Live from Quito - It is Valentine's 2008: Ash Wednesday

Today I visited the south again for one last look at the farms there, and gave out final reminders to please be on time. I spent some time at Agrirose, where I had the opportunity to film the process of flowers being graded and bunched, ready for export, which you can see in this short video. I hope you enjoy it.

I spent quite a bit of time with the owner Renato Teran, reviewing the new varieties that he is testing. Most of these are codes, including quite a few very striking and beautifuk varieties that we should see this summer, as well as roses that have names such as "Orangina" and "Candlelight". He also has quite some beautiful and sweetly fragrant garden roses, including new David Austin varieties. So there is alot to look forward to from Agrirose, and I will keep you all updated this summer.

A curious thing occurred while I was at Agrirose, shortly after filming the rose packing and production. A priest from the local parish came in and painted a black cross on the forehead of every employee. The medium he used, I was informed is made from ash mixed with water. Wow! I had no idea that "Ash Wednesday" was based on a Catholic tradition. Actually, I had no clue at all why it is called Ash Wednesday, but apparently it heralds the start of "Quaresma" or Lent. Also a rather strange coimcidence occurred on this Ash Wednesday: the volcano Tungurahua, that was featured earlier in the blog, exploded in the early hours of the morning spewing ash for hundreds of miles to the west. There is a lot of praying going on in this part of Ecuador.

This evening our last big shipment left for the airport, and there seem to be very few roses left at the farms available for sale.. Peter did a really masterful job of gleaning whatever roses were out there, and came up with a great package. Tonight all the farms arrived on time, and the entire operation went very smoothly.

# posted by Mayesh International @ 8:48 PM