Labor of Love: Valentine’s Day

Embracing the land that brings us together !

On February 14th, when you are celebrating the person or people in your life that make your heart skip a beat, we’ll be celebrating our farm and farmworkers, that pulled this special day together for us and give us all a shared purpose.

For this very reason, our farm is a gift of love and a labor of it, too. It isn’t easy work, harvesting flowers and foliage on the steep hillside of Rainbow (rain or shine), but it’s noble work and it gives you that feeling that nothing else in the world can. A feeling of contentment that comes from putting your efforts into nature and the land… only to watch it flourish and grow, brighter and better than you left it last.

The beauty of flower farming is something that we hope to enjoy for years to come. Think of it like a love note, sown together with soil, plants and a whole lot of passion. In the dead of winter, Valentine’s Day brings us a bounty of gorgeous florals to be grateful for and the best part, it’s only a pit stop as we approach the arrival of spring.

California Grown Flowers Month

Spread the word…. June is California Grown Flowers Month!

For the seventh year in a row, the California Legislature is honoring the state’s flower farmers and recognizing their contributions to the state’s economy and workforce by declaring June as California Grown Flowers Month. The resolution highlights California’s leading role in flower-farming and the economic impact it has on the floral industry.

The industry has blossomed since its inception back in the late 1870s. Statewide flowers are grown across 701 million square feet, spanning the distance from San Diego through the Inland Empire to Carpinteria and north all the way to the Oregon border. California farmers produce three-quarters of the cut flowers in the United States, provide over a 100,000 of jobs and account for a total of $12.2 billion in economic activity every year.

Share the LOVE....California Grown!

Flowers Keep Us Connected

In times like these, it’s more important than ever to stay connected to the people, places and things we love. Right now, staying home and avoiding travel is in everyone’s best interest. In the meantime, we have been and will continue to share and celebrate the things about flower farming here in Rainbow that bring us joy and inspiration. We can’t wait to get back into our workshop & farm tour mode and extend a warm welcome when the time is right.

Embrace the things that bring you joy – Stay connected with Flowers!

From Brush to Blooms

"To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream, not only plan, but also believe." - Anatole France

The bliss of flower farming is having the opportunity to accomplish great things!  Yes, farming requires a dream, planning, hard work and a big leap of faith but in the end it is possible to do the unimaginable.  With those thoughts in mind, this weekend I ventured out into one of the newer flower fields to seeing how our dream was unfolding.

In 2012, we purchased several acres of land on a very steep hillside completely covered in brush.  At this stage in the game you have to have a wonderful imagination with so many bushes to remove, loads of trash to cleanup, tons of bugs, snakes and animals to evict and roads to grade.

What was once only brush is now full of blooms!  Here's just a glimpse of the treasures I discovered.