Book club pick that frankly I wasn't that thrilled about. I'm not a big non-fiction reader. I was super pleasantly surprised. The flower industry is interesting, strange and makes a good read. Stewart did a nice job laying out this book. Subsequent to reading, we were able to meet her at a book reading. A nice extra. ( )

Should be 2 and a half stars. Not bad, but a little thin on substance. ( )

May 2, 2008. The book instantly grabbed me at the Introduction. Interesting factoids and history abound about the cut flower industry. At this point, the book has everything I'd look for in a non-fiction, investigative type of book. Clear language, just the right amount of historical perspective and scientific explanations, and written so you feel like you are really getting to know the people involved and not just their names and what they did/do. Amy Stewart brings the reader along on her tours and interviews and does a fairly good job at remaining objective. I appreciated her opinions where she provides them. ( )

A real eye opener about the flower trade. Quite disheartening to read about the chemicals used to get these beauties to our homes. Doesn't diminish my love for them, but it does increase my desire to support the organic and sustainable movement. And to grow my own, of course. ( )

When I was little, I loved farm days with my grandfather, Papa. He raised steer and tobacco on acreage in Castalian Springs, Tennessee, west of Gallatin.

This particular year the tobacco was raised in a field adjacent to the road. Upon my arrival, I excitedly commented on the beautiful flowers. Papa let out a quick puff of air in disgust as he gruffly told me, “Flowers don’t make me money, leaves make me money.”

Here was my first lesson on manipulating plants. The flower buds are taken off tobacco plants to force leaf production. The official term is toppin’ and apparently my grandfather was behind. I would have loved to help; unfortunately, the plants were taller than my 10-year-old self.

Enter in Flower Confidential by Amy Stewart, which exposes the flower industry, thorn and all. “Each blossom is a unit of profit,” Stewart enlightens us as she pursues producers, all over the world, reporting on the cut-flower industry. An industry which isn’t as cutthroat as one might think, except Leslie Woodriff.

Stewart describes Leslie Woodriff as the, “last generation of true old-fashioned flower breeders.” Not your typical breeder, Woodriff sparsely kept records, cleaned his greenhouse, or watered his plants. Yet, this man discovered the “Star Gazer,” which revolutionized the lily business and made others rich.

Stewart not only educates readers by defining DIF and photoperiod, she provides historic background for favorites, such as violets, roses, and tulips. In one chapter, “How the Dutch conquered the World,” she quips the craziness surrounding tulip bulbs. In the 17th Century, Dutch florist might pay a couple thousand gilders for one bulb. Using the same amount during the period, one could purchase, “ordinary goods: several pigs, oxen, and sheep, a few tons of grain, tons of butter, barrels of beer, and a ship to carry them on.”

With each chapter, I kept thinking, “What are we losing by forcing plants to bloom?” Will flowers lose their scent because they no longer need bees to propagate their pollen? What about the Easter Lily which miraculously blooms Easter morning? That is, with the help from greenhouses controlling temperature, fertilization, and light deprivation.

Papa’s Easter Lily, with four, forced blooms in the church sanctuary, became 12 blooms in nature that following spring. ( )