Alex Copeland is currently the editor for the Lewisville, Flower Mound and Highland Village editions of Community Impact Newspaper. He was previously a reporter, freelancer and journalism educator before joining Community Impact Newspaper in 2021.
The Link Lonk
Dale Victoria Curtis will celebrate the 15th anniversary of her business Blue Ivy Flowers this autumn, but her new venture operating Ensign the Florist is keeping that milestone in perspective.
"Next year, 2022, will be the 100th anniversary of Ensign the Florist," says Chris Curtis, Dale Victoria's husband and business partner. "Bill Ensign's father, James Lee Ensign, opened the shop in 1922 on Rossville Boulevard, and in 1925 moved here to South Crest Road."
Chris and Dale Victoria Curtis took over operation of Ensign in October 2020, and moved their Blue Ivy Flowers business from Patten Parkway in downtown Chattanooga into the shop in Rossville.
Constant construction on Patten Parkway, which began in the summer of 2019 and is still ongoing, along with the impact of COVID-19 in 2020 inclined the Curtises to make the move when Bill and Connelly Ensign approached them about it, Dale Victoria says.
"It was such an awesome opportunity," she says. "When we decided to go forward with the opportunity with Ensign, we moved Blue Ivy into the Ensign building, so now we have two flower shops that share the same roof."
While the Curtises operate Ensign day-to-day, the business remains in the Ensign family. The two businesses are complementary, and work at very different scales, Chris Curtis says.
"Ensign is literally five to 10 times the scale of Blue Ivy," Chris says. "Where Blue Ivy would do 10 to 20 orders a day, Ensign does 50 to 100 a day."
Ensign has a more traditional, menu-based approach to floral arrangements, and contracts with local funeral homes and the Teleflora service. Blue Ivy is a bit more customized and cutting edge, and has established itself as a more contemporary florist, Dale Victoria says.
"We have two different sets of customers," she says.
"Together, we make this work," Chris adds.
Mother's Day is their second-busiest time of the year, behind only Valentine's Day, and the pandemic actually boosted Mother's Day in the floral business in 2020, the Curtises say.
"They couldn't see their mom, but they could send her flowers," Chris says.
"It was the best Mother's Day Blue Ivy ever had," Dale Victoria adds.
Dale Victoria is a master floral designer who got her start driving a flower delivery van in Murfreesboro when she was 20 years old.
"I've been chased by dogs, I've had flats in the pouring down rain on the side of the road," she laughs. "I did that for two years, and as that shop grew I got pulled into the shop to start learning things."
Early in her career, she returned home to Chattanooga and worked as a floral designer at Ensign.
"I think it was 1988," she says. "It's surreal. We're standing in the same spaces and working in the same places."
She opened Blue Ivy in October 2006 in Hixson, and moved to the Volunteer Building on Patten Parkway in 2014. Though she hated to leave the space, the combination of the chronic construction and the pandemic were just too much, Dale Victoria says.
As they've gotten the hang of operating two businesses, and growing from a staff of three to 12, the Curtises have enjoyed getting to know the multi-generational customers who make Ensign part of their special occasions, Dale Victoria says.
"Ensign is like three generations deep with families," she says. "It's all the way from babies being born, proms, weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, all the way to the end of your life.
"We celebrate life with flowers. That's what we do, and that's what I tell people."
The Link Lonk
Jackie Gonzalez prepares flower orders for customers April 30, 2021, at Crystal Flower shop in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood. Crystal Flower is among the florists who say they're having to substitute flowers and raise prices as they face a shortage of flowers, plants, vases and other supplies. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
The Link LonkHERMON — Before Friday’s persistent rain and final April freeze, thousands of microscopic nematodes soaked into the soil at Our Little Grewve.
Owners John J. Anson and Elizabeth R. Seeley first seeded their idea for a regenerative flower farm about two years ago, with Our Little Grewve having grown into a collection of raised beds and flat gardens over two acres outside their County Route 21 home — and they’re growing still.
Our Little Grewve owners John Anson and Elizabeth Seeley kneel by a bed of tulips Friday. Christopher Lenney/Watertown Daily Times
Commonly called a beneficial nematode control, the spray applied to the gardens Thursday is one component of the farm’s regenerative approach to small-scale agriculture. The tiny, parasitic worms target soil-dwelling pests and serve as an alternative to pesticides that can leave a devastating imprint on soil, water and every reach of an ecosystem. Nematode applications, Mr. Anson said, have been especially effective in controlling the invasive Japanese beetle larvae that infest some of the flat gardens.
With Mr. Anson’s background in finance and a degree from Clarkson University, and Ms. Seeley’s expertise in zoology and degree from SUNY Oswego, the pair decided to research and explore the possibilities of a home-grown north country flower farm.
More than 100 flower varieties will soon be blooming: dahlias, zinnias, snapdragons, ranunculus, lisianthus, sunflowers, sweat peas, petunias, peonies, delphinium.
