Debra Prinzing

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SLOW FLOWERS Podcast: All about Protea – a South African native that flourishes on California Flower Farms (Episode 119)

Wednesday, December 11th, 2013
Protea is a dazzling native South African flower that has adapted to California's benign growing climate - thus, perfect for the American-grown cut flower industry.

Protea is a dazzling native South African flower that has adapted to California’s benign growing climate – thus, perfect for the American-grown cut flower industry.

Today’s guests are two of the most influential US growers of Protea.

Mel Resendiz, an expert grower of Protea and other South African and Australian ornamental plants.

Mel Resendiz, an expert grower of Protea and other South African and Australian ornamental plants.

Owner of Resendiz Brothers Protea Growers, based in Fallbrook, California (in northern San Diego County), Mel Resendiz has been growing protea for 35 years. He’s joined by colleague Diana Roy, an equally passionate protea fan who handles marketing and promotion for Resendiz Proteas. 

You’ll hear us refer to this lovely flower a few ways. It’s spelled P-R-O-T-E-A, but pronounced:

Pro-tee-ay-AH . . . Pro-tee-Ah . . . or . . . pro-Tay_AH 

Whichever way you pronounce it, Protea is a luscious native South African flower, said to have been named after the Greek God Proteus, who was able to change into many different forms.

The Proteaceae family of plants is comprised of more than 1,400 species. Ranging from 2 to 12 inches in size, Proteas typically blooms in fall, winter and spring, although the folks at Resendiz are able to harvest and ship the flower year-round to customers in the U.S., Canada & Japan, due to their growing practices and attention to detail. 

Diana Roy, a board member of the California Cut Flower Industry and active protea promoter.

Diana Roy, a board member of the California Cut Flower Commission and active protea promoter. She was captured here at an industry event in a gerbera greenhouse.

 

A Resendiz bouquet in which Protea is paired with Pincushion flower (Leucospermum).

A Resendiz bouquet in which Protea is paired with Pincushion flower (Leucospermum).

Why are these South African plants now considered a valuable California flower crop? It’s because coastal California is one of five Mediterranean regions of the globe, similar to South Africa, Australia/New Zealand, Chile and Greece. Full sun, well-drained soil, good air circulation, mild winters and acid soil ensure that proteas thrive as if they were in their native environment.  

Established in 1999 and today one of California’s largest supplier of South African and Australian floral products and plants, Resendiz produces more than 200 varieties of these unique native plants.  Known for their exceptional value and long vase life, the protea and other blooms like PincushionsBanksiaKangaroo Paws and  Leucadendroncreate dramatic impact when incorporated in arrangements and bouquets. Many varieties are hybrids – grown only by Resendiz Brothers.

A wedding bouquet pairing protea with roses!~

A wedding bouquet pairing protea with roses!~

Rich in color, texture and form, the protea is both dramatic and exotic. The spectrum ranges from warm to cool colored blooms — Rich reds, deep pinks, and fresh greens. Together, these blooms make stunning arrangements – and they are long-lasting – a huge bonus for the florist and DIY designer alike.

If  you want an American-grown flower that will dazzle in the bouquet or the vase, look no further than the Protea.

Thank you  for joining me in this episode of the SLOW FLOWERS Podcast with Debra Prinzing. Because of your support as a listener, there have been nearly 4,000 downloads since July – and I thank you for taking the time to join to my conversations with flower farmers, florists and other notable floral experts.

If you like what you hear, please consider logging onto Itunes and posting a listener review.

Until next week please join me in putting more American grown flowers on the table, one vase at a time. 

The Slow Flowers Podcast is engineered and edited by Hannah Holtgeerts. Learn more about her work at hhcreates.net. 

SLOW FLOWERS: Week 49

Sunday, December 8th, 2013

Conifers, Cones and Lilies

Deep raspberry-pink lilies (Oregon grown) paired with evergreens from my yard.

Deep raspberry-pink lilies (Oregon grown) paired with evergreens from my yard.

Ingredients:
5 stems dark pink ‘Rio Negro’ hybrid Oriental lilies, greenhouse grown by Peterkort Roses
5 stems Norway spruce (Picea abies), gleaned from my driveway
7 short branches Western red cedar (Thuja plicata), clipped from my garden
3 stems Camellia (Camellia japonica), clipped from my garden
5 lengths variegated ivy (Hedera helix), trimmed from a neighbor’s fence


Lovely cones contrast organically with the teal vase and blue-green needles.

