

Last year Sun Valley Floral Farm needed a “stop you in your tracks” display for the International Floriculture Exposition in Miami Beach.  Our Dutch designer Pieter Landman had a bold vision.  When he presented his vision of tulips bursting out of a convertible Mini during a creative sales meeting, everyone was kind of silent…waiting for the boss to react. We watched in anticipation as he mulled it over with his thick Dutch accent, 

“Ahhh, Hmmm, tulips?  In a car, ja?” 

 

Pieter Landman, a very flamboyant designer whose resume includes the flowers at Wimbledon, royal palaces and international fashion shows, throws is hands in the air,

“Not just a car! It’s a Mini, it’s perfect.  The color, the shape, we fill the whole thing with tulips, more colors than a rainbow, no one has seen this before!”

The boss says, “Ya, a Mini Cooper, aye?”

The head of sales, a California born surfer and flower industry pro quietly chimes in, “That'd be awwwwesome.”

The rest of the sales team is already making eye contact establishing the pecking order for who gets to drive first.  A sly smile starts to creep across the boss's face, as we watch him mentally warm up to the idea.

“Hmmm, Ahhhh, OK Pieter, let’s do it!”

Pieter Landman in action.

The unintentional cheers and high-fives from the sales team make for a quick uncomfortable silence as people suddenly feel self-conscious as they are knuckle bumping in the middle of the meeting.  The boss looks around as his staff tries to regain their composure, “Meeting adjourned, now get back to work” as he strides out of the office while trying to keep his own grin contained.

A month later, the head of marketing is now tasked with renting a Mini in South Florida.  She calls to make a reservation from California, and getting a little bit of sticker shock from just the cost to rentthe Mini, says, “Well, we aren’t really going to drive it any further than the convention hall, we are just using it as a display.” 

 

“What are you going to display,” asks the rental agent.

“Well, we are a flower farm and we are going to fill it with flowers” she replies.

“Flowers?   …in the Mini?  Mama, I don’t think we have a car for you to rent. Goodbye.” (Click)

Ever determined, she makes the rounds of all the luxury car dealerships and finally finds another red convertible Mini, of course for Pieter, It has to be red!  I overhear her explaining in her sweet southern accent that she is on vacation, just going to use the car to zip around town, no mention of work, conventions or tulips.

Mini dashboard with tulips

We land in Miami about midnight, and have asked the rental people to stay late so we can pick up the Mini, we have also rented a nondescript van for all our stuff.  As we leave the safety of the airport and start off into a dark industrial portion of Miami, far off the beaten path to locate the Mini rental place, I notice Jack locks all the van doors and is checking his mirrors a little too much.  We pull into a street that reminds me of a Miami Vice set, our intrepid Marketing Director hops out of the van with Anthony.  They walk into the open sliding door of a big garage.  A menacing looking guy (who was probably just upset he had to sit there until nearly 1 a.m. for us to pick up the car) talks with her a bit, his hands moving in expressive gestures. He starts up the car, revs the engine and in my imagination pulls out a brief case full of guns and cash, our Marketing Director makes the exchange, slides into the Mini, Anthony bounds over the door into the passenger seat. Jack slams the van into gear and we get back on the freeway as fast as we can.

Mini with the top down.

The next day, we take the Mini over to the convention hall, we have already cleared it with the organization sponsoring the convention and expect to just drive the car right in, and park it at our booth.  Piece of cake.  

Enter the Union.  The Union has different rules and regulations than the convention center.  They let us know, that the car needs to have less than a quarter of a tank of gas, have the battery disconnected, and we need to hire a local Miami-Dade County fireman to keep an eye on the car 24 hours a day, to ensure against it catching fire.  A lot of string pulling, favor calling and other shenanigans commence, all to no avail.  The Union is not going to budge. The strategy session evolves as we wait for our other display materials to get unloaded from a long line of semis. 

The ideas flow,

• Let’s syphon the gas out, a few calls to Pep Boys and a local gas station proves that with modern vehicles this is extremely hard to syphon gas, and illegal as well. 

