Lily's Boots (or Flip Flops): Lily Wonka and the Bouquet Factory

This week, I traded in my boots for a pair of flip flops. No, we didn't have a heat wave in Arcata - I travelled down to our So Cal counterpart to experience this side of Sun Valley's operations. So, over the hills and through the fog to the Oxnard farm I went... and what an amazing journey! 

When I arrived at this truly sunny Sun Valley, I immediately found myself immersed in the Sun Pacific Bouquet Department, which is in overdrive during this busy time of year. The department operates out of a large warehouse filled to the brim with buckets upon buckets of colorful flowers, brightly colored packaging, and a multitude of cutesy, classy, fun, funky, earthy and mirthy flower containers. Not to mention the Team Members working diligently to transform single stems into magnificent masterpieces. One gets the feeling of being in a certain chocolate factory around here... 

Here are some of the magical things I witnessed in the Bouquet Factory...

"Lemon Drop" Tulips, "Violet Mint" Matsomotos and "Cotton Candy" Lisianthus...

Carts full of "Bubblegum" Gerberas...



A flaming red "Fireball" Gerbera...



Team Members using "Secret Recipes" to make our Bouquets...



"Jawbreaker" Seasonal Surge Bouquets, ready to be packed...




A "Gumdrop Sea" of Papella Bag arrangements...



"Candy Button" Take Me Out arrangements...



Finished product rolled on carts to the Packing and Shipping area...

The buzz in the Bouquet Department never died down throughout my entire visit, not even for a minute. And that is just one component of the farm. For this reason, I wasn't able to pay a visit to the other areas of the farm on this trip. One would need a Glass Elevator to see it all. Due to my lack of said elevator, I'll save the rest of the journey for a later date.

For now, I'm off to the other side of the country to inspect product and observe just a small part of the floral trade from the Miami perspective.

As the ever-busy Willy Wonka said, "So much time and so little to do. Wait a minute. Strike that. Reverse it."

Look for a recollection of my adventures in the Miami heat next Friday!

The candy names below pictures are not actual product names. Contact your Sales rep for product details: (800)747-8700... And please don't ask for Mr. Wonka!