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Ep.21: How Kamille Scellick Balances Motherhood and Dahlia Breeding: A Story of Love and Growth
1.8k Plays1 year ago
Are you ready to be inspired by a heartfelt story of healing, motherhood, and the beauty of dahlias? Join us on the Backyard Bouquet Podcast this week as we welcome Kamille, a flower farmer and mother, who shares her journey of finding solace in flower farming after experiencing grief and loss.
Discover the therapeutic power of flowers and the importance of prioritizing family and relationships through Kamille's touching story. Hear about her passion for breeding dahlias and the value of mentorship and community within the dahlia world.
Explore Kamille's approach to nurturing her daughters, each with their unique personalities, and gain insights into balancing flower farming with motherhood. Find inspiration in Kamille's message of encouragement and support, emphasizing the power of affirmation and building meaningful relationships.
Join us on this episode as we delve into the intersection of flower farming, motherhood, and the beauty of nurturing relationships through Kamille's inspiring journey. Let the Backyard Bouquet Podcast be your guide to wisdom, joy, and the transformative power of flowers. Tune in now to let your backyard bloom with Kamille's heartfelt tale.
Show Notes: https://thefloweringfarmhouse.com/2024/05/15/ep-21-balancing-motherhood-and-dahlias-kamilles-flowers/
In This Episode You'll Hear About:
- 00:01:07 - Kamille's Background in Flower Farming
- 00:07:26 - Importance of Flowers in Feeding the Soul
- 00:09:25 - Nurturing Relationships with Daughters in the Garden
- 00:15:50 - Passion for Breeding Dahlias
- 00:20:34 - Building Relationships in the Dahlia Community
- 00:39:00 - Prioritizing Family and Flower Farming
- 00:46:18 - Balancing Motherhood and Flower Farming
- 00:47:06 - Avoiding Comparison and Fostering Encouragement
Learn more about Kamille’s Flowers:
- https://www.kamillesflowers.com/
- https://www.instagram.com/kamillesflowers/
- https://www.whatcomcountydahliasociety.com/
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Transcript
Introduction to the Podcast
00:00:02
Speaker
Welcome to the Backyard Bouquet podcast, where stories bloom from local flower fields and home gardens.
Meet the Host: Jennifer Galitzia
00:00:08
Speaker
I'm your host, Jennifer Galitzia of the Flowering Farmhouse. I'm a backyard gardener turned flower farmer located in Hood River, Oregon. Join us for heartfelt journeys shared by flower farmers and backyard gardeners. Each episode is like a vibrant garden, cultivating wisdom and joy through flowers. From growing your own backyard garden to supporting your local flower farmer,
00:00:32
Speaker
The backyard bouquet is your fertile ground for heartwarming tales and expert cut flower growing advice.
Mother's Day Special: Stories of Motherhood and Gardening
00:00:39
Speaker
All right flower friends, grab your gardening gloves, garden snips, or your favorite vase because it's time to let your backyard bloom.
Guest Spotlight: Camille Selleck's Journey from Cooking to Flower Farming
00:00:56
Speaker
Hello flower friends and welcome to a very special episode of the Backyard Bouquet as we celebrate Mother's Day this week. Today we're joined by an extraordinary guest, Camille Selleck of Camille's Flowers. Camille's journey into the world of flowers is not just a story of passion, but a poignant narrative of healing and transformation.
00:01:18
Speaker
From a life centered around cooking and hospitality to finding solace in the soil of her garden after a profound personal loss, Camille's tale is one of discovering new beginnings and unexpected places. Located in the lush Pacific Northwest, Camille's flowers specializes in all things dahlias. Camille has been nurturing a vibrant array of blooms and has dedicated herself to the art of dahlia hybridization for several years
00:01:48
Speaker
creating unique and beautiful varieties. She has cultivated a space not just to grow flowers, but to nourish souls, much like a wholesome meal shared with loved ones.
00:01:59
Speaker
As we honor mothers and all they do this week, Camille stands out as a remarkable example of motherhood, balancing life as a business owner, educator, homeschooling mom. She embodies the spirit of nurturing and growth.
Finding Healing and Purpose in Gardening
00:02:14
Speaker
Her story reminds us of the resilience and nurturing power of all mothers and how they help us bloom in countless ways. Camille, it's such a pleasure to have you joining us on the show today. Can you please share how you got your start in flower farming
00:02:30
Speaker
Yeah, thanks for having me as well, Jen. So I appreciate that. So I got into flower farming. It was actually one of, it was through grief and loss. So we had just moved into a five acre farmhouse and I've always had dreams of being able to just do vegetables, right? And because before we lived in a condo and so all of the gardening was in pots, right? It was in- I can relate.
00:02:58
Speaker
And so then that's what I did. And it was the summer that we moved in there. My older brother, he died of a heroin overdose. Oh, I'm so sorry. Yeah. And so it's 10 years ago. It'll be 10 years ago this summer. And so I always love to cook and bake. When I was in home ec, I did like three years of home ec back.
00:03:25
Speaker
in the day. I would prefer not to do sewing and all that, but I loved to cook and whatnot. That carried me through and I taught cooking classes. I had a blog for many years on hospitality and cooking and all of that.
00:03:41
Speaker
Well, once he died, I couldn't cook, really. It was one of those things where just washing dishes, and I would cry. And in deep sobs, the grief was big, and my girls were all little.
From Vegetables to Dahlias: A New Passion
00:03:58
Speaker
So I have three daughters, and my youngest had just turned two. So then that would have meant my others were five and seven.
00:04:10
Speaker
It was just, oh yeah, it was a lot of hard times and I still planted it like a garden and I did all of that. And I just, yeah, I couldn't cook and I just found like this lack of joy. I remember I always equate it to, I had a dog and she lost her puppies and she was a beagle known for their cute little ears. And they just, they perk up and you just look at them and they're so cute. But once she lost her puppies, her ears never perked up. They just always sat back.
00:04:37
Speaker
Oh, like you could just tell. And that's kind of how it felt like I just this thing that I used to love wasn't there anymore. Like I couldn't do it. And I like and so it was probably I don't know, maybe to like a year later, I think where I picked up four dahlias at our local in town garden. It's this really cool place called Joe's Garden here in Whatcom County in Bellingham.
