July Articles of Interest

50 Wedding Centerpiece Ideas We Love

As you're planning your wedding, you'll likely need to put some thought into how you'll decorate your reception. While most couples opt for floral arrangements—which they place in the center of their tables—the options extend far beyond simple bundles of one kind of bloom. With so many flower varieties out there, as well a whole spectrum of petal shades, choosing blossoms for your centerpieces can be overwhelming. Plus, not all brides and grooms want to use flowers at all—some choose to work with other elements, like candles. How can you decide on the right decorations for your celebration’s color scheme and theme?

Read more here.
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Fynbos: why fire is important for its survival

The ‘Cape Floral Kingdom’ is home to thousands of plants unique to South Africa, and while fynbos thrives after fire, ecologists feel there are vital lessons to be learnt from the flames.

South Africa’s Cape Floral Kingdom is the smallest but the most diverse: “There are approximately 9600 plant species in the Cape Floral Kingdom, and about 70% of them are found nowhere else in the world,” says van Wilgen. Most of this is fynbos, the hardy, shrubby plants with fine, small leaves, bulb plants and reeds that can be found from along the Cape’s coasts to mountain tops.

Ecologist Dr Jasper Slingsby explains that “fynbos and the Cape Floristic Region are the richest temperate flora in the world, making up roughly 3% of all known vascular plant species on the planet”.

Read more here.
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African Protea

Proteas were named after the Greek god Proteus, son of Poseidon, who had the ability to transform himself into many different shapes—and proteas do come in an astounding variety of shapes, sizes, hues, and textures. These plants are known for their unusual and beautiful flowers, which seem rather mythological themselves, like blooms from an alien landscape—some can reach 12 inches (30.5 centimeters) across. Proteas are considered to be among the oldest of flowering plants, and from the king protea Protea cynaroides to the tall silver tree Leucadendron argenteum to the nodding pincushion Leucospermum cordifolium, they have the allure of another time.

Read more here.
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The Outside Story: How flowers get their color

To quote the French dramatist Jean Giradoux, “The flower is the poetry of reproduction. It is an example of the eternal seductiveness of life.” Flowering plants fill our summer fields and gardens, bring bright spots of color to our woods, and since their arrival on the scene some 130 million years ago have evolved along with animal life to become an essential part of the food web.

Read more here.

Spirited Floral Décor

Bring on the red, white and blue!

Although the New Year officially begins in January, here on the farm we can’t help but think that July deserves a little tribute too. There’s something about the month, perhaps it’s the fact we’ve reached the year’s halfway mark or maybe because it's the time to celebrate America… that seems to muster up a little nostalgia. With that in mind, these ‘dog days of summer’ aren’t always easy to shake off.

Whether you’re planning your next get-together or simply spending more time outdoors, we’ve created a spirited summer-inspired arrangement. This festive red, white and blue design includes several of our seasonal faves: protea, grevillea, banksia, dahlias, lily of the nile, hydrangea, crocosmia, with the foliage choices as a nod to the ‘summer essentials’ trend, as well as some blackberries for an extra splash of color and texture.

Cheers to summer bliss!

Grevillea Flowers

Now, about mid-summer, is the time we anticipate the inevitable dog days to come as we watch our pincushion fields go barren and eagerly wait for protea season. However, the warm weather is no match for Grevillea flowers, they’re fuss-free sun-lovers that stand up to the rising mercury and add some much-needed color during this transitional period. These lollipop-like flowers, also referred to as Bush Lollies, Bush Toothbrush and Spiderman, provide masses of summery blooms that add, color, and fabulous texture in and out of the fields. Their popularity comes from their willingness to flower and flower. Here are just a few of the varieties being harvested.

‘Moonlight’ This popular variety has attractive deeply divided foliage and bears beautiful, lemon-yellow toothbrush flowers.

'Honey Gem' A fabulous of cultivar G. banksii and G. pteridifolia. Flowers are apricot with orange-yellow style and the leaves have silvery reverse.

'Misty Pink' A vigorous and hardy free flowering shrub with grayish leaves. Spectacular pink and cream 6 to 7” blooms in terminal clusters of six or more.

'Superb' One of the best bloomers with pink, peach and creamy colored flowers.

'Sylvia' Large dense, deep red flower spikes are produced on the plant for most of the year.

Can you picture these fabulous flowers in your garden or favorite arrangement?

Mingling Flowers & Fruit

Fruit looks gorgeous in the garden, and even better served on a platter or mixed in your favorite dessert. But did you know, adding seasonal fruit into a flower arrangement, to bring in a fresh element of color, texture and shape, is often the recipe needed to transform a design from beautiful to eye-catching and unique?

What kinds of fruit can be added to a flower arrangement? More than you might think. Vines with berries, grapes and passion fruit, or even lemons, oranges, peaches and persimmons can be used to expand your palette of materials. A cluster of kumquats might give you a pop of smooth orange amongst green foliage, or a pomegranate snuggled amid lush blooms can lend rich color to a design.

Fruits that grow on branches, stems, or vines are easiest to include if you leave them attached. For example, a blackberry vine can be tucked and mingled in around your primary flowers quite easily. For larger fruits, the key to success is a sturdy stem. You can use the existing stem or create a stem by putting them on a skewer, so it can be secured in the arrangement. And… just as you would remove the leaves of your florals below the vase water line, do this with your fruit, as well.

Plus, using galvanized containers, vintage baskets and even other fruit like pumpkins are all fun ways to go from garden to table. Here are several of our seasonal designs: