Are flowers making them sick?

As flower farmers, we are committed to keeping our land and flowers as clean as possible.  We built up our soil over a period of a few years by bringing in horse manure from an owner we know did not spray chemicals, grew cover crops, and built our flower beds with organic compost.  We fertilize our flowers with fish emulsion and calcium extracted from eggshells from our kitchen.  We simply don’t want to work and live around chemicals that cause health problems.  We have pets and grandchildren who are constantly around our home and flower fields.  We sell our flowers to people who live in our community and to florists within our community.  We want to provide beautiful flowers for you, but we also want to provide flowers that are not compromised by chemicals.

I have done some reading on the subject of chemicals in the cut flower industry and the information is alarming, but not really surprising.  None of us wants to handle things that are covered in pesticides and carcinogenic chemicals, especially something as beautiful as flowers!  The risk is, admittingly, greatest for the floral industry workers, including those who harvest and process the flowers, typically in other countries, but also for the florists in our community who work with those flowers every day.

Because most consumers want perfect flowers, and hopefully inexpensive flowers, the majority of cut flowers come into the U.S. from Colombia and Ecuador, and sometimes Kenya and Ethiopia.  In order to be profitable, they cannot afford to lose flowers to bugs, pests or disease so they spray them with pesticides.  The lucky field workers are provided protective suits and masks, but not all are so lucky.  After the flowers finally reach our florists (let’s not even talk about the carbon footprint), they handle them all day long to create beautiful arrangements that make their way into our homes, our weddings, and other celebrations. 

What is the answer?  As a local flower farmer, I feel very good about offering flowers to our customers that are free from these chemicals.  But locally grown flowers are completely seasonal.  That means I cannot provide peonies in August, or zinnias in April, or dahlias in May.  Maybe we all need a shift in the way we think about flowers and accept that we should work within the seasons of what blooms at a specific time of the year.  There is a florist in Baltimore, Ellen Frost of Local Color Flowers, (http://www.locoflo.com/) who only uses locally grown flowers. For her that means from flower farmers within approximately 100 miles of her studio.  Her model is one that allows her to know who is growing the flowers she uses so that she can be sure her flowers are pesticide-free, in addition to being super-fresh and will provide the longest vase life possible.

Like most things, this is information you can do with what you will.  The old phrase that “when we know better then we do better” (or something like that) can be true if you want it to be true.  For me, that means I am reading labels of the foods I purchase and attempt to buy things that are made with clean ingredients I can pronounce and understand what they are.  I buy organic when possible.  While I’m not 100% there yet, I am paying attention and making changes every day.  One way I continue to do this is by our flowers.  You can rest assured that the flowers we grow are free from chemical pesticides.  They are harvested at the proper stage, conditioned, and made into bouquets that you can enjoy!

I hope you, like me, continue to work towards being as healthy as possible by choosing to eat clean food and bring things, like flowers, into your home that are also clean. 

If you would like to read a bit more about this topic, here are three of the many articles I’ve recently read that discuss this in greater detail:

1)       Pesticide Residues on Three Cut Flower Species and Potential Exposure of Florists in Belgium  https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5086682/#sec5-ijerph-13-00943

2)       The environmental impact of cut flowers? Not so rosy  https://ideas.ted.com/the-environmental-impact-of-cut-flowers-not-so-rosy/

3)       ‘There’s a dark side to floristry’: are pesticides making workers seriously ill – or worse?  https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/jan/11/theres-a-dark-side-to-floristry-are-pesticides-making-workers-seriously-ill-or-worse

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Summer flowers are showing off this week

• The dahlias are demanding all the attention

  • They seem to be loving the heat and are getting much taller and they are in a variety of colors: light pink, dark pink, salmon, yellow, burgundy, deep red, and white

• The zinnias are a beautiful salmon-peach color

  • Benary zinnias offer a full flower head with a large size

  • Oklahoma zinnias have smaller flower heads and more of a rounded/ball shape

• The Rudbeckia Indian Summer is masquerading as a sunflower

  • They have the most beautiful yellow-gold petals with a dark black center

  • Their flower heads range from 3” - 6” which is why some people mistake them for sunflowers

• The statice is shy but sweet

  • These come in a light purple and a purple-pink colors

  • They are dainty but add that something special to an arrangement

• The eucalyptus tried to leave over the winter but couldn’t stay away

  • The cold snaps we had this winter killed back all of the above-ground growth but these girls are made of tuff stuff because they came back stronger than ever

  • We have the most recognized Silver Dollar along with the dainty Baby Blue

• The lisianthus decided they want to show off

  • They like a cool start but then thrive in the heat of summer

  • Ours are blooming in various shades of light and dark purple, and a deep rose shade

• The hypericum berries are standing tall among the crowd

  • The start with bright yellow flowers about the size of a nickel and then produce the cutest peachy-orange berries

• The basil is trying to join the show

  • Lemon basil adds both beautiful greenery as well as a magnificent lemon sent . . . always a big hit

  • Cinnamon basil has made a first-time appearance and we are waiting to see just how cinnamon-y her scent will be

• There are other flowers trying to be ready to bloom and join the show and should be here soon!

