Dress This Nest with Sun Valley Flowers

Dress This Nest with Sun Valley Flowers

Ad Rem Tulip Bright Parrot Tulip Curly Sue Tulips Dress This Nest Orange Princess tulip Rose Hips salal Strong Gold Tulip Telstar Iris Yvonne King

At a recent Field to Vase Dinner sponsored by the CCFC, we were introduced to a blog called, Dress This Nest. This fun lifestyle blog is written by Yvonne King, who lives and writes in Portland, Oregon.  We decided to see what she could do with some farm fresh Sun Valley Flowers... and WOW were we impressed. 

Below is an article she wrote about our flowers. Check out these stunning arrangements and beautiful photographs. Make sure you subscribe to her blog, it's really a treat to see the creative projects she is working on.
~

A few weeks before our Thankful for Friends party, I was contacted by a representative at The Sun Valley Group.  He wanted to collaborate on a blog post about local flowers and it was perfect timing with our event coming up.

The Sun Valley Group has flower farms all over California, including Arcata, Oxnard and Willow Creek. They aim to grow their flowers sustainably and are a great local flower option for West Coast residents. Their website has a place where you can find florist near you that carries their flowers.  For Portland residents, their flowers are available at New Seasons.  Look for the blue CA Grown sticker!

Their representative agreed to send me some local flowers for the party and I agreed to arrange them and photograph them for the blog.  When he said he would send flowers, I expected a bouquet or two of flowers.

I was wrong.



Two days before the party, this box showed up!  If it wasn’t labelled “The Sun Valley Group,” I would have told the deliverer that there must have been a mistake.  The box was HUGE!  I could fit my toddler inside,
maybe with a friend!



Inside the box, were TEN bunches of flowers! I really had my work cut out for me!




The types of flowers inside were:

Rose Hip: this red berry is a perfect addition to holiday bouquets, whether for fall or for Christmas.  It adds a punch of color and festivity to any arrangement.

Ad Rem Tulips: this is a simple standard tulip with sherbert coloring that has a very gentle shape.

Bright Parrot Tulips: this tulip is a stand out and demands attention.  With large two-toned petals that are ruffled in texture, this will be the star of the arrangement.

Telestar Iris‘: this iris is available year-round by Sun Valley and has a beautiful purple color and dramatic petals.

Curly Sue Tulip: this tulip has an amazing frayed texture and might be my favorite of the group.

Strong Gold Tulips: this yellow tulip is simple in shape and compliments many flowers well. I found it to work great with the Telestar Iris, the Bright Parrot Tulips and the Orange Princess Tulips.

Orange Princess Tulips: these little balls of fun remind me of a cross between a tulip and a small peony.  This is a close tie for favorite with the Curly Sue.

Salal: these remind me of leaves from a rose bush only sturdier. They have a deep green color and a shiny finish.  A clean and simple addition to any arrangement.

I am not a professional florist, but I want to prove even an amateur can arrange flowers for an event. I wanted to put together several DIY flower arranging methods for my readers, to take some of the intimidation and mystery out of flower arranging.

This first method I used is from Debra Prinzing’s book Slow Flowers.  This is pretty much a no fail method and I am going to break it down for you step by step:



1. Start with branches or twigs to structure the arrangement.  I used the Rose Hip since it has that woody quality.
2. Next, you add the foliage.  I used the Salal here.
3. Then add in the flowers.  I like to add one type of flower at a time, so I started with the Bright Parrot Tulip and finished it with the Strong Gold Tulip.



And you are done!  You have a beautiful arrangement that you did yourself! It is that easy.



So easy, that I decided to continue and make mini versions of that arrangement for my guests to take home with them.  I used the exact same process, I just cut the stems to fit the mason jars.  Also, I added in a Telestar Iris so they would have a closed flower that would open at home for them (making the arrangement last a little longer).



Here is how they turned out!





For the arrangement at my entry way, I used a similar method, although I left out the Rose Hip.  I wanted to keep this arrangement a little cleaner and with a tall, narrow vase like this one, you don’t have to worry so much about supporting the blooms as the vase does all of the work.




The completed arrangement turned out like this!



