Hakea

Hakea, or sometimes referred to as needlewoods, corkwoods, pincushion, cricket ball or frog Hakea, is a member of the Proteaceae family and its close relatives include Grevillea, Banksia, Dryandra, Isopogon and Telopea. Hakea, a very diverse group of plants, is an endemic Australian genus and is found in many different habitats; the tropics, mountains, the coast and desert areas. There are over 150 named species in the genus. Some Hakeas have spidery flowers, like grevilleas, others have globe-shaped, inflorescences, while others look like a long spear at the end of the branches. Flowers can be white, yellow, greenish, red, orange, pink and purple hues.

Hakea Bucculenta

Hakea Cinerea

Hakea Cucullata

Hakea Victoriae

Hakea Laurina

Hakea Corymbosa

Hakea Archaeoides

Hakea Multilineata

Although there are many ornamental and colorful species in the genus, Hakea has not achieved the same popularity in cultivation as its closest relatives Grevilleas and Banksia. And, in some ways Hakea forms a link between those two genera having hard woody seed pods with Banksia-like seeds while the flowers occur in Grevillea-like clusters.

Hakea Pods

Hakea Bucculenta

The Muir Ranch Farm-To-Table Supper Experience

Saturday at Muir Ranch School Farm in Pasadena, we soaked up the blue skies and balmy temperatures at the 4th “Field to Vase” Farm-to-table Supper of the 2015 season – a celebration of all things locally grown and harvested! From garden strolls, to ‘flowers on your head’, the evening was filled with colorful floral gems and savory seasonal food prepared by talented local chiefs using produce from the school’s garden.

The Menu: 

Muir Ranch "Weed" Porridge made with Muir Ranch grown
Purslane & Amaranth Tempura topped with Tomato Confit 

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North Carolina Style BBQ Free Range Pork Shoulder 

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Chambord Glazed Brussel Sprouts with Cana de Cabra Cheese 

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Spicy Korean Grilled Cauliflower 

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Watermelon-Tomato Gazpacho with Strawberry Habanero

There were several Garden Writers in town celebrating the 67th GWA Annual Symposium who also joined in on the festivities. With a field full of flowers and vegetable, local chiefs and farmers, Muir Ranch students (the kids who grow and eat the veggies - our next generation of farmers) there's plenty of inspirational stories to tell.

If you missed the celebration at Muir Ranch, join them for another harvest supper in October!

CPA Digs into Autumn at the Fall Home/Garden Show

There’s nothing we enjoy more than educating our friends, neighbors and fellow San Diegans about all the amazing protea farms in and around the county as well as teaching them how to grow and care for protea plants. To celebrate autumn, the 26th annual Fall Home/Garden Show was held at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, featuring interior designs and garden displays, remodeling ideas, hands-on demonstrations and educational seminars. It’s a great place to meet local farmers and buy plants direct from the farms, so the California Protea Association (CPA) dug right in along with the San Diego Bromeliad Society, Cactus and Succulent Society, Horticulture Society, Master Gardeners and more.

To learn more about the California Protea Association, its members and activities go to http://www.californiaprotea.org/

September: Time to Reset & Refresh

Although the New Year officially begins in January, here on the farm we can’t help but think that September deserves the tribute. There’s something about the month - perhaps it’s Labor Day, the notorious “last weekend of summer” or maybe it’s just the time when we begin another ‘flower season’ - that seems to usher in a new start. With that in mind, these ‘dog days of summer’ aren’t easy to shake off. Whether you’re planning for the holidays, catching up on the latest floral trends or simply tapping the “refresh” button on your 2015 perspective, we put together some colorful pictures and Post Labor Day inspirations to help jump start the transition.

“Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.” - Ovid

“Without labor nothing prospers.” - Sophocles

“All wealth is the product of labor.” - John Lock

“Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.”
- Thomas Jefferson

“Hard work doesn’t guarantee success, but it improves its chances.”
- B.J. Gupta

“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”
- Confucius

XVII International Protea Association Conference

With the beautiful backdrop of Western Australia’s unique flora, and coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the world-renowned Kings Park, the XVII International Protea Association Conference held in Perth was truly inspiring. The educational programs were rich and varied, with speakers from around the globe discussing new ornamental species, breeding, cultivation, post-harvest handling and marketing plus exciting new developments in the Proteaceae and Australian wildflower industries.

The first two conference days included presentations by four highly acclaimed keynote speakers and concurrent sessions focused on Proteaceae and new ornamental crops. The third and fourth days were devoted to visiting commercial wildflower farms and nurseries, a leading wildflower exporter, and a guided tour of Kings Park, including a look ‘behind the scenes’ at the nursery and research programs.

Commercial Wildflower

Kings Park and Botanical Garden

However, the conference wasn’t only about learning – there was plenty of time to network with fellow flowers farmers from around the world.

The XVIII International Protea Association Conference is tentatively scheduled for August 2017 in Stellenbosch, South Africa.

The Business of Banksia

There’s only one spot in the world where all 79 species of Banksia in existence grow and that’s in Kevin and Cathy Collins’ delightful five-hectare garden in Mount Barker, Western Australia. Kevin, who is also known as the ‘Banksia Man’, owns and runs The Banksia Farm in this sleepy wine-growing region of Australia. Kevin claims, “This was never a planned business, it’s a hobby gone mad.”

Kevin educates everyone from visiting school kids to botanists. “I don’t have a day’s botanical training,” he says. “I was just over in America lecturing on it.” He is the co-author of books on botany and is valued as an expert on Western Australia’s wildflowers in particular. As well as holding the most recently found banksia, the garden also has many of the world’s species of dryandra, which are closely related.

Kevin says the climate of Mount Barker has helped them grow all 79 species of banksia. The other thing that assisted them is the huge variety of soils. “We have everything from pH 4.5 to 6.5, and by moving them around we were able to mix and match and grow them all.”

Bronze Menziesii 

Oak Leaved Banksia 

Occidentalis

Coccinea 

Menziesii 

Coastal Banksia 

Kevin is quite animated as he explains why he loves banksias. “Many are killed by fire, and yet they’ve been around for 50-70 million years, he says. “They’re so diverse. Some need fire and follow-up rains to release seeds. And historically they’ve been used for so much.”