Petunias planted in recycled baskets hang in Our Little Grewve’s greenhouse Friday. Christopher Lenney/Watertown Daily Times
“There’s been a lot of learning, that’s part of what makes it exciting and fun,” Mr. Anson said. “The more you fail, the greater your likelihood to succeed.”
Mr. Anson is a St. Lawrence County native, and Ms. Seeley grew up just south of Rochester, where they both lived for almost 20 years before landing in Hermon. By the time the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the region last spring, the duo had been experimenting on their property, 15 miles south of downtown Canton, and preparing to launch Our Little Grewve for three months.
“We’re growers, that’s what we do,” Mr. Anson said Friday, standing in the rain among sleeping seedlings. “One of the challenges of regenerative agriculture is meshing it with the aesthetic and commercial elements of flowers that consumers are used to seeing.”
Local, small-scale farming is wholly different from the packaged-and-shipped model of growing that underpins the sale of $8 mature tropical plants from Walmart Garden Center shelves or grocery store bagged kale from across the country.
A flat of plants in the greenhouse at Our Little Grewve on Friday in Hermon. Christopher Lenney/Watertown Daily Times
All of Our Little Grewve’s plants are started from seeds or bulbs, planted directly into flat gardens or nurtured inside the farm’s greenhouse and hardened off in hoop houses to fortify roots and stems against fluctuating weather. Soil is mixed on site and the farm’s own garden compost boosts soil health. Manure compost is sourced from Canton’s Northern Limits Farm.
The focus on regeneration — which is rooted in restoring soil biodiversity to counter climate change — is about “encouraging nature,” not fighting against it, Mr. Anson said.
“Considerations for the health of our ecosystem are part of every decision made on the farm,” he said. “Robust produce, beautiful flowers that nourish the land. No shipping, no chemicals, fresh.”
Roughly 80% of flowers sold in the United States are imported, primarily from industrial flower operations in South America, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Sourcing and buying locally reduces producer and consumer carbon footprints and stimulates community economies. It’s a cycle integral to small growers and their regeneration contributions, Mr. Anson said.
A pile of organic manure waits to be applied to the beds at Our Little Grewve flower farm in Hermon. Christopher Lenney/Watertown Daily Times
Sustainability, which can sometimes feel like a catch-all term or a means to greenwash an organization’s environmental promises, is an ultimate Earth-minded goal. But regeneration, Mr. Anson said, must come first.
“Regardless of the terms you use, it’s about what the next 50 or 60 years look like for the planet,” he said. “We have to regenerate in order to be able to sustain.”
Often requiring more front-end work — including strategic erosion prevention through no-till planting and garden layouts that reflect topography — regenerative practices yield the best long-term benefits, Ms. Seeley said.
Still discovering their groove, Mr. Anson and Ms. Seeley are planning to broaden the farm’s offerings. They hope to add pathways for visitors and host garden education outings for kids and adults.
Ms. Seeley also tends vegetable beds, growing staples and less common produce varieties like dragon’s toe hot peppers this year.
The farm’s harvests are mainly supplying local weddings, with options available for other events, restaurants and hotels. Website sales for individual orders are active, and Our Little Grewve will have a Canton Farmers’ Market stand this season.
John Anson shows off a flat of plants Friday inside a greenhouse hoop at Our Little Grewve flower farm in Hermon. Christopher Lenney/Watertown Daily Times
Mr. Anson and Ms. Seeley are full-time cultivators now, inspecting their work at each daybreak and hand-picking insects off their young crop.
“There’s nothing better than getting up in the morning and seeing birds land beside you, bees active all around you, and the ecosystem in motion,” Mr. Anson said. “We’re witnessing the miracle of life every day. It’s magic.”
Mother’s Day mixed tulip bouquets can be reserved through the farm’s website or by calling 315-274-2049. To learn more, visit ourlittlegrewve.com.
The town of Flower Mound is requesting residents’ input on the development of a new master plan for trails and bikeways.
The Flower Mound Parks and Recreation Department is in the process of developing a Trails and Bikeways Master Plan, which will serve as a roadmap to guide short and long-range priorities for the trails and bikeways network in Flower Mound over the next 10+ years, according to a town news release.
To provide input on your priorities for walking, cycling and using trails throughout Flower Mound, a visioning public open house is scheduled for 6-7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Community Activity Center, 1200 Gerault Road. The open house will be structured for residents to identify key destinations where trails and bikeways should be provided or improved, preferred bicycle and pedestrian routes, and barriers to using trails and bikeways, according to the town.
If you cannot attend in-person, you can view the meeting and provide input virtually through Zoom. Additionally, a Virtual Public Engagement Room will be accessible to the public from the project website in early May and will mimic the activities that occurred during the open house meeting, including introductory presentations, visual preference, brief surveys and mapping input. The virtual engagement room will be available throughout the month of May as another tool for residents to provide input.
