Sun Pac Valentine's Day Bouquets

Sun Pac Valentine's Day Bouquets

Flowers for Valentine's Day Sun Pacific Bouquet sunpac SunPac Valentine's Day Valentine's Day

Every year, during the fervor of Flower Holiday Season, I like to get together with Rodi Groot, head of Sun Pacific Bouquet (aka Sun Pac).  While much of Sun Valley's time is allocated to growing, picking, and shipping the high-quality blooms we're known for, Sun Pac is responsible for using those farm-fresh flowers to design and build hand-crafted and custom bouquets.

If you're looking for bouquets, contact us, as we are still taking orders for Valentine’s Day!

 Sun Pac's office is located in Oxnard at our Southern California farm; I gave Rodi a call to see what he and his team have going on for Valentine's Day 2017:
 
 How have you and your team been preparing for the holiday?

We have been busy! For the last six months we've implemented new software, technology, and machinery to give us even better control of our costs.  And since the new year, we've deep-cleaned our entire bouquet assembly area, sanded and resealed all production tables, confirmed (and confirmed again) that flower farm production will match perfectly with the number of planned bouquets, and we have been hiring and training extra team members to keep up with production.  We will end up adding 400% more team members to the Bouquet Department alone in order fulfill demand and ensure that all our products will delight and amaze.

Your design team is at the forefront of floral trends and fashions (read about their creative process here); any noticeable trends in the bouquet world?

Chamomile, snaps, sunflowers

The shift towards the wildflower and garden-style look continues to grow, which is fantastic.  We have great access to flowers and greens that fit this pretty aesthetic.  Our Fields Collection is an example of this.  Simple market bunches are another item that looks to do very well.

We also have a brand new sleeve made out of white paper, which mimics the white paper used at the Dutch flower markets.  This adds to each hand-crafted bouquet a romantic, European-flower-market feel.  This aesthetic looks like it is going to be a huge trend, and its great to be out in front of it.  So, keep your eye out and remember you heard it here first!

What are some of your most popular items this year?  



Chamomile, snapdragons, brassica, grevillea, sweet and green huck, bear grass, and sunflowers are high in demand, especially when accentuated with focal flowers like Royal Lilies, and spiced up with spray roses.

L-R: Royal Lilies with Beargrass, Sunflowers, Brassica with Matricaria, Snapdragons, Tulips with Sweet Huck

Any products or bouquets you are particularly excited about?

A great value for this holiday is our red tulip and blue iris bouquet, which can be upgraded to add our sweet-smelling, pink-purple waxflower and rounded out with salal.

Tulip and Iris Bouquet

Another bouquet to highlight is the Blue Royale.  This bouquet is a blend of premium-grade flowers (in Valentine's Day colors) wrapped in our custom-made, blue and white composed granite sleeve.  It looks full and fantastic, and smells great.

Thanks for taking the time to talk with us, Rodi! 

If you love these ideas, call your rep today and you can have them for Valentine's Day!

Walking the Oxnard Color Farm

Walking the Oxnard Color Farm

American Grown CA Grown dahlias Lady Aster Oxnard Sun Pacific Bouquet

I recently took  a trip to Southern California to visit our Oxnard Farm, which is always a treat.  Our farm world in northern-located Arcata is mostly tulips, lilies, and irises, so I love to experience the other flora that is also part of the Sun Valley Catalog.  

Red Asters, Green Solidago, and yellow button pom

Our Oxnard location allows us to take advantage of every flower's growing cycle, so while its grey and cold in Northern California, we are able to use the climate of Oxnard to extend the season of our warm-weather flora.  The specific crops we grow in Oxnard are often picked when they are showing full color (which differs from here in Arcata).  This means the lucky pickers, packers, and bouquet-makers get to fully experience the world of color they are creating.  Last week I got to see it, and now I am here to introduce these beautiful blooming images onto you. 

Enjoy and be bright!

The Hoops

The Dahlia hoop houses reward you with some beautiful sights of intricate petals that seem to be infinitely unfolding.  These are featured in many of Sun Pac's winter bouquets and are also available in consumer bunches.

 

Below are purple and red Matsumoto Asters; their cheerful vibrancy never fails to disappoint.  Normally, asters are a late summer/early fall variety, but with our organized hoop house program, along with Southern California's moderate temperatures, our blooms are able to flourish year-round.   

