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The Gardeners Who Planted for US Presidents - Prescott eNews

Duke of Atholl, near Dunkeld. In 1856 McKerichar was hired as a foreman under John Watt, taking on the role of head gardener nine years later. Known for his hothouse grapes, he also raised off-season Caledonian cucumbers for President Grant. Like the gardeners before him, he resigned from the White House to open a garden center in Alexandria, Virginia.George Field (Served 1875–1877, under Ulysses Grant.) The first English gardener at the White House, Field's floral fame came after he left the White House. He opened a garden center on Georgia Avenue NW with his brother Thomas. Field was responsible for naming and promoting the 'American Beauty' rose, originally selected on historian George Bancroft's estate as 'La Madame Ferdinande Jamin.' Field supplied the cattleya orchids for Alice Roosevelt Longworth's bridal bouquet in 1906. The Washington Post described him as an orchid specialist. He was an active member of the Florist Club of Washington. In 1916, he sold his stock of orchid plants for $15,000.Henry Pfister (Served 1877–1902, under Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield, Chester Arthur, Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, and Theodore Roosevelt.) A native of Zurich, Switzerland, Pfister trained in the conservatories of a Swiss banker and at the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris. He made his way to Cincinnati and then to Washington, where he was hired under Hayes. Pfister managed the greenhouses, designed and planted the ornamental beds around the White House lawns, and provided all indoor floral and plant decorations, including the wedding of Grover Cleveland and Frances Folsom. He later opened his own florist and landscape design business on Connecticut Avenue.George Hay Brown (Served 1902–1909, under Theodore Roosevelt.) The son of a landscape gardener in Perthshire, Scotland, where he learned the family trade. In 1850, the family immigrated to the United States. In 1858, Brown took a job in Washington D.C. at the government experimental gardens. During the Civil War, he served with the Army Corps of Engineers in New Orleans. By 1890 he was back in Washington D.C. as a public gardener with the War Department. Brown worked on the Capitol grounds, city parks, and the government propagating gardens and greenhouses near the Washington Monument, as well as the White House. He taught Theodore Roosevelt's children how to propagate plants in his greenhouses.Charles Henlock (Served 1909–1931, under William Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover.) A Yorkshireman, and proud of his horticultural training, having worked for Lord Mowbray in Yorkshire, Lord Denbigh in Warwickshire, and Lord Harrington in Derbyshire before spending five years with the Royal Horticultural Society. Henlock arrived in Washington D.C. just before President Cleveland's wedding in 1886 and was hired as a foreman gardener at the White House, and grew to the propagating gardens and city parks. Henlock was the White House head gardener in 1909, where he was responsible for the first shipment of cherry trees sent from Japan as well as the successful plantings around the Tidal Basin.William Saunders Reeves (Served 1931–1945, under Herbert Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt. William Saunders Reeves was the first American-born White House head gardener.) His grandfather, William Saunders, was the chief of experimental gardens for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and founder of the National Grange but is perhaps best remembered for introducing the navel orange. Reeves worked under both Roosevelt's, starting as a groundskeeper at the White House during... https://www.prescottenews.com/index.php/features/columnists/mountain-gardener/item/34856-the-gardeners-who-planted-for-u-s-presidents

Revealed: The First Flower, 140-million Years Old, Looked Like a Magnolia - Scientific American

