>> "J Schwanke's Life in Bloom" is brought to you by the following... At home.

At work.

Or anytime.

♪♪ CalFlowers is a proud sponsor of 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... PassionRoses... Suntory Flowers.

♪♪ >> Today, we'll take a global journey to see how some flowers bloom, celebrate flowers by the ocean, see how flower farming is in the DNA, and share a delicious and simple pasta preparation.

♪♪ ♪♪ I'm J Schwanke.

Welcome to "Life in Bloom."

Today, I'll take you on a couple of journeys in the world of flowers.

The first is what may seem like a long and daunting journey around the world on the ocean from the Netherlands to California and then to your home.

Would you be surprised to learn that lily blooms must make such a trip?

The story of the second journey is a generational one, involving relocation to a new country.

Pursuing the dream of owning and operating a flower farm.

The Van Wingerden family has done just that, and today continues this flower-farm trek into their third generation.

Have you packed your bags?

Let's get going.

♪♪ I always ask flower fans, did you ever wonder where flowers come from?

And what I mean by that is there's a whole process that has to happen before you can get flowers from your favorite flower seller.

We visited a few flower farms in "Life in Bloom" -- one of my favorite things to do, in fact.

But, then, my curious mind wants to know where did they get the seeds or bulbs that the farmers then grow on to blooms?

Turns out that for some flowers, lilies specifically, it's quite a journey.

Enter my friend Robin van der Schaaf with a very interesting journey to share.

Robin, it's good to see you.

>> Good to see you, too.

>> Thank you for joining us for this journey.

No one knows what happens before we see that beautiful lily flower and how that bulb gets here.

>> Right.

>> These bulbs started out 7,000 miles away from here.

>> Yes.

Different continent.

>> Okay.

So what happens in the Netherlands?

>> A lot of the bulb production is there.

There's a lot of knowledge there.

There's a lot of research there.

And they are able to still with the climate there to produce the best-quality bulbs for the best possible price.

>> That bulb gets on a truck in the Netherlands or a container?

>> A container -- a 40-foot container, which is temperature- controlled, humidity.

You know, it's being watched over during the journey.

So it's a very much a controlled transport all the way over to the U.S.

>> What's the temperature inside that container as those are going in there?

>> It's 29° Fahrenheit.

>> Okay.

Alright.

So, then, those containers still operating, still staying cool... >> Yep.

>> ...get on a boat.

>> They get on these very large vessels that literally have I don't know how many containers, but at least hundreds.

They're amazing, huge vessels.

It goes from Rotterdam to New York, and then it goes south, Savannah, and then it goes through the Panama Canal.

And then it comes to the West Coast.

Okay, it hits, I think, a port in Mexico, then Long Beach, L.A., and then it goes to Oakland.

And that's the harbor that our containers come into and then come to the facility.

And then we get ready to offload and back into the freezer.

>> And the freezer's in Watsonville?

>> Correct.

>> So, Robin, we are in a 28-degree room, right?

>> Yes.

>> It's cold in here.

>> It's very cold.

>> And these are all lily bulbs?

>> Yes.

We keep them frozen so they stay dormant.

And we can hold them here for months at a time.

>> Wow.

How many lily bulbs are in here?

>> Oh, gosh.

There's probably about almost a million or a little over a million bulbs in here.

>> Wow!

Okay.

>> Yeah.

And so they're packed in peat moss.

>> Okay.

>> The peat moss has a certain moisture level to it... >> Uh-huh.

>> ...before the lilies get packed in there.

It's to prevent the bulbs from drying out, because even if they're frozen, we don't want them it dry out.

>> Right.

Okay.

>> So it's a solid frozen, you know, crate of peat.

So they just, you know, have a tiny, little sprout.

And then these are the roots that the bulbs come with.

>> Right.

>> Now, these are not the roots that the lily will grow on once it's planted.

>> Really?

>> He's making a sprout, and then he's making stem roots.

He's making brand-new roots.

>> Sure.

>> He's using these.

These are a little bit from in the field in Holland when they were grown.

