Bay Area Visit 2014: San Francisco Wholesale Flower Mart

What's becoming almost an annual trip down to the Bay Area to visit friends, family, nurseries, and gardens, I had three destinations in mind for my extended weekend down in the Bay Area of California. One of my first stops was one of the country's largest flower markets!

"If you're going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair".... well, then you have to hit up the famous SF Wholesale Flower Mart on Brannan Street.

Composed of a MASSIVE warehouse where 60+ vendors pack the large facility with cut blooms, potted plants, branches, and other natural materials, the SFWFM also includes "stores" lined up one by one selling specialty products such as orchids, potted tropicals, floral supplies and other hard goods. It's the nucleus of the Bay Area's floral industry and you can basically get everything you need to run your flower business.

It was a little intimidating to go as I was renting a car for the very first time so driving into the big city was a little nerve-wracking (thank goodness for iPhone Maps)  and I was also testing out my new digital camera and entering a place that can be very fast paced and I was actually worried about vendors harping on me for being a disturbance. Perhaps I could have contacted someone and inquired about visiting and taking photos, but they did have public shopping hours so I thought I'd just go and ask the individual vendors if I could take photographs and all seem to say "yes" (although I did see a sign that said "no photography please", but no one said anything and I was pretty much finished taking photos when I saw it. OOPS.

This place was quite large and pretty exciting to see the product being offered.

These manzanita branches were to die for!

California grown!!

A baker's multiple dozens of already cut succulents!

 

Yes, please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

An assortment of Bromeliads sold here for floral work!

 

My favorite Tillandsia xerographica

Puffy hydrangeas including some unusual peachy types!

A close-up of these soft peach Hydrangeas that were probably dyed. =(

A most interesting manipulation of Phalaenopsis orchid spikes shaped into a heart

Fresh old-fashioned garden roses!!

 Another interesting observation was a business that I've heard a lot about in various publications. "Farmgirl Flowers" is tucked into a vendor stall within the SFWFM and boy is business thriving for them. What surprised me most were the multiple employees. Two long tables up front are flanked with Macs with 5-6 people at a table probably taking orders and in the background you can see all of their supplies and the arrangements being assembled. They supply locally sourced flowers throughout the city and often do special events.

 

 Their wedding inquiries are sent over to my next stop in San Francisco: the infamous FLORA GRUBB.

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For more information about the market, visit their website (which could use a reformat and update):


R

A hydrangea in honor

It's been a very sad week for the Filipino community here in Seattle as we mourn with the death of Danny Vega, a 58 year old hairstylist living in the Rainer Valley, who was severely beaten by a group of young teenagers close to his home/shop. Beaten and robbed, those close to him consider it a hate crime as Vega was openly gay and very active in the Filipino community.



Why I'm posting this on my gardening blog may have many of you scratching your heads. I didn't know Danny Vega; I don't know if he was a gardener or not, but he was a respected member of a community that I'm a part of and, in a way, what happened to him could easily happen to anyone of us.

He was a small business owner such as myself and pursued a natural talent and gained the respect and admiration of many. He showed that Filipinos can make a mark and be recognized.

On Monday night after work, I texted my brother asking if he knew Danny Vega and I had to break the news to him that he had passed away as he was on life support in a coma a few days before. Neither of us really knew him, but my gut was telling me that I had to pay my respects somehow. So, I went to the store thinking I'd just buy some flowers and a card to bring to his home. At the floral shop, I found a few potted plants that, I thought, would last much longer and this hydrangea caught my attention.



Dubbed as the "Shooting Star" hydrangea, this Macrophylla-lacecap type is unusual, elegant and, in my mind at that moment, could represent the sky and the heavens above where Mr. Vega now resides. It the trade, it is also known as 'Hanabi' and 'Fuji Waterfall' (which I think is odd because I've grown FW and looks nothing like these florist plants).


That evening, I drove down to his shop where visitors have left flowers, cards, candles and their well-wishes to the friends and family. I placed my hydrangea plant and card down when a group of people came from inside the house to relight some of the candles that had gone out. They asked how I knew Danny Vega and I told them that I didn't know him, but I saw the news and felt compelled to just pay my respects. They kindly invited me inside to commiserate as they shared many stories and experiences, both in English and Tagalog.

I have mentioned that I was a horticulturist and they asked about how to care for 'Shooting Star' hydgrangea.

I explained the basics:

1) These were grown in a greenhouse under controlled conditions so they would flower for the holidays. Normally, they come into bloom over the summer and into autumn.

2) They're the same species as the typical "grandma blue" hydrangeas and should be able to grow outside.

3) Keep as an indoor plant and if you desire, move it out after danger of severe cold.

4) Supposed to be cold hardy in USDA Zone7 - Zone 9. But I still question its overall hardiness as I've been reading mixed reviews about the plant.

5) Well drained soil no matter what.

I don't know if they're interested in planting it up or not, but at least it will last through for several weeks (weather pending).



Being able to contribute and pay my respects towards someone with flowers or a plant such as this hydrangea makes the field I'm in far more meaningful. Even though it's a sad moment, plants and flowers still have the same effect on people during moments like this and just makes the grieving process a little easier.

My thoughts and prayers to the friends and family and my Danny Vega rest in peace.


Riz

Autumn at the Arboretum

Fall color in its full splendor. It was just a few weeks ago that I wrote about the lack of color up in the mountains, but with snow expected up there soon, I'm sure things colored up well, but here in the lowlands, the show has been quite spectacular.

Check out a recent visit to Washington Park Arboretum and the wonderful display we were treated to.


After a staff meeting, our hort supervisor, David Zuckerman, lead us on a tour of the Woodland Garden.


The absolute standout was the intense coloration of Fothergilla major. All throughout the plant was this kaleidoscope of warm colors at different intensities. Each year, it's always this brilliantly colored and can be seen from quite a distance! Next to the Fothergilla is another one of my favorite landscape plants that will exhibit its autumn colors in just a few days. This is Hydgrangea quercifolia, the Oak Leaf Hydrangea! Below

Further down the path, we encountered the stunning fine texture of this Acer dissectum cultivar that lit up the woodland garden as the sun that day made an attempt to show itself that afternoon.



Close by in the winter garden, the Hamamelis, or Chinese witch hazels, were coloring up quite well also:



Can't share fall color with some bark action and these Chinese Paper Birches (Betula albo-sinensis var. septentrionalis) were simply outstanding!




Then, we looped around and captured a view that I've never seen before in all the years of visiting the Arboretum. It was such a treat to witness this with my co-horts and appreciate one of the reasons why we love what we do!



R

Please someone ID this Hydrangea for moi!

A lovely hydrangea from a friend's garden. Kicking myself for not asking for cuttings (though it was getting late in the season). These are flowers all from the same plant! Starting out a pale blue, aging to pale green and then into a bright crimson red!!

Any thoughts on which one this might be. I'm assuming it's a serrata type??