•  Let’s take the car to the hotel and pay the concierge a few bucks to leave the car idling outside the hotel for the next 8 hours or so.  Clicking away on smart phones, we learned a car burns between .4 to .6 gallons of gas in an hour at idol, the Mini has a full tank.

o   Maybe if we put a brick on the accelerator it would burn more gas?

• Let’s make a huge contribution to the Union retirement fund.

• Jack offers to take one for the team, “You guys can set up the display, and I’ll drive the car to Key West and back.”

• Let’s redo the display and use a different type of vehicle, one without a motor.
• How about a canoe?
• How about a set of kayaks?
• How about a rickshaw? (This would be sweet!)
• Mountain bikes?
• Beach crusiers?
• A claw foot tub?      

• Let’s try to return the car, and rent a different red convertible Mini with less gas in the tank.  (The call was made, no dice.)

• Let’s leave the car idling outside the convention hall unlocked.  Without 2 keys, this seems like a great opportunity to have our display vehicle turned into a stolenvehicle.

•  Let’s encourage the Union guys to figure a way to deal with it.  We send Jack out to the hot, loud industrial loading dock, saying in his best Jersey accent, “Whadda mean, yous can’t just take care a dis?”

• Let’s drill a small hole in the gas tank and let the gas the drain out, then fill the hole with toothpaste when we are done.

• Let's take the dashboard apart and disabling the gas gauge.

Mini trunk, filled with flowers.

We set up the non-car elements of the display, it is a hot and sweaty affair since they don’t turn on the AC until after the show starts.  By 4 p.m. everybody is pretty tuckered out and the car situation is nowhere closer to being resolved. 

 

I see our Marketing Director grab the keys, “Alright Jack, go out and drive as much gas out of the car as you can.” His sunglasses, usually perched above his forehead, naturally pop down onto his eyes as he replies, “You got it, Boss.”

She points at me, “You go with him, and make sure he doesn’t do anything dumb.”

“Yes, Mama.”

Five minutes later Jack and I are rollin’ down famous Ocean Drive, top down, tunes bumpin’, pulling up alongside Ferraris and convertible Beemers.  Revving the engine like crazy, just to use up as much gas as possible.  Art deco architecture, palm trees, beautiful people, the Miami Vice soundtrack playing in my head. We wind out of Miami Beach, Jack pushing the accelerator down over the Julia Tuttle Causeway.  Now this is a fine day in the floral industry.

 

By now it is just approaching 5 p.m. and all of a sudden the soundtrack in my head comes to an abrupt halt, as Jack downshifts into a construction zone, which quickly becomes grid lock.  It’s about 95 degrees and super humid.  We are blasting the A.C. with the top down, to use up gas.   A dump truck is belching exhaust literally into my face in the low slung Mini. I-95 is a mess of traffic, orange cones and heavy machinery.  No girls in bikinis here, no Latin-techno music blasting out of bars, not a mojito insight, just grime and smoke.

An hour later we get into stop and go traffic, what a blessing.  And maybe another hour later, we break free of the traffic, and catch a stunning sunset rolling down the South Dixie Highway through Key Largo.

We stop for a picture, and turn the Mini around to drive back across the edge of the Everglades, racing as fast as we can, so we get the worst possible gas mileage, and hoping to still get late dinner.

The next morning our Marketing Director takes the Mini out for an early spin for a hundred miles or so, and we finally get the tank down to a quarter full. In case you’re wondering, this car gets about 44 miles to the gallon.

Sun Valley's Mini flower display

We pull it into the convention center, Pieter and the Sun Valley team burst into action, and a few hours later, the cherry red Mini Cooper has become the talk of the convention, and I realize you should wear sunscreen while in a convertible in Florida.

 
We are back in Miami this week, if you are coming to IFE, we will see you here.  If not, tune in next week to see what kind of trouble we were able to get into, and for another funny post about our last trip to Miami, read Tulip Credits.