Asters paved the way for their close relatives, Pom Chrysanthemums (aka Poms) a relatively new crop that is doing spectacular (but I'll let the flowers speak for me)...Right now is the season for mums, as they need short days and long nights to flower and show their colors.  Their many-layered, warmly hued petals bring a long-lasting brightness to any vase.

 

While we do grow Zantedeschia (Calla Lilies) in Arcata during the summer and fall, we had some healthy new plantings in Oxnard hoops that look like they are going to grow up to have beautiful blooms come January, and I couldn't resist snapping a shot of the sprouting leaves in the sunshine.

 The Bouquet Room

After walking through the hoop houses, I entered the world of Sun Pacific Bouquet, a bustling and bright world of bouquet-building.  This was one week before Thanksgiving, and the season was evident in the colors on the tables.

Sun Pac Work Table

Lilies, Solidago, and yellow button poms

Lovely Liatris

Long stemmed flowers ready for a bouquet.

Thanks to everyone in Oxnard who let me get in their way to take these photos!  And, remember, grey skies don't mean a thing when you're staring colorful blooms in the face.  See a flower you haven't experienced yet? Be bright and be bold--try something new, and bring the world of color home with you this winter!

The Magic Behind Sun Pacific Bouquet

The Magic Behind Sun Pacific Bouquet

autumn custom bouquets fall arrangements Lady Aster Oxnard Sun Pacific Bouquet

Autumn began to reveal its colorful head a couple weeks ago, and now, after the official Fall Equinox, complete with a Blood Moon Eclipse, I think it is safe to say that the change in season is now in full swing!

To talk about how Sun Pacific Bouquet (aka Sun Pac) is answering the call of Autumn, I picked the brain of Rodi Groot, the head of our Sun Pac Division.  Located in Southern California at our Oxnard Farm, Sun Pac designs hand-crafted, farm-fresh bouquets, and Rodi was able to tell me a little bit about the creative process for their Fall Bouquet Collection.

Fall Sensation #3

First, they start with what is in-season, agronomically speaking, and then they explore what is in-season in the fashion world.  For this, he has assembled the Sun Pac dream team-- Melina, the designer du joor, Jennifer, their fashion and marketing expert, and Pam Smith, a strategy consultant with 30+ years in the floral industry.

Melina photographing new bouquets

 In their new office space, these folks are the creative force behind Sun Pac.  They begin by creating a "mood board" with a specific theme.  They then research the theme; collecting pictures, colors, and trends in order to create the "mood" they want the bouquets to reflect.  These boards will become a collage of inspired ideas--color palettes, fashion trends, printouts, patterns, flower combinations, and more.  These mood boards are very in-the-moment, very seasonal, and very trendy.

A Sun Pac Mood Board

For example, with the arrival of October, the Sun Pac team has created different mood boards for Oktoberfest, Halloween, Dias de los Muertos, Thanksgiving, among others.  The "feel" from these boards directly translates into what they use to build their seasonal bouquets.

Bouquet of the Month October

 This process is quite exciting! Where Sun Pac used to "market from the dirt," they now have the power to use what flowers they have in the ground in tandem with what the market wants.  The resulting products are original, super fresh, sense-filled bouquet arrangements.

Bouquet of the Month November

Not only that, Sun Pac also allows for specially made custom bouquets.  They invite wholesale and resale florists into the process, opening up the discussion for what their specific clientele likes and wants to see.  The process is the same, but personally tailored to the customer's taste, and highly targeted for their intended audience.  Both the standard and custom-tailored programs provide bouquets which are sleeved, bar-coded, and ready to go.

Fall Sensation #2

 As for the future of Sun Pac? This year they moved into a larger office, and Rodi hopes they continue to grow.  Since the Sun Pac Division is part of the greater Sun Valley family, they have a huge flower basket from which to pull, and they will always be distinguished by Sun Valley's high standards in quality, freshness and varieties.
 

So if you are looking for grower's choice or seasonal shorts, Sun Pac is the bouquet provider of choice.  Why not eat from the most colorful cornucopia you can find?

