The prolonged closure of churches, the cancellation of weddings, quinceañeras, and first communions due to Covid-19, has some nurseries in Pescadero about to close.
The Westland Nursery in Pescadero had about 70 employees last year; the business began to decline slowly before the pandemic from competition with imported flowers, but after the two and a half month shelter-in-place the decline has left it on the brink of closing.
When the nursery reopened in May, it was only able to hire ten of its employees and for fewer hours a day.
The greenhouses look desolate, without a single cultivated plant, much less flowers, with outdoor fields covered with weeds.
On one of the farms there is a small parcel of Amor en la Niebla (Nigella) and on another of the company’s farms there is a small parcel of lilies. These two parcels were cultivated in May upon return from quarantine.
As if the damage caused by the quarantine closure were not enough, the new plantations were about to be lost with the August fires near the coast.
Westland Nursery workers as well as many residents of Pescadero, La Honda, and San Gregorio were evacuated.
Nursery employees were allowed to work a few hours so that they would not lose the little production that means the sustenance of four families.
Jorge Guzmán, a Westland Nursery worker and catechist at Mission San Antonio in Pescadero who has worked for this nursery for 43 years, told Catholic San Francisco that he does not know if the owner will be able to continue with the business.
The little they have planted after the quarantine is barely sold because the San Francisco flower market isn’t buying from them like it used to, he said.
Guzmán affirmed that the closing of the churches is one of the reasons why the flowers are not being sold.
Lucy Michel, the florist who designs the flower arrangements for St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco and St. Charles Borromeo parish, agreed that Catholic churches and events require a lot of flowers.
During the quarantine, Michel’s business completely stopped. She had contracts to do the floral decorations for six weddings during the spring and summer of 2020 but were canceled. The clients moved the weddings for the next year….
Sad news. But, oh well. Malls and movie theaters are going out of business too. So are small restaurants. God caused the pandemic knowing what would happen. Guess he likes Jeff Bezos a lot because Amazon has been blessed with booming business during the pandemic.
Let’s not forget the donut makers. No more coffee and donuts after church. Donut makers are hurting too. And the manufacturers of Bingo supplies. No more Bingo. And the disposable missalette and hymnal publishers. No more missals in the pews. No more church carnivals. No more dances. No more dinners or socials. No more casino night fundraisers or auctions. Chances are pretty good that there will be another lockdown for Christmas, so no Christmas Masses.
I worry about the value of the underlying land. In several areas of coastal San Diego there are nurseries which have been there for years. I imagine developers would salivate for a chance to buy this land.
While flowers look nice in Church, they usually last less than a week. Could the money be better spent on food for the hungry?
Mike m., Most of California is natural desert, but radical environmentalists and population controllers would like to run farmers out of business. They are diverting billions of gallons of water from the Sierras into the Pacific Ocean on pretext of saving some little fish that might go extinct. It is all exposed in the little booklet, “Countdown to Socialism” by Devin Nunes. The “supposed” shortage is causing loss of farm related jobs too. The first thing Communists did in other nations was to starve farmers out, take over the land & send farmers off to Gulags if they complained. Then they lived “high off the hog” while others starved.
Would you prefer weeds or dead relatives? Just asking.
I have both.
Mortality rate of 0.2% of infected people. Not twenty percent; just two-tenths of one percent. That’s from the CDC. Most who die “from Covid” had about an 80% chance of dying this year from something else anyway due to old age. Facts. Funny how liberals don’t ask homosexuals to avoid the risky behavior they engage in, which could cause death from infections. Funny, huh? How’s that work? But Covid? Oh, gosh if you aren’t in favor of a total lockdown you want to murder grandma and you’re evil.
That is a lie. >1% of infected people die. When health care systems become overwhelmed, that number goes up above 5%. Please don’t lie about Covid
But how about, YFC, answering the question about the risky behavior engaged in by people who act out their same-sex attraction?
I do not think we will have to make that choice if people are sensible about the whole thing. Churches can be opened and flowers sold if reasonable precautions are take. One of my husband’s relatives, who is in her eighties and had cancer surgery a couple of years ago, survived COVID, and she knew she had it because her doctors told her so.
