Perhaps Helen Skiba was destined to become a flower farmer. Her last name means "clump of dirt" in Polish. Actual dirt collects under her fingernails.
"It's the time of year where your hands crack and bleed because it's dry and you're in the dirt."
While Mother's Day is go time for the floral industry as a whole, it is merely the start of Colorado's relatively short flower-growing season, which peaks in August and September. The flowers themselves tend to be shorter, too, Skiba explained.
"We have really intense sun here, and so they don't have to stretch up for light. So we're always looking for ways to make our flowers taller."
Read more at CPR News