You might remember that last spring I visited the Flower Fields in Carlsbad, California.
I was so surprised to find the Ecke Family Ranch greenhouses already growing poinsettias.
Well, the other day while I was in Trader Joe's I noticed a woman asking about a particular
poinsettia she had once seen and was hoping they might be able to get for her. She gave a
wonderful description but didn't know the name of the variety. Unfortunately, the man told
her he didn't know one poinsettia from another.
So, I thought since we are now officially in the holiday season you might enjoy a visit to
the Ecke Ranch greenhouses where they were already growing poinsettias for this Christmas
season last spring.
The Ecke Family Ranch is known worldwide for their beautiful poinsettias.
Most commercially grown poinsettias in this country originate from the Ecke Family Ranch.
The poinsettia is considered to be the official holiday flower. I believe the flower for the
month of December is the narcisssus but the holiday flower is the poinsettia. Actually, I
believe a few different flowers claim to be December's flower of the month.
Here are a few of the many varieties...
Winter Rose...
Shimmer Surprise...
Ice Punch...
An interesting fact is that the Aztec Indians prized the poinsettias as a symbol of purity.
They made a purple-ish dye from the colored flower which are actually the leaves called
bracts. They also made medicines to cure fevers from the sap of the plant.
The flowers are actually large bunches of leaves and the flowers themselves are in the
center of each leaf bunch and quite small and inconspicuous.
A few more varieties...
Monet...
My goodness, this really does look like a Monet painting...
1188...
The 1188 and the Winter Rose varieties are my favorites.
Now I must admit that I've never been a big fan of the poinsettia and almost didn't bother
to go into the greenhouses. But I'm certainly glad that I did and now I even have two
favorite varieties!
I would love to know if you like poinsettias and if you have a favorite variety and color.
Do you plan to have poinsettias in your home this holiday season?
Have a great weekend.
I will be joining
Rose Vignettes for Fresh Cut Friday
Privet and Holly for Monday Moments
How Sweet The Sound for Pink Saturday
24 comments:
Hi there- I love poinsettias too. I haven't bought one yet but I did go to a garden center. I was overwhelmed with all the choices and figured I'd go back for one later. This is interesting to see where so many of them come from. I will find one soon but I usually only go for one. I've seen them displayed at the foot of a tree and always thought that was beautiful (I'm just too practical and won't spend the money to do it!) Have a great Holiday season (coming over from Fresh Cut Fridays) Liz
I love poinsettias. I love the deep pink and deep red ones. And yes, I need to get a couple for outside my front door. I am afraid to have them inside as someone told me they are not good if dogs or cats eat them...and my cats are famous for chewing on leaves of plants.
they are all stunning in mass... love the rose ones too. i have never forgotten a white house with green shutters at the beach with a 4' hedge of points as foundation planting, it was such a stunning house~
I am with you on The Winter Rose. I like it a lot. Of course here it is difficult to find this wide a variety so I will take any good looking ones I can find. Merry Christmas Lovey!
I'm with you...I loved the 1188 and Winter Rose. I do like all poinsettia though. You took some great pics! :)
Thank you for joining in for Fresh-Cut Friday!! This was a great post!
Merry Christmas!
~Liz
You are so fortunate to visit the font of all poinsettias. These are great photos. I do love poinsettias and my article on them is in this month's issue of Lutheran Digest.
HPS!
Love Poinsettias and these are amazing!
Gabriela
Love all the poinsettias but unfortunately we can't have any in our home since they're poisonous to pets. Inside we have paperwhites and my all time favorite tuberose. The tuberose has a heavenly scent and really lasts.
Nice post Susan and lucky you to have such a place to visit!
Enjoy your weekend!
Debra
Very pretty!
Pink with Puzzle time, looking forward to see you when you get a chance. Thank you!
Heavenly! I love the variegated plants, but this year I have ordered a traditional red one - I hope it will arrive on Monday!
The Winter Rose is my favorite too! They are all stunning grouped together~ love seeing the drifts of color from the different varieties! What a fun seasonal tour...I'm ready to dash out and pick up a few, too bad I can't dash over to the Ecke Family Ranch :)
What a wonderfully informative post! I love the ice punch variety. SO pretty!!! :D
Visiting from Fresh Cut Friday.
xoxoxo,
Ricki Jill
Such a beautiful post! I would love a little field trip there.
Oh I've never been there, but since I live here in SoCali, I would love to visit there! The poinsettias look so beautiful! The pink & rose colored ones are my favorite! Thank you for sharing this lovely post! Happy Holidays!!!
Hugs,
Jessie
What a great post! There are so many varieties...all beautiful! I was so shocked to see poinsettias growing in flower beds here in Florida! I'll try to get some photos this year! Some of them are huge! Happy holidays, my friend! ♥
I'm not usually a big fan either...but I love the smaller leaves and brilliant color of the new variety. Great photographs! Hmm.. might have to take new notice of this Xmas constant! Thanks for the info...have a great week! Trish
I love poinsettias!
I’ve just stumbled upon your lovely blog and have signed up as a follower.
I’ve just put the finishing touches on my new blog ‘Country Style Chic’.
http://countrystylechic.blogspot.com
I had a lot of fun putting it together maybe you would like to check it out if you have a spare minute!
x
Melissah
I do like the poinsettia and i had no idea of the different varieties. It wouldn't feel like Christmas without a red one in the house.
x
i wasn't such a big fan of them before but seeing your photos, i now am! lovely winter rose variety!!! thanks for sharing. [dropping by from privetandholly]
Just beautiful...so if I had to pick just one it would be Ice Punch...but Monet runs a close second. Hope you are enjoying the season!
Jermaine
I love all the beautiful varienties of poinsettias! This is a lovely post!
I am happily following you too!
Such an informative and beautiful post ...so many varieties of this Holliday flower . My son's school had a fundraising by selling poinsettas and I found this a great idea . Thank you for your kind comment .
Enjoy a warm and gentle season !
Wow, those are some amazing poinsettias! I never was a big fan of the traditional red ones, but I love the hot pink ones in your photos! I also really love creamy white and coral ones. The Monet poinsettias are so pretty and unusual too! Have a great weekend:)
I was on the hunt
for a really lovely
white one, but ended
up with a classic red : )
How marvelous to have
access to such a variety,
Susan!
Thank you for joining
Monday Moments. It means
a lot to have you there at
my virtual water cooler : )
Hope you're enjoying a
lovely weekend!
xx Suzanne
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