Previous evidence pointed to different answers. On the one hand, one of the earliest diverging lineages of flowering plants, represented nowadays only by a rare shrub from the Pacific island of New Caledonia called Amborella, has flowers that are either male or female. On the other, most modern species combine both sexes in the same flower.The authors of the study settle the question and show that the ancestral flower was a hermaphrodite. This means that early flowering plants could reproduce both as a male and a female. Combined sexes can be advantageous when colonising new environments as a single individual can be its own mate, and indeed many plant species colonising remote oceanic islands tend to be hermaphrodite. Maybe the combination of sexes helped early flowering plants to outcompete their rivals.The devil’s in the detailDespite the apparent similarity with some modern flowers, their ultimate ancestor has a few surprises up its sleeve. For example, botanist have long thought that early flowers had floral parts arranged in a spiral around the centre of the flower as can be seen in modern species such as the star anise.The new reconstruction, though, strongly suggests that early flowers had their organs arranged not in a spiral, but in series of concentric circles or “whorls”, as in most modern plants. The early flower had more numerous whorls, however, suggesting flowers have become simpler over time. Paradoxically, this simpler architecture may have given modern plants a more stable base upon which to evolve and achieve more complex tasks such as sophisticated interaction with certain insects as in orchids, or the production of “flower heads” made of dozens or hundreds of simpler flowers as in the sunflower family.Although now we have a good idea of what one of the earliest flowers may have looked like, we still know little about how that flower came to be. The detailed steps leading to its evolution are unknown. Perhaps we will have to wait for the discovery of new fossil flowers spanning the gap around 250m-140m years ago, before we can understand the very origin of what is the most diverse sexual structure on the planet.This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Caledonia florist Mary Ann Schmitz is ready to retire after 65 years - La Crosse Tribune

CALEDONIA, Minn. – At age 87 and after more than six decades in business, Mary Ann Schmitz is finally ready to retire and sell Mary Ann’s Floral & Gift in downtown Caledonia to her great-niece.Schmitz is selling the business and building to Aimee Welscher as of Jan. 1. She will help Welscher until she retires April 2 – exactly 65 years after she and her late husband opened the shop.“Willie and I started the business on April 2, 1952,” said Schmitz, who was parade marshal for the local Founder’s Day Winter Wonderland parade earlier this month (on Dec. 2).Willie died in 1994.Mary Ann’s Floral was in two other Caledonia locations before the Schmitzes bought the house at 308 E. Main St. where the shop has been since 1955. It’s also the home where they raised their children, Ken, Steve, Bill and Debbie.Schmitz said she is retiring for health reasons, and expects to miss operating the floral and gift shop. She plans to continue enjoying playing cards.“I love it,” Schmitz said of being in... http://lacrossetribune.com/business/local/caledonia-florist-mary-ann-schmitz-is-ready-to-retire-after/article_8b06e1cf-2fa6-5dc1-832e-744d35eeb25c.html

Best Flower Shop: Julie's Personal Touch Flowers - Journal Times

First place: Julie's Personal Touch Flowers, 5445 Spring St., Mount Pleasant; and 4060 N. Main St., CaledoniaSecond place: Millers Flowers,  219 Sixth St, RacineThird place: Milaeger's, 4838 Douglas Ave., Racine; and 8717 Durand Ave., SturtevantSpring is in the air year-round at Julie's Personal Touch Flowers as flowers and vibrant colors fill the shop.Julie Mohrbacher opened the shop in her basement in 1971. Demand for her work grew quickly. She started doing funerals as well and opened a brick-and-mortar location in 1977.Years of experience and honest service is what Mohrbacher believes makes them the number one flower shop in Racine County.“Originally I only did weddings," Mohrbacher said. "Mothers started calling and thought of me as their florist so I expanded."Her two daughters, Melissa Mohrbacher and Jamie Doe, manage the stores with her — Jamie at the Spring Street location and Melissa at the Main Street location.The locations offer green plants, blooming plants, arrangements, and fresh flowers among its products."We get flowers from all over the world," Doe said. "We get flo... http://journaltimes.com/best-flower-shop-julie-s-personal-touch-flowers/article_f8a5c3ed-cf6b-5f20-8e82-36041e2806d0.html

Getting a green thumb — tips for beautiful plants - WOODTV.com

Harder and Warner gave us some tips.Tip #1 – pruningTip #2 – waterTip #3 – fertilizeHarder and Warner is located at 6464 Broadmoor AveCaledonia(616) 698-6910Share this:AdvertisementWOOD TV8 provides commenting to allow for constructive discussion on the stories we cover. In order to comment here, you acknowledge you have read and agreed to our Terms of Service. Commenters who violate these terms, including use of vulgar language or racial slurs, will be banned. Please be respectful of the opinions of others. If you see an inappropriate comment, please flag it for our moderators to review. http://woodtv.com/2015/07/23/getting-a-green-thumb-tips-for-beautiful-plants/