Sun Valley Helps Put "Lonely Bouquet" 2014 on the Map

Sun Valley Helps Put "Lonely Bouquet" 2014 on the Map

lonely bouquet Sun Pacific Bouquet

"A single sunbeam is enough to drive away many shadows."
                                                                              ~Francis of Assisi

Last Sunday was "Lonely Bouquet Day." This is a fun, grassroots movement to spread joy literally one bouquet at a time. The basic idea is that you leave a bouquet in a public space with a little tag on the bouquet saying "Adopt Me!" From here, people will take the bouquet home and often take a "selfie" with the bouquet and upload it to the Lonely Bouquet Facebook page, or website.

Lonely Bouquet is the brain child of Fleuropean, which is a small organic flower farm and design studio located on the Belgian countryside. What better place to start an international movement to give flowers away to strangers?

On Sunday some Sun Valley team members jumped in the action, at both ends of the state. From our Oxnard farm, Melina, Marisol, Lourdes and Cynthia hit the streets and beaches to leave some of our Sun Pacific bouquets in some gorgeous locations.

The Santa Paula Chamber of Commerce

Harding Park, Santa Paula

Port Hueneme Beach, with Melina making sure the bouquet is just right.

Oxnard Plaza Cinema

Ventura Beach

The Collection at River Park in Oxnard, here Melina spotted the person who "adopted" the bouquet!

Ventura Harbor

Up near our farm in Humboldt County, Robin took the lead on Lonely Bouquet, leaving a few bouquets around town.

Arcata Marsh

The above image was posted on Facebook, from a person who adopted a bouquet in Arcata. In the caption she wrote,

"What a lovely surprise to find on the corner of my street in Arcata, California today at approximately 8:15 pm today! Thank you, I feel very lucky to be the recipient of "the lonely bouquet" today! What a great movement! I am excited and definitely smiling!"

This sums up what a great idea Lonely Bouquet is and we were very lucky to be able to share our flowers with perfect strangers.

Melina had so much fun doing this for a single day, that she wants to continue it every month. Judging from the Lonely Bouquet Facebook, this movement happens year round which is really why this is such an amazing idea. It's fun and easy to give away flowers!

Save the Date for June 28th, 2015; however, it looks like kindhearted flower lovers will be leaving bouquets to be adopted all year round across the globe.

  

This is Something Special

This is Something Special

Bouquets Graduation Mother's Day Prom 2014 Sun Pacific Bouquet Wedding flowers

A little flower that blooms in May
A lovely sunset at the end of the day
Someone helping a stranger along the way
That's heaven to me
                                      -Sam Cooke

Mother's Day is behinds us, but now is not the time to sit back and relax. Spring and early summer are serious "Prime Time" for flower professionals. Women's Day, Easter, Administrative Professionals Day, Earth Day and Mother's Day are the big flower days on the spring calendar, however, now we move into the cultural traditions that aren't centered on a single day.

You Are My Sunshine Bouquet

Senior and junior proms are happening all across the nation. Hope your fingers are ready for boutonniere and corsage work. This is many young adults' first experience with the beauty and power of flowers and fashion. Do you still have that picture of you and your date stuffed in the back of a year book somewhere?

Lizzy Wild Bouquet, featuring lisianthus.

Graduations, both high school and college, will be taking place in late May, through June. The image of a Grad with a bunch of tulips or a bouquet to match their gown or school colors is a classic. Flowers capture the essence of the accomplishments a Grad has achieved, and as friends and family gather to celebrate; fresh flowers are the best way to dress up a home or event space.

Sun Valley grows tulips, lilies, and iris year round so you and your customers have a dependable source for American Grow blooms throughout the year. We have all sorts of seasonal blooms coming on through the summer as well, so a wide selection and unique offerings are no problem.

Cabbage Patch Bouquet

The most popular month for weddings is June. Hopefully your calendar is booked and your brides are selecting the color palette and the varieties of flowers they will carry down the aisle. Do you have a very particular color you need? Tulips have more tonal range than any other cut flowers, so direct that picky bride to tulips, and ...yes she can have "blush pink."

The great part of working with flowers during this season is the celebratory vibe that all these events have in common. Flowers are great at accompanying milestones such as proms, graduations and weddings.

Ring Around the Daisy Bouquet

The mind is constantly making connections; flowers contribute a joyous weight to any party.