Some of the tulips needed a LOT of support as their stems were not very strong.  This simple and modern arrangement is the perfect compliment to this problem and is so easy to create.  I chose the prettiest blooms for this arrangement, since each of them get so much focus.  I love the stripes of green that two of them have and that they get to be highlighted through this display.

Cut the stems at different lengths to give the flowers different heights.  It’s okay to have them peeking out the top a bit, it only adds interest!



The last method I used was the bouquet method.  I picked this up from the amazing flower vendors at the farmers market.  They always create the most beautiful arrangements and I wanted to try to recreate their method at home.

You start with just a few blooms (that will ultimately be the center of your arrangement) and then build out from there.  I used three types of tulips, the Ad Rem, Curly Sue and Orange Princess. I tried to arrange them so they they didn’t touch another of the same type.

Once you have put together the bouquet, you can drop them into a water filled vase and be done.  If you want a tighter presentation, simply wrap them with some floral tape.  If you have never used floral tape before, it gets sticky as it is stretched, so be sure to stretch it as you wrap.

Then, cover the floral tape with decorative ribbon or string.  I used some jute twine that I had leftover from my Chalk Cloth Banner.  Once the floral tape is covered, trim the bottom and drop it into a vase that is 1/4 filled with water.


The end result will look like this.

So there you have THREE methods for arranging flowers on your own at home.  I hope this helps you out this holiday season.  Have you ever tried to arrange flowers on your own?  What are your favorite tips and tricks?
~
Thanks Yvonne and Dress This Nest!

And Happy Thanksgiving from the Sun Valley Floral Farm...and Flower Talk.

Learn About Lovely Lisianthus

Learn About Lovely Lisianthus

#americangrown #CaFlowers Grandiflorum Lisianthus salal Sun Valley Floral Farm

Always outgoing

Lisianthus stood for that
Among hidden flowers
Lisianthus stood out
In hidden bushes
Lisianthus was distinguished
If all could be that
Lisianthus was never shy
It would be a beautiful world
With all like Lisianthus.
                   -Grace Amorue

Lovely Lisianthus

It’s prime Lisianthus time on our Oxnard farm.  This beautiful flower is not one of the traditional standards of the floral industry, such as lilies and tulips.  Interestingly “Lizzy”, as our sales reps call it, is relatively new to the flower buying consciousness.  In the last decade it has been gaining popularity at an amazing rate.  We have been growing this crop for about seven years, and the demand just keeps rising.

Lisianthus roots lay in the Americas with several variations of the plant growing wild.  Most notably a variety with the common name Texas Bluebell found growing naturally in the vast prairies of Texas.  The species we grow is named Grandiflorum and it has been bred as a stand out cut flower.  The name comes from Latin, Lysis meaning “dissolution” and Anthos meaning “flower.”  Some citing its history as a prairie flower see it as a token of old-fashioned values and sensibility.  Others looking at its Greek name suggest that lisianthus symbolizes an outgoing and divisive nature.

Sun Valley Lisianthus varieties.

 Lizzy is winning the hearts and minds of designers and consumers alike because it is extremely versatile.  It’s origins as a prairie flower make lisianthus ideal for “country style” arrangements, with a strong American grown feel.  The many blooms can lend an unmanicured feel to any bouquet that naturally twangs. 

 

With a little more direction these same blooms can be formed into dramatic patterns in a contemporary bouquet.  The average length for this crop is 24 inches, so lizzy can give big height and visual power to a modern arrangement. 

Sun Valley Lisianthus with our Salal

Personally, I feel the best use lizzy is in the romantic style.  The charming personality of the blooms as they unfurl is just gorgeous and harkens back to another age.  Lisianthus have a very feminine feel.  With the buds tucked into a bouquet, letting a few escape, it is reminiscent of a women’s hair put up for a formal affair, allowing a few strands to bend down and frame her face.

Recently, I was lucky enough to talk with our head grower, Gerrit Vanderkooy in Oxnard, and ask him some questions about growing lisianthus. 

 

Lily: When do you plant lisianthus?

Gerrit: We bring the lizzy in as a plug, and plant it around the end of September. It grows very slowly, and we hopefully will harvest our first “cut” around Mother’s Day.  With this first cut we leave a little stem in the ground, and because the temperature is much warmer in summer we can harvest a second stem from the same plant, about two months later.

