The Sun Valley sales team travels a fair amount. Trade shows, customer visits and public outreach are part of the job and we love to get out and share our passion for flowers. These events are great because we are able to get direct feedback on our flowers and receive guidance in what we should be planting. The huge lilies we grow and beautiful bouquets we make often get the most comments, but a trend I've been seeing in the last year is people really taking notice of "ornamental kale," or what we like to call by the scientific name, brassica.
This isn't a new crop to the flower industry, and in the horticulture world it is very established. What is new about this crop; is that now flower designers and consumers can get this traditional cool weather crop year round. The colors that are most in demand are the white, lavender and purple. This is where Sun Valley excels, since our farm located in Humboldt County stays pretty brisk all summer.
In order for the kale to "color up" you need cool temperatures at night. While most of the United States is sizzling in the 90's and 100's this time of year, July in coastal Humboldt is a very different story. Foggy mornings lead to clear afternoons, and with the sunset the clouds and moisture move back in from the sea. Our average July high is 63 degrees Fahrenheit, our average low is 52 degrees, and a peak in the record book reveals that our record low is 43 degrees and our record high is a hot and sweaty 76 degrees.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: Sun Valley Group's Flower Talk
