>> "J Schwanke's Life in Bloom" is brought to you by the following... >> That flower feeling.

♪♪ At home.

♪♪ At work.

♪♪ Or anytime.

♪♪ CalFlowers is a proud sponsor of "J Schwanke's Life in Bloom," where flowers and wellness go hand in hand.

>> We have fresh in all our stores, from soups and steaks and all things flour to all things flowering.

Custom fresh arrangements designed by our in-store florists at Albertsons Companies.

>> With additional support from the following... ♪♪ >> On this episode of "Life in Bloom," we're looking at the influence of Dutch culture on flowers.

We'll visit a second generation flower farm founded by Dutch immigrants.

I'll create a hand-tied bouquet with flourish, arrange in Delft pottery, and explore the influence of flower paintings by Dutch masters.

♪♪ ♪♪ I'm J. Schwanke.

Welcome to "Life in Bloom."

Today, we're looking at what is often called the land of flowers, the Netherlands.

I have always been fascinated with the dedication the Dutch have to flowers.

Flowers and the Dutch have a partnership that is centuries old.

In 1587, the University of Leiden asked for permission from the mayor to establish a hortus academicus behind the university building, and famous botanist Carolus Clusius arrived in 1593 as prefect.

Clusius urged the Dutch East India Company to collect plants and specimens in the Dutch colonies.

The original garden set up by Clusius was small but contained more than a thousand different plants.

Many of the trees that were planted during the past 400 years can still be admired today.

The Dutch Golden Age began a relatively short but famous period known as tulip mania.

Contract prices for some bulbs of the recently introduced and fashionable tulip reached extraordinarily high levels.

The Netherlands is also home to the largest flower auction in the world, the Aalsmeer Flower Auction.

Flowers from all over the world are traded there every day.

Around 43 million flowers are sold on a daily basis.

The Netherlands produces 1.7 billion cut flowers per year, which represents roughly 60% of global trade.

The tulip fields of Holland are world famous.

The region's humid, salty air, perfect aeration, and soil acidity prove to be a match made in heaven for growing tulips.

Spring features freshly blooming tulips, daffodils, hyacinth, and Crocus.

As summer fades, Dahlias claim the spotlight among other flowers.

Let's explore the undeniable connection flowers have with the Dutch and the Netherlands in this episode of "Life in Bloom."

♪♪ What better way to celebrate the Dutch connection to flowers than by visiting a second generation flower farm?

Martin and Helene Meskers emigrated from the Netherlands in 1979 to start their own flower farm, now run with their son, Tyler Meskers, and his young family in collaboration with an experienced staff.

What's it like working with your family?

>> Working in a family business has a lot of advantages if you can work together and all be on the same page.

And we've been fortunate that we've been able to do it.

Helene and I have worked together starting this business.

Until this day, we still do.

>> Where did you learn to grow flowers?

>> Learned to grow at the family farm in Holland, a farm about 50 miles north of Amsterdam on the coast.

Bulb growing.

For generations over there, they've been growing bulbs.

That's where I grew -- where I learned how to grow flowers.

>> So how do you think the Dutch heritage of your family has affected this business?

>> Yeah.

So both my parents, coming from the bulb industry of Holland to the United States, it's been in our lifestyle to carry the Dutch tradition.

>> Okay.

>> Whether it's drinking coffee at coffee time, or koffietijd, at home, or it's the cuisine, the Dutch meals that we eat at home, that has been born and instilled in my lifestyle since I was a kid.

So that's in me.

That's in our business, that's in our employees, it's in our family.

And, so, whether that's riding bicycles or trying to keep things a bit nicer and tidier or using robotics and efficiency from Holland, that is a big, big part of our business.

And that's also why our logo has flowers grown with a Dutch touch.

>> And, so, you're harvesting all these things, but you've implemented automation to help keep your employees healthy, to make their jobs easier, to increase production.

>> We have 30 employees have been with us for many years.

Half have been with us for more than 15 years.

So we're really, really proud of our labor force here.

>> Okay.

>> You know, one of our employees have been with us before I was born, so very loyal crew.

>> That's awesome.

>> But we use our expertise from these employees of ours to help us grow the business.

And, so, any time there's a chance to automate, to use robotics, we are the first to try it out.

That doesn't mean we just not use our employees anymore.

