Black Earth, WI Florists

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Olbrich's annual Flower Show heralds arrival of spring - Madison.com

Plantenberg said — including a bed frame and headboard, with matching bench, by artisan Jamie Stanek of Black Earth. The bed frame is filled with water that’s colored with beet dye, also used in Olbrich’s outdoor water features, Plantenberg said, to give it a deep, rich color and reflective quality.The exhibit also includes reclaimed doors and windows hung as art pieces. These were done by Deconstruction Inc., a business on Madison’s Far East Side that salvages and sells materials, much of it vintage items, from building demolitions.That speaks to another interesting aspect of the show, Plantenberg said, “the juxtaposition of modern and old.” The show also includes unique fixtures from Madison Lighting.Two friends visiting the Flower Show on Monday, Linda Ludden of Middleton and Connie Williams of Madison, found the space to be a beautiful mix of flowers, art and creativity.“It’s wonderful for spring planting ideas,” Williams said. “I usually come every year.”With this year’s exhibit featuring container plantings, it’s perfect for the two women, they agreed, since they each do a lot of container gardening. “Bring your camera,” Ludden said, to take away ideas for planting at home.There is beauty not just in the flowers, but in the variety of containers themselves, Williams added, not to mention this year’s furniture art: “There’s something for everyone, that’s for sure.”The many aspects of the show don’t come together without plenty of work on the part of Olbrich’s horticulture staff, Plantenberg said. And though all staffers work on the exhibit, it blends seamlessly into one.“There are so many people working on it, but you really can’t tell where one person’s work stops and another’s starts,” she said. “The fact that they can all blend their work together is really amazing.”Show attendance has been good since it opened March 5, Plantenberg said. “People are clamoring for spring.” And early feedback has been positive, she added.“We always joke that (the show) isn’t successful until we hear people say it’s the best ever,” she said, “and we’ve already heard that this year.”The warmer weather of this past week also has allowed Flower Show visitors a better chance to stroll through Olbrich’s outdoor spaces, including the Thai Pavilion area. Visitors should note, though, that the indoor Bolz Conservatory is closed for annual maintenance and pruning work through March 18.The Spring Flower Show is a fundraiser for the Olbrich Botanical Society, which provides half of Olbrich’s annual operating budget (the city of Madison funds the other half). All proceeds from Flower Show admission fees support the gardens.One thing to keep in mind, Plantenberg noted, is that the show is an ideal representation.“It’s kind of a spring fantasy because not all these flowers would bloom at the same time in real life,” she said. “But that’s one of the nice things about the show, you get to see everything together at once.”... http://host.madison.com/wsj/lifestyles/home-and-garden/olbrich-s-annual-flower-show-heralds-arrival-of-spring/article_355b9a3e-8c90-559e-bf16-97ca8b03a852.html

Make sure your Mothers Day flowers are what you paid for - WSAU News

CDU) party congress in Hamburg, Germany, December 7, 2018. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch MADISON, WI (Wisconsin Radio Network-WSAU) Mother's Day is Sunday. If you're looking to find a flower arrangement for Mom, make sure you're getting what you're paying for.State consumer protection director Michelle Reinen says one option you might have, if your mom lives here in the state, is to get a local florist to put together something with a Wisconsin touch. "If you are asking these questions and really looking, you may be able to get something special that's unique to our state, and give that as your gift as well."Reinen says ask about pricing and if a vase is included, and when possible work with a florist directly in your mom's area, rather than a floral service.Reinen said, "Other questions are what flowers are fresh and season in that specific area. In Wisconsin we're going to have different seasonal flowers right now than somebody in Hawai'i or Florida."= ... https://wsau.com/news/articles/2019/may/06/make-sure-your-mothers-day-flowers-are-what-you-paid-for/