00:05:06
Speaker
And I didn't know what to do. We had the back garden, but we had chickens. And I thought, chickens, I'm not meant to be a chicken farmer. So I got rid of the chickens. But all this pasture area was full of rich nitrogen poop from the top. I was like, this will be great.
00:05:24
Speaker
to plant some corn and some zucchini and some squash and you know we could we could plant some dahlias we could plant like four like four so that was the goal and it was a nice it was a nice patch um so i call up a friend or from church and um
00:05:42
Speaker
And I said, hey, I know you grow dahlias. What do I do? Now, she is a hardworking lady. She's a little bit older than me. And she's German. I can still hear her voice. She's like, I'll be right over. And she just comes over. She's like, and I have some more for you. So she comes over with more dahlias. And she just shows. And at this time, I'm homeschooling all three of the girls, or at least the older two. And she tells us, dig a hole.
00:06:11
Speaker
put the tuber in, put a stick in there so you know where you did it, and then cover it up. And so there's me and my little two-year-old that I'm saying, great job. You're doing such a great job. And just paying attention to them. And we're going at a snail's pace. And I turn around, and I see that my acquaintance friend has planted the whole field full of dahlias.
00:06:35
Speaker
It's just like full of dahlias. And I was like, oh, I guess we're not going to grow zucchini or corn, or I guess we're not doing this. I guess it's going to be this because there was no room for the other stuff. And so I thought, well, might as well just submit to it, right? Like, just do it. So then I went and got some more flowers and stuff. And then what I realized in that, because I never really liked planting flowers, I thought they were like a waste, honestly.
00:07:05
Speaker
because they wouldn't like feed my family. So why plant flowers, you know, aside from like some calendula or whatever, some stuff. And it was in that moment, like that summer that I realized like what my soul needed, like my soul needed to be fed. And so instead of like our bellies, it was like, so it became this sanctuary of a place for me for healing and
00:07:31
Speaker
So those four dahlias got multiplied just by sheer of this friend who like planted them all. Unfortunately, like I lost every single one. It was one of those like, you know, because you dig them up and there was no names, you know, because it's like the first time you're like, oh, they're pretty. And you don't realize that they have names. And then you leave them out on the porch and not realizing that a frost came overnight. You're like, okay, well, I guess I have to go buy more. So then that's what like,
00:08:00
Speaker
you know from then and it just kind of stuck and then you know you know like any person you're like well we could expand this just a few more yeah so that's kind of how the process went um to that i started growing dahlia so it was really like soul care and so that's why i feel like
00:08:19
Speaker
what even like my presence online, like I feel like there is, it's like creating space, cultivating space for our souls to breathe.
Gardening with Children: A Family Affair
00:08:28
Speaker
And that's more important to me than
00:08:30
Speaker
being this grandiose money maker. I love that. I don't know if you know Christy Pirafoy. She was on the podcast and we had a long discussion about how flowers are not selfish because they feed the soul. And it just reminded me of that when you said that and how true that really is, especially when we're in times of grief. And I love that even though you were in a really hard time in your life, you included your children.
00:08:58
Speaker
in that process. And I mean, your friend was planting those seeds or those tubers for you, but at the same time, you were planting seeds, I imagine, with your children as well. Do your daughters enjoy gardening with you? Not really. Mine doesn't either. Yeah, no, they don't. Like, so my oldest is 17 and my middle's 15 and then 11. So, yeah, they don't. It's more of a, they each have different
00:09:29
Speaker
personalities, right? Like we have kids with different personalities and my oldest is probably my one where I can come out, she'll come out and she'll remember the names with me. I'm like pretty good at remembering all of my Dahlia names as well. So she'll say like, oh, this one. Oh, you know, like, so she'll, she's my take it in with me and enjoy it and have conversations in the garden. In my middle, she's more of a like,
00:09:59
Speaker
I'll help you with some stuff, you know? And then my youngest, she's pretty carefree.
00:10:04
Speaker
whimsical. Um, she actually just helped at our, our County, our Whatcom County Dahlia tuber sale. So that like, she, you know, she's just, but she picked out two tubers that she could plant for herself. So, Oh, I love that. So there's some interest there. We'll see. We'll see. She likes it. She's yeah, we'll see. I don't budding interest maybe. Well, yeah, I, I don't put too much. Uh, I don't, yeah, put too much stock on, on it, but
00:10:32
Speaker
Well, I love that you're not forcing anything on them. How do you nurture those relationships? I have a single child. I have a daughter. And at first I had all these grandiose ideas that she was going to be out in the garden with me all the time. And I don't force it. There's times that she comes out and we have fun. But for the most part, she'd rather be playing with her friends or reading a book than being in the garden. So and you have three daughters. So I imagine they're all very different personalities and unique as well.
00:11:00
Speaker
How do you foster those relationships with them? Or is there anything that you do to introduce them to the garden without forcing it on them? It's ebbed and flowed. So when they were younger, they were more.
00:11:18
Speaker
I think it's like when kids in general are younger, they're just a little bit more, they have that wonder about them. Which, because I love kids. I love working with kids and some of my favorite memories are having
00:11:34
Speaker
kids into the garden. And like one of my dear friends, after they left the garden, like left my garden, this is years ago, and she said, Oh, Mom, Miss Camille is like the flower fairy. You know, and I was like, Oh, I love and so I just I love kids being in the garden. It's kind of like teaching them how to handle it, you know, to that to
00:12:01
Speaker
to take it in, it's kind of like how to savor it, like how you savor a meal. And you just, it's like, to me, it's like a glimpse of heaven. And like, we like screenshot these moments. And so how do we savor this? And you're teaching kids and I noticed like even the most rough and tumble can sit there and just like, be gentle.