“Just asking….”
Not a binary solution set; For you and your relatives, it you either are in a high risk group or chose to self isolate, then pls do. I have enough experience in analyzing data (engineer by vocation and biologist by education) and common sense to chose for myself based on current empirical data.
For the weeds, I’d encourage you to find a good organic gardening site as you are clearly wasting your time here. I’d suggest you congregate over at WaPo.
Hot water between cracks in sidewalks, walkways and other places is one good organic way of getting rid of weeds. Just do not pour it on your feet.
Small tin pans of beer put into the ground is a safe and “compassionate” way of getting rid of snails. Snails love beer, go to it and drown happily, and it should not harm other pets as there is not that much beer in the small pans. I do not know if birds like beer, but I have never found one dead near one.
Do you have to work for a living? Think about all the people whose livelihoods, whose ability to provide for their families are being ruined by out of control government bureaucrats shutting things down for no proportionate reason. Governor Newsom gets paid no matter what. He’s rich besides and doesn’t need a salary. If you are retired and receiving a pension it’s hard for you to relate to the working man’s plight.
Professors have continued to work.
You can’t work if you are dead.
You do not need to work if you are dead, smart alec.
Maybe the relatives dies because their business was destroyed, they became homeless and died of starvation after being assaulted on the mean streets of San Francisco. Too bad they couldn’t sell their flowers because weak bishops didn’t tell the SF Board of Supervisors to take a hike and there were no masses, weddings, or funerals to decorate with flowers. How’s that for another stupid comparison YFC.
You’ve heard of unemployment insurance right Flora? And died of starvation. Please, nobody in the US dies of starvation. In San Francisco, for one, has a very wonderful St Vincent de Paul that offers free food.Glide. Meals on Wheels. Project Open Hand. Starvation isn’t a thing in San Francisco.
Unbelievable that you missed the sarcasm highlighting the nonsensical comparison YFC tried to make.
YFC– Everyone needs jobs! Including farmers and florists! Cut flowers are one of the most profitable crops you can grow! In normal times (not during the pandemic!) American growers (flower farmers) typically report sales of $25,000-$30,000/acre!
There are also specialists in Japanese floral cultivation and design. Horticulture is a science. Floral cultivation and design are an art. LOVE the Conservatory of Flowers and the SF Botanical Gardens, in Golden Gate Park, in San Francisco!
Lockdown fan Biden officiated at a same sex wedding, that’s not Catholic. YFC, do you support same sex marriage? Just asking, again.
Anyone still fretting about wearing a mask, read this: https://tinyurl.com/y454d275
If people want to support this Westland Nursery, where can they buy their flowers. I have flowers in my yard, so I usually do not have to buy any, but it might be a good idea to buy a bunch of local flowers to keep our flower growers in business. I would not want imported flowers, unless they are from a neighboring country, and there is none close by.
Many years ago we had a hot house grower a few blocks from us, but they went out of business. Then we had another one a few miles away, and that has gone out of business. More likely, though, they just retired.
I just love flowers! It is a wonderful and uplifting tradition, to buy flowers and put them in vases, just anywhere, to beautify your home! You can put them anywhere– and also, next to a religious statue or picture, or on a small home altar, or place of prayer. You can also beautify your office with a lovely vase of flowers! And take flowers, for any reason (or for no reason!) to offer a neighbor, friend, or elder shut-in– and of course, to uplift patients at a local hospital or nursing home! Before the modern era, there was a lovely “language of flowers,” with special meanings for each one. If you gave certain flowers to someone, particularly during courtship– each kind of flower said something special, to convey your feelings. When you don’t feel well, a visit to a floral shop, nursery, gardens, or place in nature with lots of lovely flowers, can be an uplifting, healthful, and peaceful experience.
There is a lovely Persian saying: “If I had but two loaves of bread, I would sell one and buy hyacinth for they would feed my soul”.
where have all the flowers gone ???