Flowers intuitively let the guests and participants know that "this is something special."

~All the bouquets in this post are from Sun Pacific Bouquet's Summer 2014 Collection.~ 

   

Wax On! Now Harvesting Waxflower

Wax On! Now Harvesting Waxflower

Baja filler flowers Sun Pacific Bouquet waxflower

"One could almost wax poetic, but we will keep such ambitious ideas for a future day."
                                                                  -Sir Henry Morton Stanley, 1872.

Even though Valentine's mania is in full swing, we are going to take a few moments to "wax poetically". We will be waxing with lovely waxflower, which we are harvesting right now at our farm in northern Baja.

Lovely Waxflower.

The plant is endemic to western Australia and the scientific genus is Chamelaucium. The flowers are small and have five petals and ten stamens. A large amount of blooms grow on each woody stem, making this one of the ideal filler flowers for the floral industry. Over the last 30 years or so waxflower has adapted to the Southern California / Baja growing climate. The development of additional varieties that start the season a bit earlier and extend the great quality a bit later are now able to provide a substantial filler and scent for winter and spring vases.

If you look in the center of the blooms you see a little cup of fragrant wax. It smells kind of pine-y and waxy, and in nature this is used to attract pollinators. For floral professionals this scent is a great bonus, since many filler items don't have the added dimension of scent. 

Our Sun Pacific Bouquet Division is using it in some wonderful Valentine's Day arrangements, there are several featuring waxflower, but this one is my favorite.

Pretty Lady Bouquet

"Pretty Lady" Grande featuring our LA Hybrid royal lilies, one Oriental lily, Matsumoto asters, matricaria, snapdragons, seeded eucalyptus, salal and of course waxflower.

So where did the expression "Waxing Poetically" come from? It actually has nothing to do with waxflowers, according to The Phrase Finder "to wax" is another way of saying "to grow" and waxing isn't used that much anymore for anything but the moon, which waxes and wanes.

Our waxflower supply is waxing, so order a few boxes and get your hands on this great crop.
  
What do you use Waxflower for?

Who knows what irides are?

Who knows what irides are?

irides Iris iris fields Sun Pacific Bouquet Sunflowers

California and specifically Silicon Valley is the hub of the technological world.  This is where your iPhone was invented; this is where Steve Jobs came up with the iPad. What about iRides?

OK flower freaks, who knows what irides are?

Irides is a plural form of iris, and Sun Valley is the leading grower of irides in the United States. Iris are one of the classic flowers of all time, and they have graced the virtual pages of this blog more than a few times.

Today though, I will show some of the great iris bouquets coming out of our Sun Pacific Bouquet Division. These bouquets are a great value and many are on sale, since the iris crop is coming in big and strong. Beautiful Telstar blue irides are ready for the picking!

Blue Moon with Solidago and Salal.

 The Blue Moon bouquet is bright and really highlights our irides, Rodi and Melina have these in a few different versions, stem counts and price points.

Cool (Grande)

Sun Pacific's "Cool" bouquet line is packed with jewel tones and rich colors of fall. Featuring tinted sunflowers, Matsumoto asters, snapdragons, salal, beargrass and of course our gorgeous Telstar irides.

Floral Abundance (Grande)

Floral Abundance is is a cornucopia of fall delights. Brassica, iris, Matsumoto asters, matricaria, tinted sunflowers, a Tango Lily, solidago, beargrass, salal and baby eucalyptus. This one is my favorite!

Sundew (Grande)

Sundew is the brightest, cheeriest fall bouquet you will find, why?  This bouquet features two types of sunflowers, traditional yellow and teddy bears.  The contrast with the irides and the Matsumotos mirror the changing of the seasons.  The full recipe is yellow and teddy bear sunflowers, Matsumoto asters, irides, snapdragons, salal and beargrass.

Iris Fields

Lastly, "Iris Fields".  The Fields collection from Sun Pacific Bouquet is one of the most popular bouquet lines in floral history.  The universal appeal of this line is timeless. Simple yet elegant, this version features iris, salal, bay laurel, horsetail and spike eucalyptus.

Right now, we have plenty of iris...or irides if you prefer, so whether in bouquets, consumer bunches or in mix boxes, iris time is now.