winter mornings

Winter mornings can be spectacular here in Tasmania.  Frost, fog, mist, mizzle, ice, even snow on occasions.  And blue skies!  I love sunny winter mornings.  They are usually accompanied by frosts and as the frost melts, mist wafts up from the ground, glowing in the sunlight.  This week we've had some low lying fog which are really quite spectacular to see from above.  

Picking on these mornings can be a real joy.  New growth can sometimes be frosted with ice, and sparkling like treasure.  I took a break from pruning yesterday to take a few photos of these floral gems.

Thankfully proteas are, on the whole, quite frost hardy and will tolerate the cold as long as there is good airflow and the temperature does not dip too low into the minus'.

I'll leave you with a video I took yesterday morning while I was picking.  The birds you can hear are Tasmanian Wattle Birds.

The product list has finally been published, too.  If you're interested, you'll find it at the top of the page, first tab along.  

Winter Rain

Well winter has certainly arrived here at Swallows Nest!  Winter is our rainy season here and we've just had almost 2 weeks of wet weather.  The sun would pop out for brief moments as the wind pushed clouds across the sky, but on the whole, its been grey and misty.  Lovely weather for growing proteas. And despite what you might think, its not so bad to pick them in either, as long as you are suited up in your warmest wet-weather gear.  It is actually something I enjoy, in a strange kind of way - getting out in the weather and working.  As long as there is a warm fire and a good cup of tea waiting when I'm finished!

The Neriifolias are starting to bloom.

I love the way mist wafts through the valley - so peaceful.

My picking companions have been rather entertaining lately.  The spaniel (too excited to catch a photo that wasn't just a blur of brown and white) has been rushing about madly and ending up drenched.  She comes back to the house looking like a homeless dog!  The cat seems to manage, miraculously I think, to maintain a complete state of composure and doesn't even seem to get wet!  Her winter coat must have waterproofing!  

I've been focusing on pruning in the last few weeks, as some of our leucadendrons have grown too tall for their own good.  Generally, pruning is something that is done at harvest time, but we're playing catch up this year.  There have been areas of planting that have been neglected due to our family situation over the last few years.  Some of our Safari Sunset are over 3 metres tall this year and are being pruned back to a more manageable size.  This type of Leucadendron has a root system called a lignotuber, and this means that it can be pruned quite happily, without causing damage to the plant.  In fact, they seem to thrive on pruning.  I'm looking forward to next years crop already - I know the plants are going to be happily pushing out lovely long stems.  

After such a long rainy spell, its beautifully sunny today so I'm off to take advantage of the blue skies - I'll leave you with a "before" shot of the beginnings of our new flower shed.  

  

Blue Skies

I've been really enjoying the mild winter days we've had so far - beautiful clear blue skies that make you glad you're alive!  It's also been great for photographing flowers.

My plan for this blog has always had 2 main goals.  Firstly,  to showcase the beauty and versatility of proteas and australian natives which are sometimes undervalued as cut flowers, and also, to provide an online guide to what's available and when at Swallows Nest.  Creating a catalogue of what we grow has been quite difficult!  Its been a project I've started a few times and then put off.  Because I'm a visual person, it really had to be an illustrated catalogue.  These blue skies we're having are providing a great backdrop for catalogue illustration photos, and its given me the little push I've needed to get the job done, or at least nearer to completion! 

When it's all finished, it will be published as a permanent link at the top of the blog.

I know winter won't all be like this!! Enjoying it while I can!

The crop of lovely long Safari Goldstrike singing in the sunshine!

Some of the Grampians Thryptomene is flowering early this year - handy for getting a good portrait shot!  It's not usually like this until July.

One of my little companions taking photos with my iphone and having a great old chat!

 

Difficult to really capture the shimmering beauty and structure of the Silver Tree - this is more of a close up shot really, but look at that blue sky!

Leucadendron Red Gem - one of my favourites - just such a quiet achiever.  Large tulipy blooms with a great range of colour throughout the year,  great stem length and not at all fussy.  A very satisfying flower to grow!

Look out for the product catalogue over the next couple of weeks - fingers crossed these blue sky days will get me over the line!

May Madness

It's been a mad month!  Early May is always a busy time on a flower farm - Mother's Day is one of the great flower-giving occasions of the year.  It happens in late autumn here in the southern hemisphere, just when proteas and leucadendrons are really blooming well.  This year I was organised - it was still busy, but things were under control!

There were lots of local orders this year and we had a ball putting everything together.  We did lots of seasonal bouquets of various sizes, and some boxed arrangements - something I'm just trying my hand at.  I've not had any florist training but what I lack in technique, I hope I make up for in enthusiasm for the flowers themselves.  

