It’s an Honor and Privilege to share a Visit to Ocean Breeze – also Known as Ocean Breeze International or Ocean Breeze Flower Farm- and my friends René and Ivor Van Wingerden… and of course Rocky… their chocolate Lab… and Millions of Stems of Gerbera Daisies- as well as Hellebores and Dahlias! That’s quite and introduction- and I promise this video doesn’t disappoint. I have a long relationship with René and Ivor… it goes back to our California Grown Experience where I spent a day with René in his pickup … and our crew followed us as we toured Ocean Breeze… René and I shared stories- we saw soil being ‘cooked’… he shared stories (and pictures of his dad) -and it all culminated with a Swimming Pool Filled with Gerbera Daisies… YES – I took the plunge *(and it’s in this video) …The Story of the Van Wingerden Family- is the story of a group of brothers coming from the Netherlands- looking for a place to grow flowers somewhere in America… they looked at Rhode Island- (too cold) and Colorado- (also too cold...) they visited Lompoc California the Seed Capital of the USA at that time… and then stopped in Santa Barbara – where they were walking down the street- smoking cigars… and all agreed- that Santa Barbara was the Place to be… they found some land for sale in 1967- and the rest is history!
I never miss an opportunity to Visit with René – we have a lot in common- and the most important commonality is our Love for the Flower Industry… we’ve been on farm tours together- and always enjoy catching up… His Son Ivor is a Past President of the CalFlowers Association- and as our Primary Underwriter for Life in Bloom on Public Television- it gave me an opportunity to learn more about Ivor- and we’ve had great visits as well… even attending a San Diego Padres Game on Member Day – with CalFlowers! Needless to say… having the opportunity to visit their farm… in Nipomo and also in Santa Barbara… seeing their lily operation that was featured in our Visit with Robin van der Schaaf and 2Plant … and getting to visit with my Friend Michael Furlong at Ocean Breeze- Michael and Ivor were instrumental in creating our “Share your Schwankies” Sweepstakes as well… shipping flowers all over the country to viewers chosen at random from their Photos of Arrangements Created and Inspiredd by Life In Bloom…Learn more about the Sweepstakes here! In this video- Ivor shares their Gerbera Production in Nipomo- and the Hellebores and Dahlia Production in Santa Barbara… and of course his wonderful Dog “Rocky”… We conclude this visit with a Terrific Visit with 2nd and 3rd Generation Flower Growers- in their Gerbera Greenhouse- in Santa Barbara… where we’re standing in about Million Gerberas… it’s amazing. These two Flower Growers- (and Rocky)… are two of my Favorite Flower Folks- and It’s a pleasure to give you a look inside their Multi-generational Flower Family and Passion for Flowers- in this Visit to Ocean Breeze… this week on uBloom!