To celebrate the esprit de corps of the Southwest Chapter of the American Institute of Floral Designers (AIFD), we hosted the first in a series of Meet the Growers Workshops here on the farm. All floral designers and floral enthusiasts are invited to participate in these workshops as they ‘get back to the roots’ and connect with the farmers who grow their favorite flowers and foliage.
It was an afternoon of protea chat, creative inspiration, and good cheer. While touring the greenhouse, nursery and cooler, Tracy Easter, explained how the flowers we grow are planted and harvested, as well as how they journey from the fields to the markets. A hands-on workshop was the event finale, as each guest created their own beautiful bouquet or arrangement using an array of protea, pincushions, grevillea, banksia and much more.
The Sylvia Cup Design Competition is the longest running, live, national annual floral design competition. It's sponsored by Certified American Grown and Smither-Oasis and coordinated by Professional Floral Communicators-International. The 2018 competition, the contest’s 50th anniversary, paid homage to “The Wizard of Oz.”
This year the Sylvia Cup Competition tested the skills of 19 designers. Among them were 12 members of the American Institute of Floral Designers, eight past Sylvia Cup contestants and three contestants sponsored by state floral associations.
Rey Rodriguez, AAF, AIFD, TMFA, of The Gypsy Florist in Austin, Texas, won the grand prize on Sept. 15th during SAF 2018 in Rancho Mirage, California. Congratulations to Rey and all the contestants!
It was exciting to see all the wonderful Conical Designs, Imaginative Wands and Monochromatic Container Designs that were created using the same product assortment of beautiful American Grown flowers and foliage, including Protea Pink Ice and Leucadendron Safari Sunset! Here's a glimpse of some of these creative designs - Enjoy!