Lily: That’s amazing it takes about eight months to grow the first stem, then only two months for the second?

Gerrit: Yes, it is really a desert plant; its ideal conditions are very hot days and cool nights, which is generally what we get in Oxnard during summer.

Lily: What are the challenges of growing Lisianthus?

Gerrit: Weather-wise, we really need the hot temperature for lizzy to bloom; I don’t like cold snaps in the summer! This crop also likes very dry soil, so our team is very conscientious of the moisture in the soil.  The nature of the plant is to have very deep roots. This opens it up to being more susceptible to soil borne diseases, so we have to be extra vigilant in our hoop houses.  Lastly, perhaps the greatest challenge of growing lisanthus is that it can only be planted on soil which has never grown lisianthus before, what we call “virgin soil”.  Luckily, we have plenty of room!

Lisianthus growing in Oxnard,CA

 Lily: What’s the most popular color?

Gerrit: Far and away the most popular color is the purple, it is a really rich purple that is very saturated.  We grow double blooms, as opposed to the Europeans who still grow the single blooms.  The double blooms have much more color, texture and girth than the single.  Behind the purple, is the white, then followed by pink, rose and some of the bi-colors, as well as green, cream and champagne. 

 

Lily: Are you seeing any trends with Lisianthus?

Gerrit:  Right now this is a really a big wedding flower, especially the pastel colors and the white. The natural look is “in” and lizzy is ideal for this theme.

White Lisianthus

 Lily: Thanks Gerrit!

Pastel varieties of lisianthus, with salal.

As you can see lisianthus is bit of a labor of love, but it is a lovely flower with an amazing personality. We will have a steady supply through September, so now is a great time to get familiar with lizzy.

Meet the Queen of Greens

Meet the Queen of Greens

Bear Grass Christmas greens holiday greens Horsetails Port Orford Cedar salal seasonal greens weber parrot tulip West Coast Evergreens

The Queen of Greens, holding a bunch of our Port Orford Cedar.

Meet Debbie Hartman, the Queen of Greens. Debbie is not just the manager of Sun Valley’s West Coast Evergreen Division; she is our resident expert on Seasonal Greens, Western Greens and Christmas Greens. Her experience comes from literally growing up in the evergreen business. Debbie is a huge asset to Sun Valley, since we are one of the few farms which can easily add a wide variety of seasonal greens to bunches of our flower crops.

Years ago her parents owned a meat trucking company, driving meat from San Francisco 5 hours north to Humboldt County. On the way to San Francisco they loaded their truck with evergreens picked by the West Coast Evergreen company which was originally started in 1951. They delivered the greens to the SF flower market as well as flower growers in Watsonville, CA. In 1973, the owners of West Coast Evergreen were having a generational change in the business and the younger set did not want to continue the business.

Debbie’s dad purchased the company for a small sum of money since it’s only real assets were a beat up pick-up truck and the name. The real assets of the company were in the relationships with the people who picked and gathered the greens out in the country side.  Since we live in a temperate rainforest here in Humboldt County, we have an amazing amount of botanicals growing in the mountains and timberlands surrounding us.  Pickers traditionally get permits from the Six River National Forest to pick greens, they also pick on timberlands and other private holdings.  Many of these arrangements have been in place for years, often the deal being sealed by a handshake.   At the time Debbie’s dad was also farming daffodils on a small plot of land he named "Hartman Farm" in McKinleyville, which is about 10 miles north of our Arcata farm.

Shore Pine

Acquiring the greens business to accent his daffodil business seemed like a slam dunk, however, after seeing (and experiencing) all the work that went into the greens business, he was starting to have second thoughts. This was when a Debbie stepped into help as a young woman. She learned the business from the ground up, gaining knowledge and building relationships as she went. Often times it was her clients and pickers teaching her the business. She truly learned from experience and gained a wealth of knowledge while building the business and becoming skilled in buying greens.

