Stock Flowers Right in the Fields of California

-
Do you know that Stock is the name of an amazing flower? If you have read my blogs in the past, you may have seen it mentioned a time or two.  We use it all the time in our daily designs as well as our event and wedding work.

Today we had the pleasure of being shown around Ocean View Farms in Lompac, Ca.  by Dan Vordale, Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Dan was kind of enough to take time out of his day to show us around the farms!  I wanted to share some photos of the stock fields. Because I'm on vacation (I'm told I should do something other than talk or write about flowers) I'll be sure to  write a  more complete blog of what Kevin and I saw and learned at this amazing California Flower Farm but for now, I'll show you the Stock Farms!!
What an amazing sight to see, rows and rows of this fragrant flower blowing in the breeze! Dan told us that although white is the best seller, all shades of purple are next in demand. 
Dan explains to Kevin how the stock are planted, cared for and then harvested!
An up close view of this amazing flower - love those little wrinkled petals and yes, they are supposed to look that way. Every now and again a recipient will call and ask if there is something wrong with the flowers they received but no, that is the beauty of the flower, even when it growing out in the fields. You don't get any more fresh than that! 
Dan explains how the flowers are harvested by driving a truck right out over the field in one of these!! 
The flowers are picked by hand then graded, cut and put into buckets of water while still in the field. Ocean View believes this is the best way to handle the flowers - only once!! 
Kevin and I had a great morning at Ocean View Farms. If you are every lucky enough to get some of these beautiful blooms from our store, they may very well have been grown at this amazing California Cut Flower Farm - Ocean View!

To see more photos of our designs using Stock, be sure to check out the galleries on our Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/localflorist or on our regular website at www.sendingsmiles.com 
Location: 1105 Union Sugar Ave, Lompoc, CA 93436, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to Make a Flower Puppy

-
Image
It's amazing what you can do with 12 carnations and a little bit of creativity. Our Floral Designer Rocio loves making puppy arrangements so here she shares her tips with you! Here's what you will need ~ 12 full size carnations, floral glue, floral tape, a floral container, 1/3 of a block of floral foam and some assorted greenery.  First take your wet floral foam and tape it securely into your floral container.  Slowly start adding the 12 carnations starting with the top to form the head, the ears, the face and the 2 front legs.   Keep going, adding carnations but only using 12 total!  Now he has his 2 front legs, sitting over the edge of the container.  Using the floral glue, add the eyes and the nose. Be creative here. We use eyes and noses for the floral industry but you can use felt, screws or even a pip cleaner to form these facial features.   Next, start filling in with assorted greenery and mosses. This will become his little bed!  Be sure to f
Read more

What is a Grave Blanket?

-
Image
Never heard of a Grave Blanket? Don't worry, your probably aren't alone. Here in the north east is customary to have a lovely "blanket" made from ever greens and winter accents to be placed on the grave of a loved one.  It's just a nice remembrance during the holiday season to make the graveside look a bit more decorated and festive.  According to Ask.com   "A  Grave blankets are a type of flower design that is used to decorate graves. They are made in a variety of sizes and styles, for example, standard, cascading, traditional, and double wide. Each of these styles has a specific design and flower capacity . I chucked when I read that because we make all of our Grave Blankets custom for each customer and no two ever look exactly the same. The folks who order them from us are looking for something lush and beautiful with many holiday and winter accents like this one that has golden lotus pods, ilex winter berry, glittered pine cones, red velvet rib
Read more

Fall Sunflowers and Rose Wedding Bouquets

-
Image
It's another busy weekend here at the shop and had to share one of this weekends wedding bouquets. The bouquet below is for the bride and is made using cream garden roses, beige colored Sahara roses, craspedia and chocolate cosmos. Not only is this bouquet pretty, it smells amazing!  I personally am in love with these bouquets of "ring of fire" sunflowers, hypericum berries and Black Bacara roses for the brides maids .  Wow, talk about drama!  These are going to look amazing in the photos, wouldn't you agree?   To see these and more of our Fall Wedding Designs be sure to visit our wedding website at www.perfectweddingflowers.com and if you are getting married in 2014, now is the time to book your wedding date with us before they are all gone! 
Read more