Bringing the Beauty of Proteas to Your Thanksgiving Celebration

As Thanksgiving draws near, our thoughts turn to family, friends, and the joy of sharing a warm, abundant meal. One of the simplest ways to elevate your holiday celebration is by incorporating fresh flowers… especially unique, eye-catching blooms like proteas. Whether you’re decorating your home, or surprising someone with a heartfelt gift, blooms bring color, cheer, and a sense of seasonal abundance.

A fun way to enhance your floral display is by arranging your blooms in a cornucopia basket. This classic arrangement instantly adds a playful, festive touch and perfectly complement the rustic, harvest-inspired feel of Thanksgiving. When selecting your flowers, embrace the rich palette of fall… think bright oranges, soft pinks, creamy whites, and lush green and burgundy accents that reflect the warmth and essence of the season.

Flowers also make incredibly thoughtful Thanksgiving gifts. A stunning bouquet or centerpiece can brighten someone’s day and let them know how much they’re appreciated. A beautiful floral arrangement becomes more than a gift… it becomes a lasting reminder of gratitude, love, and shared tradition.

Thanksgiving is a celebration of giving thanks, connection, and abundance. Adding the unique beauty of protea brings a fresh, modern twist to your holiday floral traditions… while still honoring the warmth and spirit of the season.

Wishing you a beautiful Thanksgiving!

In Celebration of Earth Month - The Hummingbird

Despite being stunning cut flowers, proteas not only add color and texture to floral designs, but they also attract a symphony of nature's nectar-seeking guests like birds, bees, and butterflies. Once you've had the pleasure of observing these pollinators in action, it's only natural to want to see them more often, like my favorite... the hummingbird.

Hummingbirds love proteas thanks to the flower's abundance of both pollen and nectar, especially over the long winter months. The small size, rapid wingbeats, mid-air acrobatics, and hovering flight are fascinating to witness. 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. It can rotate its wings in a circle and it's the only bird that can fly forward, backward, up, down, and sideways. Such high-energy movement requires that these birds feed every ten to fifteen minutes, and proteas certainly satisfy that hunger. These amazing pollinators bring so much excitement and wonder to the field.

Our top 3 Hummingbird-Friendly proteas….

Grevillea Flowers

Leucospermum – Pincushions

Protea

Firewheel Tree

Wow! What's that? This flowering beauty never fails to amaze, with its intricately formed, unusual blooms, held in large shiny foliage.

Stenocarpus sinuatus,or known as the Firewheel tree, an Australian rainforest tree in the Protea family is famed for its strikingly, bright red, orange and yellow whorled flowers, which as the name implies looks like wheels of fire! The flowers resemble several members of the family, like Grevilleas and Leucospermum, but they’re arranged in circular clusters (called inflorescences) and resemble the spokes of a wheel. The name comes from the Greek stenos, meaning “narrow” and carpos meaning “fruit”. The species name is derived from the Latin sinuatus meaning “wavy” referring to the leaves rounded edges.

This evergreen tree can reach up to 30’ tall and 20’wide. The long, shiny green leaves are deeply lobed while the tree is young, but older trees lose that youthful trait. The spectacular flowers are 2 to 3” long, usually appearing in summer and fall, but may show up whenever the tree feels like it.

Nectar-seeking birds pollinate the flowers while bats appreciate the taste of its nectar and tree kangaroos and wombats feast on the leaves.

Resendiz Brothers 2024 Calendar

For the last twenty-four years I’ve designed and created our annual Resendiz Brothers calendar, which we proudly share with all our friends and family. The time spent crafting the calendar has become very special as it gives me the opportunity to reflect on the past twelve months while rummaging through fabulous photos to select my thirteen favorites. The cover is typically a photograph that has received quite a bit of attention during the last year or reminds me of a particular season, and this year's choice - was no exception. The remaining twelve photographs are thoughtfully placed in the calendar to represent the months when the proteas pictured are typically in bloom. Scroll on down and have a sneak peek at this year’s picks.

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Exploring the Darkside - Leucadendron Ebony

Step into the shadows with us as we explore a fabulous fall Leucadendron, that boosts captivating deep, dark purple-black leaves.

It’s no shock it’s called Ebony or Burgundy Sunset, as its wickedly dark leaves are a distinct feature when compared to the basic green foliage of ‘Safari Sunset’, the species from which it evolved. Dark foliage appears to be all the rage now, so you can’t go wrong with this spectacular variety!

As Ebony’s foliage ages, the bracts that surround the ‘true flower’ turn a deep wine-red delivering stunning sprays of blooms! The best part? Aside from the splendor and outstanding hues, Ebony has real lasting power too. It can last up to a month in a flower arrangement. When paired with protea, banksia and other fabulous florals, Ebony is sure to add an extra touch of pizzazz to any autumn design.

Resendiz Brothers 2023 Calendar

For the last twenty three years we’ve designed and created our own special Resendiz Brothers calendar, which we proudly share with all our friends and family. The time spent crafting the calendar has become very special to us as it gives us the opportunity to reflect on the past twelve months while rummaging through fabulous photos to select our top thirteen favorites. The cover is typically a photograph that received quite a bit of attention during the last few years or reminds us of an important occasion, and this year's choice - was no exception. The remaining twelve photographs are thoughtfully placed in the calendar to represent the months when the proteas pictured are typically in bloom. Scroll on down and have a sneak peek at this year’s picks.

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Protea Pink Duke

Spring is a long way off, but if you could use a winter pick-me-up, we have the perfect antidote. Pink Duke… a bright, cheery and vibrant protea. This lovely cultivar produces large, rose-pink blooms with a light pink central dome and white feathery tips. Pink Duke has the soft green leaves of the P. magnifica (queen) and the clear velvety, pink flower of the P. Trish Compacta.

Pink Duke blooms winter through early spring, delivering a bounty of beauty, love and joy from new years, right into Valentine’s Day.

There is no doubt that Pink Duke brings an abundance of winter cheer in the fields. But once harvested, arranged, and mixed with an array of other gorgeous florals, they are simply contagious!

Creating Magical Holiday Ambience: Proteas & Candles

What do you get when you pair seasonal proteas and the warm glow of candles? The perfect holiday ambience, of course. Together, they evoke not just elegance and romance, but they unite the powers of the mind, body and spirit. The proteas’ textural styles and colorful bracts add an interesting contrast to the subtle lighting created by candles. There's definitely a seasonal seduction, too. When you use an array of winter proteaceae, like Serruria, Leucadendron, Protea, Grevillea and Banksia, you're celebrating the glories of nature. Plus, festive scented candles provide winter-like aromas (cinnamon, gingerbread, vanilla and pine) that enhance your mood and feelings of calm and tranquility.

No matter what the occasion… Christmas, Hanukkah or Just Because, striking centerpieces adorned with candles cast a lovely light over the table and deliver all the merry-makings for a magical day.