Carmel Magazine

046-074 Shortcuts_SU05 Carmel Magazine 10/23/13 5:40 PM Page 9 SHORTCUTS BUSINESS Creekside Farms Supplies Beautiful Wreaths to Major Retailers Greenfield's Creekside Farms grows and creates beautiful plant wreaths that are sold in national catalogs. Larry and Carol Umbarger started their business to help pay for their children to go to college. t's a safe bet that most Peninsulans grown on the company's 20-acre plot east of town. More than 80 wreaths from catalog giants Williams- are sourced from within Monterey County, when possible. The air I who have ordered holiday decorative Sonoma, Sur La Table, Restoration Hardware, Pottery Barn, Frontgate or Orvis might not be aware that those products originated right here in Monterey County—from Creekside Farms of Greenfield. Thir ty years ago, Larry and Carol Umbarger began growing flowers and ornamental and culinary herbs to help defray their children's college expenses. percent of the botanicals used in the wreaths are grown here; the rest inside their 12,000-square-foot production facility contains a sym- phony of scents emitted from rack after rack of drying herbs and other plants. Beginning in October, the place comes alive: more than 80 workers cre- ate at specially designed tables, turning out the tens of thousands of holiday wreaths Creekside Farms sells during the season. "Each year, we produce between 100 and 150 different designs," "One day, I discovered a market for California pepper berries," General Manager Allen Umbarger says. "That's because each retailer would make gathering forays in her old VW Microbus. That eventual- With an eye on the future, plans call for Creekside Farms to be more Carol says. "They grow wild throughout the Salinas Valley." So she ly led to a contract to provide wreaths to upscale direct-mail gardening retailer Smith & Hawken. "We made those first wreaths on our pool table," Carol recalls. Today, Creekside Farms is run by the Umbargers' sons Allen, Aaron and Scott, along with daughter-in-law Teri. Rosemary, lavender, oregano, a plethora of flowers and, of course, pepper berries are 60 C ARMEL M AG A Z I N E • H O L I D AY 2013 insists of designs that are exclusive to their catalog." proactive in developing its own brand and selling direct to consumers. And their business isn't restricted to holiday wreaths: a growing segment is year-round corporate gifting. For more information, or to see and order the company's offerings, visit www.creeksidefarms.com or call 831/674-1234. —Michael Chatfield

• Cover