We just grow with our employees.

So if that means we can use robotics to harvest our crop a little bit better, we'll do that and expand the business so that we can use those employees elsewhere.

>> So why be a flower farmer?

Why not be a lawyer or an astronaut or something else?

Why did you say flowers?

>> Yeah, I think it's -- it's in my genes.

That's why I'm a flower grower.

I like growing flowers.

And I've been fortunate that I got, you know -- I grew up in it.

I like it.

And I think it's just a nice business to be in, to overall make people happy.

>> Why are flowers important?

>> I think flowers are important because you can see what it does when you give people flowers.

When you give them, you see their reaction.

And the one thing that I think has always been underestimated is what it does to people to give flowers.

If you give flowers to somebody, the feeling that you get by seeing how happy they are has been underestimated because it just does as -- I think it does just as much for the giving person than it does for the receiving person.

♪♪ >> We think about those Dutch flowers and the Netherlands having such an influence on that.

And that Dutch influence allows you to grow amazing flowers.

And it's just -- it's part of let's go Dutch.

It's perfect.

It was perfect.

It's a perfect opportunity for us.

So thank you so much for letting us come here today.

I think it's amazing that we got to see this.

It's so nice.

I've known you since you were a little kid.

I've known your dad forever.

And it's just really nice to come and see how you grow flowers and how you make them beautiful for everyone else.

I appreciate it so much.

♪♪ It has become popular in recent years to again create flower arrangements that echo the style of the Dutch or Flemish master painters.

In the 17th century, floral still life paintings presented imaginary compositions of flowers, so noted as the flowers bloomed at different times of year.

The paintings were popular among leading patrons and nobility across Europe.

The subjects were usually on a dark background, and the Dutch masters' style of lighting flowers was dark, with a very strong central highlight and the perimeter fading to the shadow in a beautiful yet unnatural way.

Paintings would also include vanitas, various symbolic objects to show the transience of life, the futility of pleasure, and the certainty of death.

Objects included books, shells, timepieces, insects, and even skulls.

The arrangements even had a visual hierarchy with the most expensive items at the top.

I may or may not emulate the hierarchy.

However, I'm happy to create a visually striking arrangement that we can light dramatically to further imitate the styles of the Dutch masters.

♪♪ ♪♪ A rose lily is a lily that resembles a rose in that it has multiple layers of petals.

Rose lilies are Oriental hybrid lilies with lush double flowers.

Rose lilies have no pollen, avoiding the potential for pollen stains.

Rose lilies have a lovely, delicate fragrance which is not as strong as other Oriental lilies.

This is due to the lack of pollen.

Flowers typically last longer than most Oriental lilies.

Rose lilies drink a lot of water.

Be sure to check the water level in the vase frequently.

Rose lilies typically will last 12 to 14 days in a vase.

The rose lily was developed from a spontaneous mutation in the form of a double flowering lily.

Rose lilies are available as cut flowers and as potted flowers.

♪♪ The tradition with hand-tied bouquets is definitely a European tradition, but I'm most familiar with it from my travels to Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

We always brought flowers to someone's home, and I love the fact that one of my Dutch friends said, "Oh, you're an American.

You bring wine and help us drink half of it."

I like to think of myself as the guy who always brings flowers, and this is a fun way to do so with a traditional hand-tied bouquet.

We'll be making it in this armature.

We'll tie it together and stand it up in this tray.

Let me show you how it's done.

We always want to make sure that we strip the stems of our flowers.

So we're removing any extra foliage at the bottom that would hamper us from binding it together, and also from having a clean stem that can go through the armature.

We'll add our orange juice tulips first.

♪♪ Then we'll add our French tulips.

This variety is called Gudoshnik Double.

♪♪ As you know, I always like to add lilies last because they're fragile.

So we'll slip two Original Love lilies down inside the middle of this bouquet.

♪♪ We'll bind it off and cut it flush at the bottom.

That allows the stems to splay out, and then we can stand it up in the tray.

♪♪ It's a wonderful way to display a traditional hand-tied bouquet.

♪♪ Martin, I asked you to bring some artifacts that were traditionally Dutch artifacts, and you delivered such wonderful things.

So I want to know more about what you brought.

>> We went through our basement and dug up a few things that we stored away, and, yeah, be happy to tell you a little bit about some of the -- >> Let's start with the shoes.