But this is not the roots that he's using to perform after planted for producing a flower.

>> Okay.

So, Robin, I love this.

There's this smell, number one, of the steaming soil.

It's incredible for me.

It's just it's a memory smell from when I was a little kid.

We would steam soil in the greenhouses.

And this is steamed soil.

It's sanitary soil.

That means there's no weeds in it.

There's no bugs in it.

All that stuff's -- >> We kill all the bad bacteria and diseases.

Correct.

>> Okay.

So, now, this is the next stop.

>> Correct.

>> Okay.

>> So they go out of the cooler.

When they arrive here, they let them slowly defrost.

It's very important.

Don't plant the frozen bulb.

>> Okay.

>> It takes about three days.

And then they start planting them in these crates that enhance the crop.

You know, you can control your soil.

You can control the planting depth.

And it just gives you a taller, you know, more robust lily in the greenhouse where you plant them in these boxes.

>> So then they put them on a pallet.

And then where's the pallet go?

>> The pallet then goes into they have a room over there that's a cooler at about 50 degrees.

It's a free-rooting room.

They start sprouting.

They start making these stem roots that we talked about.

>> Right.

>> And that's kind of the perfect temperature before they go into the greenhouse.

>> How long do they stay there?

>> It's about two to three weeks.

>> Once we've planted them, then those come down here, and they start another process.

>> They come from the pre-cooling room that we saw, the 50-degree room.

They get weekly -- they pull bulbs out of that room.

Every week you want to bring in here, because you want to have continuous production.

Once they were put down, you want to put right away, you want to start irrigating.

>> And that's what they're doing here?

>> And that's what they're doing, yeah.

Then they start to sprout.

And that's important, too.

Like, if you do good, your irrigation, you see even sprouting.

>> 'Cause we want them to be all the same height, like they are here.

>> You want to have a uniform crop.

So... what we saw in the cooler, okay, was the roots that they come with.

>> Yeah.

>> Which still looks the same.

They haven't developed, you know?

And then here are the stem roots.

That's why it's important when you plant them, plant them deep enough, about two inches deep or two inches on top of the bulb.

And moisture.

Not too dry.

>> Right.

>> So they start developing these roots.

Because this is what's feeding the flower.

>> They're spaced out, as you said, with the different spacing of time.

So as we progress this way in this house, these lilies are getting longer.

Once it's left that cooler in Watsonville to the time we get a bloom is how long?

>> It averages about four months.

>> Wow!

>> Yeah.

From defrosting the bulb, planting, till finishing, where you start cutting them.

>> Sure.

>> Yeah, it's about four months.

>> So here's where we're starting to see the buds.

>> Yeah.

So, they stop stretching at this point, head.

They're not getting much taller than this.

And now they're, like, just finishing out in a way.

>> Okay.

fascinating, my friend.

I appreciate it so much.

Thank you for taking us on a journey all the way from the Netherlands, 7,000 miles, to in the ground and beautiful, blooming lilies.

>> Right.

>> I appreciate it.

>> Yeah.

Awesome.

Hey, J, thank you.

♪♪ >> One of the most popular flowers is the gerbera, Sometimes referred to as the gerbera daisy, It's certainly one of the most exciting flowers to see growing in a greenhouse.

Many flower types are cut at the stage before the bloom opens.

Gerberas are different.

They are cut when fully open, so visiting a greenhouse filled with thousands of blooms is a sight to see.

What does it take to cultivate this magnificent beauty and bring it to enjoy the happy disposition of these colorful blooms?

Our friend Ivor Van Wingerden has some answers.

Ivor, this is amazing.

This is just, like, so many flowers.

>> It's a lot of flowers, J.

>> Right.

How many plants are we talking about?

>> It's about 140,000 gerbera plants in this greenhouse.

>> Wow.

So when they're going through here and they're harvesting them, they're breaking it off.

>> Pulls right off.

And they're kind of bred to be the ones -- Varieties that don't break easily, those varieties disappear into the ether.

You know, those -- >> Okay.

They're all grown hydroponically.

