Springtime Pick-n-Mix: Flowers and Vegetables

It's time to celebrate warm weather, flowers in bloom and veggies in season… all wrapped up into festive décor for friends & family to enjoy. Adding seasonal vegetables into a flower arrangement, to bring in a fresh element of color, texture and shape, is often the recipe needed to transform a design from beautiful to eye-catching and unique. Today, we’re celebrating the season with heirloom carrots and fresh asparagus.

A gathering without flowers is just a meeting, so don’t be without the seasons cream of the crop. This design is packed with gorgeous leucospermum Brandi dela Cruz and Erubscense, colorful heirloom carrots and lush foliage.

This stunning arrangement could not be easier to make! Place the asparagus stems around the outside of the vase and secure them in place with a piece of twine! When you add an array of colorful protea, pincushions, leucadendron and some fabulous ranunculus to the mix... you have the perfect spring ensemble!

Get Hooked on Fresh Spring Leucadendron

A vibrant, bunch of Leucadendron is a delightful thing: After a quick snip off the stems and a few leaves removed from the bottom, all you really need to enjoy them is a vase. Since they are so simple to arrange, it is easy to forget that they’re basically considered the foliage side of the family of Protea. To honor this genus and some 80 species (who all share the same emphasis: the beauty of their foliage), we have gathered a few of our spring favorites.

Much as we love the traditional greens… eucalyptus, grevillea, melaleuca (they're always in season!), each year we wait for spring when colorful Leucadendron come into season. After all, what could possibly be better than field fresh Leucadendron? These proteas have strong qualities in terms of their feature-game. Their exquisite colors add vibrancy to any design. Their famed longevity means they will be relished for weeks. And who can resist the colorful cones? The petals of the Leucadendron are called bracts or modified leaves, and the true flower is the cone nestled among their bracts.

For inspiration, scroll down for a glimpse this season’s favorites.

Lennox

Maui Sunset #2

Senorita

Xanthoconus

Eucalyptifolium

Gold Strike

Rainbow Gold

Discolor

July: American Grown Design Inspiration

Although the New Year officially begins in January, here on the farm we can’t help but think that July deserves a little homage too. There’s something about the month, perhaps it’s the fact we’ve reached the year’s halfway mark or maybe because it’s American Grown Flowers Month… that seems to muster up a little nostalgia. With that in mind, these ‘dog days of summer’ aren’t easy to shake off. Whether you’re planning a cozy outdoor rendezvous, catching up on the latest floral trends or simply spending more time relaxing at home, we’ve created a summer inspired arrangement. A few of our usual favorites are included, like Banksia, Protea, Brunia and Leucospermum, with the foliage choices as a nod to the ‘summer essentials’ trend, as well as some fennel flowers, Southern Lagniappe, zinnias and everlasting for an extra splash of color.

Scroll down for a glimpse at our summer recipe, as we hope it will inspire you to create your own seasonal bliss!

In the Field: Protea Grandicolor

The protea fields are more colorful this fall thanks to 'Grandicolor’.
A cross of P. grandiceps and P. aurea, this hybrid cultivar from Australia combines features from both parent plants in a unique combination. The greenish-cream bracts, which deepen to tan at the base, have a delicate pinkish rim and conspicuous hairs like the grandiceps and surround rusty-red centers. The egg-shape foliage is small and leathery with a silvery-green hue and the stems straight and upright like the aurea. Grandicolor produces dainty, medium sized blooms off and on from autumn through spring.

In the Field: Leucospermum Flame Giant

The kind of heavy lifting we can get behind!

Leucospermum Flame Giant or also called Giant Orange Nodding Pincushion. This gorgeous cultivar typically blooms March through June and has some of the largest flower heads reaching 5 to 6 inches wide. Flame Giants were originally introduced from a seedling raised in 1974 and registered in South Africa under the name 'Vlam' in 1981. This name means "flame", "flash" or "blaze" in Afrikaans.

Protea: Fall’s Final Flush

It takes just a peek out in the fields to remind us that fall has, indeed, made its way to this side of the equator. I always find that the sky is prettiest in the autumn, it seems to take on a warm golden glow that reminds me of the word ‘harvest’. That awareness as nature yields its final flush and soon the fields will begin anew - is the mood of our latest field trip. There’s something so calming about a pickup full of protea standing tall, blooms to the sky. I thought it would be the perfect way to share the feeling of the season. Each gorgeous protea transforms everyday life here on the farm — such harvesting, hydrating and even transporting—into works of art.

In the Field: Protea Neriifolia

A fall favorite here at Resendiz Brothers! With a velvety touch and Parisian flair – Protea Neriifolia more commonly called Pink or White Mink embodies sensuality and elegance. Its hardy leathery leaves help protect it against most insect attacks.

Horticulturists were growing Neriifolia in glasshouses in Europe long before it was officially named in 1810. In fact, it was one of the first protea to be mentioned in botanical literature, and from as early as the 19th century people could buy cream or pink flowering plants from nurseries in England.

There are many different varieties of Neriifolia. Here are just a few of the awesome varieties we're harvesting this month.

Silver Tip

Rose Mink

Green Ice

Hawaiian Mink

Pink Mink

Red Robe

Red Mink

In the Field: Jester

We're welcoming a bounty of leucadendron in the field this season and when it comes to foliage color, we're embracing Jester’s lovely variegated palette. One look at Jester and you can understand why it is so named as it is definitely a ‘clown’ in the field sporting colors of bright pink, cream and green. Its other names, Safari Sunshine and Katie’s Blush make a delightful reference to all its colors and is a gesture to it being kin to Safari Sunset, though a much slower growing and smaller plant.

Like crowns in the field, Jester brings a rich and whimsical look to floral designs as well. Stunning no matter how you arrange it, Jester looks great when blended with an array flowers and other foliage or used as ‘focal flower’ in small arrangements. Here are some wonderful ways you can enjoy this fabulous leucadendron during these final days of summer and well into fall.

Fleurie Flower Studio

Swallows Nest Farm

Flirty Fleurs

Mt. Lebanon Floral

Swallows Nest Farm