From Garbage to Gorgeousness

"I hate waste, especially of plants," says Tracey Martin, whose Nova Scotia-based company Lilies From The Valley sells recycled lily bulbs that would otherwise be tilled under or composted after being cut for flowers.

Martin has worked for a cut-flower greenhouse for 16 years and would dig up the bulbs for her own garden.  Then, a dozen years ago, the president of the company saw her doing this and summoned her to his office.  She was covered in mud and somewhat anxious that he was unhappy with her.

Instead, he said, "I would like to see you selling these."

It took her a dozen years to get up the confidence, but now she's launched her eminently sensible business, which offers two serious advantages over other lily purveyors.  First, her bulbs are cheap enough to allow for total lily profligacy: $8 a dozen for Asiatics, $10 a dozen for Orientals.   

Second, she's selling varieties striking enough for the cut flower market that may not yet be available to home gardeners.  (Make sure you scroll down her long webpage to see all the amazing choices.) Martin mentions 'Mero Star,' which has flowers a foot across, and 'Dynamite,' a true bright red Oriental.

So, the question is, are Martin's bulb's weaker because they've been harvested once?  This is an issue, because in real gardens, lilies often dwindle away after a few years.

"They're harvested in such a way," says Tracey, "that there is stem left on the bulb."  Martin says that even their first year, they will produce from one to three blooms--and then, if conditions are right, they'll rebuild themselves and get bigger and better. 

"Orientals really like acidic soil," she explains.  "Lilies don't like clay, period.  Or pure sand--they need some organic matter."

Martin's bulbs are cheap enough to justify wanton cutting.  But if you want to have your cake and eat it too--keep the bulbs strong and still have flowers for your table--she recommends planting a dozen of one variety, and cutting only three or four each year, so each bulb has a few years to rebuild itself between cuttings.  "Leave a third of the stalk when you cut, " she adds.

She points out that she has Asiatics in her garden that have been there for sixteen years.  And some of her lilies have stems whose circumference is as big as a silver dollar.

The only thing wrong with Martin's business plan is the fact that she's not yet shipping to the U.S.  However, she expects to soon, and when she does, I not only plan on increasing the number of lilies in my garden from absurd to scary, I'm going to give them away to my neighbors on a Johnny Appleseed-like quest to beautify the country--and make sure everybody can get drunk on lily perfume right in their own backyards.

Comments

[Kim]

I love this idea- I suspect that there are many people like me that are willing to engage in the romantic gamble with their flowers! Can we hear from you on this again when she is selling to the US?

[eliz]

Sure, I'm in. I have been trying to establish a lily cutting garden, but haven't been able to make it work because it needs to be out of the way and then I don't maintain it.

Unrelated--what bothers me about lily growers are the name inconsistencies. It's worse than with other bulbs. They have all kinds of names for what I THINK are the same varieties and it's annoying.

[Heather]

Darn. All I have is clay in the back and sand in the front. :(

[Jenn]

I like this idea -- then I could try thing that might (or might not) make it in my zone 8b and wouldn't feel terrible if it didn't work.

[jodi]

I know Tracey, have bought lily bulbs from her, and have also written about her. Her bulbs are great; I was surprised to see the ones I planted this spring up and producing buds this year, but producing they are--must be the good horse manure I put on the soil. :-)

thank you for writing about Tracey--I think she's going to do very well at this business, and it's green as can be, too!