Upended by COVID-19, a Wayzata florist landed a federal loan. And then the wait started. - Minneapolis Star Tribune

Mattingly started her business nine years ago, and it was coming off its best year — posting $500,000 in sales — when COVID-19 reached Minnesota. Though her shop was allowed to remain open, Mattingly said her event business plummeted as couples postponed weddings and restaurants closed across the state. She applied for a PPP loan in April. “We’ve lost about 50% of our income because of weddings,” said Mattingly, whose shop usually does $150,000 in wedding arrangements each summer. “People aren’t canceling on us, but they are rescheduling, and a lot of that work won’t happen until 2021.” Mattingly’s small shop has just two full-time employees, and she sent them home in late March, shortly after the governor issued his first stay-home order. Flower shops were allowed to remain open for delivery business because they were deemed “critical” to the economy. She expected her retail business to collapse, but the shop stayed surprisingly busy. Mattingly said her online sales tripled as customers called in large orders for birthdays and anniversaries as a substitute for taking a loved one to dinner. But with her employees at home, Mattingly, who is pregnant, and her husband, Julian, had to do all the work. “It’s been a really crazy two months,” said Mattingly, who is due to deliver her first baby in July. “We have been working 12- and 14-hour days every week.” Mattingly wanted to rehire her workers shortly after Mother’s Day, but her PPP application was put on hold when the program ran out of money in mid-April. On April 25, after Congress agreed to make another $310 billion available to small-business owners, Wells Fargo sent her an e-mail telling her the bank would soon submit her paperwork. “These are truly unprecedented times that we know are impacting both you and your business, and we will continue to partner and communicate with you throughout this crisis,” Wells Fargo said in the e-mail. ... https://www.startribune.com/upended-by-covid-19-a-wayzata-florist-landed-a-federal-loan-and-then-the-wait-started/571366132/

Getting married? Designers make case for 'unusual and beautiful' Minnesota-grown flowers - Minneapolis Star Tribune

And that doesn’t have to mean settling for common garden-variety blooms picked in someone’s backyard. Minnesota flower farmers are growing increasingly varied and distinctive options for bouquets, boutonnieres and centerpieces. “I make the case for local with every bride, and I include local product in every wedding I do,” said Ashley Fox, Ashley Fox Designs, Woodbury. “As a designer and somebody who cares about the planet, it just feels good to do this.” There’s a misperception that local means rustic, she said. “We want brides to know that local flowers can look modern and innovative — not just a Mason jar full of daisies. We want to show people these flowers are cool.” It’s a message that Debra Prinzing, the Seattle-based author and founder of the “slow flowers” movement, has been spreading for more than a decade. Her books, “Slow Flowers” and “The 50-Mile Bouquet,” celebrate small flower farmers who are struggling to compete as big chain stores buy in bulk from growers all over the globe, driving prices down. ... https://www.startribune.com/getting-married-designers-make-case-for-unusual-and-beautiful-minnesota-grown-flowers/561464922/

Ham Lake couple trust God as they grow family flower farm business - The Catholic Spirit

