I've read this book "The Florist's Daughter," by Patricia Hampl, and it was good... It's a memoir of her life growing up in St. Paul Minnesota, daughter of a florist.
Here's what her father had to say about flowers:
"...nothing changes here, nothing dies. Except flowers - that's the point of them. My father of course considered artificial flowers an affront, though in time he had to stock them. People buy flowers BECAUSE they die, he said. To toss money at fleeting beauty - this was the point of buying flowers. Not their beauty but their transience."
I couldn't agree more.
Flowers are a symbol of the human condition - a reminder that beauty and youth are fleeting...
And while we're talking about beautiful things, I was speaking with one of my customers who is going to decorate for the Artist's Repertory Theater's fundraising event next week.
It's on Saturday, March 8 - check their website for details. Tickets may already be sold out.
The big draw is that Robert Reynolds of The Chef's Studio will be doing the dinner. One of the cool creations he is making has to do with eggs - the shells are emptied and then refilled, and the succulent reimagined egg is then served to you in an egg carton...wonderful.
Cost is $25 for the first person with $15 for each additional person. To register, you can call 1-800-377-5323.
This sounds like it could be a really fun program. J Schwanke is the cutie with the little goatee and the Kewpie doll cowlick in his hair.
Also more news - Peterkort Roses famous cymbidium special will be starting on Monday March 3 this year. Call us on (503) 628-1005 for more information. We will have a special price for 5 stems or more, and an even better price for 10 stems or more. These selections are grower's choice, and due to high demand for green cymbidiums no green ones will be included.
The special will extend through Saturday, April 26.
Didn't it feel like spring today? I got out in the yard and raked the heavy layer of maple leaf mulch off my poor little daffs and grape hyacinths that were newly planted in the fall.
Jim got a bunch of coffee grounds from Starbucks for garden mulch, so I poured those onto strategic spots. I thought the cool new sasanqua hybrid camellias we planted in the fall might appreciate the coffee grounds' acidity. At least I hope so!
Reminds me that Jim and I took a PCC wine tasting class of Italian wines at Strohecker's. The first class I missed due to a terrible cold, the second class was Chianti and its variants from different regions, the third class was more red wine.
I'm not sure I know any more about Italian wine but we sure tasted a lot of them!
Both times when I got home my teeth and tongue were purple and it was definitely interesting when I brushed my teeth!
Sherry, the floral manager at Strohecker's, has a nice flower area on the main floor of the store. She particularly likes our lilies.
The wine class was held in the very large basement.
Mom once told me that her father was on a crew who helped dig the basement of Strohecker's! He was a farmer who worked really hard, and had a large family (9 kids!), so he was always working at something... He used to sell produce at the old farmer's market in downtown Portland.
So this flower market thing is definitely in my blood on both sides!!!
See you Wednesday!
Sandra
Marti of Burkhardts says they were well organized, things looked really good in the shop although by the end it looked like a hurricane had gone through. She praised her employees for their hard work.
Cara of Affairs in Bloom had her baby a few days before Valentine's!!! Her mom covered for her, luckily. Talk about timing!!!
I'd say for Peterkort Roses overall our roses were the best they've ever been. All our new plantings and the growing lights really helped. We received a smiley face fax from Curt at Garside thanking us for the nice roses! He says it must have been Valentine's day altered states of consciousness - not normally a smiley face guy! I posted it at the market and so he was getting teased...
We're starting to come into the main part of Cymbidium season. Yes we do grow these ourselves in the Hillsboro greenhouse - I like to say our Cymbidiums are fresh picked, not fresh picked up at the airport (ha ha). No jet lag on these babies!
Above pictured is Kachuma Painted Cave - one of the prettiest pink cyms you've ever seen. The colors are beautiful like they have been air brushed.
Let us know if you need some stems - (503) 628-1005.
Sandra
My favorite one was about the Winchester House in California... you know, the Winchester widow who was haunted by the ghosts of all the people killed by the Winchester rifle, who believed she must keep building onto her house. Resulting in a very strange house with stairways leading to nowhere, etc.
Our son Michael goes to Santa Clara University and I was so jazzed to discover that the Winchester House is right there only about 5 minutes from the school.... so here he is a senior and it was parents weekend and I finally got to visit...
It's an interesting place. Of course they have pimped out the story somewhat. She was obsessed by the number 13 so there are a lot of stairs with 13 steps etc. But I think some of those things are coincidences. Also because she was building so frantically I think some of the oddities are mistakes.
I was impressed that the house is really not a hodgepodge of styles, it is Victorian throughout with beadboard everywhere and Tiffany windows. Some of the rooms have different themes but it's not a mess. The Tiffany glass is very nice, she ordered so much of it that there is a room in the barn displaying the windows that were never installed.
Also the garden is nice. It is a very well built house with a nice garden and good systems for plumbing and watering.
Of course when you have inherited a vast fortune and an income of $1,000 a day - remember she died in 1922 and this was an incredible fortune - you can afford to indulge your eccentricities.
She did have a nice rose garden too but it's still winter in San Jose so the roses are barely starting to sprout!
Saturday Feb 9 7 a.m. to noon (extended hours)
Sunday Feb 10 9 a.m. to noon (special holiday opening)
Monday Feb 11 5:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. (normal hours)
Tuesday Feb 12 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. (extended hours)
Wednesday Feb 13 5:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. (normal hours)
Thursday Feb 14 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. (normal hours)
Friday Feb 15 5:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. (normal hours)
Saturday Feb 16 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. (normal hours)
For directions to the Portland Flower Market, please hit the "Links" button in the green box at left.
Your local rose grower, Peterkort Roses, still has some roses available for the Valentine holiday. Call us at (503) 628-1005 for details. Wholesale customers only, please.
The Portland Chinese Garden (pictured above) is having a plant sale this weekend, their biggest ever. Come and check it out.
The lunar calendar has a cycle of twelve years, with an animal representing each year. If you are born in that year you supposedly have the characteristics of that animal.
I am a Snake!
On Valentine's news, call us for last-minute rose orders, we still have some varieties available. (503) 628-1005. We are getting bigger production than expected in some rose varieties.
Also we still have cymbidium stems available, but the color green is sold out for Valentine's Day.
They are selling dried lavender, and later fresh lavender during the season. No pesticides used on their farm!
Quoting from their card, "Apifera Farm is nestled in Oregon's wine country and is home to sheep, goats, a donkey and a horse, and a chocolate lab named after a pie and a pug with one eye. - not to mention 15 feral cats the couple has spayed and now cares for. It is also the studio of the nationally recognized artist Katherine Dunn. Her work can be viewed at www.katherinedunn.com"
You can find Martyn (pictured above) in the area behind us, next to 4-T acres. Welcome!!!
Sad news, Bruce is leaving the market in a couple of weeks to work for Al's Nursery. It's a great job for him where he will be able to use his talents, but a sad loss for us at the flower market. We love you Bruce!!!!!!!
At least he will be there until after Valentine's Day.....