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Thanksgiving marks the last big holiday in the fall season. Without a doubt, it’s one of my favorite holidays because it combines so many of my favorite things – getting together with friends and family to share a savory meal and a daylong celebration centered on the bounty we receive from the earth. To get in the holiday mood, I like to fill my house with lots of beautiful materials from nature. I usually begin by creating a festive fall arrangement, a profusion of flowers in a pumpkin. To create your own display, cut a circle from the top of the pumpkin, scoop out the interior, and insert a plastic liner with saturated floral foam. Using care to cover the raw edge of the opening, arrange stems for a lively tribute to fall.

A warm and sunny afternoon played host to the San Diego Floral Association’s Family Fair held at the popular Mission Hills Nursery. The organization welcomed the season of apple pies, and colorful leaves with a festive event that included friends and neighbors, sweet and tasty treats, fun for the kids, and pumpkins in every size and shape. Artisans from around the county were invited to join in the fall fun by creating a marketplace and vendor fair. The fair, setup in an outdoor area next to the nursery, was surrounded by vibrant flowers, autumn displays and lots of colorful pumpkins. The marketplace included Lazy Acres Natural Market with an apple pie making booth and vendors with antique furniture, hand-crafted gifts and, of course, us with plenty of protea. Visitors had a chance to create their own pumpkin terrariums. Chef Miguel from The Red Door provided a “farm to fork” cooking demonstration and families watched as their kids lined up for special Halloween costume competition....

The 2017 Farm & Flowers Guide is hot off the press and we couldn’t be more excited to share it with you. It’s a spectacular publication that celebrates the various flower and foliage varieties grown in America and the flower farmers who grow them. We hope this farm guide will help you plan your next event and let you know if the blooms you’ve been eyeing will be available! Throughout the pages, you meet the farmers who are working hard to bring these gorgeous varieties to market… like our favorite farmer, Mel! Enjoy a peak at several beautiful designs to get your inspiration flowing! And, you can browse the Botanical Index, a handy resource for details and images of a wide range of American Grown flowers and foliage… like beautiful protea and leucadendron from which to select. If you haven’t received your copy in the September issue of Florists’ Review or Superfloral - Right this way to see the complete Guide . Enjoy!

This month we're honoring moms by featuring some very special bouquets... bouquets we think give new meaning to our flowers. These gorgeously colorful bouquets are created everyday right in the fields. Often hidden creations that tell a story of life in the fields and the seasonality of each harvest. These amazing 'Field Bouquets' as we call them are not often seen, they're crafted quickly and... it's on to the next one. Usually, there's little time to appreciate their beauty. And so, as a tribute to moms we're sharing of some of our favorite field creations. We love the idea of sending a special message about life in the fields through our blooms. Happy Mother's Day!

Spring arrives with its fair share of special occasions. From showers to family reunions, Easter to Mother’s Day, it seems every weekend calls for a celebration and, of course, there are the decorations and the gifts. What to get? Glad you asked. Our favorite decor for your door, mantle or wall has actually been leading a double life lately. A bountiful protea wreath adds a sense of luxury and organic authenticity to a room. However, when the parties over, a wreath makes a fabulous gift. Crafted with a bounty of spring flowers and foliage – blooming leucadendron, textural berzelia, lush grevillea and colorful protea, pincushions,telopea & banksia... all the ingredients necessary to create a cheerful welcome as well as a happy heart.

The rumors are true, it’s ‘Leucadendron Season’. Often one of the first hints of spring in our fields, leucadendron serve as a welcoming committee for warmer and longer days. These barometers of the season begin to emerge as winter winds down, blooming from the cold days of February 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 as well. Around 80 known species exist and all share the same emphasis: the beauty of their foliage. The colorful petals of the leucadendron are called bracts (modified leaves), and the true flower is the cone nestled among their bracts. Leucadendron includes evergreen shrubs and small trees which have green, often waxy, leaves which are arranged in spirals on the stem. They are dioeceous plants. That is, the male and female plant parts are pro...