In 1995 she took over the company 100%, and continued on. In the mid 2000’s, she was faced with a decision. She had to decide whether to continue on independently and find a new facility, or to sell the business. Debbie was struck by a great idea. She would offer the company to her biggest customer, the Sun Valley Floral Farm, who was buying about 20% of her inventory. In the deal, she would stay on with the company and work for Sun Valley, since the evergreen business has always been about the relationships with the pickers throughout northern California and southern Oregon.  It also requires an extremely specialized knowledge of local plant species.

On January 3rd, 2005 West Coast Evergreen became a division of Sun Valley and the rest is history. Debbie is now our resident greens expert and an important resource to the company. When asked what her typical day is like she says it’s all about resourcing greens and knowledge, then dispersing them to the right people. She also spends a lot of time creating new samples of interesting product combinations and figuring out the pricing.

The Queen of Greens with Princess Pine.

Her favorite thing to do at work is sales. She loves talking to her customers, many of which she has known for years, and also connecting with the Sun Valley Sales Department to assist them in showing their customers a new green option or arrangement. When she’s not at work, her favorite thing to do is to play with her 3 granddaughters, who somehow manage to outshine our Decorative Greens Bouquet.

Everyone in the floral industry has a favorite flower, some more esoteric than others. Asking this question of Debbie, I was intrigued by what her answer would be. Debbie had a two part answer, before and after Sun Valley. Before Sun Valley her favorite flower was greenish burgundy Orchid from the local Orchid growers here in Humboldt County, Sequoia Orchids, of course this orchid was set with greens which complement the orchid. After coming to Sun Valley her favorite flower became our Weber Parrot Tulip, which also looks amazing with greens. She continued to explain how she really fell for tulips here at Sun Valley. The huge amount of colors, shapes and sizes make them such a lovely and cheerful flower.

Debbie's Favorite flower, The Weber Parrot Tulip.


This season Debbie says the two hottest items at West Coast Evergreens available right now are Super Bear Grass and Horsetails. Super Bear Grass is 40-48 inches tall and available only at Sun Valley.  Our Bear Grass grows under the redwood canopy, surrounded by giants.  In the dark of the forest, the Bear Grass must reach tall and straight to reach the limited light which filters to the forest floor. Also, our Horsetails are the highest quality she has seen in years, Horsetails are another unique item, since they grow in the wet forest bogs along side the beautiful rivers of our region.  On the opposite side of the spectrum, the drought in the Pacific Northwest has really hurt the salal crop, also known as "Lemon Leaf". Salal only grows in a small bio-region and yet there is huge demand worldwide. We currently have salal in stock, so keep your fingers crossed!

Teri, the Greens Team Leader, and Debbie holding bunches of fresh salal.

 As the Queen of Greens I asked Debbie for some tips that our readers may not know and she had a couple great ones. First, for the flower pro, did you know your Port Orford Cedar will last 3-4 months in a 34 degree cooler. This means you don’t have to worry about over stocking, especially now at the holidays. And secondly, this is a tip I will be using today, as I just hung a wreath on my front door. To keep a wreath fresh and alive, use a mister to spray water on the greenery. Since evergreens absorb water through their needles, your misting will add life to that holiday wreath or decoration.


A box of Holiday Joy!



Debbie loves the floral industry, she can’t think of a job she would rather have. “Flowers are so full of positive energy, sharing flowers promotes joy and brightens everyone’s lives.”

We couldn’t agree more, Debbie, and thank you for sharing your story with us.

In closing Debbie adds as she looks at a good looking bunch of scotch broom,

“Weeds are just unloved flowers.”



 lily@tsvg.com  |  www.tsvg.com  |   Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Pintrest

Hollywood Flowers

Hollywood Flowers

Bouquets channel islands beach eucalypyus Gerrit Vanderkooy Iris Lane DeVries Oxnard Rosehips salal snapdragons sunflowewrs Tulips

“In Hollywood, brides keep the bouquets and throw away the groom.”


                                                                                            -Groucho Marx

The first thing you notice when you step into the Sun Valley Oxnard headquarters, just about an hour from the glitz and glam of Hollywood, is the smell. The incredible aroma knocks you off your feet. You look around, what is going on here? Why doesn’t the Arcata farm smell this good?

