South American Gerber.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008 at 11:42PM 
Rashmi started a new job this week. So, I decided to get her some flowers after her first day. I went down to the local flower shop a few blocks from our house to pick up whatever they had available. The thing about eating local is that you start to reconsider what's available based on when it's available. The girl at the shop took me into their big refrigerated showroom. Roses, daisys, et al. Without hesitation, seeing so much flora in one place, I immediately asked, "Where do these flowers come from?" The girl, redfaced and perplexed as to my question of origin replied, "Honestly, I think most of them come from South America."
"Is there anything local?" I asked, thinking of the prodigious marigolds, gerber daisies, and sunflowers we were growing in our garden just a few hundred feet away.
"Maybe the roses are from the US?" she replied tentatively.
Undeterred because I wasn't actually eating the bulbs or the blooms, I purchased 6 gerber daisies from an undisclosed country in South America to celebrate Rashmi's first day at a new job. They're shown above mixed in with some fennel from our garden - it makes a nice greenery. As Joe admonished earlier in this experiment, I suggest again: don't start asking questions. It just complicates matters.
Reader Comments (4)
Gongrats Rashmi. I find that the fewer questions I ask the easier my work is as well. The more information you have the more difficult decisions become.
You are such a nice husband. Your mother must have taught you well!
For local flowers, try the Jones Valley Urban Farm (http://www.jvuf.org/index.shtml). I'm not sure about this summer, but in the past they have had lovely flowers for sale during the summer months. They usually are at the Pepper Place market on Saturdays; not sure if they have retail hours during the week.
I've been reading Flower Confidential about the horrendous working conditions on Latin American farms and all the non-regulated chemicals they use. Bad stuff, but from what I've read, many of the gerberas in the US come from Holland where working conditions are much better.