Women’s Day 2023 – DigitALL

Ready to celebrate the women in your life? March 8th is Women’s Day, an international holiday celebrating the historical, cultural, and political achievements of women. This year’s theme is DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality. Bringing women and other marginalized groups into technology results in more creative solutions and has greater potential for innovations that meet women’s needs and promote gender equality.

Wondering how you can celebrate Women's Day… here are a few ideas:

With Flowers! It doesn't matter if you are a man or a woman to join in on the celebration - it is completely acceptable for a man to give flowers to the women in his life, as well as women to share flowers with their friends, family, and co-workers.

Learn why the day is important. As women's accomplishments, particularly those that have to do with the home (raising children, educating, cleaning, cooking, etc.) are often taken for granted. This day helps to remind people of the important things that women do every day.

Help raise awareness. Mention that it's Women's Day to people you know, your family, your coworkers, your friends. Discuss with them why it's an important day and why it's important to treat women with respect and to acknowledge their contributions to society.

January Articles of Interest

IN THE GARDEN
Tricks to grow proteas away from their home

Growing proteas, pincushions and leucodendrons is a challenge in our part of the country, as the care you render to your usual garden plants here is rejected by the protea family.

For instance, feeding proteas with fertiliser as you would any other plant may be likened to letting a child loose in a sweet store. Unlike other plants the protea plant cannot control its uptake of nutrients - gorging itself to the detriment of the plant growth and sometimes leading to its demise.

Read more here.
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5 flower trends expected to surge in popularity in 2021

'Receiving or giving flowers and making your home beautiful will continue to be important next year,' says Larry Walshe, celebrity London florist and founder of Bloom.

'Following two national lockdowns, we have all learned that flowers are not just a luxury, but rather a necessity that bring joy, pleasure and a boost to wellbeing. The use of plants and flowers in the home is beneficial for both our physical and mental health, thanks to the air-purifying qualities of blooms and their ability to help reduce stress and anxiety.'

Take a look at the flower trends set to surge in popularity...

Read more here.
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Valentine’s Day Traditions from Around the World

The 24 hours of affection known as Valentine’s Day originated in Europe more than 1,500 years ago as a Christian feast commemorating the martyrdom of Rome’s St. Valentinus. However, the earliest known mention of Feb. 14 as an actual celebration of love occurs in 1375 AD within medieval poet Geoffrey Chaucer’s Parliament of Foules, a work that cites the 14th as the day both birds and humans are most likely to find mates.

American Valentine’s Day expressions of endearment include everything from greeting cards, love letters, and heart-shaped chocolates to a dozen roses, teddy bears, and balloons. It’s a day of marriage proposals, weddings, and nights dining out. But the United States isn’t the only country to celebrate romance. Nations around the world have spent centuries developing their own unique ways to mark love’s holiday. Here’s how some countries across the globe celebrate the day of love.

Read more here.

Fall into Jewel Tones

With the Holiday Season only weeks away, now is the time to fall into Jewel Tones and create a little extra drama by adding these rich colors to your arrangements and bouquets! Autumn proteas bring an exotic and unique touch to any design, especially when combined with warm, saturated colors like topaz, emerald and sapphire, and unexpected textures like brunia, roses, ranunculus, everlastings and cones + pods. When paired with fabulous foliage like leucadendron, agonis, grevillea + eucalyptus, another level of allure and sophistication is added to the design...and, that's especially welcome during this magically time of the year. Here are some of our favorite designs bursting with deep hues and rustic stems.

Holiday Centerpieces for the Farmers Market

I always look to the fields for inspiration when planning my holiday centerpieces. We were fortunate to have a relatively mild fall, and I got to reap the rewards. A bounty of gorgeous protea hung around a bit later this year, and their fresh, bold blooms looked absolutely fabulous in my arrangements for the Old Town Temecula Farmers’ Market.

In addition to using fresh protea, I love the idea of mixing a bit of dried protea material in centerpieces too… it makes for the Perfect Union. There’s no rule against combining dried flowers with fresh blooms. In fact, the effect can be stunning. Dried flowers can add unique texture and color to designs. A Protea Pod or sometimes called “Protea Flat” for example, is the wood-like base and stem of the flower that’s left after the long bracts and center dome are removed. They're wonderful when added to designs… giving them a bit of a vintage appeal.

There’s no doubt, when both fresh and dried protea find their place in an arrangement, 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.

