Blog

A little about what's happening in our big flower world...

The (Floral) Red Zone

There is this NFL channel the husband watches called The Red Zone. Basically the channel bounces back and forth showing all the important highlights from each game. It actually drives me crazy! As soon as I get into one game, it switches to another and I can never keep up (and here I've digressed once again). Anyway, here is a little (Floral) Red Zone highlight action for what the Pollen Mill has been up to.

We provided the floral designs for this beautiful photo shoot at Vizcaya Sacramento. Photo courtesy of Liz Zimbleman Photography. Aren't these two dreamy?

And one more close-up. Gah! Photo courtesy of Liz Zimbleman Photography.

These centerpieces were created for the wonderful ladies at Backdoor Bistro to celebrate their monthly Winemaker's Dinner. We LOVE Backdoor Bistro and are so excited to watch their delicious restaurant grow into a hometown staple.

And then there was this bright backyard arch...

And this one for a wedding at The French Laundry Culinary Garden.

And this bouquet with the beautiful Brooke for a fall photo shoot with Crystal Lynn Photography, Danielle Lucas Hair, and Brooke Anderson modeling. Photo courtesy of Crystal Lynn Photography.

And Brooke with another fall bouquet. Photo courtesy of Crystal Lynn Photography.

And these dahlias for someone special.

And then these designs for a 60th Wedding Anniversary celebration at the Westin Verasa Napa. Photo courtesy of Crystal Lynn Photography.

And these dining table centerpieces for a wedding reception at Ad Hoc in Yountville that the bees couldn't even stay away from.

Oh, Jen's blue and lavender bridal bouquet was not to be forgotten.

We celebrated the grand opening of Sweet Pea's with a pop-up floral shop.

And our designs made the cover of California Meetings & Events Magazine at Soul Food Farm with styling and Photography by Amber Johnston at My Sweetness Stylized Photography.

And plenty of pretty fall flowers went out for delivery.

And that time when Crystal Lynn Photography & The Pollen Mill joined forces to start their new design adventure Foraging Light. Follow us on Instagram @foraginglight to see what we have coming up. Hint Hint: enjoy our flowers every month through all of 2015. :)

And then there was this welcoming design for the Flourish Health Summit.

This custom terrarium in a vintage glass cage.

And we designed this entryway piece for Bouchon Bistro out of the back of the Prius. #moblieflorist

The Keane's Baby Shower buffet design. Photo Courtesy of Alison Pfaff

Then we took our hand in event planning & coordination, decor & staging, and full floral design for this one-of-a-kind event which included Olympic Games! Delicious catering by The Organic Countertop and furniture/tabletop rentals from Wine Country Rentals. Photo Courtesy of Alison Pfaff

And the temperature decided to drop below 80 degrees for the first time in months. So we made some more moody blooms.

And then it FINALLY rained the day we made this fluffy bridal bouquet.

Last but definitely not least, our boys nailed down a dynasty with one more World Series Win!

Is your head spinning yet? Information overload!

We are so blessed to work with so many great vendors, venues, and restaurants especially our local buddies right here in the 707.

We have much more coming up through the holidays. Keep your eyes peeled for our Thanksgiving Centerpiece Workshop and Winter Wreaths. We are booking up quickly for weddings & events in 2015. Please contact us ASAP to schedule your consult. As always, thank you for your continued support. Love Locally!

Q&A

We've had a lot of inquiries lately about the ins-and-outs of our business. So, we figured we would put together a little Q&A session for you.

Question: Where do you get your flowers?  I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you. JUST KIDDING! We source our flowers from growers right here in Solano County, some reach further north into Capay Valley and Roseville and as south as Half Moon Bay and Watsonville. We also work with wholesale markets in Davis, Sacramento, and San Francisco. We do grow some of our blooms right here in our home. Mostly greenery and vines but also some specialty accent flowers. My mom grows gorgeous flowers and I try to steal from her garden as often as possible but she's got a pretty tight eye on those gorgeous prize possessions. If you know of anyone with a garden or just some beautiful homegrown flowers in the area, please let them know I am always looking to source local blooms. I will gladly pay top dollar to cut fresh stems from their fields or garden!

Question: Do you use Floral Foam? Why not?  We do not use Floral Foam. Haven't touched the stuff in years. Floral foam is chalked full of chemicals that are known to harm humans, animals, and the environment. Some of these chemicals include: formaldehyde, carbon black, and barium sulfate. Side effects from exposure to these can include: liver and bladder changes/abnormalities, lung damage, skin and eye irritation, muscle incoordination, central nervous system depression, narcosis, reproductive disease and disorders, cancer, and death. Pretty g-r-o-s-s. All of these chemicals are listed as acute and chronic hazardous materials under their Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS). Floral foam is not biodegradable as it is a plastic and most often must be disposed of just after one use. Instead, we use other materials (for example: moss, vines, chicken wire, flower frogs) and techniques to hold our blooms in place and ensure they are well watered and fed. While some believe floral foam extends the life of the flowers, the best care for prolonging flowers and plants is simply, fresh water. 