Capital - Why are flowers so expensive? - BBC News

Jeanie McKewan, who has been growing flowers for 13 years in the US states of Illinois and Wisconsin, points to insect damage as a big challenge, saying there’s a “zero tolerance” policy: “It is through constant vigilance and the use of integrated pest management that we keep the little buggers from getting the best of our crops,” she says.Then the flowers have to bloom on schedule. In the case of Mother’s Day tulips planted in January or February, they have to bloom by early May in time to be picked and shipped.Labour costs are already high – according to the 2012 US Agricultural Census, contract and hired labour accounted for 10% of total agricultural operating expenses in the US, but that number soared to 40% for greenhouse, nursery and floriculture production because of a tighter farm labour market and rising wages. Then you add extra costs for peaks.McKewan hires extra hands during peak periods but says cutting flowers “requires experience and cannot be done by just any part-time employee”. Chris Drummond, a Philadelphia-based florist, says wages average around $13.25 (£10.16) per hour in the US. “In order to ramp up production to meet holiday demand, growers are required to pay far above that average,” he says.In developed countries like the Netherlands or Germany, Stewart says that there are greenhouses with automated technology like sophisticated watering machines or robot transplanters and harvesters, where fewer workers are needed. But in poorer nations with cheaper labour, there’s less use of technology.  Then it’s time for shipping. While flowers are waiting on the runway or in the back of a lorry, temperatures can’t be too cold (for Valentine’s Day) or too hot (for Mother’s Day). When they arrive at the wholesaler, they must look perfect. That means no bug bites, no missing petals, no dead buds. Otherwise, they get thrown away. “It has to be flawless,” Stewart says.Complicated logisticsChris Drummond, the florist, estimates that the holiday volume “is usually nearly 20 times the everyday volume”. He says many farmers nurture flowers all year long to ensure enough blooms for the handful of holidays. During the other months on the farm, he says, flowers are sold at cost, below cost or discarded and turned into mulch.“So, of course farm price increases as demand increases,” he says. “Consumers are paying a premium to make sure that grower is compensated for their expense and effort to maintain the plants year-round, thus ensuring the wide variety of flowers is available at each holiday.”He highlights costs across the supply chain, saying industry participants must “rent temporary space, pay fuel surcharges, find space on airlines, hire independent drivers, find more refrigerated trucks, pay overtime to staff” and more. Roses flown from Bogota to Miami are hit with a 15-cent (£0.12) importer’s fee to clear customs and inspection. Domestic refrigerated shipping can vary, but that’s another eight cents (£0.06) per rose.It also depends on what kind of flower you’re shipping – Drummond says 300 carnations can fit into the same box as 150 roses, so the transport price per stem is halved. Transit time from field to florist can be up to a week (though it can wildly vary depending on where the flowers are coming from), and the blooms must be carefully handled every step of the way.Hans Larsen is a cut flower grower in the US state of Wisconsin and has ... http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20190507-why-are-flowers-so-expensive

Susan In The Sky with Spring Flowers - Ricochet.com

Madison Wisconsin, Spring 1975She was house sitting, that week, as memory serves. The teacher’s home had an adobe-style wall fencing in a plethora of dogwoods and cherry, plum and almond with an occasional Japanese maple thrown in. There were hydrangeas and rhubarb, the stalks of irises, and some jonquils so newly yellow peeking out from behind some type of vegetation.“I love it here, don’t you?” she asked. We, two young women, sat swinging on the porch couch, sipping our coffee and enjoying our lives. The sky above us yawned so that the silvery grey clouds revealed a slumbering sun. From the way things felt around us, it was hard to know if it would be sunny or rainy, chilly or warm. Being Wisconsin, it could be all of those things, in just ten or twelve hours!“We could bike over to the lumber yard, if you want.” She could tell I was battling simmering emotions. Friends always know these things.“Are you sure Dar hasn’t forgotten?” I asked, feeling nervous. The deal was, today was crib day. W... https://ricochet.com/623926/susan-in-the-sky-with-spring-flowers/

Flowers Done Green - local flower shop keeps it unexpected - Volume One

Valley.“We don’t have to always go looking to the exotic to find something exceptionally beautiful. We’re celebrating what’s beautiful about Wisconsin.” – Sarah Lambert, Hive & Hollow“What I’m trying to do that’s different is having all of my flowers sourced as locally as possible,” Sarah said.  In the spring and summer that means using supplies from her own greenhouse and garden and supporting local flower growers.  When the winter months restrict local options to willow branches, pine cones, and evergreens, rather than ordering carnations and roses from Central American farms, she brings out the best of the seasonal options, accentuating them with plants from a Minnesota greenhouse.“We don’t have to always go looking to the exotic to find something exceptionally beautiful,” Sarah said.  “We’re celebrating what’s beautiful about Wisconsin.”Sarah is also celebrating sustainability through her choices in product.  She recalls a conversation with a fellow florist from ten years ago, when her coworker expressed concern the effect of floral industry chemicals on fertility.  Before then, she hadn’t realized the proliferation of carcinogenic chemicals in pesticides and plastics associated with flower arranging.  Sarah aims to carry as many organic, recycled, and locally grown products as possible to avoid negative environmental impact.Many of Sarah’s arrangements are presented in thrifted tins, glassware, and pots.  On a recent Friday, she placed a bridal bouqu... https://volumeone.org/articles/2018/11/28/27005_flowers_done_green