It's a Farm! (Part 2)

It's a Farm! (Part 2)

Arcata Cold Chain ethylene flower grading Sun Valley

It’s Farm! (Part 2)

Today, we dive into the warehouse. The cold dark place where your flowers go after they get picked. It can be pretty disorienting to wander into the labyrinth of boxes, conveyor belts, grading lines and coolers. So if you start to feel woozy, just look for a clearly marked exit.

The flowers come into the grading line first. Here our staff decides what is a grade one, what is a grade two and so one. This determination is based on the amount of buds on the stem, the length of the stem and the over all condition of the flower.  When the line is running, you hear music blasting and the energy level is really high. Greenery is flying in the air, teams are working to be the most efficient and some dance moves are getting shown off.  The stems go down the conveyor belt being trimmed, bundled, and put in sleeves. 



When you step into the room, you notice a serious chill in the air. From the time the flowers come into the grading line, they are in a refrigerated atmosphere until they reach their final destination. This is called the “Cold Chain” and Sun Valley has the best cold chain system in the industry. The cold air is the way we control the production of ethylene. Ethylene is the enemy of the flower industry. It serves as a hormone in plants, and is present in any part of the plant which is showing color or damaged. As flower growers we want to keep the buds closed as long as possible, unfortunately, ethylene leads to the opening of the buds. Keeping the flowers cold ensures the flowers arrive fresh and open up beautifully when they reach the consumer. Ironically, in the fruit industry, ethylene is used to quickly ripen fruit for market. To learn more about the effect of ethylene on flowers, check out this informative post from the British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture.

Sun Valley keeps an enormous amount of space refrigerated, and all but the most hardy team members are wearing sweatshirts, coats and hats all day long. The flowers are graded, bundled into the appropriate sleeves and replaced in water filled buckets. Then they now get "mapped."  The hard working folks in "The Cube" know where every stem in the warehouse is located.  It is impressive to walk up and say, "Hi, I need a 10 stem bunch of G-1 Freesia", and without even looking up Vicki and her crew will say, "Cooler 14, on the left, half way down, on the bottom."


Steve and Vicki in "The Cube" (Steve has thick skin...it's cold!)

Once the different varieties are mapped, orders get filled.  Here our great crew of team members package up flowers for ground transportation or air transportation...and of course it has to stay cold the entire time. 


Lilies and Irises get packaged very differently.

 The orders are boxed up on another production line, then sent into an even colder room.  This is the shipping dock.  From here, boxes of flowers are put onto refrigerated trucks for their journey to metropolitan areas all over the country or loaded into insulated boxes and prepared for the FedEx plane.

On the left "Wet Packs," on the right "Dry Packs." 

Arcata, California is a pretty chilly place.  The year round average temperature is about 61 degrees, it never gets above 80...ever.  However, after working in the warehouse for an hour or so, stepping outside into a chilly 53 degree day is quite nice.

It is ironic to me that flowers which seem to love the warmth of the sun, and constantly reach to the skies are so susceptible to warm temperatures.  The idealised vision of a flower farm, with warm sun shining as flowers are harvested from the field, is pretty far from reality.  We work really hard to guard our blooms from the sun, and handle them in the cold, so the end user can enjoy the flowers in the warm of their home.   

Please share this post with all your flower friends. Connect with us on the web: Facebook, Pintrest, Twitter and Google+, or visit of website www.tsvg.com.


-Lily

“The earth laughs in flowers.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

"When the Saints come marching in,"... they'll be carrying Irises

"When the Saints come marching in,"... they'll be carrying Irises

Arcata Fleur-de-lis Hiroshige Iris Irises New Orleans Saints Sun Valley Van Gogh

At Sun Valley Floral Farm one of the things we do best is grow irises. Dramatic fields and hoop houses bursting with tall, vibrant irises in a dynamic range of colors. Our most impressive iris crop is our “Telstar” Iris.  The Telstar is the only iris variety that is guaranteed to open.  The iris has captured the world's heart, and you will be surprised by all the references to the iris we see every day.
 