Life Lessons Through Gardening
00:12:21
Speaker
You know, and how do we do that? Like, and so it's like flowers and puppies and babies, right? Like we know this thing like, oh, we have to be a little gentle here. Um, and I, I love the fact that a whole, like at that, uh, uh, the whole point of a flower is actually to die so that more life will come from it and more life will be resurrected from it. And so like,
00:12:48
Speaker
Once it actually gets into that beautiful stage, we know that it's going to die soon actually out in the garden, but it produces seed for more life to keep happening. Just like that type of stuff, I know it's different what you had asked, but I guess I think
00:13:06
Speaker
showing that kind of pointing out those things, those deeper things of what the garden actually means. You gave me goosebumps describing that. That's a really beautiful metaphor of what our bands are. Well, because especially my personal story of there's graves and gardens, right? There's grief and there's joy. We don't know joy unless we know grief. And so I think about that in losing my brother and seeing that life is always
00:13:37
Speaker
Like there is resurrection in life, you know, in death. There is that. And so just seeing that I'm pointing that out, I think for my daughters like to keep pointing to that because there's always going to be suffering. There's always going to be sorrow and they've encountered it and they haven't encountered it to the extreme that
00:13:55
Speaker
others have. But knowing that like we just like there's always, but flowers will keep blooming like life will keep going on. But so will death like they come, they go together. So I don't know. I foster a relationship with my daughters to see each of them individually just and I think that's why I love dahlias.
00:14:15
Speaker
because there's so many different types and why, like, I kind of had my, like, I guess, claim to fame. Is that the word? Yeah. Yes. Thank you. Was with Coralee and Castle Drive when I recognized, I was like, these aren't the same flower. Like, it's not the same. And I have a pretty good, like, it's because I believe that each person has their own story and their own individual and that we can't, like,
00:14:43
Speaker
It isn't one size fits all. And so just as I see that with Dahlias, like this is this with this form with this size, like this is what makes this one unique. And then this is what makes this one unique. And they might even share like the same form, but they're different. And so the same thing with my daughters is that I take it as my job to really study them and to get to know them and to know like that one needs a back rub. The other just needs me to be quiet.
00:15:13
Speaker
The other needs me to, you know, so like those things, I try to make sure that I always like touch, like give good touch every day to each one of my girls. And every time they go to bed, I say, I say,
00:15:29
Speaker
a prayer over them. It's the same one for every single one of them. But I like even use that to pause myself to like remember what it is. So it's not just like saying words. Sure. But that's like my goal is that when I was laying in bed, this is years ago at our old place because we moved. I remember the question I said, I thought that I heard was, at the end of your life, will you regret
00:15:59
Speaker
what would you regret the most? Not like breeding dahlias, not doing this or what? And it was like, without a doubt, I would regret if I didn't invest in my daughters and my husband and put something else above them.
Exploring the World of Dahlia Breeding
00:16:15
Speaker
And so I just knew that like, yeah, that I just right then and there, like I, cause my goal is that they would want to come back home. I love that. Yeah. That's really beautiful.
00:16:29
Speaker
I really love how you talk about these seeds that you're planting in your daughters. And what's really neat is you have this parallel going on in your life. You are breeding dahlias and you're also raising these three beautiful daughters at the same time. I know our audience, many of them love growing dahlias. Can we touch a little bit on your passion and love and experience in breeding dahlias? Yeah.
00:16:58
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. It's breeding dahlias. It's like my little three seedlings, right? My girls and then these other ones. So I'm going into my fifth season with breeding. And so, gosh, there's so much that you could say about breeding dahlias, right? Absolutely.
00:17:25
Speaker
So I happen to be very fortunate to be part of a society, a dahlia society, where I have some long time hybridizers in it. So people like Steve and Sandy Boli of Birch Bay Dahlias, they've read all of the Sandia, the Irish, SB, and there's other ones where they don't have those prefixes.
00:17:48
Speaker
So, and they, I would say that they're probably some of the best hybridizers in the world. I really like, I would say that because I know what they're doing is, I think that they have the biggest rainbow of
00:18:08
Speaker
hybridizing in every single field. And so it's really great to be able to learn under them. We have people like Paul Bloomquist as well, Jean Herringa and Corey Wynn and her late husband Walt. So people like that, Glenn Gitts. He's Gigi. He's related to the Swan Island people. So there's just these great, great people who have done
00:18:38
Speaker
So like, for instance, the bullies, they've been doing it for 30 years. And so I really believe in mentoring very strongly. I believe in community very strongly. And one thing I think that I would recommend is like I guess if I were to like if someone's like wanting to start hybridizing is as much as it's it's easier and it feels safer
00:19:06
Speaker
to pop onto a Facebook forum and ask questions, but it's more risky and more vulnerable to get to know a person and ask them those questions in person. So if you have someone in person that you can actually ask, I would go that route just because I am a very firm believer in
00:19:26
Speaker
that we can only go so deep online, especially forums. It's just a little bit harder because there's so much noise, I think. Absolutely. And I think it goes back to how I view seeing each person individually and knowing them and knowing their story. So that would be my first thing. If there's a dahlia society in your area,
00:19:54
Speaker
get to know them. And sometimes you have to do hard work. You can't expect to just show up and someone to give you all the answers. And I've read different people in the past where they've said these hybridizers, they keep all their secrets behind closed doors. And some of the people who have said that haven't taken the chance, haven't risked themselves to going to clubs and getting to know those people.
Community and Mentorship in Dahlia Breeding
00:20:22
Speaker
because just as like you or I, you know like me being almost like I'm almost 45 or some teenager or some 80 year old we all don't want to be used. We don't want someone to come in and say like be our friend just so that they can get something out of it. So like I've been a part of my club for I don't know seven or eight years now and it's taken me a while to really get in because some of these people have been a part of this club for like
00:20:51
Speaker
40 years, 30 to 40 years. And so like, yeah, I don't know, 20, I guess, maybe 20 to 30 years. And so it's just harder. It's a little bit harder, right? And there's that big generation gap. But I think if we put forth the energy and the time to get to know, then we can like just value these people. And then like, I know, for instance, like Steve and Sandy, they're more than willing to share their information.
00:21:19
Speaker
I appreciated hearing Sandy say, I have 30 years in my head of breeding. I don't want it to die with me. I want to have a legacy. And there are those who are more secretive. Well, they'll find the people who aren't. So I guess that would be my first thought of building relationships, trying to do that.
00:21:40
Speaker
Camille, you are sharing such great advice and information, and it's amazing how much of it parallels back and forth between parenting and nurturing any sort of relationship. I do want to pause for a second. When you were talking about club memberships for anyone listening, if you're not familiar, Camille is referencing the American Dahlia Society.
