Fashioning Protea Angels

Why not skip this year’s after Christmas clearance sales and make hand-crafted decorations for the next holiday season?

Dried flowers have made a big comeback over the last two years. Trendy dried blooms and pods are in high demand and many stores can't keep them in stock. So, while you might not be able to purchase them from your favorite store, you can dry your own flowers (protea preferred) at home and use them in all kinds of fun crafts.

Can you say angels? We’re turning the protea from our Christmas centerpieces into ornaments for the next holiday season. Did you know proteas are ever-flowers? Designing and fashioning your own ornaments can be a great way to utilize dried protea.

With proper post-harvest care, blooms can last weeks in a vase. Then, they don’t die… they dry beautifully! Many Proteas retain their structural design and to some extent their color. When used in crafts, like ornaments, they are as permanent as almost anything the botanical world provides.

So, if you're tired of the typical store-bought decorations, we suggest you take a look at these holiday angels.

Here’s what you’ll needed to make your own angels:

• Dried proteas
• Dried pods for hats 
• Dried leaves (for wings) 
• Dried wildflowers for accessories
• Round wooden doll heads 
• Ribbon, twine, and floral wire 
• Embellishments 
• Sharpe markers 
• Paint 
• Hot glue

When protea blooms find their ultimate place in a dried decor, they finish a story that began in Gondwanaland and triumphed over a thousand adversities. They represent a special kind of bond, a link to the past and a reminder of the present and how new life springs eternal.

Fabulous Foliage: Leucadendron Inca Gold

We cheerfully braved the ‘chilly’ start to winter knowing the promise of colorful Leucadendron was on the way… and we’re delighted to say the Inca Gold’s bright yellow bracts have emerged right on time. Fields bursting with this vibrant flowering foliage is the best part about the dawn of winter.

Inca Gold's rich yellow tulip shaped bracts can liven up any space instantly. With just a handful of stems, you can easily bring a burst of sunshine indoors and enjoy the soothing energy of nature. Yellow advances from surrounding colors and enlarges any space. It mimics a sun-filled space, creating feelings of liveliness and optimism. In the natural world, yellow is the color of sunflowers and daffodils, bananas and lemons, bees, numerous birds as well as several of our favorite Leucadendron The many facets of this vivid yellow hue reveal its extremely impactful spirit.

To celebrate the advent of Inca Gold, we’re sharing some of our favorite designs using this fabulous foliage.

Look Out – California Grown Waxflower is Back

‘Tis the season for waxflower and with it comes an abundance of those beloved fragrant flowers. Belonging to the Chamelaucium genus of shrubs and stemming from the myrtle family, they are related to Leptospermum and Thryptomene. Waxflower includes over a 100 varieties of Geraldton wax + lots of other Chamelaucium species and hybrids. Some of the more common hybrids are classified as Pearlflowers, Gemflowers or Starflowers. These amazing plants typically bloom early winter through spring, and they are widely grown for their frilly eye-catching blooms.

The name waxflower is due to the slight waxy feel of the petals. The leaves, which contain oil glands, are small to medium in size and boast a beautiful lemony fresh scent when crushed. The blooms are delicate in style, flaunting five petals, ten stamens and a small, hardened fruit.

Also known as the flower of romance, waxflower is symbolic of patience and lasting love, which makes them a popular option for Valentine’s Day and weddings. These fabulous blooms have an abundance of uses in bouquets and arrangements, as well as in flower crowns and corsages, as cake embellishments, and simply, left all alone on a desk or table to be enjoyed for weeks.

Holiday Fave: Protea Ceres

Protea Ceres. A QUEEN SIZE bloom or what we call a ‘Hybrid Queen’→ this breathtaking protea is a splendid blend of magnifica and obtusifolia. When fully open, this flower is often 5 to 6 inches in diameter… making those crimson-red bracts with white feathery tips hard to miss in the field and definitely in a bouquet or arrangement!

Ceres has divine deep green leaves and sturdy long stems. And since this stunning protea is in blooms winter through early spring, there’s a bounty of beauty, love and joy to spread through the holiday season and right into Valentine’s Day.