Lovely cones contrast organically with the teal vase and blue-green needles.

Vase:

12-inch tall x 9-inch diameter with 6-inch opening vintage McCoy urn

Design 101
Lilies for longevity: When you design with Oriental lilies, more than a week of enjoyment will ensue. One or two blooms at a time open and share their loveliness almost in succession, ensuring that something is always in flower. Don’t forget to clip the pollen-laden stamen and pistils from the center of each bloom as it opens. Otherwise, as those pieces fall, they can stain table linens.

 

 

 

 

 

SLOW FLOWERS Podcast: All About Growing Lavender with Susan Harrington (Episode 117)

Wednesday, November 27th, 2013

Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. Think about seeing a vivid purple-tinged field of lavender. Now imagine yourself walking through it, brushing your fingertips on the scented flowers dancing tall on their wand-like stems. Don’t you wish you could be transported to that place right now?

Fresh cut bunches of lavender from Labyrinth Hill Lavender (photo courtesy Susan Harrington)

Fresh cut bunches of lavender from Labyrinth Hill Lavender (photo courtesy Susan Harrington)

 

There is something so evocative about Lavandula, the plant that is the basis for all of Susan Harrington’s growing, writing and teaching activities. The owner with her husband Jack Harrington of Labyrinth Hill Lavender, Susan is today’s guest on the Slow Flowers Podcast.

Susan connects people with lavender, whether at the farmers' market, in workshops and through her web-based educational programs.

Susan connects people with lavender, whether at the farmers’ market, in workshops and through her web-based educational programs.

We met up recently after I attended one of Susan’s inspiring (and intoxicatingly fragrant) workshops at a local garden center. Susan and I discussed her decade-long adventure growing lavender on her “backyard farm” and how that led to a vibrant cottage industry selling fresh-cut lavender and dried lavender buds, first at the farmers’ market and later via mail order. Susan has expanded Labyrinth Hill Lavender into online training for others who want to get into the lavender-growing business and now, a regional conference for lavender farming.

Here is her famous lavender labyrinth, planted with 150 Lavandula x intermedia ‘Fred Boutin’ plants. The labyrinth measures 40-feet in diameter and produces about 700 fresh-cut bundles of lavender per season. 

The lavender labyrinth at peak of season. Photo, courtesy Susan Harrington

The lavender labyrinth at peak of season. Photo, courtesy Susan Harrington

Susan mentioned her YouTube video in which she demonstrates her Lavender Bud De-Nuding Process. It’s a little tongue-in-cheek, but clearly a huge success as a method for anyone harvesting lavender buds for aromatherapy or crafting:


More details discussed in our conversation:

Information about Susan’s online lavender growing course, and her FREE mini-course on growing lavender

Information about the October 2014 Northwest Regional Lavender Conference, which Susan and Jack are producing with the Oregon Lavender Association. 

 

SLOW FLOWERS: Week 46

Sunday, November 17th, 2013

A (LOVING) CUP FULL OF AUTUMN

The last flowers of summer, not to mention those like me who love them, are often reluctant to disappear come fall. That was the case with these beautiful Cafe au Lait dahlias.

The last flowers of summer, not to mention those like me who love them, are often reluctant to disappear come fall. That was the case with these beautiful Cafe au Lait dahlias.

 

Love the detail on this trophy, which my friend Kathryn Renner urged me to acquire.

Love the detail on this trophy, which my friend Kathryn Renner urged me to acquire.

Ingredients:

5 stems Rosa ‘Piano Freiland’, grown by Peterkort Roses
3 stems Dahlia ‘Cafe au Lait’, grown by Jello Mold Farm
9 blades green millet (Setaria italica ‘Highlander’), grown by Jello Mold Farm
3 stems scarlet oak foliage (Quercus coccinea), grown by Oregon Coastal Flowers
3 stems wild rose hips, harvested by Oregon Coastal Flowers
 
Vase:
10½ inch tall x 4-inch diameter vintage silver loving cup (look for old trophies at thrift stores or online auctions; or perhaps you’ll find one in the family that has personal meaning).
 