00:22:03
Speaker
which is actually how I got to meet you in person was last year. It was my first time attending the convention, the national convention, because it was held in Portland, Oregon, and you traveled down from Washington. And I found it so amazing to see how vast the age groups are, everyone from
00:22:22
Speaker
I'm going to venture to say people in their 20s to people in their 80s who are still showing Dahlias came out to this. And so it is a vast community with so much knowledge. Can I ask Camille, what Dahlia Society are you a part of? Oh yeah. I'm part of Whatcom County Dahlia Society. And you're located where in Washington? Bellingham, Washington. And so what growing zone is that? That is eight. Well, so I think it's 8A.
00:22:52
Speaker
Because we have little microclimates here. Sure. So you've touched on the importance of having a mentor if you're going to breed dahlias, which I think is so wonderful. I've had the opportunity to talk to a few members in my club that have been breeding dahlias also in the Portland one. And I wish I'm about an hour and 20 minute drive away from our club. So I can't make the meetings very often, unfortunately. But it is a goal of mine to try and make them more this year.
00:23:21
Speaker
And it's super affordable to be in the Dahlia societies. It's what like $10 a year. You get access to all the tuber sales also that they do through the clubs, which I think is what you were referencing. You went to this last weekend.
00:23:36
Speaker
I was in charge of our wholesale. So, oh my goodness. Okay. Well, after, after talking a little bit more about the breeding dahlias, maybe we could touch on that also. I wanted to know, well, I would love to know how did you get started breeding dahlias? Um, yeah, I think so I started breeding dahlias before everyone started doing it. Right. Like, um, I think once Christine,
00:24:06
Speaker
Albright wrote her book and then once Florette released Discovering Dahlias, like it got released around the same time and then COVID hit and everyone started reading Dahlias after that. Like it just became this, well, everyone started growing Dahlias really. So it's just, I think
00:24:31
Speaker
It was a perfect storm. Whereas before to breed dahlias, people didn't just jump right into it. I think that's what I'm seeing is a little different.
00:24:46
Speaker
are just jumping, and there's nothing wrong with that, but the jump is more quick because they're seeing it more. It's just like social media. So you're seeing this. Again, that's like my whole thing is like, just because you see everyone doing these other things doesn't mean that maybe you should be doing it yet, or maybe it is. It's really finding your passion and narrowing in on it.
00:25:13
Speaker
Yeah. So I started mainly because I think I was curious about it and I'd read about it. Um, we have a, like a, you know, just, I'm, I was surrounded by hybridizers, right? You know, I'm like, so how do you do this? Like, like, what is this like? And so even when learning the fact that it Dahlia is an octopoid that it has eight sets of chromosome, you know, like there's eight chromosomes.
00:25:38
Speaker
And so it was like, okay, that's crazy. And so just understanding, I was so fascinated. I liken it to the fact that I never drank wine before, because I thought it was really gross. And I'm a type of person, once I understand the process, so my husband, this is long before we had kids, and he said, hey, I want to sign this up for a wine tasting class.
00:26:02
Speaker
And I am very sensate. I like the taste, the smell. I have an amazing sense of taste. And so we took the class and I was like, oh, this is how it works? You mean the flavors I'm tasting? I didn't know that they didn't add those flavors because I had no idea, right? Meanwhile, probably some wine snob is like, oh, foolish girl. So yeah.
00:26:29
Speaker
Like once I understand the process, I'm very intrigued because I want to know like, Oh, this is so amazing. Um, because I'm just more curious, like I think a naturally curious and I want to understand it. Um, and so once I learned that I wanted to be able to, um, you know, like
00:26:50
Speaker
Try it, but I didn't try it. I didn't start off big. I collected just a couple seeds. I knew the seed parent, and so that was one of the things that I was taught from Paul and from the bullies.
00:27:06
Speaker
is to know your seed parent. So of course, I didn't hand cross or anything like that. So I at least knew like one seed parent. And so yeah, and then I just, that's how I started. But I started really small, you know, just
Techniques and Goals in Dahlia Breeding
00:27:21
Speaker
to see. And so those blooms
00:27:25
Speaker
I collected the seed the year before covid and so covid would like that covid summer 2020 was when they started to bloom which was such a gift because you're stuck at home and to like see brand new seedlings that he had never seen before.
00:27:42
Speaker
start to pop up and I, you know, and I thought they are the most beautiful thing in the world, even though they weren't, you know, like a kid at Christmas. Oh, well, it's like seeing your newborn, like you're the only one, like this mushy little thing. And you're like, oh, my gosh, this is the most beautiful face I've ever seen in my life.
00:28:01
Speaker
Same thing with the dahlias. You're like, oh, isn't that? And then looking back, I'm like, that's not good. We get rather attached to them because they are ours and they're unique. Yeah. So you started with your own seed on breeding dahlias. Yeah. I got hooked with florets release book because it came with a packet of seeds. And I remember seeing those. It was 2020.
00:28:27
Speaker
one, I think when I grew my first seeds. And I don't have any of those seeds left. But after that, I was like, I could save my own seeds. So you mentioned that yours were open pollinated. For those listening, can you describe the two ways that seeds can get pollinated for breeding?
00:28:45
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, there's like, there's the, and there's different methods even within that. So for instance, I'm focusing in on water lilies. So I've separated all my water lilies away from the main garden so that, because bees are highly efficient, so they're doing the work, but they're at least 50 feet away from the rest of the patch.
00:29:12
Speaker
But you can do open pollination, basically let the bees do their work. And then how you decide to organize that, like me, like separating by separation. You could even choose to arrange your fields, because bees do tend to just go down a row, because they're efficient. They want to be efficient. So they're not going to do this zigzaggy and move every which way.
00:29:36
Speaker
Generally, it's like if your goal, well, so that's what I would say first is what are your goals? To really be a hybridizer is that you would have goals and you'd be keeping track versus just gathering seed and seeing what you get. That's just what Steve and Sandy would say is you're seed takers, you're not hybridizers. I like that terminology.
00:29:58
Speaker
Yeah, right. Because hybridizers are truly looking at the genetics and making sure that they don't get inbreeding happening. And so they're really aware of what's happening. Or you could do like Christine Albright, she does a lot of hand, hand pollination. So then she's going to be covering the blooms with like a organza bag of the two that she wants, or you might even
00:30:20
Speaker
You know, so like that would be, that would be another method to go about. You know, so again, though, if you're really, if you have any open centers, though, like from Colorettes to Minyat Singles to even anemones, anemones are actually open centers.
