Tulips!

Edmonton weather is not for the faint of heart. We went from snow straight to temperatures in the mid- to high-twenties. The tulips are almost gone before they even had a chance! That's always the risk here, which I try and minimize by planting early and late tulips. This extends the bloom time of my tulip beds by at least one to two weeks. In other places or other years, this might be longer. 

Late night bouquet photo featuring 'Belle Epoch,' 'Shirley' and 'Apricot Foxx' tulips, as well as apple and saskatoon branches. 

I tried a number of new and beautiful varieties of tulips this year including 'Belle Epoque' which has been popular in the farmer/florist set for the last two years, 'Dream Touch'  and 'Apricot Foxx.' Surprisingly most people comment on the dramatic 'White Triumphator' tulips, a favourite at Sissinghurst Garden in the UK, which have exceptionally long stems (almost two feet) and gracefully arched, pointed, pure white petals. I paired them with 'Havran' and black parrot tulips in a classic combination. 

Early morning harvest of 'White Triumphator.' black parrot, 'Angelique' and 'Apricot Foxx' tulips along with 'Cheerfulness' daffodils

I've been asked several times where I source tulips from as it can be difficult to find interesting bulbs in Edmonton. You may laugh at the name but I got beautiful bulbs from flowerbulbsrus.com, as well as Botanus and Veseys. Pretty soon they will all be pulled up to make room for the next set of flowers and some vegetables. No time for nostalgia in the garden! Plus many tulips do not do well the second year in the garden. The only notable performers I've had are 'Spring Green' which has grown to an identical height and size in its second year, 'Shirley' and an unknown basic purple which has naturalized in our herb garden. 

'Dream Touch' tulip

Spring!

It's amazing how it can go from nothing to abundance in the span of a few weeks. While it seems to take forever to warm up, now things are bursting forth. The cherry trees are beautiful right now and the apples are just on the cusp of blooming. Meanwhile in the garden, the tulips and daffodils are putting on a show and what a welcome one it is! Not even last week's snow could get them down.

I got to make a few special Mother's Day arrangements using only flowers and branches from my garden, which was so exciting after months of winter. The arrangement above (made for my mom!) features my new favourite tulip, 'Brown Sugar.' I love the caramel-orange and pink tones in it. I also can't believe my luck this year with daffodils! I planted only three varieties since they've never performed well for me in the past, but they've all sprouted and begun to bloom. As promised, 'Barret Browning,' the large white and orange daffodil, was up early and is a vigorous performer, with several flowers per bulb. Sweet little 'Minnow' has also started to bloom in the last few days and is the pale yellow flower you see hanging around the lip of the urn. 

While the nights are still cool, I am already looking ahead to when I can plant the dozens of dahlias and other seedlings growing all over the house. I have to remember to just enjoy each day and not be too impatient. Hope you are also taking time to enjoy the spring weather and growing abundance! 

'Brown Sugar' tulip

A small centerpiece featuring bleeding hearts, apple branches, 'Minnow' daffodils, blue scilla, vinca, violets, and the first 'Angelique' tulip

Took this photo as the sun was starting to set which seemed fitting given its dusky base colours - this arrangement features whole violet plants, vinca, forget me nots, apple and saskatoon branches, and the first beautiful stems of bleeding heart. 

Sweet peas (and why it's hard to find scented cut flowers)

As I’ve been starting my sweet peas and other flowers from seed, I’ve been imagining who will end up with these blossoms. It’s always someone drawn by their fragrance. The scent of sweet peas reminds me of childhood summers and the butterfly kisses you get from the petals when you bury your face in a bunch. Perhaps you might be reminded of your grandmother, or a trip to an English walled garden. Sweet peas are undoubtedly a special flower.

Sweet peas are one of the few popular cut flowers that still reward you with scent. It amazes me that when people receive flowers the first thing they do is smell them, despite the fact that most cut flowers have had any fragrance bred out of them. Now that’s an ingrained association!

A beautiful bunch of garden roses with a rich fragrance and the most beautifully shaped petals.

Plant breeders have long worked to remove scent from flowers because it reduces vase life. The more energy the flower has to put into producing scent, the less goes into prolonging the bloom. Thus, we see wild or garden roses have incredibly rich scents but last only a few days, while the typical roses you buy by the dozen in the supermarket or receive in floral arrangements smell like a flower shop (that weird combination of chemicals, dying plant matter, and a hint of something spicy (usually carnations)).  Even sweet peas have undergone this hybridization – you can get bunches from Europe or Japan with exceptionally long stems and long lasting flowers but little to no scent.

What I find fascinating is that the current cut flower trade arose largely from a desire for scent, not for longevity or colour, as is emphasized today. ‘Nosegays’ (small bunches) of violets, a rather humble looking flower, were brought in fresh each morning from farms and sold on the street for their scent alone. As the floral trade went global, the demands on flowers have increased, devaluing scent and now requiring straight, long stems, uniformity of colour, tolerance of dry shipping, resistance to fungus and disease, and, above all else, longevity. These traits ensure that most of the time product is arriving on time, in good condition, and is exactly what the customer expected; they increase efficiency and everyone’s bottom line, from growers to wholesalers to florists.

Lilac, little daffodils and even the spiraea used in this arrangement all smell delicious and scream spring but rarely last a week once cut

Whether these traits increase YOUR bottom line is a personal choice. When I design flowers, I’m motivated by a desire to provide a richly detailed sensory experience, a unique work of art, albeit a temporary one, just as someone who designs fantastic wedding cakes or delicate multilayered pastries might be. I don’t mind incorporating flowers that will die in a few days, because I’m willing to sacrifice longevity for a more natural look and feel. When you choose flowers, maybe it’s colour or a dramatic bloom that helps you decide, but you are also making choices and tradeoffs about other traits you value in flowers – whether that be fragrance, locally grown, or long lasting.

The role of a floral designer is to share their expertise to help you make that decision. For a wedding, flowers only need to look perfect for the day of the event so you might be more willing to go all out when it comes to bodacious peonies and dahlias, scented garden roses and sweet peas, and every shade of zinnia, things that don’t always last that long in the vase. Whereas if you are buying flowers for a reception desk you might want something that lasts at least a week and needs minimal care, like bright sunflowers and tulips, or a beautiful stem of amaryllis.

For the most part, there is a flower out there for everyone. But scented sweet peas, sweet peas from my garden - those are only for the romantics. 

Sweet peas growing in the garden

Reign of Ranunculus

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 

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Holly Carlisle Photography

Lemonade and Creamsicles: A Garden Preview

This garden preview features my favourite hydrangea, 'Kyushu.' It's a lacy, understated hydrangea that puts on a real show towards the end of the summer. It's an older variety so you might have some trouble finding it - 'Tardiva' and 'Interhydia' are newer and more readily available. But neither have the same early and abundant white heads that fade into dusty pink so I'll be taking cuttings this year in hopes of establishing some more bushes. 

I like to use 'Kyushu' with anything I can, but here I've combined it with some frilly hollyhocks, foxglove, poppies, and dahlia 'Normandy Bright Day.' Used all together these flowers would make a big, fun statement bouquet, but they could also be mixed with more white and green to form soft, lush arrangements. Just add tall glasses of strawberry lemonade and some creamsicles to the table and you're all set for a party! 

Photo credit from top left: Amy Sanderson, Oakridge Dahlias, Lea Sanderson, Thompson and Morgan, Renee's Garden