>> All hydroponic.

>> They're grown in coconut fiber, the husk of a coconut.

>> Okay.

>> The reason it's great is because the water goes through it, it doesn't hold the water?

>> Correct.

And you can differentiate.

You can make it in different consistencies.

>> Oh, wow.

>> In our lilies, it's chopped very finely, like hairs.

Here it's more -- It's more chunky.

We keep it more chunky.

>> Okay.

>> And 'cause these plants are gonna last us three to four years, so we want to make sure, you know, throughout the life cycle of the plant, there's enough structure in the pot.

>> So in the three to four years, how many flowers are you gonna get off of it?

>> We would like for each plant talking about one to two flowers per week.

>> Part of your mission is to be sustainable, to be environmentally friendly.

So we're catching bugs on the tapes?

>> Correct.

Yes.

We have yellow tape, which catches mostly thrip.

That's the main goal of that, is to catch thrip, which is one of our main pests.

And, then, we have these little sachets in here... which are basically little breeding systems of little, tiny mites, cucumeris.

And every three weeks, basically, on a cycle, we put these into the crop.

Little bugs climb out, and they look for the larvae and the eggs of the thrip and eat them.

I think the unique thing about it is when we see flowers, mostly there's not color.

But with this, you want it all advanced.

You want it open.

>> You're looking for the beautiful color.

And it has so many colors.

You know, so many options with gerberas.

And now it's shapes.

You know, they're not just your standard daisy anymore.

There's lots of -- >> The Marimo.

>> Spiders.

You know, the -- >> Gerrondos.

>> Balls -- you know, ball types.

You know, almost look like a dahlia.

>> Yeah.

>> There's lots of different things.

>> That's amazing.

Flower nutrient or no flower nutrient for a gerbera?

>> I tell people a quarter-teaspoon of bleach.

>> Okay.

>> And let's leave it at that.

>> Alright.

Okay.

Alright.

'Cause it's gonna keep the bacteria level down.

>> You know, your little packet, it's a great option.

>> Sure.

>> If you have it, not an issue.

But if you don't have anything, people say, "Oh, 7UP, pennies.

Oh..." Quarter-teaspoon of bleach.

>> Okay.

>> You know?

>> Yeah.

I mean, 'cause I think it's unique.

The benefit many times of that sachet is to help things open up.

Lilies -- you want to keep the foliage.

>> Absolutely.

>> You want to give them sugars.

Like gerberas.

>> Well, in those packets, there is corn.

>> Sugar.

Yeah, there's some corn.

>> There's sugar, also.

And that's fine.

But let's not add sugar without... >> Yeah.

>> ...the bacteria side to keep it -- >> Correct.

Make sure to keep it down there.

There's nothing better than coming into a greenhouse where you see all the gerberas blooming.

And it's a happy thing.

>> It's a happy place.

>> Yeah, it is a happy place.

>> I don't think anyone can walk, even someone like myself who's in here every day, you can't walk in here and go... >> Right.

>> You know, it's just it's >> It is.

It's amazing.

It's amazing.

Well, Ivor, thank you so much for showing it to us.

Thank you for letting us know more about it and teaching us some great things about gerberas.

>> It's my pleasure, J.

♪♪ >> So, I'm with my friend Michael Furlong, and we are talking about pasta gerberas.

This is a crazy-looking flower.

>> Yeah, they really are apart from the standard look of gerberas.

Which these have been around for over 10 years now.

But they've really come into play as part of our normal, you know, availability and marketing.

>> They look like pasta, which is why they get the name, right?

>> Yes.

Now they are a variation from the spider-type gerbs, which also have the serrated edges.

But these, as you can see, have these curly edges.

And they kind of -- some of them fold back, fold in.

>> They have Italian-ish names, too, like -- >> Modeled after food.

>> Okay.

>> Like carbonara, marinara.

And depending on the quality of the sunlight and the time of year we're growing these, you'll see a more pronounced color, better saturation, more contrast.

You're seeing the result of cloudy days for months.

So everything is supersaturated, super bold, super vivid.