Question: How did you get your client(s)?  Long legs and low blouses...duh. Yeah, right! Word of mouth and reputation. We have done minimal advertising and believe in building relationships with our clients through our flowers and our customer service. We like to think of our clients as our dearest friends and in effect we have many repeat loyal customers. We always appreciate when our clients write us reviews on Yelp, Wedding Wire, and Facebook. We also love the shout outs on Instagram and Pinterest. Social networking has been extremely beneficial for our business and the feedback is warmly appreciated. We receive calls and orders several times a week that are referrals from online reviews and "likes." So, thank you our sweet fiends and clients for spreading the love!

Question: Can you get any flower even if it isn't grown locally? Any flower that is available during the season we can order from a wholesale market. We encourage all of our clients to purchase flowers grown here in California and if not, at least inside of the U.S. However, if you need a specific flower or plant that is grown only in Ecuador or Argentina, we can get it for you. We limit the amount of orders we take with these requests and at some point we hope that we can function as a business that only uses local flowers. But, yes we can get the tropical flowers for your luau themed event, no problem (smiley face).

Question: Why do flowers cost so much when they just die? Great question! I encourage everyone to take their hand in planting flowers or a garden from seed. It's not as simple as you  think. Plants (especially from seed) need specific care: water, nutrients, sunlight, proper environment for homeostasis, and space. Other factors such as insects, animals and fungi impact a plants ability to survive. Even in greenhouses, there are many facets that make growing plants a tedious job. So, the flowers alone are not cheap, even at wholesale costs and particularly now in a time of drought here in California.

Then you add in the time and process to supply flowers to the customer in the form of an arrangement. This includes time to pick out flowers at the grower or market, bring them to our location, prep and condition each stem, arrange the design, package for delivery, schedule delivery, and finally deliver the flowers. It's quite a system. This doesn't include the time and effort spent on taking orders, writing proposals, editing proposals, stocking materials, sourcing flowers from growers and markets, and all the billing and paperwork poop. I'd say most of our time is spent preparing proposals, sending estimates, providing example and inspiration photos and conducting billing...all the super fun stuff! I can only wish I spent all day long just playing with flowers! All of these steps to provide a floral design to make someone's day a little brighter. It's all worth it! We cringe when we hear people say "no one is going to notice the flowers..." especially at a wedding or special event. They Absolutely Do! 70-80% of all of our business comes from customers who have seen our flowers, loved them, and then booked us for their next event. Flowers make impressions and make events pretty.

Thank you for your constant support and questions! We love to hear from you and tell you about our little business! Keep 'em coming. XO Kim

It's That Simple.

The Pollen Mill team pretty much fell in love, all over again, yesterday. It was really easy to do with all these gorgeous spring blossoms and a few of my favorite things displayed all together. We staged a photoshoot in the studio for some of our new marketing materials. It wasn't the easiest feat... Ali nearly broke her neck standing on a bar stool while trying to shoot pictures and screw in a light bulb at the same time (insert appropriate blonde joke here). I'm sure I looked just as silly trying to follow shadows with a spotlight. Yep, I was even the gaffer.

Hard to believe, but we came out unscathed with one of the most beautiful shots I could have ever imagined. Thank you to my dear biz buddy, Ali (self titled: Intern 1), for always helping with a smile and contributing so many awesome, new creative visions. You sure are rad.

My little green vintage tool box (aka Earl) is one of my favorite belongings. It was given to me by my father-in-law and I immediately filled it with all my special florist tools and treats. I take Earl, the Toolbox, everywhere my flowers go. As you can imagine, I was so excited when Ali suggested adding him into our shoot. Doesn't he look so handsome?

Orchard Owls For Life

One of my fondest memories as a child was a week spent at 6th grade camp while attending Orchard Elementary School. I will never forget our night hike, wearing Paul Davis' sleek 49ers starter jacket all...week...long, making beaded friendship necklaces, and exploring the tide pools. Even now, I look back on this adventure as one of the most hilarious and memorable experiences. In fact, I loved it so much, I even returned as a 6th grade camp counselor my junior year at Vaca High.

In effort to help build these memories for the 6th graders at Orchard School now, I am offering a special Orchard Owl For Life donation. For each floral design ordered Sunday, March 30th through Friday, April 4th, The Pollen Mill will donate 25% of sales to Orchard Elementary 6th Grade Camp.  With the end of the school year coming quickly and camp fees due this week, the funds are still several thousands of dollars short to get these kiddos out to have the experience of a lifetime.

If you would like to make an additional donation, please make checks payable to Orchard Elementary PTC (mailing address 805 North Orchard Avenue, Vacaville, CA 95688).

Please call 415-710-3358 or email thepollenmill@gmail.com to order your designs today!

Our 6th Grade Camp spread in the Orchard School yearbook. Don't mind my lovely 6th grade penmanship.

Heading off to 6th grade camp with my favorite teacher ever, Mr. Loring Bloom.

OSG For Life.