Citra Flower Shops

Citra FL News

Jun 22, 2019

Flowers in the sky: These crops grow on a Berkeley rooftop - Berkeleyside

I’ve taken with my business so far.” Bluma flower farm on the rooftop of the apartments at Dwight Way. Photo: Melati Citrawireja While the locavore movement continues to gain strides where food is concerned, the same consideration is not typically given to flowers. Most commodity flowers are imported from abroad, and given that flowers are expected to be beautiful and pristine, they are often treated heavily with pesticides. Letz’s farm is certified organic. If couples care about serving locally grown food at their wedding reception, she hopes they will also consider where their flowers are grown. The decision to farm flowers rather than vegetables was a practical one, she said, as flowers are more profitable. “When I started farming, I was growing mostly vegetables, but all the farms I worked on grew flowers too,” she said. “I always knew that even if I was going to do vegetables, I would also grow flowers. But when I began my farm, I needed to focus and differentiate myself. There are a lot of vegetable growers out there.” Letz grew up in the Elmwood, the daughter of two doctors (mother Edie Silber started East Bay Family Practice and father Gideon Letz is medical director at State Compensation Insurance Fund in San Francisco). She attended Willard Middle School – she now lives right near it – and Berkeley High. (She says more than a handful of Berkeley High graduates have become farmers.) She remains close with many of her childhood friends. Letz focused on agriculture in California’s Central Valley for her senior thesis at Bard College and later, after working on several farms, including at Green Gulch in Marin, attended the Ecological Apprenticeship at UC Santa Cruz. Although there are several incidents that have guided her on her path, the earliest one is familial. Her maternal grandparents are Holocaust survivors from what was then Poland and is now Ukraine. They spent much of the war hiding in a neighbor’s basement, after giving their daughter to a Christian family to be raised. (Joanna’s mother was born immediately afterwards, in a displaced persons camp in Germany), and they later became chicken farmers in New Jersey. Letz said that her grandfather never really recovered from that experience, but one of the few things in life that truly brought him joy was spending time in a garden. She has fond memories of gardening with him, and the name Bluma connects her to that memory, as bluma means flower in Yiddish...

Aug 10, 2017

The smell of citrus flowers is intensely divine!

They produce fruit resembling the lime in looks and quality. Eustis, Lakeland and Tavares are cultivars of the limequat.The Thomasville citrangequat is a cold hardy citrus tree with good fruit and makes a great lime substitute with a kumquat/orange flavor. The tree is named for Thomasville, Georgia where it first fruited and is will tolerate temperatures to 5 degrees F once established.Citrus trees are self-fruitful and do not require cross-pollination, excepting Clementine tangerines and Orlando tangelos. The self-fruitful types of citrus may be grown as single trees in the landscape for aesthetics and fruit. They produce fruit best when grown in full sun, but large tree canopies can provide some degree of winter protection. Do not plant these trees near septic tanks or drain fields. Citrus trees do best in sandy loam soils with good drainage.Blossom, fruit, and leaf drop can be noticed in citrus and happens naturally. Such natural shedding of flowers and fruits prevents citrus from overproducing which minimizes stress to the plant. Citrus leaves remain intact for about two years and then drop. However, some leaf drop occurs throughout the year as is the case with most evergreens. Also, be aware of other causes for leaf drop and poor plant health such as environmental conditions, cultural practices, disorders, insects or diseases.If you elect to grow citrus in your home landscape, research your choice before purchasing in order to fully understand what is needed to keep the plants healthy and attractive. Look for citrus that are cold tolerant and do well in the south Georgia environment.Think in terms of native and sustainable plants in the landscape. Keep your hanging baskets and potted plants refreshed with water and food. Remember to feed and water the songbirds, and give your pets the care they need (protect them from this summer heat and humidity). Also, be on lookout for children playing and bicyclists riding along the streets and roadways throughout our communities. And remember to safely share the road with motorcycles. Drive alert and arrive alive. Don’t drive distracted or impaired, and don’t text while driving. Help the homeless every chanc... (Moultrie Observer)

Apr 13, 2017

CA brewers bring fruit and flowers to classic IPAs

We All Grin for Lupulin: Hop Dogma Brewing Co., El Granada ABV: 6.8 percent; IBU: Not stated; hops: CTZ, Idaho 7, Citra, Hallertau Blanc A very fresh, contemporary take on IPA, We All Grin For Lupulin highlights fresh, juicy orange and grapefruit hop aroma goodness, with additional hints of apricot, jasmine and delicate pine, as well as a touch of malt sweetness. Crystal clear and bright gold in the glass, with a long-lasting fluffy white head, the beer includes gentle bitterness and floral hop flavors up front, followed by juicy citrus fruit and pine mid-palate, and finishing crisp and dry with lingering bitterness. The medium-light body and prickly carbonation accentuate the hop characteristics nicely. Tropical Torpedo: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Chico ABV: 6.7 percent; IBU: 55; hops: Amarillo, Mosaic, Citra, El Dorado, Comet Sierra Nevada’s beers are usually quite refined, and Tropical Torpedo is no exception. As the name suggests, the traditional citrus and pine of its Pale Ale, Celebration Ale and Torpedo IPA give way to aromas of underripe mango and papaya, with slightly minty/herbal pine notes and mild honey-like sweetness. A bright golden-orange in color with a dense, frothy white head, the beer provides flavors similar to the aroma. With moderate bitterness, the overall impression is delicate for an IPA, but pleasant. The finish is subtle, fading away quietly instead of closing with a bracing bitterness. Leo v. Ursus – Fortem: Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Paso Robles ABV: 8.2 percent; IBU: 55; hops: Cascade, Mandarina, Citra, Simcoe, Mosaic, Hallertau Blanc The first release in a new series of quarterly releases from Firestone Walker, Fortem Double IPA features a huge, complex hop aroma that makes itself known as soon as a can is opened. Integrating notes of citrus, pine, tropical fruit and flowers in ever-changing combinations, the beer initially reminded me of the smell of Juicy Fruit gum, then moved on to Indian mango pudding, then on to other blends. The golden color of the unfiltered brew includes a faint haziness, and a dense, creamy off-white head sits atop the glass. Well-integrated citrus, pine and tropical hop flavors and a subtle but firm hop bitterness are balanced by a delicate malt sweetness, and the balance extends through the finish. With a creamy body...

