Fresh Cuts April 7

Spring crocus

These little charmers are blooming just outside the kitchen window under the shelter of the arctic willows.  Each year their tender green fingers reach up through the snow searching for the sun.  And if they find enough encouragement, they celebrate by throwing up slender shoots of color that swell like tiny hot air balloons until they burst open and warm their golden hearts.  Surrounded by the frozen ground, they fly their colors boldly, so tiny and brave they inspire me.

Spring crocus at Bindweed

The crocus also signal a transition at Bindweed.  It has only been a few weeks but we are harvesting the late blooming tulips in the greenhouse.  The tulips in the hoop-house are forming heads and the hyacinth are beginning to open. 

tulip "Dordogne"

We have an abundance of tulips in a more limited palette.  We have a new variety of white that is absolutely massive with big full heads.  "Maureen", another white tulip is also in bloom.  "Happy Generation", white with a red stripe is beginning to make a strong appearance and "Dordogne", a beautiful mango colored beauty is blooming.

Tulip bouquet with "Dordogne", "Hocus Pocus", "Toyota" and "Orange Queen"

"Hocus Pocus" and "Professor Rontgen" tulips

"Hocus Pocus" backlit

Colors are limited so please call, fax or email to reserve your order.

Fresh Cuts March 31

"Red Cap" parrot tulips, grape hyacinths and "Toyota" tulips

Buongiorno!  Being in the greenhouse, especially this week, is an adventure.  Like Dorthy opening the door to Oz, stepping into the greenhouse fills the senses with light and color.  Outside the winds are roaring, blowing snow and rain horizontally...but inside the greenhouse it's warm, the air is moist and there is beauty all around.  I ventured out yesterday to take some photos and did some gleaning.  I walked along the rows gathering stray and abandoned flowers to make this gorgeous bouquet.  Not bad for left overs!

Cooler shot

Many of the mid-season tulips are coming into harvest and we have an abundance of color and shape.  In the shot above you can see "Orange Queen"--the yellow tulips with an orange lip and two varieties of lily tipped tulips, "Temple of Beauty" is the salmon colored tulip and "Hocus Pocus", the yellow.

Cooler shot featuring "Toyota" tulips

The sweet pink tulip in the of center in the photo above is "Toyota".  It is surrounded by lily tipped tulips and a white tulip that looks yellow until it opens up a bit.

 

"Happy Generation" tulip, bottom left

"Happy Generation" tulips are just starting.  We fell in love with them last year and are delighted to have them again.  This is a lovely traditionally shaped white tulip with red stripes.

 

"Toyota" tulips surrounded by grape and giant hyacinths

This photo features "Toyota", the softest pink tulip with a white lip.

 

"Happy Generation" and "Renown" tulips

Unidentified shell pink tulip

I adore this tulip, many of you got these last week.  She is a beautiful shell peachy pink tulip with a nice large head.  I have not been able to identify it yet because this variety just popped up in a plot identified as something else--farming is so exciting.

 

"Temple of Beauty" tulip

The photo above and below are of the same tulip just at different angles.  It is "Temple of Beauty".  In the first photo I was able to catch the subtle pink tones on the outside of the petals.  The photo below highlights the deep coral colors, like high grade sushi salmon.  Yum--I could eat this tulip with my eyes.

"Temple of Beauty" tulip

"Hocus Pocus" tulip--lemon yellow lily tipped

"Spring Green" tulip--white with lime tongue

 We are harvesting "Spring Green" tulips.  This is a creamy white tulip with a lime green sword or tongue on each petal.  This flower begins like a closed hand and unfurls as it ripens like an open hand. Unusual and stunning, definitely one of my favorites.

The parrot tulips are blooming and are incredible.  We are harvesting three varieties this week--"Professor Rontgen", the orange beauty below, salmon parrots and "Flaming" parrots.

"Professor Rontgen" parrot--deep gold and orange

"Flaming Parrot" tulip

Saturday, on the last brilliant day of the week, a group of volunteers from the local high school came to help us clear up the small trees and shrubs.  They have been earning money for a trip to Washington DC where they will compete in the "We the People" program.  They came for a couple of hours and moved like a machine gathering trimmed twigs, roots and debris from under the crab apple trees, lilacs, dogwood and viburnum.

They helped us clear up over four pick-up loads of stuff.  Thank you to Mrs. Kartchner and the kids from "We the People".  We wish you the best of luck next month in DC.

Please check your email and fax for current availability.