00:30:40
Speaker
If you don't want open centers, then the best thing you would do is to eliminate any open centers in your garden so that you have the higher probability of the bees getting fully doubles or whatever it is that you're trying to do.
00:30:56
Speaker
So that's great advice. Thank you. Yeah. Yeah. So one thing I learned about water lilies, so if people are interested, I mean, so Sandy Bole is one of the queens of water lilies, her and Margaret Kennedy of Holly Hill. They're the water, like, so Ted does other ones, but it's really Margaret who does the water lilies and Sandy really does the water lilies. And if you've ever seen a, a, a,
00:31:24
Speaker
water lily from her. So they're all Sandia. They have this beautiful cupping. And so it's also knowing the difference between what's show quality and what's for cut flower.
00:31:40
Speaker
I would say that her cut flower water lilies for the undiscriminating eye who's not an American Dahlia Society judge, you wouldn't know that it wasn't show quality enough.
00:31:55
Speaker
So like they would call for instance, Sandy a bliss is not a show Dalia. Interesting. But it's a cut flower. And so often, and so again, it goes back to goals. So their goal would be to create dahlias that could go to the head table.
00:32:13
Speaker
So they know, so they're breeding for that, right? When you say head table, you mean the head table at the show? At shows, yeah. And so there's certain qualities, like if you know what a judge is looking for, you know that that's what you're going to try to breed for.
00:32:30
Speaker
So it's really like understanding. I mean, I do think it's really important to whether someone ever wants to show dahlias. I think that there's some merits, some actually high merit to going and becoming a clerk at a show and understanding what they're looking for because you're understanding really good
00:32:55
Speaker
a really beautiful flower and you're understanding it. It's kind of like for me to go as I take that wine tasting class and I'm like understanding, oh, this is the nuance. This is the flavor, right? At the end of the day is that wine instructor said, hey, if you like two buck chuck from Trader Joe's, then don't let someone who's highbrow like say that you don't know what you're talking about.
00:33:21
Speaker
So, if what you're going for is the cut flowers, that's fine. What it is, though, is to understand what really high, what quality is, and then going, okay, but I'm going to do this as well, you know, and so that you have these goals. And it just, I think what it does, it's building a foundation. It's why a pianist should learn how to sight read, even if they have a really great ear.
00:33:45
Speaker
to be able to play a piece because that ability to sight read will just enhance their piano playing even more, right? So same thing with cooking, same with any type of discipline is understanding that foundation in order to break rules and to do what it is. So with like water lilies, say if I'm trying to have that perfect cupping, well then I want to, like what I've been told is it's like a bell curve. And so,
00:34:15
Speaker
knowing that water lilies are historically really crappy tuber makers. So it's being able to find a water lily that might actually make some good tubers and crossing that with a variety that maybe has is a pretty decent
00:34:33
Speaker
water lily form where has that beautiful cupping and you crossing that because you're trying to get closer to that, the top of that bell curve and you're, and then you're making those records so that you know that you're not, um, breeding to assist two sisters together. Right. So that, and then, and then you're, so I, I would say that like that is, it's like knowing your goals and then breeding towards that bell curve.
00:34:59
Speaker
So like for instance, I actually would also like to breed miniature cactus and semi-cactus because they're not very widely known. And I came to find out this weekend actually that
00:35:13
Speaker
that happened. There's Bill McLaren, or yeah, Bill McLaren. He did all the Alpin varieties. And he's passed away since, but he kind of specialized in semi cactus and cactus at that time. And he when you could when you could get seed from Australia, like there is more open sharing at that point. So they he was able to collect seed
00:35:38
Speaker
from, I believe the breeder's last name was Williams, and he specialized in palms. So what Bill McLaren did is he crossed a palm with a semicactus.
00:35:49
Speaker
Interesting. Which you wouldn't think, but it makes sense because the palm is small. So you're trying to get the small part, breeding that part out and crossing it with the form of the semi-cactus to eventually get a miniature, which means four inches or less of a semi-cactus or cactus.
00:36:11
Speaker
So moving towards that bell curve. So just like looking at that, I'm getting all nerdy with you, Jen. No, I love it. I'm sure that some of our listeners will also be taking lots of notes here and enjoying a lot of this topic as well, because like you said, so many people are getting into it. I mean, I sold out.
00:36:29
Speaker
of all of my excess seeds that I had this year with us reducing our field. I had quite a bit of extra seed that I figured at first I was like, Oh, do I share these seeds? And then part of me was like, well, if I share them, at least those dahlias are getting grown and getting out in the world. And hopefully someone will tag me or share it with me if it turns out to be a beautiful new variety because they were all collected from the dahlias and my breeding patch this last year that performed well. So nice.
00:36:58
Speaker
I feel like there's so many people that are really loving growing dahlias from seed. There's that element of surprise and curiosity that just, it's like being a kid at Christmas and it's a really neat time to see so many new varieties coming into the market. Have you had any conversations with some of the breeders that have been around for a while? Do they welcome?
00:37:24
Speaker
this many new breeders if someone's wanting to get into
The Value of Community Over Competition
00:37:27
Speaker
it? Or I know you mentioned building those relationships and that's probably the key piece right here is if you want to get into this, don't just expect them to give the knowledge, but how have you built those relationships? I guess is what I'm trying to say here. Um, I think it's for me, it's like showing up to the meetings, volunteering, like, um,
00:37:54
Speaker
I think about if you have built something, if you've been a part of something for 20, 30 years, you want to ensure that that legacy is going to continue because you believed in it enough to invest that many years in it. When you see that there's other people coming up who are more youthful and they said, yes, they've shown up.
00:38:19
Speaker
they can be counted on and whatnot, then I think it's just that. Knowing like, okay, I can trust you. I know that you have the best interest
00:38:32
Speaker
at heart for this club, for these people. I appreciate it was Bob and Teresa Schroeder. They live in Washington State and they're part of the Northwest Federation of Dahlia Growers. I was talking with them at the Whatcom County Show in the fall.
00:38:53
Speaker
But, you know, I remember Bob saying, you know, yeah, we go to these shows, but you know what keeps us coming back? Sure, the dahlias are great, but it's the relationships. It's the people. And so, and I think that's true. I think people are always more important than things. Dahlias will come and go, but people will always be more important.
