Connected to Nature With Dried Flowers

In the midst of a pandemic, all roads seem to point towards a life that is more connected to nature and eco-friendly. It might be a trend, but it’s not one that will go out of style. Living sustainably means adapting our lives so that we avoid further depletion of our natural resources.

This earthy connection has become quite evident as we're seeing more organic, natural colors and textures being used in floral design. Dried flowers provide another way to bring nature and simplicity into our homes and lives.

Instead of thinking of dried flowers as a substitute for fresh flowers, we can think of them as a complement to the fresh flowers. Dried flowers expose us to a whole new universe of color palettes and textures, expanding the range of choices for use in designs. When looking for colors that are antique and muted, dried flowers can fit the bill perfectly. You can create a design using only dried flowers or use them together with fresh flowers to create a more dynamic arrangement.

How to Dry Your own Flowers…
Start by removing any excess leaves from flowers and cut stems to your desired length. Then, hang them in a dark area like a closet to help them retain their color. Blooms can be hung individually or bundled together, but do not overcrowd any bunches. If you are in a humid area, try hanging a paper bag over the flowers while they dry, it will absorb any moisture released from the flowers during the drying process and keep dust off the blooms. Let them hang undisturbed for three weeks or until they’re completely dry. And always dry more than what you need.

October Articles of Interest

Petals by the Shore: American Grown at Home

Part Four of our Six-Part Series on
New Floral Marketing Models and Platforms

Wedding and event florist Kelly Shore, owner of Petals by the Shore in Damascus, Maryland, has spent the past five years educating herself about domestic flower sourcing. She began in her own backyard, motivated by a desire to support flower growers in her area, many of whom she originally purchased from through local farmers’ markets.

Read more here.
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California Farmer Mel Resendiz

As we celebrate California Grown Farmer and Farmworker month, we want to highlight some very special farmers. First up, meet first-generation California farmer, Mel Resendiz.

Following a Dream of Farming

To Mel, being a farmer is more than just a job, it’s the fulfillment of a dream. “Being a farmer means that I have been able to achieve the American Dream.” said Resendiz “To own a business, own land, create jobs for family and others in the community, and to wake up every day doing something that I love doing.”

Read more here.
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Sustainable use of land vital for fynbos protection

As the world looks for ways to tackle both an unprecedented health crisis and the ongoing climate crisis, the Flower Valley Conservation Trust in the Western Cape is working hard to bring to light the importance of fynbos protection through sustainable land use.

Established in 1991, the Flower Valley Conservation Trust is making sure that it creates a fynbos-filled future for life and livelihoods. The trust is a non-profit organisation based on Flower Valley Farm, just outside Gansbaai. It focuses on fynbos protection in natural landscapes and improving livelihoods across the fynbos biome.

Read more here.
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The 62 Best Wedding Bouquets

A bride's floral arrangement is arguably the second most important part of her outfit, ranking immediately behind the wedding dress. Therefore, we encourage you to a put a lot of thought into the flowers you carry down the aisle! If you're wondering how to make your bridal bouquet extra special, it helps to turn to some inspiration. Luckily, we've got you covered with our all-time favorite arrangements. The bundles here feature some of the most creative shape, memorable shades, and beautiful flowers out there.

Read more here.

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.

Heirloom Apple Galette

Do you love apple pie? We can never get enough of them! A savory apple pie is prefect any time of the year, right? If you agree, I’m certain you're going to love this walnut and apple Galette in the Wine Institute’s latest book, Wine Country Table! The walnut filling, that’s similar to a frangipane, makes this galette stand out from the crowd and adding the sparkling sugar on the rim creates a gleam.

The Wine Country Table is a book we’re thrilled to be featured in, bursting with wine, food and our flowers too! This book conveys a fresh and beautifully photographed celebration of California, its natural beauty, its unrivaled bounty, and its determination to remain just as productive for generations to come. It’s all about sustainable farming, taking readers on a visual tour of 23 stunning farms and wineries throughout the state, introducing them to some of the vintners, winemakers, and farmers (like Mel) whose harvests are profiled.

Written by award-winning author Janet Fletcher with photographs by Robert Holmes and Sara Remington, the book highlights California's key wine regions, its eminent fruit, vegetable and flower crops, with suggestions on how to select and use them. It also includes fifty rustic-elegant recipes covering all bases, from breakfast to dessert and pairs them with the perfect California wines.

Heirloom Apple Galette - this recipe is fabulous and perfect for any occasion! Print Recipe

A Field to Vase Celebration

A blissful welcome to the spring season, surrounded by a sea of gorgeous ranunculaus the Field to Vase Dinner Tour brought good cheer to The Flower Fields of Carlsbad. Clear skies and perfectly tepid temperatures greeted guests as they enjoyed American grown flowers while savoring an artisanal meal prepared by a local chef, Jeff Rossman, of Terra Catering. A skilled, self-taught Chef of nearly 30 years, Jeff helped pioneer San Diego’s thriving farm-to-table movement by purchasing fresh, organic produce from local growers before it was en vogue. Travelling to farmer’s markets before farmer’s markets were cool.

The dazzling floral décor was designed by Flower Duet’s sisters, Kit and Casey, who blended a bounty of locally grown blooms into each centerpiece and display. Kit and Casey discovered their love for flowers at a very young age thanks to their parent’s beautiful garden. Creating custom pieces for special events, they also engage in teaching flower arranging classes at their studio in South Bay of Los Angeles.