Fresh Cuts March 24

It is cold and blustery to say the least...but inside the greenhouse is another world.

Many of the tulips delivered this week came with a dusting of fresh snow picked up on the way from my truck to your door front.  That's March in Idaho.

RT hauling tulips on a frosty Bindweed morning at 13 degrees.

I caught RT midway between greenhouse and barn.   He was moving fast, hustling tulips to the barn to tuck these babies into the cooler where it is a balmy 42 degrees.

Pink Impression tulips surrounded by Gypsy Princess hyacinths (yellow) and Jan Bos hyacinths (pink).

We have an excellent assortment of tulips in many colors and an abundance of pink and yellow hyacinths.

 

Jan Bos and Gypsy Princess hyacinths.

Blue Jacket hyacinth.

Blue hyacinths win the popularity contest and have been flying off the farm so if you must have blue please reserve them early.

 

Conqueror tulips--clear rich yellow with Jan Bos hyacinth.

 

Professor Rontgen 

The parrot tulips have also started to bloom!  We are excited to welcome a new variety, Professor Rontgen, a deep gold and orange parrot.  Stunning.

Please check your fax and email for full availability.

Happy Spring to all.

Fresh Cuts March 10

The first Bindweed flower of the season!

Spring has sprung at Bindweed.  We have had clear and partly cloudy days and the plants in the greenhouses are celebrating.  Hyacinths and tulips are blooming by leaps and bounds.  So...that means this is our first availability post of 2014 and that I will begin physical deliveries to the Sun Valley area next Monday, March 17.  In the meantime we do have beautiful fresh tulips and hyacinths ready to ship out to you with our good friends at Go-fer It.

Red Impression tulips

Clearwater tulip

Pink hyacinth

We have tulips in assorted colors.  The pink were the first hyacinths to bloom but we will have yellow and blue in the next few days.  We have pussy willow, curly willow and burgundy red and yellow/green willow.

As always, please check your fax and email for full availability.

And Happy Spring

sweet peas for spring

Sweet pea starts January 9

 Outside it is below freezing, snow is falling like powdered sugar and the foothills, heck the road out front has disappeared in the storm...but inside green life goes on.  Earlier this month we started the first seedlings--sweet peas.  This has been the brightest January I can remember and it has really boosted the seedlings.

January 21

January 21

 These little guys have never been happier.  They really want to jump up and plant themselves in the greenhouse!  (LOL--wouldn't that be cool.)  But they need to hang on a few more days.

January 27

January 27

Not even a week later and the seedlings are really filling out.  They need to hold out for at least another week until we fire up the greenhouses.  They are cold cold cold right now allowing the tulips to have their proper sleep.  By Valentine's Day they will be a tropical paradise in the middle of frosty Idaho, full of seedlings and emerging tulip shoots.

Fresh Cuts: May 20

Buongiorno--beautiful morning at Bindweed

How can I begin to describe a calm spring morning at Bindweed--this photo goes a long way. But you must use your imagination to add in the scent of lilac, crab apples and choke cherries all in bloom, the air full of bird song--red wing black birds, robins, sparrows and finches--there, that's a bit more like it.  I take a deep breath and try to feel it all before picking up my work again.

The temperatures have been unusually high and things are exploding.  This week we are harvesting the last row of tulips--it is the row just above the bucket of tulips in the photo.  We have yellow, the Impression series in red, pink and salmon, "Spring Green" and the mango delight of "Dordogne".  We are cutting the last parrot tulips also, "Red Cap" and "Flaming Parrot".

tulip "Dordogne"

tulip "Orange Queen" and "Big Smile"

tulip "Red Cap" parrot

tulip "Spring Green"

In addition to tulips we are cutting:

Allium

Bells of Ireland

Cerinthe

Cerinthe is all about its showy blue-green foliage.  The tiny deep violet bells are an accent to the lush jade leaves.

Chantilly snaps 

Chantilly coral

Chantilly pink

Chantilly raspberry--think of freshly crushed raspberries

Chantilly Yellow

Foxglove

Icelandic poppies in white and coral

Lilac double

Lilac single

White snapdragons

Deep Red snapdragons

Sweet peas, pink, lavender and a few white

 We found these amazing Turkish sweet pea seeds available on line out of England and tried them out.  They are sweetly scented and gorgeous--very small.

Thermopsis

White tulips, Tahiti daffodils, coral Chantilly snaps and white stock

Have a gorgeous weekend and please call or email to place an order.