The Pink Ice Protea are really clear and lovely at this time of year.  They were the stars of the show, and set off really well with a variety of leucadendrons and foliage.  I've used some lovely grevillea foliage, some banksia, and some thryptomene which seems to be popping out early this year.  The white flowers are a lemon scented tea tree flower which are just gorgeous at the end of autumn.  And they smell good too!

The leucadendrons seem to be colouring up early this year.  Maui Sunset are lovely and pink, and the Inca Gold, whilst not at their stunning yellow best, are definitely looking golden, showing off their red tips.  It was great to have a variety to play with when putting it all together.  

The morning after mother's day we had a nasty surprise when we found our baby dangerously ill. She was rushed to hospital (an hour and a half by road ambulance).   She is ok now, but it was a shock and its taken us a while to recover from it all.  Combined with a deadline for an exhibition of linoprints that I've been working on and May was definitely what I'd call MAD!  

But what I love about growing flowers is the calming measured quality that they give to your life.  They keep growing and blooming, and the cycles keep ticking over.  When you plant something, it seems like it will take ages to give you any flowers, but life gets busy and time goes on, and before you know it those tiny plants are producing  flowers and needing a prune!  They add such beauty to life.  I think they give more than they take.  

And now, we're into winter.  We've got major infrastructure projects planned for around the farm over the next few months, including a new flower shed.  I'm looking forward to the winter season and all that it will bring!  

Tasmanian Flora at the TMAG

I recently visited the newly renovated Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.  What a treat!  The renovations and restorations are just brilliant - I felt very proud to be a Tasmanian!  There were many favourites from the visit - some spectacular printmaking by Tasmanian artist Raymond Arnold  

and some wonderful contemporary paintings.  I really enjoyed the section of Australian art from the 1950s and 60s too.  I also found this gorgeous hand painted screen that I thought I'd share with you.  I was so excited when I found it, taking photos and enjoying it, that I forgot to take note of the artist and the year - all I remember is that it was in the same room as a Margaret Preston painting so I can only assume it was produced in the early 20th century.  

I'm sharing it here because it has some beautiful representations of plants that we grow here at Swallows Nest Farm.  The first panel on the left depicts the Tasmanian plant Richea Dracophylla, or the Pineapple Candle Heath.  It is a rainforest shrub that generally grows at higher altitudes and can be found growing in the wild on the slopes of Mt Wellington, among other places.   It is a very striking plant that I'm very proud to be growing.  Its an unusual cut flower and gets a lot of comments during its flowering season in spring.  

The next panel depicted the Mountain Pepper Berry plant or Tasmannia Lanceolata - it wasn't lit well enough to get a good photo.  Then, one of my fabourites - the Tasmanian Waratah - Telopea Truncata, which we grow here at Swallows Nest.  Its another spring flowering Tasmanian Native.   Its cheery red flowers are a sight to see in the wild.  They are such a beautiful cut flower too, smaller than the well known mainland Waratahs but finer.  I love them!

Next, no Tasmanian floral screen could be complete without the Blue Gum, Tasmania's floral emblem.  It's a bit of a strange floral emblem, actually, because it is such an imposing large tree.   Eucalyptus Globulus can grow to 60m and is a gum tree that grows wild in the area around where I live.  Its beautiful flowers appear in October - January.  They are creamy white and quite large as far an gum blossom goes - 4cm.  They make good honey! The gum nuts are distinctively shaped and coated in a silvery blue bloom with a very strong eucalyptus smell.  Eucalyptus trees often have different foliage as a sapling and then develop their more typical "gum leaf" shape as a mature tree.  The foliage of a juvenile Blue Gum is really lovely - very large leaves covered with the same silvery blue bloom as the nuts.  I use it in bunches and arrangements - its colour really contrasts well with other flowers and foliage. 

Well, I hope you enjoyed this little peek at the treasure I found at the new TMAG.  If you are local, don't miss it - the renovations are really fabulous and there are some great pieces to see.  

See You Next Year ...

Am I allowed to have favourites?  If so, this would be it.  The Brunia Albiflora are officially finished for the year.  I picked the last few stragglers this week and have kept them in a vase in my kitchen to say "goodbye" till next year ... sigh!  They began to "flower" about 2 weeks ago.  What we call the flower is actually a collection of flowers, and we usually sell it when its in its bud stage.  When the little buds start to flower, they start from the outside and work inwards, creating for a while, the look of rings of flowers, like a little wreath or headband!  

Of course, I had to get the macro lens out to explore them from a bugs-eye perspective!  

Tiny flowers peeping out!

This little growth tip will be next years flower!

I wonder what the year will bring?

