San Francisco Flower Mart
640 Brannan
Tel: 415-781-8410
I really like flowers. And plants. I like them so much that they're eating into my checking account quite significantly. Yet, if flowers make me happy, what price is too high for happiness? Especially from something so seemingly innocuous; I can convince myself of practically anything. The bummer is that flowers die. Over the last year or so, I've become fascinated with orchids mostly because there's nothing like a pretty flower that lasts for months! Of course, now, I'm bordering on obsession with my orchids. And this gets expensive.
buckets of flowers
If you're a flower fan or a plant fanatic, then no doubt you've made a visit to San Francisco's Flower Market. And if you just like to have the odd bunch of posies perking up your bedroom, the Flower Market is still worthy of an early morning trip. You can also buy plants of all varieties at much better prices than your local nursery here in the city. Long ivies for $10, a sturdy Ficus for only $20, your apartment will soon become a jungle!
The market is open to the public though badge holders get an even better deal than the rest of us. Still, who can beat $9 for two dozen roses? And not only are there flowers for sale here, there are a couple of material stores that sell things like ribbon, Christmas tree decorations, candles and the such like for bargain prices. This is where MS gets her supplies wholesale to then tantalize us on her magazine covers and television shows. Well, now we know better. We can tie fancy bows, too.
A couple of my favorite places:
Rod McLellan (Tel: 362-1520) -- This is orchid heaven. The orchids here tend to be a bit on the pricier side in comparison to the other stores in the market but they specialize in orchids and you're guaranteed a buggy-free plant. It's worth the few extra dollars. Sometimes, at the weekends, they have a 2 for 1 deal on ALL of the orchids in the store. Needless to say, I have so many now from those sorts of weekends, that I've had to resort to storing the out-of-season plants on my bathroom floor! Personally, I think they like the humidity.
Shibata (Tel: 543-9880) -- These folks close quite early on in the morning. In other words, get there before 9am or so. They're also hidden in the farthest warehouse. However, you'll recognize them for their exotic flowers such as the towering Protea. Awesome in the most literal sense of the word. And their roses are a steal.
Parking at the market is open to the public only after 9am. However, if you get there at around 6am, there's still plenty of street parking available. There's also a great café right there on the corner of Brannan and 6th Street that serves a wonderful breakfast. On Saturday mornings, it's the place to be seen, my dear!
Susan MacTavish Best
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