A Telstar Iris abstract

In ancient Greece, Iris was the goddess of the rainbow, the messenger of the Olympian gods. She was often represented as the handmaiden and personal messenger of Hera. Iris was a goddess of sea and sky--her father Thaumas "the wondrous" was a marine-god, and her mother Elektra "the amber" a cloud-nymph. For the coastal-dwelling Greeks, the rainbow's arc was most often seen spanning the distance between cloud and sea, and so the goddess was believed to replenish the rain-clouds with water from the sea. It is rather fitting, that Sun Valley grows iris. We are just a mile from the roaring Pacific Ocean in Humboldt County, legendary for the heavy rains which fill our rivers with salmon and nourish the giant coastal redwoods.

Arcata Iris Fields

The iris has captured the imagination of artists through the ages, many people's favorite image of an iris is the Vincent Van Gogh oil painting, Irises. Currently, number 12 on the Most Expensive Painting List (Wow, this list is wild!)



Van Gogh's "Irises"

Van Gogh was inspired by the Japanese wood block style of painting called, Ukiyo-e. The image of irises below represents this style, created by the artist Hiroshige in 1856.

The Fleur-de-lis is based on the shape of an iris. Fleur means flower in French and Lis means lily, however this classic French image is based on a stylized version of an iris. There is some debate in the origin of this iconic symbol, perhaps after more research I can dive into the Fleur-de-Lis Conspiracy Theory.   As big burly NFL Football fans cheer on the New Orleans Saints, make sure to remind them that their team actually has the picture of an iris on their helmet...very manly!

Iris grow in the wild in North America, Europe, Asia and Northern Africa, and with their elegant petals and tall stems, it is no wonder why they have been adopted by so many people and so many cultures. The state of Tennessee even has the Iris as its' state flower.

For more iris appreciation check out, Presby Memorial Iris Gardens in New Jersey, which is a living iris museum with over 10,000 plants. In Europe, the most famous iris garden is arguably the Giardino dell'Iris in Florence (Italy) which every year hosts one of the most famous iris breeders' competitions in the world. Both of these Gardens are pretty quiet now as prime iris season is spring, however, at Sun Valley we have a great selection of iris year round.

The noble iris has captured many a persons' heart...but some folks may just take it a bit too far, so be careful if you fall for the lovely iris.

To learn more about our Irises (or our other flowers), visit Sun Valley's Flower Resource Pages, they are a great place to increase your knowledge of flowers.

"Like" Sun Valley Floral Farm on Facebook and follow us on Pintrest for more beautiful flower imagery. 
Tweeting? us too.

-Lily

“The earth laughs in flowers.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Flour to Flowers

Flour to Flowers

Iris flower New Jersery Starfighter lily Sun Valley

Sun Valley’s “Flower Talk” blog is transitioning, just as spring turns into summer. Ms. Lily Boots has headed south and I will be taking on the task of filling her flowery shoes. You can keep calling me Lily, since Lilies are what put Sun Valley on the map as America’s premier cut flower farm.


The Starfighter Lily

I am relatively new to the flower biz, but excited to share my experiences as I dig in at ground level. I come from the bakery business, where our flour came from wheat and rye, grown in boring straight lines across the Midwest. I am thrilled to trade in that plain white flour for the vibrant array of colors streaming out of Sun Valley’s green houses.
As an avid gardener, I am gaining a huge respect for the growers, planters and staff at Sun Valley. I ‘m very proud of the roses, montbretia, kiwis and the Myer lemon tree in my yard, but to walk through the farm here is to experience a sort of flower nirvana. It is tempting to just run through the 5 foot tall Starfighter Lily stalks, as they bulge with bloom or lay down among the deep blue Telstar Iris and watch the clouds zoom by.


Telstar Iris bursting with color

I get my love of flowers from my grandmother on my mother’s side, Opal Hanson. She lived in suburban New Jersey in one of those classic planned developments where little sidewalks link all the homes to a beautiful park. She lined the section of the walk that went by her house with a dramatic display of colorful tulips; she meticulously kept her own stock of bulbs and people all over the neighborhood made a point of seeing her springtime tulip flourish. She used to toss all her coffee grounds out into a circle in the yard where she grew huge roses, as a little boy I remember looking up at them, mystified how these big blooms managed to stay supported on that tiny, thorny stalk.

