Florists working the Mendocino coast — and two small decisions about flowers that quietly affect dinner.
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Two things a chef would ask a florist
Keep the center of the table low, or keep it tall — but not in between. Guests need to see each other across the table, and servers need a path to put a plate down. Arrangements at the awkward middle height block both. Low and generous, or raised on stems with clear air beneath, and everyone is happy.
Watch the scent. Heavily perfumed flowers sitting directly under a guest’s nose compete with the food, and with the wine even more. Lilies and hyacinths are the usual culprits. Anything strongly scented is better away from where people eat — the ceremony, the entrance, the bar.
Neither point is precious. They cost nothing to plan for and they’re almost impossible to fix once the room is set.
One local advantage worth using
Several florists here are also growers. On a coast where our whole argument is that the food should come from within thirty miles, flowers grown on the same ridge are an easy and genuine extension of that — and they look like the place, which imported flowers never quite do.
Florists and growers working this coast
People we know, working this coast.
Golden Coast Florals — Little River · goldencoastflorals.com
Jennie Bower. On the vendor lists at both Switzer Farm and Stone Ranch.
Eva Lina Floral — Mendocino · evalinafloral.com
Flora of the Fields — Mendocino · floraofthefields.com
Growing cut flowers on this coast since 1992.
EarthSpoke Farms — Mendocino · earthspokefarms.com
Grower — dahlias especially.
Wavelength Farm — Manchester · wavelengthfarm.com
Grower, and at the Fort Bragg and Gualala markets.
Not just weddings
Flowers get planned for weddings and forgotten everywhere else, which is a shame. A retreat table, a milestone birthday, a long dinner under trees — they all read completely differently with something growing down the middle of them. Several of the growers above sell by the bucket if you’d rather arrange it yourself, which is often the right answer for a house dinner.
What to ask a florist before you book
When do you install, and can you be done before the table gets set? Two crews working the same room is how glassware gets broken. Are you growing this or buying it in? Worth knowing, and the growers here are proud of the answer. Will these hold up for six hours outdoors? This coast is harder on flowers than anywhere inland — wind, salt, and fog that rolls in at seven. What happens to the arrangements afterwards? Decide before the night whether guests take them home or you’re returning vases in the morning.
And while you’re here
We’re Mendocino Chef — private dinners and small events from Point Arena to Ten Mile and inland through Anderson Valley. We cook small weddings and the dinners either side, retreats, rental-house dinners for people who’ve taken somewhere for the week, and the odd birthday that turns into something bigger. Two chefs, cooking it themselves, in your kitchen or the one that came with the house.
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