Holiday Gifting the Natural Way

The holiday season is upon us, and there’s nothing we love more than adorning our gift packages with nature-inspired trimmings, and we don't even have to venture into the fields to find them. Throughout the year, a wealth of dried protea, foliage, and cones can be salvaged from bouquets, centerpieces and wreaths and re-used as embellishments. But it's certainly not too late for you to muster up some flowers and other botanical materials, your Thanksgiving decor can be re-purposed for Christmas gifting. Or, step outside. Decorations for the holiday are all around you.

For the materials, we incorporate fresh and dried proteas, cones and seed pods. Choosing some traditional holiday colors such as gold, green and silver but also some more non-traditional like pink and brown. Plus, using neutral looking wrapping paper and ribbon provide an added organic and hand-crafted feel.

This year… ‘think outside of the box’ and have fun with your own gift giving this season!

Flower News: November’s Stories of Interest from Around the World

5 Ways to Make Your Wedding Flowers More Sustainable

We’re pumped to see businesses and couples alike becoming more conscious of the environmental impact of weddings, and floristry is one area where this has become a real priority. And before you start picturing foraged posies and native-everything (not those things aren’t awesome) let us assure you that sustainable practices can still mean high end floral design.

Read more here.
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An Autumnal Boho Wedding with Rust Bridesmaids Dresses, Spicy Fall Florals, and Copper Details

There’s something about Fall color that is just truly magical. Burnished yellows, spicy rust tones, pumpkin orange and coffee really bring the warm and cozies to a wedding day! When Chels and Danté began planning their lavish Fall wedding at Giracci Vineyards, they knew they wanted every detail to represent them. Based on their vibrant and fun personalities, we’d say their color palette choices were spot on!! With the help of Weddings by Cortney Helaine, they planned a boho fête that was full of lush fall florals, macramé decor, copper details and the cutest rust bridesmaids dresses!

Read more here.
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How to Dry Protea

Dried flowers add long-lasting beauty to any decor and can be made into keepsakes for weddings, anniversaries or birthdays. Drying your own flowers at home saves money and allows you to preserve flowers from your garden that otherwise would wither and die. Protea is a large, exotic flower available in many vibrant shades, such as dark pink, blood red, bright yellow and caramel. Once dried, the colors will fade over time, leaving behind tan flowers which look gorgeous in wreaths or bouquets.

Read more here.
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Relieving Stress During the Holidays

While a wonderful season, the holidays can sometimes bring on as much stress as joy. From shopping, to organizing the guest lists, to putting up the decorations, our growing to-do list can add to our feelings of overwhelm and worry about how we are going to get everything done. According to a recent poll, 68 percent of people feel stress on a weekly basis, and 32 percent experience stress daily.

It’s important in these hectic times to step back, breathe, and take opportunities to have a moment of calm, so we can enjoy the holiday festivities, rather than stress over them.

Read more here.

Cornucopia: A Symbol of the Harvest

Chances are you’ve seen a cornucopia before—you know, one of these horn-shaped baskets that appears everywhere during the harvest season. It’s possible, as you read this, you might even be planning to create one for your Thanksgiving gathering. A lovely, eye-catching display using your favorite flowers, foliage, fruit, cones and pods for your friends and family to enjoy. After all, Thanksgiving and cornucopias go together like turkey and stuffing or mashed potatoes and gravy. They all pair perfectly.

Thanksgiving has always been epic to harvest time, and it's always taken place in the autumn… so it's natural that the holiday would include the cornucopia, which traditionally represents all of those things. Beyond that premise though, at what time the cornucopia made its way into our country's consciousness as a Thanksgiving symbol is difficult to say. But with its meaning of abundance, prosperity and good fortune, the horn of plenty now embodies Americans’ thoughts of thankfulness. Whether referred to as a cornucopia or horn of plenty… the meaning of this ancient symbol still resonates today.

CWA Holiday Workshop

Aren’t the holidays the best? We sure think so, which is why we decided to host another holiday workshop for California Women for Agriculture – San Diego Chapter (CWA). It was the third year in a row this talented group of farmers visited our farm to learn more about the protea we grow and create something special for their homes, all while raising funds for the organization. The last two years participants created holiday wreaths and this year they designed festive tabletop arrangements. With a mixture of Protea in an array of colors and shapes to Leucadendron and colorful Christmas greens, 18 gorgeous centerpieces were designed, and good times were had by all.