Spring Flowers

The mild climate, long hours of sunshine and rich fertile soil make Jersey the perfect place to grow flowers.  The daffodils flower much earlier than in England so traditionally the Jersey daffodils arrived in the florists the first, originally they and

anemones were grown as another just another crop by farmers. The anemones seem to have been particularly prolific this year where I live, (a long way north of the island)  perhaps our winter was as benign as Jerseys this year. Cultivated anemones have been grown in Jersey for many years, being amongst the Island's first recorded export flower. 

The next are amongst my favourite flowers, the freesia, hybridisation has produced a wide range of colours, many especially the yellow, being heavily fragrant. They can grow out of doors, blooming in the spring from corms planted in August or September but even in Jersey are mostly cultivated under glass, from seed.

Lastly comes a bunch of carnations and gladioli, the former much beloved for decorative purposes by florists and flower arrangers. In Jersey outdoor cultivation of gladioli produces fields of bloom in early summer and earlier flowing occurs under glass.

Jersey lives up to its name of the "Floral Isle" but I always look forward to the waxy Jersey Royal potatoes arriving later in the year. The other main agricultural products are cauliflowers and tomatoes and of course dairy products from those Jersey cows but flowers are the most important export crop mainly shipped to the UK.  No wonder they have lots of flower shows in Jersey, the first of the year is the Royal Jersey Agricultural and Horticultural Society Spring Flower show next weekend.

An entry to Viridian Postcard's  Sunday Stamps