HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2015-07-30, Page 11THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JULY 30, 2015. PAGE 11.
The International Plowing Match
in Walton will have a custom-bred
lily to call its own in 2017 thanks to
the Match’s beautification
committee and Mike Falconer of
Falhaven Farms.
The process began several months
ago, says Lynne Godkin from the
IPM. It was Monique Baan, another
member of the beautification
committee, who first mentioned the
concept after she met Falconer as a
fellow gardener along the Discover
the Gardens of Huron Perth tour.
After getting approval from the
IPM committee, Godkin, Baan and
Alicia Deitner, another committee
member, went to Falhaven Farms,
just south of Goderich, last week,
and began the search for the perfect
lily to represent the IPM in two
years.
As an avid gardener, Godkin said
she “jumped all over” the idea, but
some of the men on the committee
were a little tougher to convince, she
said.
Her instincts were only confirmed,
however, when she, Baan and
Deitner made the trip to Falhaven.
“Wow,” Godkin said, when asked
what her first impressions were.
She said that despite being an avid
gardener, she had no idea about
the science behind breeding
lilies and how complex the process
can be.
Falhaven Farms, Godkin said, is
definitely one of Huron County’s
best-kept secrets and the skill and
smarts of Falconer is understated to
be sure.
“We were blown away by the
sheer number of flowers at
Falhaven,” Godkin said.
To the three women, Falconer
described his interest in day lilies as
a “hobby gone wild” in the years
following his time as a funeral
director and as a farmer, which he
currently still remains.
It was during the group’s visit,
however, that they learned just how
long it takes to design a lily from the
ground up. It’s that timeline, Godkin
said, that led them to choose an
“older” lily from Falconer’s
collection, to ensure it would be
ready in time for the Match in 2017.
The lily chosen for Walton’s 2017
IPM began its life in 2007, Falconer
said. It first bloomed at his farm in
2009.
The lengthy process of breeding
lilies, Falconer says, begins, of
course, with the seeds.
Falconer first pollinates the lilies
and then collects the seeds, which
will then remain in a refrigerator
over the course of the winter. The
following spring, the lilies will be
ready to be planted. That first year,
however, can be, at times, a bit of a
crap shoot, Falconer said.
“Day lilies don’t really stabilize
until their second year,” he said.
What stabilization means, is that
the design of the flower doesn’t
necessarily settle until the second
year it’s planted and then grows.
While in that first year, most
flowers tend to be stabilized, it’s not
guaranteed, and changes could very
likely happen from the first year to
the second.
If he were to begin the process of
breeding a new lily today, he said, it
wouldn’t likely stabilize until 2018,
which would be too late for the
IPM.
It was with that lengthy process
and science in mind that members of
the IPM beautification committee
chose a flower that began its life
cycle several years ago.
While Falconer encouraged the
group to make a handful of visits to
the farm, as the bloom on his flowers
can change on a day-to-day basis,
the group fell in love on their first
visit, and made their decision.
Falconer says that breeding day
lilies takes a “bit of science and a bit
of luck”, a process to which he has
been wholly committed for 15 years
now.
Since he was a kid, Falconer said
he has been interested in the world
of gardening.
He says his interest in day lilies
began when he was over at a friend’s
house and saw them for the first
time. He was immediately intrigued
by them and soon set out on a path
where they would consume much of
his day-to-day life, something he
says he’s fine with, because he
thoroughly enjoys it.
While the flower has now been
chosen, a number of steps still
remain.
Falconer says the flower will have
to be named by next summer, as
there is a registration process
involved.
In addition, Godkin and Jacquie
Bishop, chair of the IPM, say that
exactly how the flower is going to be
incorporated into the event has yet to
be determined.
Falhaven, IPM partner on custom-bred lily
Huron East Council passed, for
the third and final reading, the
municipality’s new café and patio
bylaw at its July 20 meeting.
The bylaw had been the topic of
much discussion at earlier meetings
after some controversy erupted with
a Brussels restaurant owner.
Several changes had been made to
the bylaw since its first and second
readings, said Chief Administrative
Officer Brad Knight.
The first change is a provision
allowing music on a patio until
10:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday
nights, and to 9 p.m. on weeknights.
The second change is in regards to
occupancy, allowing that the
occupancy load of a patio should be
limited to 50 per cent of the interior
occupancy load, which recognizes
the outdoor area as “secondary” to
the inside of the building.
That bylaw, too, was passed
without discussion.
***
Council has now officially
Custom-made
The 2017 International Plowing Match in Walton will now
have a generous splash of colour thanks to this custom-
bred lily, created by Mike Falconer for the event. (Shawn
Loughlin photo)
Beautifying the world
Mike Falconer of Falhaven Farms near Goderich has been breeding custom lilies since 2000,
when he moved to his hobby full-time. He was recently paid a visit by members of the
International Plowing Match’s beautification committee who have chosen the above yellow
and dark red lily to represent the Match. (Shawn Loughlin photo)
Patio
bylaw
passed
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Continued on page 23
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen