Field Bouquets

You don’t need a lavish arrangement to relish the pleasure of freshly cut flowers. Every day in the fields there are amazing displays of flowers being harvested, we call them 'field bouquets', and they are a real feast for the eyes!

Check out these gorgeous bouquets - it doesn't get any better than this:

An arm load of Pink Duke Protea.

 A handful of Waxflower Dancing Queen.

 A bundle of some of our favorite Protea.

A gathering of yellow High Gold Leucospermum. 

 

Incredible Hummingbirds

It’s springtime here in Southern California and once again hummingbirds can be seen throughout the fields enjoying the flowers! These tiny birds are so amazing and it’s certainly a treat to have them out and about here on the farm.  Just the other day I got these great shots of a hummingbird completely absorbed in one of our hot pink grevillea flowers!

Yes, these birds are incredible! Check out these interesting hummingbird facts I came across while visiting www.howtoenjoyhummingbirds.com: 
  

• The hummingbird is the smallest bird and also the smallest of all animals that have a backbone. 
• A hummingbird has no sense of smell.
• Because the hummingbird can rotate its wings in a circle, they are the only bird that can fly forwards, backwards, up, down ,sideways and hover in mid air. 
• To conserve energy while they sleep or when food is scarce, they can go into a hibernation-like state (torpor) where their metabolic rate is slowed to 1/15th of its normal rate. 
• During migration, some hummingbirds make a non-stop 500 mile flight over the Gulf of Mexico. 
• During courtship dives a hummingbird can reach speeds up to 60 miles per hour and can average speeds of 20 to 30 miles per hour. 
• Hummingbirds are the second largest family of birds with 343 species. 
• Hummingbirds can beat their wings up to 80 times a second during normal flight and up to 200 times per second during a courtship dive. 
• The hummingbird has a heart rate that can reach up to 1,260 beats per minute. 
• Percentage wise, the hummingbird has the largest brain of all birds (4.2% of its total body weight). 
• Hummingbirds have very weak feet and use them mainly just for perching. 
• Hummingbirds are found only in North America and South America.

Mad about Spring

"People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us." Iris Murdoch

Springtime is definitely my favorite time of the year when it comes to Leucadendrons! Most of the year these shrubs produce a wonderful foliage in various shades of red and green  - a staple in all of our bouquets and wreaths. However, in the spring these shrubs produce some of the most breathtaking blooms with colorful cones and cream colored bracts!

 

At this time of the year Leucadendrons are truly flowers in their own right - a handful of Pom Pom or Discolor makes a colorful bouquet all on its own. Make sure to enjoy this gorgeous flowering foliage - its season is fleeting!