Fashion, trends and fashion; terms we deal with every day! What's hip now will be old-fashioned and boring in ten years' time. In the year 2000, we were still laughing at the clothes that the generation before us wore. Twenty years later, in the year 2020 we pull out grandma's pants again and it’s completely trendy. Wide legs, floral blouses... put the label 'vintage' on it and you're totally hot!

It’s no different in the flower sector. Flowers that would not have been on used ten years ago are making a reappearance and are once again in keeping with the current style. A beautiful example of this is the carnation! FloraPodium visited Johan and Bianca Buis of the Mediaverdi nursery, where Dianthus has been grown for generations.

Johan and Bianca also saw the trend changing and the demand for Dianthus rising again. The old image is disappearing, partly due to the new colors and shapes of the Dianthus that have been introduced in recent years. Where the Dianthus used to be only available in red, white and pink, Bianca and Johan today grow a whole color palette of varieties!

Annual crop
What is special about Johan and Bianca's Dianthus cultivation is that they grow the Dianthus as an annual crop. Most growers cut the plants for about three years, but with Johan and Bianca the greenhouse has to be empty in the winter for the Viburnum shrubs to go into the greenhouse. So only one cut is made per season, new plants are planted every year when the viburnum season is over.

This has the advantage that heavy quality Dianthus is cut every year. In addition, they can determine their range every year, so that they can respond very directly to the demand from the market. Johan and Bianca have a test greenhouse where they can test all kinds of varieties, which means they can exclusively grow a number of new varieties every year.

“And”, Bianca says laughingly, “what is really unique is that we cut the carnations a bit more mature, ready for the florist to use! And the whole bunch will have matured simultaneously, which is really unique in the carnation world.” Johan and Bianca strive to grow as sustainably and organically as possible. Mediaverdi is MPSA+ certified!

Mediaverdi
The name Mediaverdi originated from 'Met Dianthus Verdiend' (‘earned with dianthus’) and was created by Johan's father. A name he wanted to put on his newly built house, after which he gave the nursery the same name. Johan's great-grandfather, Opa Oor, founded the company in 1901, at the same location where it is still located today. The Dianthus/carnation is a crop that has been cultivated by every generation, in combination with a shrub variety. The shrub varieties change with every generation. When Johan took over the company from father Coos, who is still very active in the company, he introduced the cultivation of snowballs in addition to the Dianthus.

FloraPodium, 26 August 2021