00:39:15
Speaker
And so it's knowing that it's developing, it's cultivating those relationships with the people. Because if it weren't for the people, I wouldn't want to keep coming back. So I guess that's it. It's like stepping outside of our comfort zone and cultivating relationships with people. And then it's super cool because you build these relationships and then you realize you don't have to fight in all those Dalia wars because
00:39:45
Speaker
You're like, Oh, Hey, I have friends where I can just like trade tubers and I don't have to go on an ISO Dahlia page looking for him. Cause you know, cause it's like we just, cause at the end of the day, we don't care as much about the Dahlia as we care about the relationships with the people that were.
00:40:04
Speaker
that we share this common interest with. I love that. I think for me, part of what I love about growing Dahlias is what you just said, the community. There are so many kind and generous people in the Dahlia world.
00:40:19
Speaker
that really, if you think about what our dahlia is doing, they're bringing beauty to the world. They don't really serve any other purpose other than to maybe feed the bird, or I mean the bees and pollinators, but what do they do? They provide beauty. And so those that are growing them are adding beauty into the world. So it's a community of people that care, I feel like. And I think that's what keeps me coming back to the dahlias is you're not going to get rich.
00:40:48
Speaker
spending all this time growing a small patch of dahlias, but you're gonna be rich by feeding your soul. Your soul is gonna feel fulfilled with this love for the flowers that you get to share with other people. At least that is for me.
00:41:02
Speaker
Yeah. And there are some people who like, you know, again, it goes back to who, how you're designed and how you're made. There are some people where they're just naturally efficient and fast workers and man, they can, you know, they can create, they can do these things so fast and they probably are more apt to making a lot of money doing this stuff and they're strategic and
00:41:23
Speaker
And I'm like, yeah, I am not those things. So, and that's okay, right? Like, but for the most part, it's not going to be like a huge money maker. No, it's something that brings joy and beauty to the world, which I think kind of brings us back full circle talking about the motherhood piece of it. You have five acres of land that if you wanted to, you could probably have a massive Dahlia operation, but you have chosen to prioritize your family.
00:41:52
Speaker
So tell us a little bit more before we have to wrap up today. How do you prioritize? I mean, right now it's the busy season. This episode's airing in May, right around Mother's Day. Your family is going to want to celebrate you. It's also Dahlia planting season where a million things are happening at once. How do you prioritize everything? I don't want my family to be my opportunity cost.
00:42:22
Speaker
And so for those, if you've ever studied economics, right? You have two choices. Your second choice is your opportunity cost. Um, so I want my, my, we, every yes, we have to have at least a couple nos. So it's understanding. It goes back to understanding yourself, knowing how you're hardwired, knowing who you are. Um, and then in that, like,
00:42:51
Speaker
If you know yourself, then you know where your pitfalls will be. If you're a person who happens to say yes a little bit too much, then I would encourage being able to write that stuff out. And what can you quit? Don't believe the lie that this is my only time. If I don't do it now, I'll never have a chance. That's a lie.
Balancing Motherhood and Passion
00:43:22
Speaker
I think that's a huge thing is that I want my yes to count and I don't want
00:43:30
Speaker
Yeah, and as much as I would love to do more or I'd love to be able to, gosh, Jen, I've been doing this for a lot longer than so many other people online. And if we were to go ahead and look at my following on Instagram, we'd go like, oh, you must not know anything. The people who I have mentored far surpass me on followers.
00:43:56
Speaker
But if that's where any of us are putting our worth and our identity in, then we're gonna always fall short, right? Even the person with like mass amounts, it's always gonna fall short. So I know that I'm not trying to build that kingdom there. That's not my purpose. And it's knowing that I've been given this one life to live. And so how do I live it well?
00:44:25
Speaker
I think of my mother-in-law, she passed away six years ago. And she was the most wonderful woman. And she worked tirelessly as a nurse, serving other people. And she would come home and she'd serve her family. And she wrote this letter that we all got to read. And in this letter, she wrote about how she's preparing her RV. And it was this rundown thing, but she like delighted in it because she wasn't fancy and flashy.
00:44:54
Speaker
She was humble and meek and loved well. And in that letter, she talked about how here is this blanket from Camille. And here was this sleeping bag that was Ben's. That's my husband. And here's this from every single person. And she was writing this letter to her daughter, my sister-in-law. And she said, you know, I didn't do many great things in this life.
00:45:24
Speaker
I never aspired to be a nurse, but I did it because I knew it would provide for my family. But I loved your dad and I loved you kids.
00:45:39
Speaker
And I wanted to serve him and to love him and love you kids and my grandkids. And so I guess I lived one wonderful life and everything that she named the people. It was the people that were most important. And so for me, that's what I want. And knowing that I have limitations, that we all have limitations and that we don't have to do it all. And what if we just like narrow it in on one thing and we did it really well versus trying to do it all.
00:46:08
Speaker
So like right now I have not started seed I will
00:46:13
Speaker
I have not propagated any of my dahlias. I just potted them up this past weekend. When I look online and I see these other people with their luscious walk-in gorilla tents that I actually bought and I don't even have it filled, I have to give myself grace because I'm growing daughters, like women who will come to me and talk to me about their hard stuff because that's what's more important for me to cultivate. I have an older daughter who has disabilities and I will need to be on point so much more.
00:46:42
Speaker
And that's the lot, that's what I've been given, right? And so if I begrudge it, then I will begrudge on them. But if I were like receive it in its fullness, then I can serve them well. And I can serve myself well and serve others well.
00:46:59
Speaker
And so I don't have this timeline of like, Oh, I need to hurry and get, get like my, my Dahlia out there and running on this, like, because I'm not running on an economy of this world. And so I don't feel like I need to hurry and get my Dahlia seedling out there. I know it will happen. And so I'm running. I'm running the race of, of the tortoise and not the hair. And that's okay with me. That's really beautiful.
00:47:27
Speaker
and you're raising some incredible humans at the same time. Yeah, they're great. And some beautiful dahlias too. With, I think it's beautiful how you said that because so many of us, and I've been guilty of it too, fall under that comparison game where you open up your phone and I used to open my phone every morning while I was drinking my coffee and now I try and get through my morning. I make my priority list. I don't look at, well, I look at my calendar on my phone, but I don't look at the social media piece until
00:47:55
Speaker
I have my day prioritized because otherwise I would open up my phone and I'd see someone has propagated 20 dahlias and I'm like, Oh no, I better go do this or I better go start some seeds when no, that's not what my priorities needed to be that day.
