CONTRERAS NURSERY + FLOWERS

Vendor: Jesus & Rosa Contreras
Location:Moss Beach, CA


Customers love perusing the gorgeous displays at Contreras!
Photo: Barbara Lucas

For Jesus Contreras, his wife Rosa, his four daughters, and his son, growing flowers is a family affair. Everyone in the family is actively involved in the business, from growing the flowers to selling them at market. Contreras came to California from Mexico in the late 1960’s and with Rosa established their farm in Moss Beach and have raised their five children there.

The Contreras family has been selling a wide variety of beautiful flowers at the PAFM for twenty-five years. They enjoy the fact that the Market is well-attended by friendly people and that they have an opportunity to sell more flower varieties at PAFM than at many of the other Bay Area Markets they attend.

What keeps people coming back to their stall? The Contreras’ think it’s because they’ve been at the Market so long, that they are a family-run business, but most important, that their flowers are always freshly cut. But if you’ve ever seen the blissful look on a customer’s face as s/he carries away a huge bundle of gorgeous Contreras flowers, you know that the magic of a beautiful bouquet has a lot to do with it.

Flower tips:

Tulips: place a pin through the stem at the base of the flower in order to keep the straighten the stem and keep the flower upright.
Hydrangeas: take moisture from the roots and flowers and therefore need watering and misting.
All Flowers: Stems should be cut on the diagonal, and re-cut every 2-3 days. Water should be changed every 2-3 days as well.