As my co-workers leave for their annual summer vacations, I, too am taking a (mental) vacation to Sun Valley's most southern-located farm in sunny Baja. In this dream, the weather is balmy, and I'm sipping an ice-cold drink as I stroll through fields of growing sunflowers...
Reality is not too far from my dreams. Our Baja farm is
Rainforest Alliance Certified and is indeed a
sunflower-centric operation; every year we continue to bring you the colorful classics--
mahogany,
teddy bear,
black-eyed, green-eyed, and red sunflowers show their faces in shops, weddings, and arrangements across the country.
If sunflowers aren't enough to make you feel like you're on vacation, the colorful crops of
Snapdragons and
Amazon Dianthus (our second biggest Baja producers) sure will. All of these, including the southern staples of
Solidago,
Stock, and Tissue Culture Statice, are firmly in our wheelhouse; we have offered these varieties as simple bunches and
mixed bouquets for years now.
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| Snapdragons in Baja |
What's really exciting about Baja is that while we continue optimizing our major varieties we have also been developing unique crops which naturally complement and add value to our sunflower-focused bouquets.
These are floral pieces with gorgeous colors and interesting textures, such as
Hypericum, Veronicas, Craspedias, Asclepia, Queen Anne's Lace, Eucalyptus, Chrysanthemums,
Bells of Ireland, and Myrtle. With the combination of our experience, the climate of Baja, proper cold-chain management, and seamless transportation, we are able to grow and market these crops which are very complimentary to our traditional offerings.
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| Clockwise from top left: Hypericum, Solidago, Eucalyptus, and Chrysanthemums |
As the market demand for these varieties increases, Roberto, our Baja man-with-a-plan has been working with these specialty crops. He and his team have worked really hard to open up our flower basket of varieties while maintaining the quality standpoint that Sun Valley is known for. The last few years have seen an increase in Baja hoop houses, desalination plants, and infrastructure in order to provide strong product types that fulfill both wholesale and mass market needs.
So while we are adding new products, our farming standards remain the same. The
climate of Baja is similar to our Southern California farm in Oxnard, and many of the crops behave the same. This gives us a "technical bridge," in which a transfer of knowledge, resources, and experience can easily pass from one location to the other. We share our team members, equipment, and existing best practices at each facility--in this way, we have flexibility, but our fundamentals don't change.
Well, we've reach the end of this Baja vacation, and I'll admit, I'm a little bit sad--I was just getting relaxed!
However, with the expansion of these floral types, varieties, and bright colors, I know that every day is an opportunity to take a little trip to Baja. All I need are flowers.
