“I am constantly trying to find creative ways to grow differently, push the envelope, and extend my season, while being as mindful as I can be about the environmental impact of growing flowers here in Vermont,” says Emily. This led her to construct a “snow bunker,” which essentially provides natural cold holding. She builds a frame, then turns to a trusty John Deere tractor to pack snow all around the exterior. The 20,000 bulbs inside are placed “into suspended animation, essentially pushing the pause button on their development,” she explains. “By implementing this long-term cold-storage strategy, I am actually able to have tulips blooming later than the ground-planted tulips.”