That's what we think of.

>> Yeah.

>> We think of wooden shoes.

These are mine.

And these are my wife, Helene's.

>> Wow.

How come the Dutch have wooden shoes?

>> They're warm.

>> Oh, okay.

>> And it's generations ago.

I think they just made them out of wood.

>> They're waterproof.

>> Waterproof?

But you also, you -- When you wear them as a kid, your calluses kind of start to come on.

>> Sure.

>> So it's -- Yeah.

Traditionally.

>> So we were talking about kids.

What's this?

Why would this little guy be important to kids?

>> This is my mother-in-law's cookie trommel, where they put cookies in, and my mother-in-law always had -- sorry.

>> Yeah, yeah.

>> Up in the in the cupboard, up high so kids couldn't reach in, and then, when we would be over for coffee -- because that's a traditional Dutch thing is to drink coffee, come on over.

She would make the coffee and pour it for us, and she would open it up.

And then, every one of them could have one cookie, either a stroopwafel... >> Okay.

>> ...or a coffee wafel.

And you get one cookie for each cup of coffee.

And then she would close it up again, put it back in the cupboard.

That's tradition.

>> And I love that you still have hers.

I think that's great that you use it.

>> Yeah.

>> Okay, so then, Delft.

Delft is that traditional Dutch earthenware.

>> Right.

Generations.

We've seen it at our grandparents' and our parents'.

And now we have it.

[ Laughter ] It's just a traditional thing.

It's typical Dutch.

>> Awesome.

So, then you brought specific flower things.

I love that because I'm a big collector of different types of flower things.

And now you got my mind thinking, I'm going to have to find some of these things.

So let's start with this one.

>> Yeah.

This is a typical bulb crate primarily for -- These are lily bulbs.

But they were primarily used for tulips and hyacinths.

Tulips, you probably put about 500 tulip bulbs in here.

And then you stack them up and have ventilation or open the door so that they stay dry.

>> So wire was not for shaking off dirt, like a screen.

It's for air ventilation to get them to dry.

>> Right, to keep them dry.

>> And if you didn't keep them dry, you'd have rotten bulbs.

So, now, this is a lily bulb.

So this is what these lily bulbs look like back here.

>> Yep.

>> And this is what they do.

>> You know, after plant it, maybe about 6 to 8 weeks later, they become this stage.

And you can see this is the bulb.

And you can see how the lilies make stem roots.

>> Stem roots.

That's fascinating.

I mean, that's just really beautiful.

>> Fairly typical of lilies or specific to lilies that they make stem roots.

They do have bottom roots, as well, but but when they first start growing, they develop their stem roots first.

>> Okay.

So, then, this guy -- this guy over here, this is my favorite.

This is my favorite, this is the coolest thing I've seen.

>> This is an old-fashioned one.

So, bulbs are graded by circumference in size.

And they are -- this is a nine-centimeter circumference.

Most commercial bulbs are what we would call 12 centimeters and up.

Most of the time, the nines are planting stock and planted back again.

>> Okay.

>> So this is just one of them with a size nine, but then you would stack them up on top of each other and you'd shake them or it would be shaken.

And then the big ones stayed on top and the little ones fell through, all the different sizes.

Then, when that tray was done, they empty them by size.

>> Wow.

>> And, so, now you told me that today people who can find these use them for decoration in their home.

>> Right.

>> And you hang it on the wall, and then you can put a flower arrangement in it, right?

>> That's one way to do it.

Yeah.

>> So it would sit in there like that right.

>> Right.

Yeah.

>> Wow.

I mean, I love -- So I love flower artifacts.

So now I'm on a search.

>> Go look for one of those.

>> Yeah.

Now I'm on a search.

You got me going.

Martin, thank you so much for sharing these with us.

I love it, I think it's wonderful and it helps us learn more about going Dutch.

>> There you go.

♪♪ >> With our Dutch theme, I want to arrange flowers in traditional Delftware, or Delft pottery, as we have here.

It's also known as Delft Blue, or as Delf, is a general term now used for Dutch tin-glazed earthenware.

Most of it is blue-and-white pottery, and the city of Delft in the Netherlands was the major center of production.

