t r o F A
for the flower s BY LILY CRANE & PAIGE SOUTHWOOD
he morning sun breaches Ross Peak on Rathvinden Farm as farm manager, Lauren Lenz carries her bucket to the fields to begin the day’s harvest. Sandhill cranes fly overhead signaling spring’s arrival to the valley. Lenz leans down to cut fresh stems of dew-christened lupine and drop them in the waiting water. The blooms will soon bring pops of color to wedding and kitchen tables throughout the Gallatin Valley. On the other side of the world in Naivasha, Kenya, dozens of workers stand side-by-side in matching tangerine orange shirts ready to begin the day’s work. An enormous pack house is filled with truckloads of red roses 94 Explore Yellowstone | planyellowstone.com
ready to be prepped and packed for international shipping. Workers wear thick rubber gloves and boots to protect their skin from thorns and residual chemicals encountered on the tender stems. The mostly female crew pack dozens of the popular flower into layers of styrofoam, plastic and paper for the long journey ahead. Both the local lupines and international roses will find themselves in the hands of Montana residents and blushing brides, unbeknownst of their wildly different origins. PHOTOS COURTESY OF RATHVINDEN FARM