>> Well, thank you for sharing pasta gerberas with us.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Several years ago, on my first trip to Ocean Breeze Farms, I was welcomed with a pool full of blooms.

in this situation.

I took the plunge.

The father of farmer René Van Wingerden, Case Van Wingerden, took a different type of plunge when he left the Netherlands to come to California.

René Van Wingerden, Ivor Van Wingerden, you are second and third generation at Ocean Breeze International.

Why is Ocean Breeze here today?

>> Our parents emigrated from Holland in 1967.

He went back to Holland, and he told his brothers that he wanted to emigrate to America.

All four brothers wanted to come to America.

And then they did their research by going to Rhode Island.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> And Rhode Island was too cold.

>> Okay.

>> So then they went to Colorado, but it was too cold there, also.

Colorado to Lompoc.

>> Okay.

>> Lompoc used to be the seed capital of the world.

If you ever been on Cabrillo Boulevard, it is just -- >> Santa Barbara.

>> In Santa Barbara.

It's just beautiful to walk.

>> It is, it is.

Yes.

So they were walking down with their cigars in their hands.

And they looked at each other and said, "This is it."

You know, we're gonna find something here.

And they went down the road, and then they found 24 acres, and the rest is history.

I mean, that's how Dutch Brothers were started.

And, then, after so many years, the next generation, you know... >> Sure.

>> We're in business.

>> So that was Case Van Wingerden?

>> Case Van Wingerden.

>> Okay.

And so Case's your dad?

>> My dad.

>> Your grandpa?

>> Correct.

>> Okay.

Why grow flowers and not, you know, do something else?

>> I think it's in our blood.

We've grown other crops.

We grow avocados today.

So we don't just grow flowers.

>> Okay.

Oh, okay.

Alright.

Okay.

>> We were farmers.

Diversification is always part of it, but -- >> Okay.

Alright.

>> I don't know.

It's in the blood, I guess.

>> Right.

But you both love it.

It's not like you get up every morning and you hate to go to work.

>> No, no, no, no, no.

>> Yeah.

So, I mean -- So no.

That's the thing, is that it's -- >> You know, for me, it's important.

We have a lot of employees, and they've been good to me.

So now we're gonna stay true and be good to them.

>> The people enjoy working for you.

And when you have that relationship with people, you make great things.

You do beautiful work.

I have one more important question.

>> Of course.

>> What's your favorite flower?

>> I like Oriental lilies.

>> Okay.

>> The one that makes money.

>> [ Chuckles ] Okay.

You have to pick another one, though.

>> Okay.

>> And it can be today, 'cause I understand.

>> I like gerberas the best at the moment.

>> Okay.

>> Because... you know, it's beautiful.

It's impressive when you walk into a -- you know?

>> There's nothing like a gerbera greenhouse.

>> No, there isn't.

It's true.

>> 'Cause you can look at chrysanthemums and say, "Yeah, that's nice," but it's all green.

>> Or a lily greenhouse.

>> Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah.

But this is -- >> This is always impressive.

Even if you see it 365 days a year, it's still impressive.

>> It's a great reason to come to work.

Yeah.

That's awesome.

>> Yeah.

That's what I do on Sundays.

I walk around by myself, and it's my church.

>> That's awesome.

Thank you, my friends.

I appreciate it.

It's an honor and a privilege.

your time with us.

Yeah.

♪♪ We'd love to have pasta.

And it's easy, and it's fast.

I love these pasta gerberas.

And so I thought that they were a great guest to be along with this pasta.

And we have a local artisan pasta maker that makes their pasta with flowers.

And so they use marigolds.

They use chive flowers.

They even use lavender.

And so this is the lavender pasta.

And that's what we're fixing right now.

So, it goes into the water for about four to six minutes.

In my pan, I have butter, and I have garlic.

So I just, you know, followed my friend Lydia, who I love to watch, 'cause her show is on after mine sometimes.

And I smashed my garlic, cut it up, threw it in there with some butter.

And I'm generous with the butter.

It's a really easy thing to do.

