"Fresh Flowers are too expensive!"

Fresh Produce for June 25th

I had a wedding on my calendar for September 22, 2001. (Note that this day is 11 days after the infamous 9/11). My bride had just moved to Southern Indiana from Boston. Her family still lived there and was traveling here for her wedding. Needless to say a few days after 9/11, we were in "re-grouping" mode. No one was flying in airplanes and her family was trying to figure how to get here from Boston without a really long drive for some of the older relatives. Behind the scenes I was frantically trying to figure out how her flowers were going to get into the United States. Many of the things she had chosen were coming from South America and Holland.

My heart went out to her. Do you have a wedding without your family here? Do you postpone the wedding until who knows when. And how do you stop all the wedding wheels that are already in progress. She asked me for my opinion and I told her that in my opinion a wedding is about the gathering of a community of family and friends to help you celebrate a joyous occassion. Anybody can legally be married by a County Clerk or Judge. But the ceremony should include those you love. She decided to postpone the wedding and have her family and friends share the day with her.

So back to the flower issue. Huge refrigerated planes from all over the world with flowers coming into the United States were diverted to Mexico and wholesalers were scrambling trying to get trucks down there to salvage the orders. Millions of dollars of flowers were spoiled in cargo planes waiting for trucks that couldn't get there in time. And millions of florists were frantically trying to figure out how to get flowers. We live in a world that has gone global with many industries and the cut flower market is no exception.

I can remember a day when people used to get flowers that were in season to save money. I still have clients that will ask me what is in season in order to save some dollars in their budget. That day is long gone. I mean, really.. do you see gardeners with cutting gardens that can supply all the orders for a town or city? Most flowers are grown in countries that have longer growing seasons than many of the States in America. It may seem like this would add to the cost of the flowers having to ship them in, but it actually evens out, because they can produce more flowers.

The only time to be aware of inflated prices for flowers is around holidays where the demand is high. For example; Valentine's Day and Mother's Day. If you plan an event around either of these holidays, you WILL pay more for flowers. It's that old economic truth of supply and demand. Many of the rose growers take a loss all year to be able to have enough plants to supply the rose demand at Valentine's Day. Which is why you see so many cash and carry Rose specials. Growers are pratically giving them away to keep healthy plants for cutting in February.

There are some flowers that simply are not grown during certain months, but if you wanted tulips in November you can get them without paying an arm and a leg for them because of the global cut flower market.

If you are ever in Holland, make sure you visit the Dutch cut flower market. Football fields with flatbeds of flowers are bought and sold by the millions daily.

A new feature of my blog will include a flower of the week. I am calling it "Nancy's Cutting Garden". I will attempt to educate you about some of the flowers that are available for you and some of their traits. I will give you their common name as well as their botanical name. Maybe I should go alphabetically......

"Nancy's Cutting Garden" flower of the week: Agapanthus - Lily of the Nile

Cut agapanthus are available in peak quantities from May through August, with limited quantities the rest of the year. They are a bulb and for you gardeners, will grow in Zones 7 - 11.

They come in white, blue and lavendar.

The name agapanthus is derived from the Greek 'agape', meaning love, and 'anthos', flower.
The plants are native to South Africa and were brought back to Europe in the seventeenth century by the first European settlers when they stopped in the cape to replenish their supplies.
Agapanthus africanus was first introduced to Europe in 1679.

On the cut flower market, they are kind of pricey: $6.00 - $10.00 per stem. But you don't need very many to be a beautiful display, so they become cost effective in that manner. These are my daughter, Cassie's favorite flower.

Let me know what you think about the addition of "Nancy's Cutting Garden"! Hope you are enjoying the blog!

Next "Fresh Produce" Beverages for summer parties