Peonies & When to Cut Them

Freshly cut Sarah Burnhardt Peonies

I have had so many questions about when to cut peonies to enjoy in your home. This is really quite simple with a few things to keep in mind . . .

• Harvest them when the bud feels similar to a marshmallow when you gently squeeze them (seriously, it’s that simple)!

• If you have a lot of buds, you can experiment with storing them in the refrigerator for 1-3 weeks and taking them out a few at a time.

• Strip the leaves, or at least the ones that will be below the water line.

Now, to be sure you have healthy plants year after year, consider these suggestions . . .

• Make sure you leave at 2/3 of the peony plant stems on the plant so that it can photosynthesize over the summer

• If the summer has a dry spell, be sure to water the plants

• Fertilize them in August and then again in the spring, as soon as you see the first signs of growth

• In the Fall, when the leaves turn brown, cut them back to ground level and discard the leaves rather than leave them around the plants

If you follow these steps, you will have healthy plants for decades to come!

Enjoy!!

One of 200+ peony plants on our flower farm.

Once they have buds, we check them three times each day for the marshmallow stage for harvesting so that they provide the longest vase life for our flower customers.

Flower Farming in January

Many people seem to think there is nothing to do in winter on a flower farm . . .

. . . well, that is interesting because we have been busy tending to the flowers we planted in the Fall in the high tunnel and in the field . . . and we keep an eye on moisture content so that we water as needed . . . and we are getting ready to start seeds this weekend. So, while winter farming is different that summer farming, there are still many chores to keep us busy.

This is a picture of the inside of our 96’ high tunnel. With the temperatures dropping to below freezing and even into the single digits, we have added frost cloth over the rows of flowers that are going to be blooming in early spring. When the days warm up, we pull the frost cloth back and water as necessary.

Do you have outdoor chores around your home or garden? If so, you can relate.

And for those of you who love the snow, this is a picture of the flower bed area and the high tunnel beyond. We actually have three 50’ rows planted in the field with more cool hardy annual flowers. I’m trusting the process that they will be fine covered in snow . . . I’ll let you know how it works out

That’s all for this winter update with what’s happening on the farm.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy your day!

Ann & Jamie Call
Montpelier Flower Farm

Flowers really do make us happy!

. . . and improve our lives, among other things.

You and I know how much we love flowers, but did you know there have been studies that support this too?

Here are a few things the studies reveal:

1. Women who received flowers consistently displayed genuine (“Duchenne”) smiles immediately and reported higher positive mood three days later compared to before receiving flowers.

2. Giving a flower to a stranger in an elevator led to more social behavior and positive interaction than giving other items.

3. Older adults who received flowers reported improved mood and memory outcomes compared to controls.

4. Just viewing fresh flowers can measurably increase relaxation responses and improve mood in a typical work environment.

5. In an exploratory study, participants in rooms with flower displays judged pictures of people more positively than participants in rooms without flowers.

So, now we can all feel a little better about enjoying fresh flowers in our homes and offices and giving them to friends and family! Isn’t it amazing how something as simple as a vase of fresh flowers can make the world a little better! I’m so happy to be part of something that has the ability to make people genuinely smile, improve their mood, enhance social interactions, relax, and have a more positive view of the world around them.

As a flower farmer, this may be a bit self-serving, but I think it is important that we all enjoy more fresh flowers . . . and give flowers to those we know and love (and maybe even a stranger an elevator)!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy your day!

The studies include: (1 - 3) Haviland-Jones, Jeannette & Hale, Holly & Wilson, Patricia & Mcguire, Terry. (2005). An Environmental Approach to Positive Emotion: Flowers. Evolutionary Psychology. 3. 10.1177/147470490500300109. (4) https://doi.org/10.1186/1880-6805-33-6 (5) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0950329316301173

Would you like to have a cutting garden?