Delftware is one of the types of tin-glazed earthenware in which a white glaze is applied, usually decorated with metal oxides, in particular the cobalt oxide that gives the usual blue and can withstand high-firing temperatures, allowing it to be applied under the glaze.

Delftware includes pottery objects of all descriptions, such as plates, vases, figurines, and other ornamental forms and tiles.

The style originated around 1600, and the most highly regarded period of production is about 1640 to 1740, but Delftware continues to be produced.

In the 17th and 18th century, the manufacture of Delftware was a major industry, with product exported all over Europe.

The centuries-old craftsmanship has been passed on from generation to generation, and the craftsmen still create pieces to enjoy to this day.

Now let's arrange some beautiful flowers in this Delftware.

The arrangement we'll be making has an arch in it.

I'm bending these bunches of curly willow tips so that they have a wonderful circular arch angle.

Just bending them down because they're fresh and pliable will be enough.

I'll place one bunch in each side and then interweave them together.

It makes a perfect arch between the two vases.

We'll start by adding these beautiful La Courtine Parrot French tulips.

We're placing them down into the water and then weaving them up into the arch.

Here's our Bloom 365 Tip of the Week.

We've got a wonderful opportunity to use some flower heads at the top of the arch.

However, the tulips aren't long enough.

But the great part about tulips is they can survive for 12 to 18 hours without water, so we can use them for our event and then place them back in water after we've had them in the display.

We can add our foliage.

I've used lily grass, foxtail fern and variegated aspidistra.

We're using accents of those so that it doesn't distract from the flowers.

Next, we'll add these yellow Pomponette French tulips.

They look like roses.

They're so big and open and voluptuous.

Look at this wonderful yellow one that has a red striation through the center.

I want to use it in an area where it will catch our eye.

It's wonderful to have that little splash of red color.

I'm going to add a beautiful yellow lily.

It's called Conca d'Or.

This is a beautiful arch with beautiful flowers created in our Delftware.

Now it's my favorite part of the show.

Flowers from you, the viewers.

Today I have arrangements to share from viewer Patrick Dolan, who watches the show on KPJK in the San Francisco Bay area.

Patrick writes, "Here are a few of my bouquets.

I enjoy growing them and having bouquets from early spring through late fall."

Patrick, I'm over the moon for these Schwankes.

I see that Patrick loves pretty flowers as much as I do.

I can't get enough.

And those parrot tulips, Patrick -- I need to find a chair and sit down.

Thanks, my friend, for sharing these.

I love to see pictures of your flower arrangements inspired by "Life in Bloom."

We call them Schwankes, inspired by viewers Brad and Kelly's nickname.

Send them to J@uBloom.com.

That's the letter J at the letter U, bloom.com.

And watch for more Schwankes on upcoming shows.

I hope you've enjoyed our look at the connection between flowers and the Netherlands.

While we all love flowers, the accomplishments the Dutch have made with flowers demonstrate a special aptitude and affection for flowers that benefits us all.

For "Life in Bloom," I'm J Schwanke.

I had heard a story about a tulip vodka, and I called my local liquor store, and they said, "We can't get it."

And you talk to your friend who went through duty free at Schiphol Airport... >> Yeah.

>> ...and asked for the tulip vodka, and here it is.

So I thought we should have a taste test, right?

>> I agree.

Cheers.

Mm.

[ Laughter ] >> It's vodka.

>> Whoo.

>> It is vodka.

I get a little hint at the end.

I get, like, a little hint of that smell that you talked about.

About what a tulip smells like.

>> It definitely...by now.

>> There's something there.

>> There's something.

"J Schwanke's Life in Bloom" is filmed in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

>> Visit J's website, uBloom.com, for flower projects and crafts, complete recipes, behind-the-scenes videos, J's blog, flower cocktails, and more.

♪♪ "J Schwanke's Life in Bloom" is brought to you by the following... >> That flower feeling.

♪♪ At home.

♪♪ At work.

♪♪ Or anytime.

♪♪ CalFlowers is a proud sponsor of "J Schwanke's Life in Bloom," where flowers and wellness go hand in hand.

>> We have fresh in all our stores, from soups and steaks and all things flour to all things flowering.

Custom fresh arrangements designed by our in-store florists at Albertsons Companies.

♪♪ >> With additional support from the following... ♪♪ Closed-caption funding provided by Holland America Flowers.

♪♪