Meet Debbie Hartman, the Queen of Greens. Debbie is not just the manager of Sun Valley’s West Coast Evergreen Division; she is our resident expert on
Seasonal Greens,
Western Greens and
Christmas Greens. Her experience comes from literally growing up in the evergreen business. Debbie is a huge asset to Sun Valley, since we are one of the few farms which can easily add a wide variety of seasonal greens to bunches of our flower crops.
Years ago her parents owned a meat trucking company, driving meat from San Francisco 5 hours north to Humboldt County. On the way to San Francisco they loaded their truck with evergreens picked by the West Coast Evergreen company which was originally started in 1951. They delivered the greens to the SF flower market as well as flower growers in Watsonville, CA. In 1973, the owners of West Coast Evergreen were having a generational change in the business and the younger set did not want to continue the business.
Debbie’s dad purchased the company for a small sum of money since it’s only real assets were a beat up pick-up truck and the name. The real assets of the company were in the relationships with the people who picked and gathered the greens out in the country side. Since we live in a temperate rainforest here in Humboldt County, we have an amazing amount of botanicals growing in the mountains and timberlands surrounding us. Pickers traditionally get permits from the
Six River National Forest to pick greens, they also pick on timberlands and other private holdings. Many of these arrangements have been in place for years, often the deal being sealed by a handshake. At the time Debbie’s dad was also farming daffodils on a small plot of land he named "Hartman Farm" in McKinleyville, which is about 10 miles north of our
Arcata farm.
Acquiring the greens business to accent his daffodil business seemed like a slam dunk, however, after seeing (and experiencing) all the work that went into the greens business, he was starting to have second thoughts. This was when a Debbie stepped into help as a young woman. She learned the business from the ground up, gaining knowledge and building relationships as she went. Often times it was her clients and pickers teaching her the business. She truly learned from experience and gained a wealth of knowledge while building the business and becoming skilled in buying greens.
In 1995 she took over the company 100%, and continued on. In the mid 2000’s, she was faced with a decision. She had to decide whether to continue on independently and find a new facility, or to sell the business. Debbie was struck by a great idea. She would offer the company to her biggest customer, the Sun Valley Floral Farm, who was buying about 20% of her inventory. In the deal, she would stay on with the company and work for Sun Valley, since the evergreen business has always been about the relationships with the pickers throughout northern California and southern Oregon. It also requires an extremely specialized knowledge of local plant species.
On January 3rd, 2005 West Coast Evergreen became a division of Sun Valley and the rest is history. Debbie is now our resident greens expert and an important resource to the company. When asked what her typical day is like she says it’s all about resourcing greens and knowledge, then dispersing them to the right people. She also spends a lot of time creating new samples of interesting product combinations and figuring out the pricing.
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| The Queen of Greens with Princess Pine. |
Her favorite thing to do at work is sales. She loves talking to her customers, many of which she has known for years, and also connecting with the
Sun Valley Sales Department to assist them in showing their customers a new green option or arrangement. When she’s not at work, her favorite thing to do is to play with her 3 granddaughters, who somehow manage to outshine our
Decorative Greens Bouquet.
Everyone in the floral industry has a favorite flower, some more esoteric than others. Asking this question of Debbie, I was intrigued by what her answer would be. Debbie had a two part answer, before and after Sun Valley. Before Sun Valley her favorite flower was greenish burgundy Orchid from the local Orchid growers here in Humboldt County,
Sequoia Orchids, of course this orchid was set with greens which complement the orchid. After coming to Sun Valley her favorite flower became our
Weber Parrot Tulip, which also looks amazing with greens. She continued to explain how she really fell for tulips here at Sun Valley. The huge amount of colors, shapes and sizes make them such a lovely and cheerful flower.
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| Debbie's Favorite flower, The Weber Parrot Tulip. |
This season Debbie says the two hottest items at
West Coast Evergreens available right now are Super Bear Grass and Horsetails.
Super Bear Grass is 40-48 inches tall and available only at Sun Valley. Our Bear Grass grows under the redwood canopy, surrounded by giants. In the dark of the forest, the Bear Grass must reach tall and straight to reach the limited light which filters to the forest floor. Also, our
Horsetails are the highest quality she has seen in years, Horsetails are another unique item, since they grow in the wet forest bogs along side the beautiful rivers of our region. On the opposite side of the spectrum, the drought in the Pacific Northwest has really hurt the salal crop, also known as "Lemon Leaf". Salal only grows in a small bio-region and yet there is huge demand worldwide. We currently have
salal in stock, so keep your fingers crossed!
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| Teri, the Greens Team Leader, and Debbie holding bunches of fresh salal. |
As the Queen of Greens I asked Debbie for some tips that our readers may not know and she had a couple great ones. First, for the flower pro, did you know your
Port Orford Cedar will last 3-4 months in a 34 degree cooler. This means you don’t have to worry about over stocking, especially now at the holidays. And secondly, this is a tip I will be using today, as I just hung a wreath on my front door. To keep a wreath fresh and alive, use a mister to spray water on the greenery. Since evergreens absorb water through their needles, your misting will add life to that holiday wreath or decoration.
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| A box of Holiday Joy! |
Debbie loves the floral industry, she can’t think of a job she would rather have. “Flowers are so full of positive energy, sharing flowers promotes joy and brightens everyone’s lives.”
We couldn’t agree more, Debbie, and thank you for sharing your story with us.
In closing Debbie adds as she looks at a good looking bunch of scotch broom,
“Weeds are just unloved flowers.”
lily@tsvg.com |
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Port Orford Cedar is a versatile holiday green with lovely long stems and flat, lacy foliage. While its filigree tips give it a delicate appearance, it is quite hardy, maintaining its color and vitality for weeks and weeks. 