The idea behind this dinner series is to help people connect the growing “farm to fork” movement to flowers, and to share why the flowers on the dinner table should be as fresh, local and sustainable as the food on your plate. There’s no better place to celebrate the season and make that connection to flowers than in the breathtaking Flower Fields!

Inspirational News: Field To Vase Dinner Tour | Sun Valley Floral Farms | Arcata, California

If you don't know what the Field To Vase Dinner Tour is please check out the link! I'm still going to give a little info here, but there's more on their site and it's very much worth checking out. Field To Vase, in short, is a series of private, intimate, gatherings that place seasonal, local and sustainable American Grown flowers at the center of the table. But it's also so much more than that. It's about connecting people with the areas they live in, and even giving a little education on our countries floral economy. Buy local is a very real thing for Humboldt County, and we're blessed with a vast community of people who are passionate about preserving and sustaining local businesses. Read the rest of this blog at JM Photography.

2016 Farm-to-Float Campaign

With a full-on salute to California Grown (#CAGROWN) flowers and nature's pollinators, the 2016 Miracle-Gro® Tournament of Roses Parade float is already being called a show-stopping stunner.

Life Starts Here 

For about as long as there's been a Rose Parade providing California-style relief to the winter-weary, there's been Miracle-Gro®, helping gardeners everywhere grow beautiful backyard blooms. This year is no exception. 

Miracle-Gro, now in its fourth year as The Official Rose and Flower Care Company of the Rose Parade, anticipates that its 2016 Rose Parade float, Life Starts Here, will inspire people everywhere to dig in and discover their own piece of the earth - a goal befitting the 2016 Parade theme, Find Your Adventure. 

Certified CA GROWN

Life Starts HereAnd because almost nothing is more inspiring to gardeners and flower lovers everywhere than stunning, sustainable flowers, Miracle-Gro's 2016 Rose Parade float is an all-out salute to California's high-quality flowers and the Golden State farmers who grow them. Read the rest of this article at RoseParada.Miracle-Gro.

Floral News: Inspirational Stories of the Week

Three-Dozen Floral Designers Transform a Condemned Detroit Duplex with 36,000 Flowers.

Last November, florist Lisa Waud went to a public auction and purchased an abandoned house in Detroit, Michigan—sight unseen. Crumbling and condemned, the aging duplex was filled knee-high with trash, broken bottles, and even a dead dog. Her winning bid: $250. But Waud had a vision. She planned to invite florists from Michigan, Ohio, New York and Canada to fill the house with a temporary art installation of 36,000 flowers. This morning, Flower House opens to the public. After a year of planning and three days of solid labor from dozens of volunteers, Flower House now contains room after room of independent flower designs and installations that flow together to create an immersive blooming environment. The piece is part art installation, part memorial to Detroit’s history, and an effort in sustainability and responsibility to American-grown flower farms. Read more>

Flower House grows from art installation inspiration.

Beyond the crumbling plaster, busted pipes, and peeling paint, a small ceramic plate remains fastened to the wall of an abandoned duplex in Hamtramck.“This is my house,” the plate reads, “and I’ll do as I darn please.” It’s a mantra Hamtramck floral designer Lisa Waud has taken to heart. With the help of more than three dozen floral designers from Michigan, Ohio, New York and Canada, Waud and her friends have taken an unlikely canvas, an abandoned house on the I-75 service drive, and transformed it with flowers, plants and foliage. Read more>

A Detroit Florist’s Vision Turns an Abandoned House Into Art.

Eleven months ago, a derelict house here that is now filled with 36,000 flowers contained far grimmer things. A dead dog. Jammed toilets - untouched for years. Broken glass from beer bottles and shattered windows. Twelve thousand pounds of trash had to be hauled out before Lisa Waud, a florist who bought the duplex at auction for $250, could see what kind of canvas she had purchased. Read more>

Farmgirl Flowers Visits Rainbow

"Local. Sustainable. Slow flowers. These are more than just buzz words, they represent the philosophy behind the growing movement of localizing the flower industry. Plain and simple: flowers that are sold stateside should be grown domestically to support the local economy and our local agricultural communities. That’s why we’re calling it the Local Flower Movement."

- Christina Stembel

Meet Christina Stembel, owner of San Francisco-based Farmgirl Flowers.  As you can sense from Christina's quote above she's a strong and passionate advocate for domestic cut flowers.  Through her company Farmgirl Flowers, she has become notorious for sourcing and promoting only local and seasonal flowers for use in her bouquets and designs.

Lately, when Christina's not working side by side with her amazing design team in the San Francisco Flower Market, she's been touring farms from California to Alaska meeting the farmers and learning about the flowers they grow.  When Christina's travels brought her to Southern California she made it a point to stop by the farm and check out the special flowers we grow here in Rainbow.  And, during her visit we were thrilled to discover she is passionate about Protea too!  So, after a brief peak in the cooler to see what flowers are being harvested we headed to the hills to see how they're grown.  Join us on our postcard tour:

 

Standing on a rock high above the flower fields - It almost feels like you're on top of the world. 

Protea - there's so much to learn: the numerous varieties, they're seasons, how they're grown and harvested.

A trip into the fields is not complete without stopping to see the limo and yes, it's CAGrown!

Definitely a 'Farmgirl' - Christina even stopped to feed the goats! 

It's all about 'Field to Vase' and 'knowing' where your flowers come from. 

A recent Farmgirl Flowers creation!

More Peony, Protea, and Pistachio perfection...
#americangrown #farmgirlflowers