There is perhaps nowhere in Texas, or on the entire earth for that matter, where poinsettias create a more spectacular display than at The Brookwood Community in Brookshire, Texas, less than an hour from Houston. For over 35 years, the organization has dedicated much of its yearly calendar to growing the plants well ahead of the Christmas season, with seeds sown in summertime and then nurtured in 47 greenhouses until the last months of the year. And by the first weekend of December, people are allowed a peek at the horticultural feat: 50,000 glorious poinsettias, bursting with color and ready to be taken home or sent off to churches, schools, and offices in the nearby city.

At the annual open house, just before 9 a.m. on a Saturday in early December, the grounds are buzzing with activity at The Brookwood Community garden center. In a flurry, staff members donning Santa hats duck and dive into various sheds outside, wheeling carts of flora in and out, quick flashes of scarlet leaves disappearing behind hazy walls.

The massive greenhouses are already steaming up from the unseasonably warm Texas weather, almost stifling any sort of yuletide anticipation-almost.

Luckily, the greenhouses' inner spoils more than make up for it.

Red, red, everywhere. Rows and rows of poinsettias, thousands of them, spread across the concrete floors in a sea of crimson, the scent of damp soil and the blinding brightness of the blooms hitting my senses instantly.

While the weekend is intended to allow visitors to admire and shop the plant collection, it's also to celebrate those who have had a hand in growing them.