Slow Flowers

It is one thirty in the morning.

My back aches.  My hands cramp.  And my hips are sore.

I am tired.  But my mind is racing.  I am thinking about what needs to be pulled, planted or paid.  There is the class description to write, the recipes to sends, the bills to submit.  Where do I put the chicks that are coming in a couple of hours?  Will the lisianthus fill the row?  Is this a better site than the row I planted last year?

Kind of odd to be talking about slow flowers ... when it is such a busy time of year.

And I am not talking about the Fed Ex delay of today ..... though that threw everything for a loop!!  Normally, Fed Ex has the plugs here by noon - one pm.  And by 2 ... I was getting nervous.  I knew they had shipped ... but where were they? 

And what happened to ... when you absolutely positively have to have it???

I started tracking the shipment ... out for delivery. 

By four ... I was calling.  And finally, at 5:30 ...... the very last boxes in the truck .... they were here.  I was grateful for moderate temps but frustrated at a day lost.  But 500 lizzies are planted, watered, tagged and supported.  I will finish the rest later today.

But that not the slow flowers I'm talking about.


For years ... Slow Foods has brought the concept of local foods, regional tastes and heritage cooking out of the kitchen and into the news.  And now ..... its time for Slow Flowers.




Slow Flowers is the movement for locally sustainable flowers.  Not flowers that are shipped in from the Netherlands, Kenya or Columbia.  Not roses that have been dipped, sprayed and shaped into the scentless horticultural products found in floral cases at our local grocery stores.  No banned substances sprayed on them to extend their shelf life.


Slow Flowers are real. They aren't perfect because they are field grown without the use of pesticides.  We won't have lilacs in August.  Heck!  After this crazy spring weather, we won't have lilacs in May!  Slow Flowers is about the seasonality of flowers .... something that has been lost because of greenhouse forcing.  Their stems may have a beautiful curve ....their foliage a missing piece.  But they are beautiful blooms that are safe for you .... your family ... and your home.

Its what Miss Eff's has been giving you for 11 seasons now.  Local.  Fresh. Sustainable flowers grown without pesticides or herbicides.  Grown in rich Iowa soil.

So ....as I impatiently wait for the first of June when the first snapdragon blooms ...... remind me that Slow Flowers are good things. 

And good things are worth waiting for. 

But Fed Ex could get here a little faster!




Comments

Michelle said…
I like your description of Slow Flowers. Hadn't thought about it before, but my husband's vet clinic has supported Slow Flowers for over a decade! A local grower brings a fresh, small, seasonal bouquet to his front office every Monday. We put the bouquet in the frig every night, so most bouquets last over a week and we'll have two on the front counter. Adds a pretty little touch - and now I know we were hip before our time!
Dan Mays said…
http://the50milebouquet.com/
Miss Effie said…
Love that book, Dan!! But they sure could have meandered into the Midwest some. But maybe that will be your book!!!

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