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.
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.”
When the weather is cold and blustery, my strategy for creating a stunning arrangement is simple… make it colorful, textural, and seasonal. Starting with a few stems of vibrant protea like Ceres and Brenda plus, Leucadendron Tricolor and Salignum Pink my inspiration starts flowing. As I mingle in a few stems of textural Grevillea blooms and some bristly bottlebrush, winter really start showing off.
For a bit of a whimsical feel, weave in some frilly yellow wattle and fragrant eucalyptus Parvifolia with lovely heart shaped leaves.
With these fabulous florals, it's easily to create a design that takes the chill out of the season while providing an instant cold-weather pick-me-up. There’s no doubt, the best remedy for beating the ‘Winter Blues’ is to surround yourself with vivid color, lots of texture and seasonal bliss.
From December to March… happy hour is infinite with blooms this luminous.
Harvest is an Australian-raised cultivar that originated from an ‘accidental seedling’ of L. stelligerum. And it is obvious why this Leucadendron is reveled for its colorful ‘daisy-like’ blooms that are so flamboyantly displayed. The sheer volume of the flowers makes for a delightful winter show. Harvest’s colorful petals or bracts take on soft creamy-yellow and white hues with a splash of rusty-orange on the edges surrounding the rich yellow, orange + green cone that is nestled among the bracts.
Leucadendron Harvest has a way of eliciting oohs and aahs not only in the field but in floral designs as well!
Simply Gorgeous!
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.
Lady Di. Oh La La... this stunning protea has won us over, heart and soul. Lush, colorful, and bursting with texture, this 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 typically blooms winter through early spring.
Lady Di looks fabulous mixed with a variety of proteas or combined with an array other colorful flowers and foliage. She's regal but also fluffy and soft... the perfect winter pick-me-up. Dawn to dusk…. happy hour is infinite in blooms this luminous.
Discovered in 1819, the waxflower originated from the southwest of Western Australia, where the French botanist Rene Louiche Desfontaines gave the plant its botanical name Chamelaucium. The slight waxy feel of its petals is believed to be the reason for its name. The leaves contain oil glands that have a beautiful lemony fresh fragrance when crushed. The blooms are delicate in style, flaunting five petals, ten stamens and a small, hardened fruit.
Waxflowers have long been associated with good luck and best wishes of lasting love. And it's also a symbol of wealth and riches. In Australia it's believed that the waxflower symbolizes joyful memories and new beginnings and is therefore used in most weddings. These fabulous flowers have an abundance of uses in bouquets and arrangements, as well as in flower crowns and corsages.
