Asparagus

This week’s Pro Tip is about how we use asparagus ferns in floristry. This easy-to-grow PERENNIAL plant is fantastic for floral work. When harvested at the proper stage (see the video) it is NON-wilting. 💫 It remains sturdy and strong through drying when it turns a beautiful golden color.

What can you use asparagus for? Ummm. Pretty much everything you’d make as a florist. We use it in large installations (no need for a water source), to decorate beams and tent poles, as foliage in market bouquets, in wedding bouquets-corsages-boutonnières-flower crowns…you name it! And it remains nice and sturdy through drying, so what we don’t use in season can serve as a beautiful golden element dried during the winter time! Some stems even form berries. Is this the perfect plant? It might be!

We grow our asparagus from roots that we purchase from @noursefarm. We plant them in early spring in narrow trenches. When you plant asparagus roots you train the roots in a single direction (see/hear my explanation in the video). Keep them weeded as best you can to allow your plants to continue to grow and expand. Choose fertile, well-draining soil (ours survive some periods of standing water in the spring). Remove any larvae/beetles that you see in the spring and then watch for Japanese beetles later in the season. Fortunately, it’s easy to see the pests amongst the airy foliage.