And I had so much energy with thinking of doing really hard stuff to make it happen.”She and Jonah took Benzakein’s online course on flower farming, and dove into researching what would grow well in Minnesota’s climate. “Before we knew it, we’re like, we’re really doing it,” she said.Jonah gives Kristen all the credit for the flower focus. “I never thought I would be a flower farmer — I don’t think many men do think of that,” Jonah said, sitting near the field. He agreed to the online course, “and I was just sort of open with the Lord; ‘Wherever you lead us.’”“Ever since leaving school, I wanted to do something in nature. I love working outside. I’ve been praying along the way” for God’s guidance, he said. “Basically, I want to come home and I want to work from home.”The Carlstroms don’t know any other young farmers, but they’re not alone among Catholic millennials. Jim Ennis, executive director of St. Paul-based Catholic Rural Life, said there are like-minded young Catholics across the United States who are exploring and adopting a rural lifestyle, including small-scale farming. Many are drawn to a slower, family-focused pace of life away from the demands of city living and corporate work.Like the Carlstroms, many don’t have farming backgrounds, Ennis said, and it’s hard work without the guarantee of financial sustainability. But it’s rewarding, he said. Farming is creative work, where people can work in nature, with their hands, alongside family members, for the benefit of their own tables and their community. And even young children can see, understand and participate in their parents’ work, he said.“There’s something very innate in many people’s DNA to connect with God’s creation in a closer way,” he said, “and I think that’s very Catholic and very Christian.”Kristen admits that sometimes she’s thought the idea of turning stay-at-home mom to cut-flower florist is “crazy.” But, “there was a lot of discouragement that came whenever I tried to let it (the idea) go, and a lot of joy that was there when we kept pursuing it,” she said, so they forged ahead.The field is easily accessible from the Carlstroms’ house through a path in the woods. Kristen spends patches of time throughout the day tending its 20, 100-foot rows as she learns to orchestrate timing their harvesting with flowers’ longevity onc... https://thecatholicspirit.com/news/local-news/ham-lake-couple-trust-god-as-they-grow-family-flower-farm-business/

Rosemary-Duff Florist: a landmark business - times-advocate.com

South Broadway and was sold to Bob Socin in 1956.Mr. Socin sold Duff Gardens to Pete, Dolly and Rosemary in 1976. Pete & Dolly Santrach and their two children moved from Minnesota to California in 1956. Pete was a Marine at Camp Lejeune until sent to Camp Pendleton. Pete left the service and over the years worked as an administrator for the Escondido school districts, for groups of doctors and for Baker Enterprises. Pete & Dolly had six more children in California. Four boys and four girls and now 16 grandchildren and one great grandchild.Dolly’s sister Rosemary Gornick learned the techniques of the floral business from a school in Cleveland, Ohio and opened her floral business in her hometown of Chisholm, Minnesota. In 1957 she moved to California (following her sister) and worked for Casa De Las Florist in Del Mar for many years and for Bob Socin and Duff Gardens before starting Rosemary’s Floral on Grand Avenue in downtown Escondido in 1974.Duff Gardens and Rosemary’s Floral merged in 1982 and built the Spanish style building where the business resides today.Aunt Rosemary passed away in 2015. Dolly Santrach passed in 2018.Today the business has four partners: Mary Ann Santrach, Rozanne Reguly, Luanne Csonka and Joanne Santrach. The sisters/nieces bought the business from their parents, Pete and Dolly and aunt, Rosemary in 1988.Mary Ann’s specialty is floral design. She says planning is important. “Ordering for a holiday like Valentine’s Day requires placing an order for roses by mid-January if not earlier to reserve the product desired. That can be up to 2,500 red roses alone!” she said.Rozanne Reguly is the primary decorator for the window displays and a floral designer.The interior of Rosemary-Duff Florist.Luanne Csonka is the managing partner. She says, “It has been said that floral arrangements were the only gift item besides pizza that you could have made and delivered – all in the same day!  Our business is unique, sending floral gifts to express one’s emotions from happy occasions like birthdays to condolences for the loss of loved ones.”The sisters credit much of their success to Aunt Rosemary for sharing with them the techniques she leaned from floral school and her years of experience.  Remember Bob Socin? I can think of no greater testimony than praise from the former business owner. Mary Ann says that nearly every day Bob will stop by the shop to say hello. Rosemary Duff Florist has designed florals for many weddings, events and special occasions throughout San Diego and designed florals for celebrities Oprah Winfrey, Barbara Streisand and Martha Stewart. “But we most appreciate our lon... https://www.times-advocate.com/articles/rosemary-duff-florist-a-landmark-business/