Opal’s favorite flowers though, were cosmos, those playful summer blossoms were growing in all the nooks and crannies of her yard. Although her approach to gardening seemed kind of random and unscientific, if you asked her about a particular plant she would explain the Latin name of the plant, the particular strains origin and her history in growing it.

If Opal could see me wandering the vast green houses, hoop houses and fields of the Sun Valley Floral Farm, she would be very proud indeed.

I invite you to like us on Facebook, follow us on Pintrest and Twitter, subscribe to this blog, share pictures of your bouquets, your blooms and your flower beds. I plan on having some great guest voices, some chats with Sun Valley’s President, Lane DeVries and definitely a lot of fun.

You can email me at lily@tsvg.com, so send me your stories, photos, videos and I will share them with the ever expanding Sun Valley Farm Community.

-Lily

“The earth laughs in flowers.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Snowballs in Spring - Viburnum Snowballs, that is

Snowballs in Spring - Viburnum Snowballs, that is

Boots Bridal Bouquet CA Grown California Flowers Flower arrangements Flower farm Rain Boots Snowball Sun Valley Viburnum

Way back in July of last year, I took one of my first trips to the Willow Creek farm with Lane. During that trip, we saw Cotinus, Rosehip and Ilex crops, all in the early stages of their growing cycle. Part of that trip included a tour through Sun Valley's fields of Viburnum opulus, commonly called Snowballs, which we have in abundance right now.

Hoops and Fields

The Viburnum crops I saw on that sunny Sunday in July had been planted periodically over a four year period, some in open fields and some that would soon be covered within hoophouses. The crops in hoophouses "arrive" around three weeks earlier than their open field-grown counterparts, creating a longer season for this fabulous spring flower. Hoops are added to more of the field each year, so our farmers can keep the crops nice and warm, even during winter, when the outside air temperature hovers at a chilly 45 degrees. The warmth from the hoops contributes to a much faster growing rate, thus allowing for an earlier crop. Once Snowballs in hoophouses start to phase out, their neighboring Snowballs in open fields phase in.



In July, Snowballs grow in the open sun. Soon the farmers will stretch plastic
over these metal frames to create hoophouses.



Lane checks the growth progress in July



Lane's dog Mae Mae navigates around the crop

 

Harvest to Home

As I mentioned above, Viburnum harvesting has just begun. Willow Creek farmers cut them when their heads are nice and full. (You can see what I mean in the close-up picture below.) Freshly harvested Viburnum goes straight into buckets and into our Arcata farm coolers. From there, they make their way to our customers in wet hampers, which prevent dehydration.

Viburnum crops in hoophouses are being harvested now

Viburnum in the field will be harvested in a few weeks

Many Shades of Green

One of the most fun things about Viburnum is it's similarity to those hyper color t-shirts from the 80's! Right now, the crop is a charming green color, similar to that of Green Ball - an extra large variety of green dianthus we grow. Once the crop is bathed in a few days of good sunshine, it starts to turn a lovely shade of bridal white. We harvest Viburnum in all of its stages of color. It all makes for a nice floral complement in spring, Mother's Day and wedding arrangements!

Close-up of gorgeous green Viburnum taken a couple weeks ago

 

"In-betweener" Viburnum from a previous year's crop is changing
from green to white

Fully white Viburnum from a previous year's crop

Vibrant Sunrise Bouquet from Sun Pacific Bouquet - featuring Viburnum

  

Vibrant Sunset Bouquet from Sun Pacific Bouquet - also featuring Viburnum

The viburnum season typically lasts April through May, making it the quintessential spring flower. So, don't miss your chance to fill your buckets with the kind of Snowballs you won't want to throw!

As always, you can learn more information like crop standards and care tips for Viburnum by visiting our Flower Resource pages on our website. Here is the direct link: http://www.thesunvalleygroup.com/thesunvalleygroup/pdf/SV_RP_Viburnum.pdf

Fields of Blue

Fields of Blue

California Flowers Flower farm flowers for delivery Iris flower Sun Valley Valentines Day flowers

Day 10 of Valentine's Day shipping...

