Flame Giants are Blooming!

The Leucospermum Flame Giants are putting on quite a show here on the farm.

Of all the proteas that flower in spring, the Leucospermum, especially the Flame Giants, provide a dazzling display. We have thousands of plants scattered on several parcels high up in the hills of Rainbow. When they bloom this time of year, the fields erupt with spectacular color… vivid orange with golden tips. The textural blooms are formed mainly with long, sprout-like structures that end in a round knob called a pollen presenter.

Flame Giants, famed for having some of the largest flower heads reaching 5 to 6 inches wide, 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. They’re also called Giant Orange Nodding Pincushion. Flame Giants thrive perfectly in our Mediterranean climate and make ideal landscape plants.

Spring Ready

In like a lion, out like a lamb, March is a month of change and revival. The days grow longer and lighter and our souls tend to follow suit as well. We ‘spring forward’ on March 12th and then set our sights on the 20th, the first day of spring.

This winter has been one for the record books in California when it comes to rainfall. So far, we’ve broken records for any 22-day period between October to January. Parts of the state have seen over 20 inches of rain to-date (and still growing) but that number has a long way to go to beat 1982-1983 which totaled nearly 43 inches.

The nearby mountain tops are snow packed surrounding our valley in a winter wonderland. While spring may still be a little over three weeks away, we’re ready to begin the seasonal transition into Leucospermum season. With even brighter hues and plenty of texture… we’re 'Spring-Ready' or perhaps better said ‘Pincushion Ready' even though winter is still rampaging through the fields like a lion.

There has rarely been a better time for spring’s arrival. As the 19th-century writer Harriet Ann Jacobs noted “when nature resumes her loveliness, the human soul is apt to revive also.”

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.

Autumn Protea Wreath

We’re starting to see early signs of fall here on the farm. We've dusted off all the wreath making equipment and ordered plenty of extra supplies. Designing and creating a gorgeous Protea wreath is one of our favorite crafts, it's like painting but with a palette of flowers, and it definitely puts you in an autumn mode! With a ten beautiful Protea, Grevillea Ivanhoe, Leucadendron Safari Sunset, Galpinii and Inca Gold as well as seeded Eucalyptus, we anxiously observe as another unique masterpiece is created.

The wreath... a symbol of welcome, eternity and a joyful spirit! When protea find their way into a wreath, they no doubt fulfill the promise of eternity, as they don't die, they dry beautifully and become timeless!

In the Field: Leucospermum – Pincushions

Spring has finally sprung here in Rainbow! The Leucospermum fields are slowly starting to come to life, and with your first glimpse of these unique looking flowers… you just might think a fireworks display somehow fell out of the sky.

Some of the most popular members of the Proteaceae family, Leucospermum are easily recognized by their flower-heads with long, conspicuous styles, each one thickened at its apex to form a pollen presenter. Together the mass of styles, look a lot like pins bristling from a pincushion, a similarity that has given rise to their popular name Pincushions.

Unlike flowers of the genus Protea, which rely on their showy bracts for visual appeal, Leucospermum put all their art into the colors of the flowers themselves as well as the flowing shape of each curving component. These fanciful blooms atop sturdy stems create colorful focal points in the field and when displayed in floral designs.

Leucospermums are not only popular for their beautiful flowering heads, but the plants are also easily cultivated and make wonderful garden shrubs. They are fast growing and can produce a fabulous display of yellow, orange, red and even multi-colored blooms for years when grow under the right conditions.

Protea Lady Di

Lady Di, a wonderful, ‘newbie’ here on the farm. This stunning hybrid queen is a blend of Protea magnifica ‘queen’ and compacta. With a medium-to-large size bloom, Lady Di plays off more of the soft, velvety appearance of compacta and lacks the woolly beard of the magnifica. Its long floral bracts are pink, plush and tipped in delicate white fur, then shading to cream at the base while surrounding a silvery-pink central dome. Lady Di is a bloom with plenty of charisma that will keep you enchanted for weeks.

Lady Di typically blooms winter through early spring, helping us beat the cold weather blues with its gorgeous color and fabulous texture. In the field it's sensational, but from there the designing ideas started flowing through my mind and mixed in a bouquet, there’s no doubt this protea ranks among the royal.

Leucadendron Heaven

At the height of winter, the leucadendron fields in Rainbow are immersed in botanical splendor. The flowering bracts from a stunning array of species and cultivars flutter through the air like butterflies in search of sweet nectar, floral displays are created in an attempt to embody the landscapes’ beauty, and hints of spring seem to appear around every hillside.

These barometers of the season begin to emerge as winter settles in, blooming from the cold days of January all the way through May. Though often known as "conebush" due to their colorful nuts, leucadendron are considered the foliage side of the Protea Family. Most Leucadendron are indigenous to South Africa, though some varieties have been found in Australia and New Zealand as well. Around 80 known species and countless subspecies and cultivars exist, and all share the same emphasis: the beauty of their foliage. The colorful petals of the leucadendron are called bracts or modified leaves, and the true flower is the cone nestled among their bracts.

Leucadendron Maui Sunset

Leucadendron Senorita

Leucadendron Safari Tricolor

Leucadendron Red Thumb

Leucadendron Candles

Leucadendron Inca Gold