Crimson Horticultural Rarities

Crimson Horticulture isn’t a florist in the traditional sense. The Secret Garden-like nook down Oakland’s Temescal Alley is filled with handmade treasures and gifts, as well as potted and air plants of all varieties. Co-owners Lonna Lopez and Allison Futeral have developed a cult following among those seeking nontraditional arrangements. “We tend to go darker—a little creepier—if left to our own devices,” says Lopez. The pair favors varieties like chocolate cosmos, dark dahlias and ferns, often interspersed with foraged treasures like preserved butterfly specimens (which Lopez collects and frames), berries and seedpods. Due to the one-off nature of its bouquets, Crimson requests that orders be placed two to three days in advance.