I started down this journey that led me to flower farming because I wanted to have a cutting garden. My first attempt was a complete failure because I knew absolutely nothing about growing flowers. My husband was kind enough to build me a raised flower bed and fill it with potting soil, but it turned out that all of the flowers I bought at local big box store were low growing, mounding type plants! Not even ONE was tall enough to be cut and put into a vase. Fast forward, now I grow flowers on about half an acre on our farm and cannot believe how lucky I am to be doing this!

If you want to start a cutting garden there are several things to be aware of and plan for . . .

1. Choose the location based on the types of flowers you want to grow. Do they need shade, part-shade, some sun (this generally means they want morning sun, but not the harsh afternoon sun), or full sun. Most cut flowers prefer full sun.

2. Choose your flowers. When you purchase plants at a nursery or seeds to start your own seedlings or direct seed . . . read the label/packet information. Both will usually tell you the height of the flower at harvest time. Generally speaking, you want flowers that will be at least 18” tall to be considered for a cutting garden. Note, there are some beautiful flowers that are only 12” - 14” tall, but these will be used in short vases.

3. Determine if they need to be started ahead of time and then transplanted into your cutting garden or if they prefer to be direct sown. If they do best as a transplant, start your seeds based on the seed package information so that they are ready to transplant after the date of your area’s average last spring frost. This is also the date you will sow seeds that prefer to be direct sown.

4. Water. Young plants need to watered regularly and not be allowed to completely dry out. However, you also don’t want to water them too much because that will cause them to rot and die.

5. Weeds. Ugh! You want to keep a handle on weeds so they do not choke out your plants. My recommendation is to check the garden bed at least twice a week to pull weeds when they are at the “thread” stage (the roots are as thin as a thread). It is easy to get rid of them at this stage.

6. Cut - Harvest. Cutting gardens are for cutting!! Many flowers you use in a cutting garden are considered “cut and come again” types. The more you cut, the more they produce. My favorites include zinnias, various types of celosia, and Mrs. Burns lemon basil. I also like to include sunflowers in a cutting garden but I prefer the single stem varieties. If you include these too, you will need to plant a few seeds each week or two.

7. Enjoy! You may find that you have more than you can use each week, so they become a great way to bless other people in your life.

Having a cutting garden can be a lot of fun but it does require a commitment to tending to it on a regular basis. Let me know if you would like more detailed information on starting your own cutting garden. I’ve considered putting together a seed pack for a cutting garden or possibly starting the seedlings for cutting gardens to have ready for sale (a gift?) at the optimum planting time. I would love to know if anyone would be interested in something like that. In any case, if you have a cutting garden of your own, I would enjoy seeing pictures of it. Flowers brighten a room, make a home smell good, bring a smile to a face, and give us a way to share beauty with those around us.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy your day!

How can I make my cut flowers last longer?

There are tried and true things we can all do to make our cut flowers last as long as possible. Of course, we must first be aware that some types of flowers can last up to two weeks when cared for properly, while others, like Dahlias, give us only about five days before they are finished showing off!

The things you can do include:

1. Make sure your vase is clean and change your water every day or every other day, seriously!! There is a saying in the flower farming world that whatever you put your flowers in should be clean enough that you would drink out of it too.

2. When you change the water, take a slight trim off the ends of the stems or cut into them vertically a smidge. This makes sure they can drink up as much water as they need.

3. I thought everyone knew this, but then I found out I was wrong . . . no leaves below the water line! Leaves below the water line get all slimy and gross which leads to bacteria growing in the water, and then you have water you wouldn’t drink so your flowers shouldn’t either.

4. Some flowers are considered dirty flowers . . . like sunflowers, zinnias, celosia, and several more. We put a CVBN tablets in our water buckets to keep bacteria from growing. Once I’ve put them in a vase in my own house, I simply change the water often and sometimes I rinse the stems at the bottom of vase. (I have heard some people put a drop of bleach in the water of their dirty flowers, but I cannot confirm or deny the validity of this practice!)

5. Keep your vase of flowers away from direct sunlight and heat sources, and away from FRUIT . . . yes, fruit. There are many types of fruit that put off ethylene gas that may make some flowers wilt quickly. I don’t know which fruits are the worst offenders so I keep my flowers away from where my bananas are ripening on the counter in my kitchen!

6. And the final thing you can do, if you have the space, is to put your flowers in the refrigerator at night. Think about where florists keep their flower arrangements . . . in the frig! [update: it’s important to note that not all flowers like to be in a cooler/refrigerator . . . especially zinnias and basil]

I hope this gives you some ideas on how to get the most out of your flowers. If you know any other tricks, please share them with me.

In the words of Tigger, TTFN flower friends!!

Ann Call

Montpelier Flower Farm