Blomma Flower Farm Breeding Workshop
This past summer I had the pleasure of attending the Blomma Flower Farm in person workshop in Gardnerville, NV. Before I dive into my time there, let's start back to where this all really began.
While I was experimenting with different types of flowers in my garden, I was surprised to find that I fell in love with a flower that was hardy, a work horse, long vase life and uniquely beautiful. At first I thought the flower that would capture my heart would be dahlias. Dahlias are beautiful, romantic, elegant, and very diverse with their different varieties of colors, sizes and forms.
But I was wrong. I fell head over heels for Zinnias.
It wasn’t until I started researching the different breeders and companies that I realized how wide the variety is. I found Blomma’s Flower Farm after Erin from Floret shared her love for Tiffany’s book on Zinnia Breeding. ( The Zinnia Breeding Handbook) I knew that I had to get my hands on that book. I preordered it and anxiously waited for it to arrive. When it did come I read through it on the first day. I sat out by my patch of zinnias and dreamed of the possibilities that my garden would someday grow.
Less than a year later, I saw that Tiffany was going to host her first in person zinnia breeding workshop. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to afford the workshop and travel, so I jealously pouted to myself. Then, one day, she made a post that someone had to back out and they were going to give their spot to someone as a scholarship. What did I have to lose? I applied. To my delight, I was selected for her scholarship! I was so excited when I opened the email. I started crying right then and there. It startled my husband, he thought something bad had happened. But I was simply overwhelmed with pure joy and gratitude.
It was a two day workshop where different flower farmers across America came together for one specific passion- Zinnia Breeding. It was a surreal feeling to realize that I would be strolling through and learning in her garden less than a year after buying her book and dreaming about the possibilities that the future could hold. Tiffany is an excellent teacher who welcomed us all and gave us a lot of hands-on experience. While walking through her garden, she showed us zinnias that had forms that I have never seen before. All of us growers felt like we were in flower heaven. She taught us the different techniques to pollentate, cull, identify, and label. After reading her book, I was still struggling to understand the genetic side of zinnias. (Chromosome, dominant traits, ect - bbiology was not my strong suit in high school.) But she broke it down so well that now it makes perfect sense to me now. She shared with us her techniques to sort seeds, identify viable ones, propagate and all the tips and tricks that she has learned during her years of breeding. Then she sent us off all feeling inspired to start our own breeding journeys equipped with all the tools that we would need.
Planning for this year, I will officially start breeding zinnias. I have a variety of seeds that I intend to seek out a unicorn and self pollinate. The possibilities are endless and I know they will be beautiful. I am excited to feel like a mad scientist in the garden and see where this journey takes us. Stay tuned..
