Beauty in Every Bouquet
BY LAUREN MCEWEN, fourth-year agricultural communication major
Cal Poly Floral Shop brings fresh floral designs to students on campus and in the community
At the crest of the hill on Via Carta Drive at the northeastern tip of campus sits a small but bustling plant shop tucked away between greenhouses and work sheds. A quaint hand-painted sign outside hints at the beauty of the shop’s interior.
Once inside the Cal Poly Floral Shop, a menagerie of colorful flowers and textured foliage line the countertops as student employees create designs for customers. Selling their bouquets on campus and at San Luis Obispo’s Saturday farmers market, the students behind each design have seen a steady interest in fresh floral arrangements.
Melinda Lynch, a floral design lecturer of 28 years and Cal Poly alumna, oversees the shop. Lynch is always brainstorming alternative methods of selling students’ bouquets to increase hands-on learning opportunities. One of the most recent endeavors is delivering student-made arrangements to on campus housing, offering parents and supporters a chance to brighten their student’s day.
“I like changing things up,” she said, noting that new additions to the shop’s menu tick up interest. “Cal Poly jam or tangerines with a Mason jar of flowers sell better than a box of chocolates,” she said with a smile. “Parents want to make their student feel loved.”
Claire Henderson, a plant sciences major, has worked as an employee in the flower shop for more than two years. “I love working with customers in the shop and at farmers markets,” she said. “Especially with our on-campus deliveries, flowers are a good way to uplift parents who miss their children.”
The Cal Poly Floral Shop has been in business for more than 50 years, Lynch said, thinking back to her own floral design professor leading the shop’s marketing and sales during the ‘70s. Lynch said that sales at the Saturday farmers market skyrocketed tenfold once they began offering arrangements grown exclusively at Cal Poly and by creating unique designs each week. “We create excitement,” Lynch said. “People want to see what we do, especially in creating really great specialty items. No two arrangements are the same.”
Likewise, no two students are the same. “I’ve had students from agricultural education to event planning, animal science and art, all from different backgrounds,” Lynch said. Plant sciences major Maria Cervantes, who worked for a wedding company prior to coming to Cal Poly, said that working in the floral shop allows her to continue her passion for bringing beauty into people’s lives.
April Marshall (Art and Design, ’24) continues to work in the floral shop and aspires to open her own floral design business. “Coming from a background in art, the principles of design and color apply to floral design as well,” Marshall said. “Since working in the Plant Sciences Department, my knowledge of agriculture has expanded more than I’d ever known. It has opened my mind and I have developed respect for the industry.” “It is such a personal experience selling flowers,” said fifth-year plant sciences major Audrey Arntz. “Getting phone calls from parents to thank us for our work is such a reward.”
Having taught for over two decades, Lynch says that some of the most powerful moments for her are seeing her former students and employees find success in the industry, noting that many have established their own floral businesses or teach high school floral design. “During a meeting with the agriculture teachers at the annual California Agricultural Teachers’ Association conference, I looked around the room and there were 20 teachers who were in my classroom at Cal Poly,” Lynch said. “I just thought, oh my gosh, that is very exciting, and now here they are teaching floral design."
To order for delivery on campus, visit www.polyplantshop.com.
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