I want to tell you about the history of the flowers that I’m offering to you – Pirin’s Edelweiss. They originate from the birthplace of my maternal grandfather – a village called Dobrinishte, located in the Bansko region of Pirin. During the ‘60s, when my grandfather (his name was Ivan), was a practicing lawyer, one of his clients bestowed upon him a very inconspicuous gift – a seemingly barren flowerpot. He told him that Pirin’s Edelweiss has been sown in it. My grandfather was very excited, since the legend states that this extremely rare flower brings happiness to its owners. Gladly accepting the gift, my grandfather started to care for the flowers according to instructions given to him by his client.

My grandfather loved the mountain, he walked extensively up and down the its paths, knowing them like the back of his palm. When next spring came around, my grandfather came to find a familiar flower had sprouted in the pot. As it turns out, his client wasn’t joking around – the flower was indeed Pirin’s Edelweiss. He was very excited, since he knew that it’s an extremely rare, very delicate flower, that’s considered impossible to cultivate outside of the wild. My grandfather didn’t have the first clue about how to properly take care of it, but he wanted to make it flourish - so he telegraphed various agricultural scientists and biologists, asking for help. He was advised on how to use purpose-specific chemical products to cater for the flower’s needs, and thus he managed to keep it flourishing.

Years passed and my grandfather’s health declined, which meant he had to give up his law practice and retire. That allowed him to devote more time to taking care of the flower. In time, he was able to spread it to cover his entire garden, and beyond. This can be seen in the picture I’ve attached – it shows the garden, as well as my grandfather, me and my sister (I’m the right-most kid, and my grandfather is on the left in the back). The picture dates back to the spring of ’92.

Due to climate changes, the environment started to become hostile to these flowers. By the end of the ‘90s the plantation of Edelweiss starts to wither and decline despite the effort put into reversing the process. My grandfather passed away in 2001, but my grandmother still tried to take care of the flowers as best as she could. In 2013, the continuing climate change obliterated the remainder of the plantation. The Pirin’s Edelweiss was no more.

The samples I’m putting on offer are more than 10 years old. During my childhood, I’ve personally been a part of the process of harvesting, selection, preparation and preservation of the flowers, as well as the packaging. Everything has been done by hand.

P.S. The label on the bottom reads: “A memento of Pririn”

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