To learn more about the Trails and Bikeways Master Plan and ways to participate in the visioning portion of the study, visit http://flowermoundtrailsplan.com/.
Total lunar eclipse on January 21, 2019, photographed from Mannheim in Germany.
gettySummer stargazing is here. The nights may be getting shorter as we countdown to the summer solstice, but the final month of spring in the northern hemisphere this year sees two of 2021’s biggest astronomical events.
The year’s biggest “supermoon” on May 26, 2021 is surely one of them, a sight that for half the world will be merely the largest-looking and brightest full Moon of the year. For others—notably those in the western half of the U.S.—that “Super Flower Moon” will also be a rare total lunar eclipse during which our satellite will turn a reddish-orangey colour for 15 minutes.
Add the return of an unbelievably bright Venus to the post-sunset sky, a rare view of Mercury in the “Seven Sisters” star cluster, and a close planetary “kiss”—or conjunction—between both of the inner planets, and the month of May is set to stun.
Here’s everything you need to know about when and where to look for the finest planetary and Moon sights in May 2021:
Venus embraces the Pleiades, as seen from China on April 3, 2020. This month a similar sight will be ... [+]
Barcroft Media via Getty ImagesWhen: Just after sunset on Tuesday, May 4, 2021
Where: low on the northwest horizon
MORE FOR YOU
The smallest, hottest and fastest-moving planet is in for a great May. It’s going to get as far from the Sun as it almost ever gets, which makes it a great month to tick “the Swift Planet” off your list. Tonight, right after sunset, it will be about 2° from the Pleiades open cluster of hot, blue young stars—also known as the “Seven Sisters”—low down in the west-northwest. You can also look on Wednesday and Thursday when Mercury and the Pleiades will still be relatively close. Wait until the Sun has gone down and use binoculars.
A crescent Moon, Venus and Mercury
Jamie Carter/StellariumWhen: just after sunset on Wednesday, May 12 and Thursday, May 13, 2021
Where: low on northwest horizon
Are you always among the first to spot the ‘young Moon’? A badge of honour among some keen-eyed moon-gazers, there’s an extra prize for anyone out hunting for a 1%-lit crescent Moon in the post-sunset sky on May 12, 2021 in the form of the planet Venus just 1º above. A much easier sight will occur 24 hours later when a 3.5% crescent Moon will be visible just next to Mercury, and above Venus. You’ll need binoculars. This is also the New Moon that signals the end of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan 2021.
Venus will return to the post-sunset night sky this May 2021 and remain there for months.
gettyWhen: all month
Where: in the west after sunset
After spending the first half of 2021 as a super-bright object in the pre-sunrise night sky as a “Morning Star,” the second rock from the Sun this month emerges into the post-sunset sky as a brilliantly bright “Evening Star.” By May it will be very, very bright and inch towards Mars. In fact, Venus will be blazing at magnitude -3.9. We’re in for a spectacular summer performance from Venus, though it will sink earlier each month and gradually slim to a crescent by December as Earth and Venus get close to each other.
During May, Mercury will reach its highest position in the night sky for 2021.
Jamie Carter/StellariumWhen: just after sunset on Saturday, May 15, 2021
Where: low on northwest horizon
The “Swift Planet” will be most easily seen just above the western horizon right after sunset. Don’t hang about because it will sink quickly. This is the best night to see Mercury in its current April-June apparition, which is the best of 2021.
People gather to watch a "blood moon" eclipse in Melbourne on July 28, 2018.
AFP via Getty ImagesWhen: early hours of Wednesday, May 26, 2021
Where: southwestern sky from West Coast U.S.
A “supermoon” will move into Earth’s dark central umbral shadow to cause a total lunar eclipse—the first for over two years—for a mere 15 minutes, briefly turning the lunar surface a reddish-copper color, though only for those in western parts of North America. If the sky is clear it’s surely going to be the most arresting sight of 2021 for anyone on the night-side of Earth at the moment of this global event—and that means those in Australia, parts of western U.S. states, western South America and Southeast Asia. Everyone else on Earth will see a fabulous moonrise in the east at dusk, but no “blood” moon.
Mercury and Venus feature in a one-night-only close conjunction on May 28, 2021.
gettyWhen: after sunset on Friday, May 28, 2021
Where: low on northwest horizon
After dusk tonight the tiny planet Mercury dramatically sinks back towards the Sun and, as it does, glances the super-bright planet Venus. Look west after sunset and you’ll see the two planets barely 0.5º apart, and getting closer. However, do bear in mind that Venus will be brilliantly bright compared to Mercury, so it’s a bit of a mis-match.
Times and dates given apply to mid-northern latitudes. For the most accurate location-specific information consult online planetariums like Stellarium and The Sky Live. Check planet-rise/planet-set, sunrise/sunset and moonrise/moonset times for where you are.
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
The Link Lonkflower.indah.link By NEENA GAYNOR Since moving to our new home, each season has brought its own surprises. In the winter, we collec...
