PNW Week: Flowers Flowers Flowers

Every proper mountain woman loves a clean kitchen with a vase of fresh cut flowers on the table. Sometimes I will splurge on a bouquet of flowers at Costco to fill my vases at home, it's not practical at all, but if there isn't flowers to cut from your own garden, flowers from the store sitting on your kitchen table will add a pep to your step every time you see them.

When I'm in the Pacific Northwest and happen upon a farmers market, like the one we ran into last month in the U-District, and see all the flower arrangements and how much they cost! Wow, I start to drool because I want to be able to buy them all, sooo many flowers in such pretty arrangements, and super cheap... I can't handle it. You proper mountain women up there are spoiled.

One flower that does extremely well in the PNW is the majestic Dahlia... oh my goodness, I love these flowers so much and all the crazy varieties they come in. You can grow them in Utah but they aren't as popular here, in the PNW they are considered a No-Fail Perenial. It's my dream to have a yard of dahlia's one day and to out do this Utah gentleman.

Here's some dahlias I captured in Volunteer Park a few weeks ago:

Another cool thing about dahlia's, the fans of these beautiful flowers group together and form dahlia clubs (whose members are mostly elderly gardeners). A few years back we happened upon the Puget Sound Dahlia Association having a picnic in Volunteer Park... the association was made up of older distinguished residents of Seattle, and they were very excited about the dahlia's blooming, and they let us have some of the blooms they had cut! That's the sort of club I want to be in when I grow old.

Dahlia Associations:

The Puget Sound Dahlia Association

The Utah Dahlia Society

If you are like me, and don't have the courage to try your hand at dahlias just yet, might I suggest their baby sister..... Zinnias! Zinnias are like mini dahlias... and way easier to grow in Utah. They literally take no effort and bring full color and cheerfulness to your yard. They are also awesome for cutting and will last a long time in a vase of water, bringing their happy presence inside.

There is a house in the town over from me that grows zinnias as a fence every summer... here's a picture Amanda snapped of it:

Whoever lives in this house must be a beautiful soul. Maybe they are a fellow proper mountain woman. I need to go knock on the door and meet who plants this fantastic zinnia fence year after year. They must harvest their own zinnia seeds as well.

Speaking of which, if you get into zinnias, harvesting their seeds for next summer's use (as they are annuals) or to share with other zinnia lovers would be very proper of you. Here's a little how-to video on how it's done (click here), and you don't have to tell people how easy it is.

At the U-District Farmer's Market I saw bouquets made from zinnias which they paired with Queen Anne's Lace (shown below).... don't you love the combination? On my to-do list next Spring is to buy me some queen anne's lace seeds to plant so I can also make these bouquets next summer:

The PNW has a unique wet climate allowing many flowers to thrive... and if we are talking about dahlias and zinnias, we need to round out the holy trinity of flowers and discuss Ranunculus. Ranunculus are perfect... I've never met a proper mountain woman that doesn't absolutely adore them. They grow wild in this part of the world, but can be planted and do well in high a desert climate.

image found here

I feel like I can't end this flower post without mentioning the flower festivals that go on in the PNW. Google 'tulip festival washington state' images and prepare yourself for tulip beauty overload.

Check these following links out:

Skagit Tulip Festival - Washington

Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm - Oregon

International Rose Test Garden - Oregon

Woodland Park Rose Garden - Washington

Swan Island Dahlia Festival - Oregon

Seattle Dahlia Show - Washington

Spokane Lilac Festival - Washington

Festival of Flowers - Oregon

U-Cut Flowers - Washington

U-Cut Flowers - Oregon

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Becoming any sort of flower expert and being able to use the word 'tubers' and not sound like an idiot is a goal worth pursing. This last visit to Seattle we stayed in Capitol Hill and walked passed some rad flowers being grown in those Seattleite front yards, it inspired me to plant more flowers, and not just the kind I see in the Home Depot gardening section... I want to order some bulb catalogs and add some funky flowers and PNW color to my garden scenery!

Down the road when I have some extra dahlia tubers to share, you'll be the first to know, I will definitely share,

Peace and dahlia tubers,

Whitney