And so, then, what we're gonna do is we're gonna add cream.

And this is just a half-and-half.

And I've got it on like a medium heat or so.

And then I have Parmesan.

I grated it myself.

And I just like to have that and get that in there.

So we're gonna add a little bit of that, And this is just a simple little lemon buttercream.

♪♪ And then I'm just gonna use a little bit of the zest.

♪♪ Everybody always asks me about recipes and things like that.

Some of the best recipes I've ever found are always on public television.

And it's always just been a great place for me to look for things... and learn more.

♪♪ We're gonna use the rest of that.

♪♪ And I just love So, this is a Microplane.

Super helpful.

♪♪ ♪♪ We're just gonna use I'm just gonna try and catch my seeds.

♪♪ ♪♪ And so then I just use my spider.

♪♪ It makes the water such a pretty lavender color, too.

♪♪ We'll coat our pasta, and then we're ready to serve.

And so... ♪♪ We'll just make a little bowl here.

♪♪ And there we go.

A simple, easy pasta dish.

It's a perfect dinner or lunch.

♪♪ And now it's time for my favorite part of the show -- flowers from you, the viewers.

Today, all of our arrangements are created by men.

Our first pictures are from instructor Melinda Hunter from Orange City, Iowa, who holds arranging classes.

She writes, "It finally happened.

This Valentine's class was all men.

All six gentlemen had beautiful results."

Wow.

That's great, Melinda.

Those lucky guys had a great teacher.

They made beautiful bouquets.

Our next viewer is who watches the show in Chicago on WTTW.

He creates exquisite wreaths.

Paul writes, "I love watching your show and thought you might enjoy some of my flower arrangements.

These are fresh-cut flower wreaths that can be placed on a table or hung on a wall."

Thanks, Paul.

These wreaths are gorgeous.

You are so talented.

Thanks for sharing them with us to enjoy.

And I have one more viewer arrangement to share.

Richard Buie of Ravenna, Michigan, is a flower fan watches "Life in Bloom" on WGVU.

Richard notes his bouquet is a little early spring color in a cocker spaniel planter.

Richard and I share that love for cocker spaniels, and I am thankful for the wonderful notes he sends me about our show.

Thanks, my friend.

Please send me your pictures of flower arrangements inspired by "Life in Bloom."

a viewer's nickname.

Send them to J@uBloom.com.

That's the letter "J," "@," the letter "U," Bloom.com.

And watch for more "Schwankies" on upcoming shows.

I hope you enjoyed the two very interesting and different journeys today.

As you may have guessed, with me, all roads lead to flowers For "Life in Bloom," I'm J Schwanke.

What's the difference between a tuber and a bulb?

>> Um... >> Like, would a dahlia be a tuber?

>> That's technically a bare root.

>> A bare root.

Okay, alright.

That's good, though.

>> Tulips, lilies, irises -- all bulbs.

>> Okay.

>> Callas -- you know, tuber.

Exactly why they call it a tuber -- Really -- >> Right, right.

No, I mean, it makes sense, though, to me.

I think that that's true, is that -- 'cause we also hear about corms.

What's a corm?

>> So, a freesia is a corm, which is family of the gladiolus, which we call a bulb again.

You know what?

You've got some really good questions.

>> Yeah, yeah.

is filmed in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

>> J's flower-arranging tips, helpful hints, and arrangement recipes are available in J's two books, "Fun with Flowers" for $25 and "Bloom 365" for $20 plus shipping.

To purchase these books and any of our additional products, visit uBloom.com/Store.

To learn more about flower arranging and J, access to videos, and to get recipes, tips, techniques, and much more, visit us online at uBloom.com.

Follow J on Facebook and Instagram at J Schwanke's Life in Bloom.

"J Schwanke's Life in Bloom" is brought to you by the following... At home.

♪♪ At work.

♪♪ Or anytime.

♪♪ CalFlowers is a proud sponsor of 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... PassionRoses... ♪♪ Suntory Flowers.

♪♪ Closed-caption funding provided by fabulousflorals.com.