Words & Photos Janice Henshaw
It all started with a morning coffee in the much-loved Wendel’s Bookstore and Café in Fort Langley. Shelley, my sister (at right), was 64 years old and six months away from retiring from her 30-year career as a litigation lawyer in the Fraser Valley. Erin Benzakein’s book, Cut Flower Farm, jumped off the shelf at her. “I was enthralled with the gorgeous photographs and in that instant knew what I wanted to do next – start a flower-growing business. Flowers on my desk at work and at home had always brought me joy. This book was a ‘sign’ from the universe!” she says.
Shelley owns a 40-acre farm on South Pender Island, which was basically just open hay fields and a forested area. There was no infrastructure, and the rocky soil bottoms out with a heavy clay base, making it a challenge to grow anything. Water supply is a real challenge on the Gulf Islands, and most folks depend on their own wells and ponds or they have water trucked in to fill cisterns. Deer are plentiful. Invasive broom, prickly gorse and blackberry vines move in whenever you turn your back. Shelley was definitely not a farmer and had not even bought a package of seeds in the past!
But she full heartedly accepted these challenges and, in the fall of 2017, began the project. A pond was dug for a water supply, followed by a seven-foot-high deer fence, a greenhouse, and a 13 by 10-foot garden shed. An aerating water pump system was constructed that includes multiple underground lines. Various pieces of equipment were acquired, including an ancient Toro zero-turn ride-a-mower. “It can be terrifying; there have been a few close calls wherein the Toro has ditched its driver … luckily, no injuries!” Shelley says. Other equipment includes a rototiller and a noisy (also scary) chipper for grinding up the garden plant residue and tree leaves in the fall for compost. Shelley says she is not mechanically minded, but has learned to operate them all, albeit with a fair assortment of “occasional cursing and kicking at tires when they don’t start.”
In the fall of 2018, Shelley took Floret’s online flower-growing course. “It was amazing!” Supplies included hoses, netting to support the plants, buckets, hydrating solution, clippers, vases and jars, and truckloads of organic soil. Organic amending and enriching the soil is ongoing – no soil, no blooms! Each year in January, she spends hours admiring the online flower seed catalogues and making her decisions on what flowers to grow. In early March, the first seeds are planted. She starts them in 72-cell trays that are placed on hot mats. After germination, they are put in trays under grow lights.
Once the weather warms up, the seedlings are moved to the heated garden shed and then brought out to the greenhouse during the day for extended sunlight in addition to the lights. By the first week of May, it’s time for the 1,000 or so seedlings to “grow up,” and they are planted outside in the garden. The many flowers include celosia, cosmos, snap dragons, various Queen Ann laces, Irish bells, zinnias, straw flowers, phlox, bee balm, poppies and cerinthe. Dahlias are a favourite, and she plants several hundred tubers each year.
The growing season is short and ends with the first frost when the dahlias wither and call it quits. “Thank goodness, is all I can say,” says Shelley. Throughout the summer, growing flowers requires thinning, pinching, staking and netting, deadheading, constant weeding, fertilizing and watering. Then there is the best part – making bouquets, which Shelley sells at her roadside stand for $15 each.
She also loves creating beautiful bouquets and arrangements for weddings and other celebrations. “Giving flowers to family and friends is what I treasure and find most fulfilling.” Shelley’s home has flowers all year round. “A dinner party with flowers on the table makes it extra special, and a homemade birthday cake, decorated with rose buds and tiny blooms,
is gorgeous!”
Like any other skill, flower arranging takes a little practice, or a lot depending on your goals, says Shelley. She says to start with a classic, wide-mouthed vase around eight inches high. Make a “nest” of greenery around the outside, which will support the stems you insert into the arrangement. Always strip the stems of leaves which will be submerged. To balance, think in odd numbers. For example: three hydrangea, three roses, or five snap dragons. This “rule of thumb” seems to be a universal decorating guideline.
Another suggestion Shelley makes is to “forage” (with permission as opposed to trespassing!) and experiment with local wildflowers and shrubs. For example, a few pieces of tree branches with blossoms look lovely in an attractive vase. Add greenery such as mint, rosemary (smells so good!), and the new growth on mock orange bushes, smoke bushes, Solomon’s seal, and the like. Consider treating yourself to a few primary blooms, such as roses, elegant lisianthus or chrysanthemums from your grocery store or florist, and then “forage” about to complete the bouquet.
To keep your flowers long lasting, ensure your collecting buckets and vases are sparkling clean and use a homemade or commercial hydrating solution as a preservative. Change the water every two or three days and snip the stem end at an angle to promote water absorption. Flowers won’t last in a hot car, and they don’t like being placed in the sun either. Put them outside at night or in a cool spot to help keep them looking beautiful.
Big projects in the fall include pulling out all the annuals and “chipping” them to make compost. After the first hard frost, Shelley digs up all the dahlia tubers and carefully labels them (they all look the same!) to store over the winter.
Flower farming may seem like a delightful, whimsical notion, but Shelley has discovered it’s not for the faint of heart! Despite all the hard work and long hours, she still loves her garden. In the process, she has created a beautiful, magical space that brings joy to all who visit.
As Claude Monet said: “I must have flowers, always and always.” We could not agree more!