Tips for Longer Vase Life

Fresh flowers are one of life's little luxuries and if you're going to spend your hard earned dollar, you want to get the most for it!  Vase life is an important consideration for flower growers, wholesalers, retailers and of course, buyers.  Proteas have a reputation for being long-lived cut flowers, and they certainly are, but even the most long lived cut flowers will not last if they are not properly handled.  

As a grower, I see the flowers when they are at their absolute best - on the bush!  From the moment they are cut, they are slowly deteriorating - it's slowing down that deterioration process that makes all the difference!

BUY FRESH

My first tip is to buy the freshest flowers possible.  Buying cut flowers with a "reduced for quick sale" sticker from your local supermarket, you're not getting value for money.   It's obvious that the flowers are not going to be the freshest you can buy in this situation!  But how do you know whether the flowers you buy are fresh, or whether they have been sitting in a cold room for weeks?  It is very difficult with some types of flowers and only experience can tell.  But with proteas there are some key pointers to look for.  

1.  Colour should be clean and clear - no bruising and not dull or greyish.

2.  Leaves should be green and fresh looking (think fresh leafy vegetables).  Some proteas have a problem with their leaves blackening - this can happen even under ideal circumstances.  If you find some protea flowers that have blackened leaves but are otherwise fresh, a good trick is to remove all the leaves - this can actually be a plus with floral design, making the flowers more prominent, and making the form and colour of the flower the star of the show!

3.  Proteas open over a period of time.  As a grower, I have a window of opportunity for picking.  As soon as the petals begin to separate at the tip of the flower and are soft when gently squeezed (in the above photo) the flowers can be picked.  This differs slightly for other protea, but the principle is the same.  With waratah or pincushions, once the first few stamens have begun to emerge from the base of the flower and unfold out of the "petals", they can be picked and will continue to open.  

People often expect proteas to look like this (above) but this flower is actually too mature to pick.  Its vase life is shortened because it is already fully opened.  The central mass will start to collapse very quickly (see below) and the colour will fade.  From a growers point of view, these flowers are unsellable.  Practically too, the more open they are, they will more easily be damaged during transit. 

So for longer vase life, buy protea that have not fully opened and you'll be able to enjoy watching them unfold.  

FRESH WATER IS VITAL

This seems really obvious but I can't stress enough how important fresh water is to the vase life of a cut flower.  The following are some tips for keeping water fresh

1.  Put a teaspoon full of common household bleach into the vase before you put your flowers in.  This will stop bacteria from growing on the stems and in the water.  If you are keen, and have it on hand, a pinch of citric acid helps to pep up the flowers too.  There is no need to purchase the floral food sachets.  As a grower, I use bleach and citric acid - much cheaper than commercial water additives and every bit as effective. 

2.  Vases must be clean.  Bacteria can live on in a dry vase under the kitchen sink for months, and will seriously shorten the vase life of any flower.  The slimy, stinky water that comes from a dirty vase is not just unpleasant but will make your flowers very unhappy! Clean out dirty old vases with a bleach solution.  If you want to, you can then put them through the dishwasher every so often as the heat will kill off any lingering bacteria.  

3. If the buckets that your flowers are sitting in at the florist or wholesaler are dirty, your vase life will be lessened.  Look for clean water in buckets.  

4. When you get your flowers home, remove any leaves or slimy stems that will sit in the water.  Its a good idea to snip about 2cm off the end of stems anyway and this increases the flowers ability to "drink".  But removing leaves below the water line will also ensure that your water stays fresher for longer and that bacteria will not grow around the stems, choking off the water supply.

5.  Replenish water regularly - proteas are very thirsty flowers.  If your vase is not the see through kind, check every few days - I have seen proteas drink a vase completely dry in days.  Use a small, long necked watering can so you don't need to carry around big vases full of water.

KEEP CUT FLOWERS OUT OF THE SUN

It's common sense really, but keeping cut flowers out of the full sun will keep them fresh for longer.  Evaporation of the water is also a factor.  Tests have shown that proteas like a little fluorescent light rather than complete darkness while they are in storage.  Fluoro light is not the most flattering for showing off blooms though!  But if you keep them out of the baking sun they'll give you joy for longer.  Don't buy flowers that have been sitting in the sun at the shop - you don't know how long they've been there!

Proteas are a fabulous cut flower, long lasting, and spectacular in colour, texture and form.  If you're buying them, make sure you get value for money and buy the freshest you can and then enjoy them for longer by looking after them.  I have heard of leucadendrons being kept in a vase, with water freshened/replenished regularly, that lasted 6 months! Incredible!  