You take a closer look, oh, they are making bouquets. There are racks of eucalyptus, salal, bear grass and all sorts of other fragrant greens. People are busy snipping them to just the right height to combine with stacks of lilies, tulips, irises, snapdragons and sunflowers. Whoa, this is quite a big production!


Our Oxnard bouquet makers, with eucalyptus and rosehips.

What most people don’t realize is that on a flower farm, you don’t get to enjoy the scent of the flowers all that much. The flowers are picked when the buds are developed, yet not quite open. So if you go stand in a cooler brimming with ultra-fragrant Oriental Lilies you don’t smell anything special. These flowers will open up perfectly and their fragrance will enchant the person who takes them home, however, in the cooler they are just patiently waiting for their time to shine. This is not the case in the Oxnard bouquet division, the wonderful smell of the all the different elements is truly captivating.



Our Oxnard bouquet makers, with tulips, snapdragons and sunflowers.

Our farm in Oxnard has a little different vibe than Arcata, everybody has sunglasses either on or perched above their foreheads, this is a fashion accessory you rarely need in foggy Humboldt County. Getting to the farm you realize that you are in a serious agricultural area. Field after field is being plowed and shaped to grow strawberries, raspberries and a few flowers. According to Oxnard General Manager, Gerrit Vanderkooy, this land was all citrus groves, specifically lemons, up until the seventies. At that point, people started removing the lemons and planting huge fields of more profitable berry crops, it was at this same time that the first Dutch style greenhouse was built in the area.

Sun Valley now has three non-contiguous pieces of property we cultivate. We have named them, Home Ranch, Channel Islands and Golden Coast. If you are familiar with Southern California geography, you know the Channel Islands are just off the coast. I thought it was a long shot that we were actually growing flowers out on the Channel Islands, since most of them are a National Park. I did have a pleasant vision in my head that the Channel Islands Farm was near Channel Islands Beach. The farm would have a sweet view of the Islands as they lay off the coast in the warm waters of So-Cal. Add surfboards, guitars, bon fires, icy cold beer, along with some flowers, and this topped my list of “must see” things to do in Oxnard.

We hop into “Old Red” the mud caked Ford pick-up truck which will take us to the Channel Islands Farm, I immediately think, “Well, this ride isn’t going to impress anybody at the beach.” As we attempt to pull out into heavy traffic, my thoughts change to, “Well, I may die in this muddy truck.” Gerrit punches the gas pedal, and about 2 seconds later the truck lurches forward. I notice with a bit of concern that Gerrit is steering one way and “Old Red” is going the other. The truck miraculously straightens out onto the road.

Full steam ahead, I figure when we get to the beach, I may just have Gerrit drop me off behind a sand dune or something. We bump off the paved road onto a dirt track surrounding a huge swath of land in tidy rows. “Mmmm," I think, "taking the back roads to the beach, cool.”

A minute later the truck comes to a stop by a stand of iris, Lane and Gerrit hop out, Lane pulls one stem out of the ground and starts inspecting the bulb development with his pocket knife. Then they dive into crates of bulbs to see if they are at the ideal stage to be planted. Lane and Gerrit are discussing rhizomes, weather conditions and soil conditions, while I start having a realization.


Gerrit and Lane, with Casa Blanca Iris bulbs, ready to plant.

We walk the length of the field, team members are busy planting Telstar iris bulbs in the fertile soil. Besides the lack of beach, the scene is rather beautiful. The rows of bulbs are being planted by hand, surrounded by palm trees, raspberry fields and the mountains of the Los Padres National Forest rising in the distance. There is something intangibly peaceful about standing out in the fields. Perhaps it is the quiet, or the breeze, or the potential which the soil holds. I still can’t put my finger on it, but I see why farmers, whether flowers, wheat, cotton or whatever, do it. There is a quiet spiritual experience to be found out among the rows.



We hop back in the truck to head back to Home Ranch. Old Red’s engine pouring on more horsepower that somehow gets lost before it reaches the rear wheels.

“So Gerrit, why do you call this field Channel Islands?”

His finger points up from the steering wheel to a passing street sign which reads, Channel Islands Boulevard.

“This is not the first time I’ve explained this question” he replies, with a knowing smile as his eyes laugh behind his sunglasses.  “You want to head over to Golden Coast?”

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