Design 101
A floral designer’s recipe: To create a classic floral arrangement, I need ingredients to fulfill three purposes. First, I choose the diva – an eye-catching, dramatic bloom with a symmetrical or dome-shaped form, such as a rose, peony or dahlia. Then I add taller ingredients to emerge from the main cluster of diva flowers. Flowering, fruiting or foliage-laden branches are ideal – I consider them the arrangement’s exclamation point. Finally, I add softer elements to drape over the edge of the vase, dripping like chandelier crystals.
 
 
 

SLOW FLOWERS: Week 39

Sunday, September 29th, 2013
Bowl on kitchen counter

I placed my beautiful bowl of zinnias on the kitchen counter, in front of a botanically-inspired tile triptych by artist Paula Gill of Red Step Studio

Ingredients:
 
5 stems fancy-leaf scented geranium (Pelargonium crispum), grown by Charles Little & Co.
7 stems Boltonia asteroides, a small daisy-like perennial, grown by Charles Little & Co.
7 stems Artemisia capillaris, a woody perennial, grown by Charles Little & Co.
6 stems pink crested cockscomb (Celosia cristata), grown by Charles Little & Co.
9 stems apricot cactus zinnias (Zinnia elegans ‘Pinca’), grown by J. Foss Garden Flowers
 
Great details add texture and interest!

Great details add texture and interest!

Vase:

4½-inch tall x 6¼-inch diameter hand-thrown clay bowl
 
Design 101
The power of green: The difference between one arrangement being just pretty and another being completely arresting is often not the flowers but the foliage. You see here that three similar-toned green elements are woven  together as a textured and verdant tapestry.
 
They are definitely the supporting actors to the zinnia and cockscomb divas, but they help this bouquet sing. Whenever you can use unexpected greenery, your design will take on a similar star quality. Often, these elements come straight from the garden – growing right under our noses.

 

Floral design in Tuscany

Friday, September 27th, 2013
The approach to Montisi, a small Tuscan village that has been our home this week.

The approach to Montisi, a small Tuscan village that has been our home this week.

 

Detail: An autumn bouquet from a Tuscan garden. Olives, roses, hydrangeas, scented pelargonium leaves, Rex begonia leaves - seen here.

Detail: An autumn bouquet from a Tuscan garden. Olives, roses, hydrangeas, scented pelargonium leaves, Rex begonia leaves – seen here.

This morning at the villa, two friends went off for watercolor lessons with resident expat artist Liz Cochrane.

After walking down to Il Barrino for hot tea and a croissant, I came back totally determined to make a bouquet for our group’s last night together.

We have a dinner coming in from Allesandro, the local chef (Marty organized the menu, which includes Ribollita, a Tuscan soup; sliced pork with balsalmic vinegar; zucchini flan; and that popular italian desert, Apple Pie!)

The Flower Arrangers’ Guild of Tuscany commenced its first session.

This garden is in its waning moments of late summer-early autumn. But it does not disappoint. So much to work with and we judiciously snipped, without hurting or denuding a single plant.

I had spotted a copper urn, weathered and slightly dented, sitting on the floor in the Lemonaio (the garden room). It inspired my palette – faded, tarnished and of the moment.

A rustic wooden garden bench, a perfect place to display and photograph my Tuscan bouquet in a timeworn copper vessel.

A rustic wooden garden bench, a perfect place to display and photograph my Tuscan bouquet in a timeworn copper vessel.

Here are the ingredients I began with:

1. Scented pelargonium foliage

2. Papyrus stems from the water pond

3. Hydrangeas – two types

4. Roses – two types

5. Olives branches w/fruit

6. Marguerite daisy foliage

7. Rex begonia foliage

Mary Watson joined me in the garden, eager to make something beautiful. She made two adorable bouquets:

Mary Watson, a new friend who I met through Marty Wingate. She is an art educator and bon vivant! Right when I started arranging this morning, Mary jumped into the fun.

Mary Watson, a new friend who I met through Marty Wingate. She is an art educator and bon vivant! Right when I started arranging this morning, Mary jumped into the fun.

 

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SLOW FLOWERS: Week 37

Sunday, September 15th, 2013

FADING HUES

Fading hues

This lovely autumn palette of fading flowers, foliage and seed heads reflects the season’s beauty.

