Laboring for Mother's Day

What better way to celebrate Mother's Day than with a unique hand-tied bouquet or an exotic handmade wreath created with farm fresh protea, pincushion, waxflower, leucadendron, grevillea and lush greens! Over the past two weeks our bouquet makers, some very special Mother's, have been laboring day after day to create these fabulous floral gifts. And so as this holiday rush slowly comes to an end, we pause for a moment to say 'Thank You' to these amazing ladies who have been working hard to make our Mother's Day a big success! 

 Thank you and Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Cinco de Mayo

Did you know Cinco de Mayo marks May 5, 1862, when the Mexican army won the Battle of Puebla in the Franco-Mexican War. The holiday has become a celebration of Mexican heritage and culture in the United States and no less so here at Resendiz Brothers. 

Here are a few other interesting facts about Cinco de Mayo: 

• In Puebla, one of Mexico's 31 states with a capital city of the same name,Cinco de Mayo is known as El Día de la Batalla de Puebla (The Day of the Battle of Puebla). 
• While Cinco de Mayo is a national holiday in Mexico, it is mainly observed in Puebla. In the U.S. it has become a popular holiday to celebrate Mexican culture. 
• May 5 is not, as many people think, Mexico's Independence Day. That holiday takes place on September 16. 
• Cinco de Mayo traditions include parades, mariachi music performances, street festivals and of course, lots of colorful flowers. 

 

Happy Cinco de Mayo and be sure to celebrate with Flowers!

Field Bouquets

You don’t need a lavish arrangement to relish the pleasure of freshly cut flowers. Every day in the fields there are amazing displays of flowers being harvested, we call them 'field bouquets', and they are a real feast for the eyes!

Check out these gorgeous bouquets - it doesn't get any better than this:

An arm load of Pink Duke Protea.

 A handful of Waxflower Dancing Queen.

 A bundle of some of our favorite Protea.

A gathering of yellow High Gold Leucospermum. 

 

Incredible Hummingbirds

It’s springtime here in Southern California and once again hummingbirds can be seen throughout the fields enjoying the flowers! These tiny birds are so amazing and it’s certainly a treat to have them out and about here on the farm.  Just the other day I got these great shots of a hummingbird completely absorbed in one of our hot pink grevillea flowers!

Yes, these birds are incredible! Check out these interesting hummingbird facts I came across while visiting www.howtoenjoyhummingbirds.com: 
  

• The hummingbird is the smallest bird and also the smallest of all animals that have a backbone. 
• A hummingbird has no sense of smell.
• Because the hummingbird can rotate its wings in a circle, they are the only bird that can fly forwards, backwards, up, down ,sideways and hover in mid air. 
• To conserve energy while they sleep or when food is scarce, they can go into a hibernation-like state (torpor) where their metabolic rate is slowed to 1/15th of its normal rate. 
• During migration, some hummingbirds make a non-stop 500 mile flight over the Gulf of Mexico. 
• During courtship dives a hummingbird can reach speeds up to 60 miles per hour and can average speeds of 20 to 30 miles per hour. 
• Hummingbirds are the second largest family of birds with 343 species. 
• Hummingbirds can beat their wings up to 80 times a second during normal flight and up to 200 times per second during a courtship dive. 
• The hummingbird has a heart rate that can reach up to 1,260 beats per minute. 
• Percentage wise, the hummingbird has the largest brain of all birds (4.2% of its total body weight). 
• Hummingbirds have very weak feet and use them mainly just for perching. 
• Hummingbirds are found only in North America and South America.

Mad about Spring

"People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us." Iris Murdoch

Springtime is definitely my favorite time of the year when it comes to Leucadendrons! Most of the year these shrubs produce a wonderful foliage in various shades of red and green  - a staple in all of our bouquets and wreaths. However, in the spring these shrubs produce some of the most breathtaking blooms with colorful cones and cream colored bracts!

 

At this time of the year Leucadendrons are truly flowers in their own right - a handful of Pom Pom or Discolor makes a colorful bouquet all on its own. Make sure to enjoy this gorgeous flowering foliage - its season is fleeting!

Happy Easter!

Sending you a basket of warm wishes for a Bright and Happy Easter!

Promoting Protea

Last week we had the pleasure to do a 'Protea Presentation' for our local Temecula Valley Garden Club. It was all about Protea - how to grow them, what varieties grow best here in Southern California, how we market them and how they're arranged in bouquets and wreaths.

The Temecula Valley Garden Club is a nonprofit organization with 160 members, that aims to encourage interest in home gardening, promote better horticultural practices, conserve natural resources and aid civic groups. It also provides a wonderful place for those who share a common interest in gardening, to become acquainted and develop meaningful friendships. This club gives an annual $1,000 scholarship to a student majoring in plant science at UC Riverside and helps create gardens in local schools.

What a great opportunity - we shared a few gardening tips!

Had some protea plants for their gardens.

 

Colorful bouquets for their homes.

And in the end, we had a winner for our amazing Easter Basket raffle!