Flower Talk: New Tulip Varieties at Sun Valley

He said, "This is tu-li-tu-li-tu-li
Tu-li-tu-li-tu-li-tulip time"
She said, "yes it's tu-li-tu-li-tu-li
Tu-li-tu-li-tu-li-tulip time"
Then they talked about the weather,
But their heads were close together,

They agreed it's tu-li-tu-li-tu-li
Tu-li-tu-li-tu-li-tulip time
He said, "Are you truly truly truly
Truly truly truly truly truly mine
With a kiss she sighed "forever"
You can hardly blame them,
You would do the same in
Tu-li tulip time

-Tu-li Tulip Time, written by Horace Heidt, made famous by the Andrews Sisters.

When the floor in the sales office kitchen is speckled with chunks of dirt, portions of bulbs are in the the sink and there are vases full of tulips with all sorts of cryptic notes on the bloom table; you know our new tulip varieties are in full swing. This is such a wonderful time on the farm. Our growers, Lane, Tim and Tanner, will come into the sales office proudly holding a new variety; usually leaving a trail of dirt, since the tulip was literally just pulled from the soil.

We are lucky to see the new varieties first hand. It's an adventure to see how they open up, the shape of their petals and how the colors mature.

Then the conversation starts. What people like, what people don't like, some days it feels like an art critique class as sales reps. and growers voice (and defend) their opinions on a certain tulip. Its funny how people can connect so passionately with a flower they are just seeing for the first time.

Then the official color needs to be decided. This is a subjective area, and one of the most challenging for our team to clearly define. The person with the best eye and experience for flower color in our office is Conor Maguire. He makes the call on what the flowers color will be on our inventory system.

Here is a sampling of the new tulips we have been working with since March and April. The only new variety not pictured here is "Ice Cream"...which we will be focusing on next week, so be sure to tune in.

We will let the flowers speak for themselves, so you can keep an open mind. Comment at the bottom or on Facebook with what your favorite new variety is, mine is Pretty Woman (it's the best!).