Kitayama Brothers Gerbera Festival

 

Always a fun event, and an interesting design competition. I really enjoyed it last year. I hear that they have changed the format somewhat, but it still sounds like a good time! See photos of last year's event on their site.

Kitayama Open House & Competition

This weekend I enjoyed participating in the Kitayama Brothers open house, and the Kitayama Cup floral design competition. I'd never competed in this sort of thing before, but it was a great experience. As completions go, this one was relaxed and supportive. I didn't really worry so much about making a great arrangement, as I was mostly just enjoying the experience. There were some real floral artists there, and everyone was really nice. Congrats to all the winners.

The open house itself was a great event. There was food, wine, gorgeous flowers, a "plant science" table (honestly, my favorite thing), the AIFD, organic veggies and herbs, and various gifts, all in support of the Friends of the Santa Cruz State Parks.  After the event and competition, there was a "100-Mile Dinner," all created with local foods.

 

if you can't see the slideshow above, click here to see it on Flickr.

New Flyer for the Monterey Bay Greenhouse Growers tour, which features tours of 6 different greenhouses. Kitayama Brothers open house includes a design competition for pros & students, a farmer's market, tours and wine tasting. See the KB site for maps and more information.

Kitayama Open House and Competition

On June 16th, the 3rd annual Monterey Bay Greenhouse Growers Open House will be held in Watsonville. Kitayama Brothers open house will feature greenhouse tours, a farmer's market, information about Santa Cruz State Parks (the open house is a benefit for them), wine tasting, and the Kitayama Cup floral design competition.

This year's competition includes a "young professionals" category, with cash prizes and all kinds of fun. It's the weekend of my birthday, so I'm looking forward to celebrating in sunny Watsonville with lots of interesting people.

Info about the event (includes contest guidelines) | Jenny Tabarracci's blog

AIFD AIR Event at CCSF

 

If you can't see this slideshow, click here to see it on Flickr 

The photos in the slideshow above are from the American Institute of Floral Designers Artist in Residence Program demo April 12th at CCSF. The featured designers were Hiromi Nomura AIFD, Kaori Imaizumi AIFD, Katherine Zhang AIFD, Susan Ishkanian AIFD, Yoko I. Klingbiel AIFD and Emil Yanos AIFD. Floral materials were donated by Kitayama Brothers.

All the designers were given the same urn and general selection of materials. It was really interesting to see how differently the designers put these together. All the designers did a second, more personal arrangement. Most of them have participated in floral design competitions, and in Bouquets to Art, so it was interesting to hear them talk about inspiration, tips and tricks, and how they got started.  Thanks to Jenny Tabarracci, the CCSF floral department and the SAIFD Menzie Chapter for organizing this great event.

Save Money on Valentine's Day

screen shot from Yahoo Personal Finance video.

A new video from Yahoo Personal Finance tells viewers that one of the best ways to save money on Valentine's Day gifts is to buy good quality, fresh flowers from a local,  professional florist instead of an on-line service (or buying them from a road-side vendor, duh...).

Last time I went to the Kitayama Brothers Watsonville greenhouse, Robert gave me an armful of freshly harvested lilies and hot pink Gerbera daisies, and they lasted for almost a month (using cut flower food).

New Posts on KB Blog

I have been contributing to the Kitayama Brothers Floral News blog. There are new posts up about this year's floral trends, and a great video by Robert Kitayama about their bountiful Valentine's Day crop this year. The blog can be found at http://kitayamabrothers.blogspot.com/

Kitayama Brothers Tour

If you can't see the slideshow above, click here to see it on flickr.

Last week, I had a business meeting at the KB (Kitayama Brothers) Farms in Watsonville, situated on the Monterey Bay near Sunset Beach. They have about 1 million square feet of greenhouse space, and I was amazed by how tall and beautiful the flowers were. When we were walking through the greenhouses, it seemed like they went on for miles!  I also enjoyed hearing all the stories about how things really work, like the fact that the birds that get in the greenhouses prefer to only eat the shoots of purple flowers and what holidays/seasons the crops are grown for. It was fascinating, and worth the drive to see it in person.

If you click on the slideshow in full-screen mode, you will get the captions.