Yesterday was a particularly beautiful day at the Arcata farm, so it seemed an ideal time to get out to the fields and hoophouses, which tend to be a bit muddy when it rains. I wanted to get a closer look at iris, since we're closing in on Spring - one of the strongest seasons for iris.


The sun drenches the fields of our Arcata farm



Perfect day for a bike ride through the fields and hoophouses



First stop: Iris hoophouses. (Yes, my coffee came along for the ride!)



Bulbs have just been planted. Wire grid and drip tape are in place



Iris starts to peek out from the soil. This crop will be ready to bloom around early Mother's Day shipping

 

Baby irises are starting to sprout. These babies will be full grown in time for late Mother's Day shipping

Telstar just starting to come up. This iris crop will be ready for harvest mid-April

Telstar mid-growth. Expect to see the full blooms mid-March

Iris crops nearing harvest time. Soon their blooms will start to show color at the tips



Iris buds close-up. We pick iris and ship it when it is closed like this to prolong the vase life



White iris popping up in the Telstar hoophouse. We call this a "fence jumper" 



Granted, I have small hands, but Telstar Iris blooms are about the size of them!

Gorgeous day, gorgeous tour.

While the iris harvest is in full swing for several areas of the farm (in Arcata and Oxnard), many of the hoops are currently quiet and serene. I suppose those iris crops are waiting patiently for upcoming holidays. Until then, they make for a very pleasant bike ride! 


To learn more about any of our flowers, it's always a good idea to check out Sun Valley's Resource Pages. CLICK HERE for the one on Iris.









Tiptoe through the tulips

Tiptoe through the tulips

flowers for delivery Soil Grown Tulips Sun Valley tulip pictures Valentines Day flowers

Day 2 of Valentine's Day shipping...

If there's one thing I know already about the floral industry, it's that I never know what I'll be doing from one day to the next. One day I'm riding a bicycle through the iris fields, and the next day I'm sleeving bouquets in Oxnard. Yesterday, I found myself dodging tulip carts in the tulip greenhouse, where production is at one of its annual peaks (the other major peak being Mother's Day). I've been through the coolers, greenhouses and bunching rooms dozens of times by now, but these places are really something to see when operating at full capacity.

If you haven't witnessed this spectacle before, here's what it looks like (from my iPhone's point of view):



Ile de France red tuilps just peaking up through the soil



A row of tulips mid-growth



Rows of tulips nearing harvest time



When team members harvest the tulips, they put them on these hanging carts, which slide down rails as the team members move through the rows of tulips.



A freshly loaded cart of tulips



Tulips are harvested with the bulb still intact. This provides nutrients to the flower longer, thus lengthening its vase life.



Although this tulip is lovely, it won't make it past the greenhouse since we ship all product closed for maximum freshness.

Freshly harvested tulips go straight into coolers. As they are needed to fill orders, they are pulled into the tulip bunching room, where the bulbs are removed and the tulips are sorted and graded.



Several experienced team members work the tulip bunching lines this time of year. There are A LOT of tulips to grade!

 

The line leader ensures the tulips are graded correctly, then puts the completed order on carts designated for coolers in the warehouse



Freshly bunched white tulips in buckets on carts


French tulips have a similar story to standard and fancy tulips, but they are grown in hoophouses, and there is a special section of the tulip bunching room designated for Frenchies. It makes sense, when you consider their enormous size!



Maureen Frenchies just started to sprout up



A hoophouse full of French tulips, nearing harvest time



Like standard tulips, French tulips are placed in crates when harvested and whisked to the bunching room



French tulip bunching area. The tulips are graded and placed on those metal trays (which are extra long for those long stems!). They are sleeved in the area on the left side of this photo. 

Thanks for touring Sun Valley's Valentine tulip production with me today! Stay tuned on our Facebook page for videos of tulip bulb planting and grading!