Tulip Time!!
Guess what?? Tulips are actually from Turkey NOT Holland and they're relatives of onion and garlic. Put that in your next trivia pipe and smoke it!
It's crazy to pluck these babies from the ground and know that this day has been 8 months in the making. Hours and hours of research was poured into growing greenhouse tulips and yet even with all of the prepping and planning, nothing can compare to actually getting in there and doing the damn thing. Oversights happened, timing was slightly off for half of them, and now that they are being harvested and put in the cooler, more trials and lessons await, I'm sure. Because this was my first time taking on such a project, I went with wholesale bulbs that were "leftovers" to save on cost "just in case". This year, all of the tulips are "singles" but don't for a second think that makes them inferior. There is so much magic tucked inside each bulb and having all of the flowers this year be a "surprise" has made me fall in love with this entire process. To have never really given these harbingers of spring much of a thought before is a lapse of attention that I'll be making up for for at least a few seasons because now I'm in full obsessive mode and the last time this level of fanaticism happened...well, I started a farm, so this'll be interesting. Marveling at the bold colors and simple elegance of the singles, I can't help but to dream of this time next year when we'll be losing our shit over varieties that will be more flamboyant and exotic and come with names like "Tulipa Tarda" and "Belle du Monde".
To ensure that you get the most out of your bouquets, we harvest tulips when they are still closed but we can see color showing through. We pull the entire plant, bulb and all out of the ground so that we can store in our walk-in cooler without water. The temperature and lack of light halt the growth while the bulb provides everything the tulip needs to stay fresh. To prepare your bouquet, we will snip the bulbs off, put in a bucket of water and remove from the cooler a few hours before delivery to start the "opening up" process. For me, personally, I love a "living" bouquet and watching it evolve day by day. So far, I'd say my favorite day is day 7 or 8 once the blooms blow up and they start going their "own ways" making for an unstructured and flow-y bouquet. If we do our part right, along with you using the steps below, these blooms should last you up to 10 days or maybe even a few more.
Make a fresh cut in each stem.
Strip off any foliage that will lie below the water line.
Keep your vase as clean as you would your wine glass or tea cup!
Make sure your bouquet sits out of direct sunlight & drafts.
Replenish water every day or two.
As always, thank you so much for all of your support in yet another new endeavor that keeps us growing literally and figuratively!
Love,
Sarah