Autumn Flush

We're well into Autumn now and we are finally getting some autumn weather.  We have had a long hot summer here in Tasmania, with some record temperatures lingering well into March.  But I think the Indian Summer has drawn to a close now, and the rain and cooler weather has arrived.  Autumn is often thought of as a season where things wind down and nature gets ready for the hibernation of winter, but here in Australia that's not the case.  We see a definite autumn flush of growth.  The Leucadendrons particularly flourish in Autumn.  Mid to late summer, they start to push out their new stems for the season and it seems that they almost grow while you watch them.  They can grow such long stems - up to 1 metre - in just a few weeks.  Above are a crop of Safari Sunset,  with their flower heads just firming up and plumping out, almost ready for picking.  

It's as if the cooler weather gives them new energy and they thrive.  New seasons growth is always so bright and clear, and the colour seems to really glow.  These are our Red Gem, just ready for harvesting now.  

These Sylvan Red Leuco's have shot up over the last few weeks but their flower heads are still small and not well formed.  If you pick them too early, their heads flop and their colour fades quickly.

There are plenty of fresh Pink Ice Protea which the bees are loving.  I found three different species of bees in this flower at the one time.

It's great to see some of our new plants flourishing with the autumn weather too.  This Leucadendron is a hybrid called Lemon Spice.  It's stems have shot up over the past couple of weeks and it seems to be reaching for the sky.  This lovely pale yellow flower with a tight tulipy shape won't be ready until spring but most of its stem length will be put on in autumn.  

These new Protea Compacta plants have doubled in height over the past couple of months.  The long stems have small flower heads hidden in the rosette of leaves at the top.  These will be lovely deep pink flowers with a rich red centre.  I'm looking forward to picking the first usable flowers from these plants this year.  We planted them as tiny tube stock coming up to 3 winters ago.  

The Thryptomene is starting to form tiny red flower buds all along its branches, ready to burst into a mass of white flowers later in the year. 

Autumn is a lovely season in Tasmania.  There are still warm days, but the air is fresh and the grass greener than in summer.  The sunsets are spectacular in autumn too.  

Stay tuned in the next few weeks for some tips on keeping cut flowers fresh for longer, and some amazing plant geometry I'm hoping to share with you.  

My Week in Flowers

Yesterday, I did some flowers for a wedding at the Port Arthur Historic Site, a world heritage listed historic site - and probably Australia's most famous.  If you've never been there, its definitely worth a visit.  Beautiful, fascinating, and thought provoking.  The locals call it "the Site".  Until the 1980's, it was just part of the local township.  Many of the buildings that are now part of the site were once peoples homes.  It has a fascinating history and its a place I love.  I think it would be a fabulous spot for a wedding. 

These little pots were table decorations for the dining tables.  Simple seasonal Pink Ice Protea with lots of lovely foliage, including some Grevillea, Risdon Peppermint and Thryptomene (not yet in flower but with lovely red flower buds dotted along the stems).  There is also some foliage from Brunia Albiflora - the bright green soft furry stems, and the first of my leuco's for the season.  Red Gem are often my first to be ready.  They are a spectacular colour at this time of the year - new, bright and fresh.  Every year I forget what fabulous colours they can produce and they really took my breath away this week as I picked them.  They glow.

I did some larger arrangements too, but ran out of time to photograph!  Its been a busy week with earthmoving machinery, doctors appointments, orders and a wedding.  

Earlier in the week, as often happens with the floral industry, there was an order to remember the death of a loved one.  Flowers really do say it all!  

Hope you all have a great week ahead.

What's in the Basket

I did a spot of picking for a few small orders this week, accompanied by my cat Tabitha. Tabby has been with us since she was very young, found by a forestry worker in the bush and abandoned by her wild mother.  She has always come picking with me.  Until I had her, I didn't know that cats liked to go for walks with their significant humans!  She frolics around while I pick, and talks to me every now and then.  When I'm finished, I whistle and she comes running to go home.  Just like a dog really ...

In the basket, I have some Pink Ice Protea, a lovely Banksia Occidentalis in deep red, some (hidden) new season Red Gem Leucos which seem to be a bit late this year.  The deep pinky red at the top are a plant I've only added in the last 18 mths.  They are a lovely variegated form of Leuco called Jester - rich pinky red with a central green stripe. This is the first time I've picked them to use, and while there's not enough for a commercial crop yet, they are lovely to use in small bouquet orders.  There are also some fabulous stems of eucalyptus foliage.  I'm not sure of the variety but they are a type of peppermint I think - they certainly have a similar growth habit.  The leaves are covered with that lovely greyish blue bloom that some eucalypts have, and they smell fabulous. The insects haven't found them either so they are lovely and clean.  Fun to use in a bunch adding colour and texture.  You can also see some short stems of Brunia Albiflora I've picked in readiness for a wedding this week.  They are smaller flower heads and will be great in the table arrangements in short pots.