Bulb Farmers' Luck

When bulb growers have a bit of a break, they come up with things to keep them going. Well, you have to have something to do when you wake up in the morning. Around this time of year, they often organize flower shows. They put as many varieties as possible that are grown on their farm in a greenhouse to bloom at the end of February. Then they make an appointment with one of the growers in the area where they are going to put the flowers, and finally they invite all their relations to come and have a look. Exhibitions are organised by growers at several locations at the end of February.

First of all, another meeting of course, what time do we start preparing on Tuesday? About 1 o'clock? Anything else? No, not really, who will provide the filled cookies. And the rest of the meeting is about filled cookies—or would you rather have syrup waffles?—and the Chinese food that we will have together afterwards. And when the meeting is over, we forgot to ask how much space everyone thinks they need. Fortunately, we have an App group, so that is quickly resolved. Sometimes ladies are asked to make something beautiful… You see, it immediately becomes a lot more beautiful 😊

Putting out the flowers on Tuesday evening, opening the door on Wednesday morning, and yes, there they come. All fellow growers and flower bulb traders trudge past the flowers, giving compliments and asking what is available or what they can expect in the coming years. Three days of chatting about bulbs, very cozy and all the bulb farmers around happy. The Fluwel entry

You understand, we are also participating. With seven growers from the neighbourhood we were this year a bit further down the Belkmerweg at Vink in the shed (curious? www.vinkholland.nl ). If there is a pleasant atmosphere we are of course also there, and it is not much trouble to put about 100 of the many pots of Daffodils that I have in bloom in my greenhouse on the show. For us, and of course also for the growers who show their products, this is a good indicator of where the interest of the passing buyers lies. Sometimes it is exactly what I would expect, and sometimes I am completely surprised. Even now that the show is over, my greenhouse is still filled with Daffodils. As I told you last week, there are hundreds of seedlings to judge whether I will continue or not. It is nice to tell you that if I decide to continue with a certain seedling, I have to give it a name. And, if I give a name to a Daffodil, I have to officially register it with the RHS in London. Sounds complicated, but it is not that bad. Above is a registration form where you have to fill in some information. In addition to this information, you also have to send photos of the flower: one from the front, and one from the side. And this is what Espresso looks like in a jar: By the way, it is not a quick job, because if you have looked carefully at the registration form, you will see that you also have to specify the dimensions of the flower. The diameter of the flower The length of the cup and the length of the wrapper. I always want to do that as neatly as possible, because it can be important data in the future to identify a certain species.

There was also a nice surprise among my seedlings this year. There are very few Daffodils that have a flower diameter of more than 12 centimeters. Daffodil lovers know that there is a real standout that, in good conditions, can reach 15 centimeters, and that is the Godfather. (Soon available in the Fluwel Special Narcissus). In the meantime, the first offspring of The Godfather are coming into flower, and this seedling F 2350 really surprised me. To measure the diameter I use a sliding caliper, but no luck, it only goes up to 15 centimeters. Then the measuring stick along it... 16.5 centimeters. This could well be the largest Narcissus in the world, and she actually looks quite nice too. This is the pot that is in my greenhouse, about five of those whoppers of flowers with some bee-flowers next to them. These bee-flowers are a good sign, often that means that they give good chips, and a lot of chips means fast multiplication.

At the time of writing, it is now March 1st, the anniversary of the death of our father, Karel van der Veek, 22 years ago. This pot will soon be in the cemetery. I think that Pa and Ma will enjoy seeing what comes of their breeding work. Now first some nice poking around among the flowers, I will be back next week.

Kind regards,

Carlos van der Veek

Oh yes, it is getting warmer and spring is just around the corner. Perhaps it is a good idea to already look at which Dahlias you are going to plant in the garden this year. Last week I told you a thing or two about forcing Dahlias, but that still raised some questions among the readers. Next week I will show you how you can do that easily, I promise that you will succeed too. Dahlia Feline Yvonne