One of the most difficult flowers to get uniform in size, color, and shape is the Zinnia. Perhaps the whimsical nature of these wild summer flowers makes them so bewilled. Grower Maurits Keppel agrees, although he still sells them at the auction clocks of Royal FloraHolland. From this marketplace, they can reach the whole world. And that's precisely what Maurits aims for; to let everybody admire these wonderful flowers in their vase. And the best news? They're back in season.
Zinnia by Maurits Keppel
It is the last week of August, and the Zinnias are late this year. No worries, because in September everyone's back from their holidays and starting to buy flowers again. So, hopefully, prices will be good. That's the life of any grower, of course; putting your heart and soul into a natural product that will cheer up people but with a pretty unpredictable revenue.
Maurits is a friendly and positive person. He laughs it away during his daily routine of cutting his flowers and maintaining the greenhouses (and his own minions, the chickens, who feed on the weed) because he is doing what his heart and mind tell him to do: be a grower.
So now it's Zinnia time. And boy, what diversity in Zinnia flowers there are in many colors! Gorgeous orange, red/white, and purple ones. You could fill a big vase with one stem of every type and color to get a splash of color that will create a lovely Indian Summer in your living room.
Walking Through the Greenhouse
Walking through the greenhouse he meticulously picks the right flowers. Keppel's production is almost completely biological, so there could be some damaged petals here and there that he simply cuts off at the eye of the stem, where within a few weeks a new flower will mature. That leaves him after a few meters with an arm full of perfect flowers; all different, all blooming, all long stems, all to fall in love with.
Maurits Keppel explains:
"Yes, my Zinnias are not as uniform as the cut flowers you will usually find at the auction clocks and at a wholesaler. Zinnias are summer flowers. 'Wildflowers' is perhaps a more appropriate name. There are several varieties that are more homogeneous, like some 'Elegans' varieties from big breeders. I grow them too. But you can see that of many of my Zinnias no two are the same, yet they are the same variety. Take, for instance, the double-flowered Zinderellas. I grow Zinnia Zinderella Zest (orange flame), Fizz (some are red/white and others white/red), and Purple."
Your heart might skip a beat when looking at the magnificent colors of Keppel's Zinnia Lime varieties, like the Zinnia Queen Lime and Queen Red Lime. Without a shadow of a doubt, these colors must be favorites with florists who create rustic bouquets that need a touch of antique. Very trendy, indeed.
No Mass-Producer
Maurits has never been much of a mass-production grower. So, his production is always limited, whether it comes to Phacaelia, Papaveraceae (poppy), Anethum, Veronica, or any other crop. Less is more, in a way. And when all is sold, all is sold. In other words, don't wait too long if you are keen to get your hands on the wonderfully whimsical Zinnia flowers from this modest grower from Maarssen near Utrecht in the Netherlands. There are many colors to choose from matching about every imaginable style and size of your floral artwork.