Sep 14, 2016

Honey beers go beyond sweet with pure flower power

Stone 20th Anniversary Citracado IPA, produced by Stone Brewing in Escondido, is a Double IPA featuring Citra hops and avocado flower honey. The beer is copper-colored with a relatively short-lived tan head, and fresh gooseberry and grapefruit notes of Citra hops dominate the aroma. On the palate, sharp hop bitterness hits up front, followed by a predominantly piney hop flavor (in addition to Citra, Citracado also includes Nugget, El Dorado and Centennial hops), with malt relegated to a supporting role. The mouthfeel is quite smooth, yet resinous bitterness persists through the finish, where it is joined by mild herbal, earthy and floral characteristics. The avocado honey adds an interesting complexity without drawing attention to itself. • Mandarin Nectar, from Alpine Beer Co. in San Diego, includes coriander and orange zest in addition to orange blossom honey, so it seems appropriate that the beer is orange-colored as well. The beer has a moderate white head, and the aroma is dominated by the coriander addition, with mild hints of citrus also present. The flavor mirrors the aroma, with citrus character overwhelmed by the coriander, and the delicate floral essence of orange blossom honey is difficult to detect. With medium sweetness, the beer calls out for more carbonation and more hop bitterness to provide balance. • San Jose’s Almanac Beer Co. added wildflower honey, lavender and cara cara oranges to its Lavender Honey de Brettaville, an oak-aged blonde ale fermented with Brettanomyces yeast. The beer pours a murky golden color with almost no head, and the aroma showcases a complex bouquet of lavender, lemon and pineapple tartness, vanilla and earthy funk. (It sounds strange, but it all works together!) The lavender and tart acidity take over on the palate, and the beer completely avoids the “soapy” character that can come from herb additions. The finish is crisp, bright and floral – I wouldn’t have known honey was an ingredient if the label didn’t say so, but it definitely contributes to the complex profile of this unique brew. Derek Wolfgram is a Certified Beer Judge through the Beer Judge Certification Program and an officer of the Silicon Valley Sudzers homebrew club. For more information, visit sudzers.org. (Los Altos Town Crier)

Feb 3, 2016

The Eternal Return Of The Groundhog

In fact, the circle of life broke for at least one groundhog. In 2014 when Hizzoner Bill de Blasio did the honors, he dropped a recalcitrant Staten Island Chuck, who died a week later from internal injuries. De Blasio may have been nervous thinking about the time then-Mayor Mike Bloomberg got bit. It was in 2009, and after a tussle over a corncob with Bloomberg, the grumpy groundhog nipped him “pretty good.” In fact, the recalcitrant rodents do not have a very good record for accurate predictions. Yes, some scientist actually investigated, and found that in about 60 years, the large, sleepyheads were only correct 28 percent of the time. That is less than random chance would get in a 50/50 proposition. But perhaps they do about as well as their human counterparts, meteorologists, do. We are only kidding of course, we check the weather reports regularly and find them to be pretty accurate most of the time. So on Tuesday, when we hear he makes his grand entrance via elevator (!) hopefully the little fella will not get dropped or nip at anyone for disturbing his peaceful, extended nap. But regardless of whether or not we can expect six more weeks of frigid temperatures and mountains of snow to navigate at every corner, or we are at the tail-end of one of our easier winter seasons, rest assured spring indeed will sprout with the fragrant flowers, greenery and balmy temperatures we love so much – as it does each year, thus continuing the Circle of Life. Hakuna Matata to you all. (Western Queens Gazette)

Dec 30, 2015

A craft brew language primer

American-bred variety dating to the 1950s. Centennial hops have similar, though bolder and more bitter, characteristics. Citra is all about creating wonderful aromas in IPAs. Take a big whiff of many an IPA and you're likely to get notes of grapefruit, melon and more. That's probably the Citra hop on full blast. Simcoe: This is the signature hop in Russian River's renowned double IPA, Pliny the Elder. It's bitter, fruity, earthy and piney, and its overall aroma is alluring and complex. You'll find Simcoe in plenty of other robust IPAs, including Track 7's Panic IPA. Brett: This is a term you're likely to hear more and more often. Not so much at breweries but at beer bars that carry certain Belgian styles. Short for Brettanomyces, brett is the wild yeast that can either contaminate beer and render it undrinkable or infuse beer with a kind of funky complexity that makes it taste magical. Nitro: The process of using nitrogen (usually 70 percent) along with carbon dioxide to create carbonation with smaller bubbles that imparts a smooth, creamy mouthfeel. Guinness stout is the most famous nitro beer. Bomber: This is a big bottle of beer, a 22-ouncer. Not to be confused with "a 40," as in a big can or bottle of cheap beer designed to get you inebriated good and fast. (Albany Times Union)