Ingredients:

7 stems smoke tree (Cotinus coggygria ‘Grace’), harvested from Lizzy Jackson’s garden
7 stems pittosporum (Pittosporum sp.), harvested from the Lila B. lot garden
5 stems Dahlia ‘Hy Suntan’, grown by Jello Mold Farm
5 stems gold and pale pink garden roses, harvested from the Lila B. lot garden
3 stems terracotta-orange lilies (Lilium ‘Olina Tango’™), grown by Peterkort Roses
5 stems pale peach stock (Matthiola incana), grown by Repetto’s Nursery
7 stems perennial flax (Linum perenne), grown by Charles Little & Co.
7 stems brown millet (Setaria viridis ‘Caramel’), grown by Charles Little & Co.
Miscellaneous seed heads, harvested from the Lila B. lot garden, including purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), Euphorbia sp., and rose hips
2 clusters yellow pear tomatoes, harvested from Marritje Green’s garden
 
Vase:
 
7-inch tall x 10-inch diameter antique-finish urn with 6½-inch opening
 
Delicious array

The luscious selection of California, Washington and Oregon-grown floral elements – on display

Eco-technique

A fresh drink of water: There’s a proliferation of advice for keeping a bouquet of floral ingredients fresh and lasting for many days. But one of the most important things you can do is give stems clean water. That’s not so easy with an arrangement like this one, where all the stems are knit together in a tangle of chicken wire.
 
My friend Lorene Edwards Forkner shared this easy water-changing trick: Place the entire arrangement in the kitchen sink. Gently lift the foliage at one edge of the vase so the faucet’s spray nozzle is directed inside. Turn on the water and let it flow for a minute or two. The existing water will begin to overflow and go down the drain, displaced by fresh water that now occupies the vase (dry off the bottom and outside of the container when finished). Do this every day or two for the life of the arrangement.
 
 

Color of the Moment

Saturday, September 7th, 2013
Detail of my color palette

Coral pinks, rosy oranges, a touch of faded terracotta and some dark burgundy foliage.

The overall scheme of the flowers I played with this week is hard to name. I’ve come up with the following:

Terracotta Pink

Coral Pink

Peachy Apricot

Pinkish Orange

Faded Terracotta

I’m up for suggestions on how to describe these yummy colors!

Dan Pearson of Dan’s Dahlias grew the two types of dahlias – one leans more toward the pink end of the spectrum; the other is more like that faded terracotta color I mentioned.

The antique pink-hued Celosia were grown by Diane Szukovathy and Dennis Westphall of Jello Mold Farm.

As I was leaving the Seattle Growers Wholesale Market the other day, Janet Foss of J. Foss Garden Flowers handed me the bunch of alstroemeria as a gift. These little beauties have flecks of dark maroon on a pale orange-pink throat. I love the way they tie together the more solid colored flowers.

Peaches and Cream Trio

There is a peaches-and-cream (with rapsberries added) mood to this trio of vases.

I came home wondering what to do with these evocatove botanical elements. I pulled down three ivory vases – one is vintage Haegar; two are vintage Hull (from my recent trip to Iowa). It felt right to use these vessels, each of which has an eggshell-like color and texture.

I walked around my garden and snipped dark maroon foliage from the Ninebark shrub, which as you can see really helped to define the spaces between the flowers. I also snipped Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ in pinkish bud and a few sprays of an inherited chrysanthemum, the flower heads toned dark terra cotta.

A few more shots, showing the designs for my medium and small vintage pedestal bowls:

Small Vase

This little saucer didn’t have a lot of room for stems. So I used a hydrangea flower as a fresh “frog” to organize the other short stems.

 

Medium Vase

A fabulous, creamy white vintage compote-style bowl, used with a cage-shaped flower frog for this color-intensive bouquet.

Everything seems to come together as a lovely gathering of a beautiful hue. The color of the moment!

 

 

Into the Garden with Charles Anew

Wednesday, August 28th, 2013
Table Arrangement

A lovely table arrangement where the vases seem to blend into the primitive wall mural of Orient, New York . . . as imagined and painted by Skip many years ago.

Last April 2012, I wrote about the beautiful memoir by my late friend Clyde “Skip” Wachsberger.