Future Plans: Sustainability and Fulfillment
00:48:09
Speaker
Yeah. So that's a really beautiful lesson that you shared with all of us. Thank you. Oh, you know, I would add Jen is like you just said, yeah, this other person propagated all this and doing this and, um,
00:48:23
Speaker
I like one thing I try to do because I can easily fall prey to like, Oh, Oh, I need to, I need to keep going. Or like, it feels like a competition versus a shared journey. Um, and so to then like,
00:48:37
Speaker
encourage. I noticed that when I like encourage or I like, if I say, um, if I use my words for affirmation towards those that I know that I could easily like be pitting myself against, even like people I love, right? Cause I'm like, you know, then it changes my posture, like open-handed, like, you know, like, Oh, this is beautiful. What you did is beautiful. And instead of, you know,
00:49:05
Speaker
type of thing. So being able to encourage instead of try to compete against being a cheerleader for people instead of a naysayer. And that's really beautiful. And you do that so well, both for your family and the Dalia community. You've mentored lots of my friends in the Dalia community. And that's how I came to know of you.
00:49:30
Speaker
So I know that it doesn't sound like there's maybe an exact timeline, but what does the future look like for your flower farm? So if, you know, when your children are young, it's a physical exhaustion. But when you're like any person who's listening to this, if you have anyone who is like has mothered through the the teen years, they would be like, yep,
00:49:57
Speaker
Like the teen years are something that they just take more. They take more emotional, mental, spiritual energy to give to them. And so, um, so I, I'm, I'm in a graduate, you know, like I, I don't know fully because like I said, my oldest has, has some different genetic stuff that we're still trying to work out. She's a junior. And so we'll,
00:50:21
Speaker
Like there's that part, that journey. I have a freshman, you know, and I'm, I homeschool, I homeschooled them all up until high school and I'm still homeschooling my youngest. And so I think I'm taking my own advice by, um, saying yes to a few things. So, um, this year is to look at my list of dahlias that I have and to really, I don't want to be known by having 5,000 varieties.
00:50:52
Speaker
you know, like you only have so much space to breed. And so like really going, you know, that Dalia is not going to serve the purposes for my plans of hybridizing. And so I'm going to really focus in on that if that's what I want to focus in on. So that means I have to eliminate varieties and be more strategic that way. So that, so I think that's like really where I'm going to focus in on and
00:51:20
Speaker
and do that and then be involved. I'm the vice president of my dahlia society. So helping out getting things a little updated and more current in the 21st century. And so doing that. And then I do oversee a dahlia round table. I'm going into my third year where I like facilitating and mentoring and stuff like that. And we'll see.
00:51:48
Speaker
I'm working with a job coach, myself, life coach, and seeing if I wanna, maybe I just, maybe I wanna pivot and I don't really wanna go full into make my business more breeding and then actually do something else completely that, like with people, because I love to work with people, so. Well, you have a gift for that and you've shared so many life tidbits and lessons
00:52:16
Speaker
with all of us today. I know I've gleaned so much. I was almost moved to tears a couple of times while you were talking today. So I really love what you've shared with us. I do want to ask because I know we talked about the breeding and then we kind of veered away from it. Can you give us any hits about a couple of your favorites that you've bred? What do they look like? What are the forms that you are? I know you mentioned the water lilies. Do you have a water lily yet?
00:52:41
Speaker
No, because last summer was my first summer where I isolated them. So my very first year, I have one, only one from my very first year. And that one is, that one takes forever for it to grow, it would seem. So we'll see how that went. It's really lovely. It's just, it takes forever for it to like bloom.
Challenges and Successes in Dahlia Breeding
00:53:04
Speaker
And then I had, I had, I,
00:53:08
Speaker
I had some and they, like we had moved. So we lived actually just down the road and I had to start a whole new garden space and it's, it's, that's difficult, right? Like it's just difficult. It's hard to do. Um, so I had a couple and then some of them, like some of my, one of my favorites like died, the tubers died. It was like gorgeous and wonderful, right? But it died. Um, and so I have one going to its fifth year, a three.
00:53:38
Speaker
going into their fourth year, I think, or fourth, yeah. I don't know. Because it's like you kind of like narrow it down. You're like, keep cutting it. And so there's one, I showed my friends, it's like the form is really great. The stems are sturdy. It makes really great tubers. The angle, it's a 45 degree angle. Like all of those are really great.
00:54:09
Speaker
I'm always, I'm kind of like, do I introduce it? Because the coloring is not, like, I think I had a goal that I wanted to be able to be in the ADS book, because I felt like it would bring, like, see, I'm valid. Like, it's, you know, it's not just me saying that something's beautiful, but it's being validated by other people who know what they're talking about, not just someone
00:54:35
Speaker
online who, you know, like, yeah, that's gorgeous. I'm like, but do you have a discriminating eye, right? You know? Yes. And so, I don't know. I'll see.
00:54:47
Speaker
But I think it's like the colors are great. It's just more of designer, like more a flower. It's not, I don't think the colors would meet ADS standards because they, they bleed a little like in the colors. It's it's, well, it changes its color. It's, I'll have to send you a picture. It's included in the show notes if you send it to me. Okay. Um, but it's, it's like a, it's a
00:55:14
Speaker
I don't even know how to, it's a light blend. It would be a light blend. So yeah, but it made a massive amounts of tubers. I was like, oh my gosh, I have like 45 tubers of this thing. Like it's just.
00:55:25
Speaker
Like, because I also, the thing is, is I did it in a pot tuber. And so it's not, I'm not like, there's some people where they will take cuttings of their varieties. I'm not going to do that unless it's like something I really love. Um, but I just haven't done that. And so that means that my tuber production is a little bit slower than some other people that I know who are hybridizing, where they like take cuttings after the, maybe the first year, and then they're most multiplying their stock. So.
