The fries are thick

No, not those delicious fries that you get at Land van Fluwel with a hamburger or something else tasty, I mean the Frittilaria's Van Dirk Hoogland from Dirkshoorn. Dirk is a real Achterdijker but you probably already knew that, Dirkshoorn is after all behind the West Frisian surrounding dike. No problem, nice people, but of course they are Achterdijkers. He was just standing in my cash register with his father this winter, wanted to look at Amaryllis, he started growing those too. I can hear it already, that raises questions, Amaryllis in Dirkshoorn? These are Amaryllis that are grown outside, more flower bulb growers in our area have started doing that. I will talk about that in a later news blog, now we are going to talk about his Friet van Dirk.

In addition to the Amaryllis, Dirk is also a grower of the Crown Imperial, as the Fritillaria imperialis is officially called. Over the years he has built up a beautiful assortment of Crown Imperials and he tried to interest me in them. I will come and see you sometime Dirk, that was last Monday. Everything is done by hand on this tender but oh so beautiful flower bulb. Digging, sorting, counting, everything is done by hand. One by one the bulbs are measured, placed on the belt at the right size where they are gently cuddled into a crate at the end of the line. Very nice to see, the bulbs are handled with great care, super quality. It could well be that Dirk will succeed in selling Fritillarias to us. I also went to Het Westland this week. There was a beautiful peony show from the grower who will supply us with peonies. That was also a party, what beautiful flowers, what a beautiful show. It was an event of flower companies; Flower Trials. Companies hold open days for their customers to show their product. The peonies were in the greenhouse of Hendriks Young Plants, a company that itself deals in fuchsias, pelargoniums and osteospermum. The Peonies in the cold store ready for transport to the show

There were several companies represented, there was a lot to see. Including a company that trades in cuttings and plant material of all kinds of succulents. Fantastic to see. When I go to shows like this I always have to stop myself from going crazy about all those beautiful plants. A disturbing characteristic of mine, I find too many plants beautiful and then I really want to have them. Of course that's not possible, you can't have everything you find beautiful but I think everyone has a thing like that. Some people have it with clothes, if there's something new they want to have it in their already bulging wardrobe. But it can also be with travelling, for example, if you see a beautiful location... you want to go there. These are the kind of interests or hobbies that are terribly nice to have but, if you're not careful, can get out of hand. It can also be cooking or baking, or chickens or even worse; horses. That's what I have with plants but fortunately I can still control myself reasonably well. I am and will remain most in love with the Narcissus, although I must admit that the Peony also charmed me very much last spring. Of course I have thought about how that is possible, I think about the strangest things, and I think it is because the Peony has a lot in common with the Narcissus. Both are very reliable plants and do not need too much care to keep coming back year after year. In fact, they are real party animals, as long as there is enough to eat and drink you can't get rid of them. You certainly know a few of those people, you have to turn on the light, clear the glasses and sometimes even grab the dustbin otherwise they will never go home. It is the same with the Peony and the Narcissus, if you don't grab the shovel, dig them up and throw them in the green bin you will never get rid of them. No, not the compost heap, there are also snacks and drinks available there, next year they will be celebrating on the compost heap. Kees van Velden with a Rebecca

There I am, happily descending again, back to Het Westland. When you are there, you can’t afford not to visit a few Amaryllis growers. Just to see how the Amaryllises are doing. Well, they are doing well. Actually, they are doing just fine, but the growers can’t or won’t say yet whether they will grow fat. You know the saying, if the farmer doesn’t complain and the priest doesn’t ask, the end of our days is near. This is also the case with the Amaryllis growers in the greenhouse; last year it was too hot, this year too cold again. Too cold? In the greenhouse? Yes, it’s not just the temperature, it’s mainly the lack of light in this rainy weather. The Amaryllis needs light in addition to heat to grow, Kees told me… It will all be fine, they were really beautiful and I think we don't have to worry about the Amaryllis bulbs this fall. But enough chatter, I'm going to write something about the Peonies again, the end is in sight, a few more texts and some cultivation information and then the pen can go back in the pot for a while. You're probably wondering when they'll be for sale. Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow we'll try to put them on-line, then we'll fine-tune everything and next Sunday June 23 you can order them. Looking forward to it, beautiful man, nice selling Peonies. Until next week!

Kind regards,

Carlos van der Veek