I admit that I'm a flower addict - an expensive and consuming habit that is capable of sending me into a delirium. Dramatic you might say, but if you could have seen the ranunculus Little Flower School found for us to play with a few weeks ago in New York City I think you would understand. Most of the ones I am sharing today are grown in New Jersey at Hautau & Sons and only available through the New York flower market, although there are many more varieties available from Holland, Italy, France and Japan.
In the U.S. I always think it's a tragedy that more people don't get married in March as the offerings at the flower market are unparalleled when it comes to shape and colour. Wedding blogs and Instagram are echoing this rush with gorgeous spring inspiration everywhere. The west coast in particular has exploded into full spring with local lilac and peony, mixed with the best of Dutch and Japanese offerings of ranunculus, anemones, fritillaria and sweet peas. It's easy to be seduced into believing that spring is coming for Edmonton too.
Making flowers in Edmonton is a wholly different enterprise than making flowers in New York City or even most places in the U.S. Our ability to get flowers here is shaped by global supply and demand, the relatively small Canadian market, and our location at the end of every supply chain. It is also limited by a dearth of local growers, although I am excited by all the wonderful tulips now being grown around Edmonton/Red Deer. I would love to say that you could find the flowers I am posting today in Edmonton and that, indeed, you too should get married in March, but unfortunately I cannot. Still, I decided to post these pictures because I think they are aspirational of the kind of flowers I hope we begin to grow more locally, and also they are a reminder that spring will eventually come.
If you DO have your heart set on ranunculus (which I totally understand), then you should get married in March/April, because that's when they are flooding the international market in such numbers that we can easily get an array of colours, even in Edmonton! However, for more delicate flowers such as lilac and peony, typical romantic spring blooms, then the time to get married is June. That's when they are locally available in a wide variety (but please don't steal them from local parks or your neighbors). For flower addicts like myself, winter can be long and arduous, but an occasional trip to New York or the West Coast provides the best kind of high.
First two photos are from the talented Holly Carlisle