00:55:56
Speaker
That's kind of where, there's some really nice ones from this last year, but they're first year seedlings, so I don't put too much hope into it until I, you know, like really like, and I have, I feel pretty strongly about waiting four years for it to grow out until I do anything with it, just because that's how it used to be with ADS, because a lot of changes would happen between year three and four. And that would be also one thing that I would, I would really hope that,
00:56:25
Speaker
One thing with hybridizers, when they go through ADS, they kind of know that it's gone through enough years. But with our world and how it is, anyone can do it. Because if you have a website, you could just sell your dahlias, which is great. But there isn't that transparency on how many years it's grown. And so I've even seen ones where people, like I contacted someone like, oh, how many years? They're like, oh, it's only grown out two years. I was like, oh, that's not like,
00:56:54
Speaker
that those genetics aren't quite secure. Um, so I would do love, I would encourage people if you're going to start, um, hybridizing and selling like to say, I've grown this one out for this many years, because I just think there's a transparency thing of like, yep, it's not just something that after two years now I'm selling it. Right. And especially because you can sell them for when they're going for like $40. It's so much. So
00:57:21
Speaker
Now, when you say four years, do you mean that it has grown in your field for four years? And so the fifth year is when someone sells it or after three years, that fourth growing season can be sold.
00:57:32
Speaker
So yeah, so four seasons, right? It really would be four seasons. So four summers. ADS now says that it can be growing out for three seasons and by the fourth season. I'm just going to go ahead and be a little bit more cautious because I really want to be able to send out really quality stuff that will last. And so I'm going to go ahead and be more conservative
00:58:01
Speaker
when it comes to that, because if my name is going to be behind it, I want it to be that way for, for people. Um, and it teach their own, right? And so, but like really at least at least three seasons to really take note because, um, yeah, cause genetics are wonky. And I've heard from, I've heard from breeders where they've had it change even going into the sixth year. Oh, wow. Yeah.
00:58:29
Speaker
So I mean, that's interesting. Yeah, that's an outlier. I feel like, but you know, yeah, I learned quickly because my first year from those florets seeds, I had one that I had two that I kept one made it to the third year. And it was this really light pale lavender that was really pretty. And it was a ball, but it went from being really strong and sturdy. And it's second year to a total bobblehead.
00:58:54
Speaker
on every single plant in the third year. So I cold all of them. Someone said, won't you give them to me? And I was like, no, I don't want my name attached or I don't want to put something out into the world. And then the other one, I was so excited. It was like this unique. I talked about another podcast episode to where it was like all these spotted colors. It kind of looked like something from Mardi Gras in New Orleans. And so I took it, divided it. I think it gave me like five or six tubers the first year. And I propagated that. So I had like 30 plants the second year. And I will never do that again.
00:59:24
Speaker
Because it changed so much into that second year, they were all blown centers, not a single closed center, and they were bobblehead. So like you said, with the genetics changing, I was like, okay, I'm not wasting my field space until I know if the genetics are stable. And then I'll give it the space it deserves so I can grow it out and share it with the world, like you said. Yeah. Yeah. It's like, it would have to be one of the most fantastic blooms that you ever saw.
Contact and Further Involvement with Camille Selleck
00:59:54
Speaker
I think to propagate after the first year, like the most fantastic. That's the way, cause I'm just like, why waste that time or that space? Like real estate, garden real estate is big. So why would I waste my space and my time doing that? And you know, the other thing I would say is don't rely upon Instagram or Facebook people, like followers to tell you if, if you're, um, if you're hybridizing, if it's a good flower or not.
01:00:22
Speaker
Like actually ask, you know, like, you know, if you're shopping for clothes, you want the friend who will tell you the truth. Not the person who's just gonna fluff you up. It's like, if I bring my youngest, she has this gift to be like, to be encouraging, but also setting it like it is. If I try something on them, I'm like, what do you think about this priest? And she's like, you know, it's just not my favorite. I think you could do better.
01:00:51
Speaker
Like, you know, it's like really kind, but if it's good, she's like, oh, yes, yes. And so someone who will tell you the truth. You need people who will tell you the truth. And that's what we're going to get from you. Yeah. Yes, I love it. I love that. That's one of the things I love about you is that you really prioritize what's important. And it's so evident in the little interactions I've had with you is you care about those that you mentor, you care about your family, you care about your community.
01:01:21
Speaker
And I think that's a really special gift that you bring to the Dalia world as well. So thank you for being you and for joining us today. Before we wrap up, I have two last questions for you. The first question is for those that have now discovered you for the first time and would like to learn more about you Camille, where can they find you?
01:01:45
Speaker
Most likely is whether it's in person, you can come to the Whatcom County Dahlia Society meetings held every first Tuesday of the month at the Laurel Grange. I like, I love in person more. But if it's online, you can probably go to my, you can go to my website, Camilleflowers.com, that's Camille with a K. And then, or Instagram, I also have a Facebook, but I'm not on there as much. Like I have a page, so, but it's Camilleflowers, so.
01:02:14
Speaker
Perfect, we will provide show links to all of those so people can connect with you. And my last question, I always love to end each show with asking what advice would you leave our listeners with today? I guess my best piece of advice would be let your yes count. And remembering that people are always more important than things, even dahlias.
01:02:44
Speaker
That's it. That's beautiful. Thank you. And Happy Mother's Day to you. Yeah, Happy Mother's Day to you as well. Thank you. And to all of our listeners who are mothers or mentors, Happy Mother's Day. I hope you feel celebrated this year. Thank you for joining us. Are you starting your Dahlia growing journey this season?
01:03:04
Speaker
Join the Dahlia Patch, a nurturing online community where new and aspiring Dahlia growers thrive. Get access to expert advice, step-by-step guides, and connect with the supportive network of gardeners. Dive into a community that helps you grow with confidence this season. Learn more by visiting the link in today's show notes.
01:03:26
Speaker
Thank you Flower Friends for joining us on another episode of the Backyard Bouquet. I hope you've enjoyed the inspiring stories and valuable gardening insights we've shared today. Whether you're cultivating your own backyard blooms or supporting your local flower farmer, you're contributing to the local flower movement, and we're so happy to have you growing with us.
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Speaker
If you'd like to stay connected and continue this blossoming journey with local flowers, don't forget to subscribe to the Backyard Bouquet podcast. I'd be so grateful if you would take a moment to leave us a review of this episode. And finally, please share this episode with your garden friends. Until next time, keep growing, keep blooming, and remember that every bouquet starts right here in the backyard.