The book is called Into the Garden With Charles.  It was first published privately by friends of Skip’s (under the guidance of editor and friend Karen Braziller) in December 2010. Farrar, Straus and Giroux published it commercially in early 2012, although Skip did not live to see that event. Read more about the book here.

I have not been able to visit Orient, New York, or see Charles Dean, Skip’s surviving husband, since January 2012, when I traveled there for the memorial service honoring Skip’s life. I love this place and all of the friends I’ve met through these two men. The garden during summertime at Adsworthy, where Skip and Charles made their home, is very special. And for some reason, my trips in recent years were during fall or winter, so I hadn’t toured that verdant place during its peak since 2005 or so. Too long!

Last week I was fortunate to return for a mere 36 hours. It wasn’t nearly enough time, but every moment was filled with wonder, delight, friendship and memories. 

One of the highlights was getting ready for a big, yummy, community dinner prepared by the man Charles has now found to spend his life with. That is Charles’s very personal story to tell, so I won’t say more. I’ll only add that he is now with a dear, charming person and I’m pleased to see Charles so happy.

Skip’s presence is still very much evident in his garden. I was mindful of his exuberant spirit watching over me as I snipped stems, leaves and flowers from uncommon specimens that he originally selected, planted and tended to over the years. The opportunity to create the centerpieces for our wonderful dinner party was all the more special for the connection I felt between those plants and Skip. While the bouquets’ dahlias came from a local flower farm stand and the yellow roses were a gift to Charles from a family friend visiting his sister, artist Frieda Dean, everything else came from Skip’s garden. I relied on his plants for bold and fine foliage, tiny buds, fern fronds and seed heads. Charles supplied the beautiful cut glass urn and two small cream pitchers for the vases. 

Our table sparkled with vintage linens, pottery, silver and stemware. You can see how it looked above.

Here are some more images of the bouquets, in the garden:

Bench with three vases

A still life with three bouquets, on a vintage cast-iron bench in the garden.

 

Small glass pitcher of flowers

A small glass pitcher looks so beautiful in the dappled light that spills onto an iron garden chair.

 

Iron Bench

The larger vase features all sorts of gorgeous leaves, fronds and stems from Skip’s garden.

I’ll close with one of Skip’s quote about his garden, excerpted from Into the Garden with Charles:

 “I had been presented with a blank canvas, a large one at that. For an artist, this was ideal. I gardened the way I painted: I began with a picture in my mind and then I figured out how to create it. The only difference was that my colors and textures were living beings with a thirst for life; they would grow every which way once I had placed them on the canvas. I had no intention of ever finishing the painting.”

 

 

Meet Village Green, a Neighborhood Nursery for Plant Lovers

Tuesday, July 23rd, 2013
Just look for the hand-painted lavender sign when you're driving down 26th Avenue Southwest in Seattle. There's plenty of places to park on the street . . . and then you'll wander down the long drive to the nursery.

Just look for the hand-painted lavender sign when you’re driving down 26th Avenue Southwest in Seattle. There’s plenty of places to park on the street . . . and then you’ll wander down the long drive to the nursery.

Earlier this spring, I had the delightful experience of giving a floral-design workshop at Village Green Perennial Nursery in West Seattle’s White Center neighborhood. This place is like a secret garden, although there are many, many customers who have been in on the secret for years. This is a plant-centric business, one neighbor to the next. 

Village Green Perennial Nursery was founded by Teresa Romedo over 30 years ago. In 2003, she passed the torch to Vera Johnson, who has owned and operated the nursery ever since. 

Vera Johnson, plantswoman, horticulturist, designer, educator and artist, presides at the helm of this magical destination. Her mission is to inspire the neighborhoods of White Center and West Seattle by providing the very best resources available to create sustainable outdoor living spaces, one block at a time. As a little garden center with big ambitions, Village Green is known for high-quality customer service and healthy plants. It has evolved as a community center that showcases local artists, musicians, and events. 

Vera has just announced her first farm-to-table event, scheduled for August 31st. This has the potential to be an unforgettable moment in time, an experience that celebrates food, wine, plants and flowers. Tickets are $100 per person. Order yours here.

FarmtoTableVillageGreen

 

Take a virtual tour of the beauty at Village Green Perennial Nursery – and save the date for a fabulous event! I hope to see you there!

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