Growing an Interest into a Passion.

As the daughter of a plant (mainly orchid) loving mother growing up in Oakland, CA, my love for flowers and nature started before I even knew it. From sticking my nose as far into her roses as I could, to gathering flowers from my agreeable neighbors to only sell it back to them as “potpourri” at the age of 8 - playing with flora has been my thing for as long as I can remember.

After spending 13 years in Brooklyn, NY where my gardening expertise was limited to my 70 sq. ft. terrace a few months out of the year, I was excited to plant myself back into my Oakland roots with my new family of 6 (one husband, three kids and one dog) and get to work turning over my 3k sq. ft. lava rock and mulch infested outdoor space. Almost five years later, what began as a home for Ivy, black berry bushes, spiders and flies, has transformed into a visitors center for bees, butterflies, all types of birds, and soon chickens!

This love of growing and maintaining my seasonal garden collection of flowers has blossomed into a passion to create thoughtful floral arrangements that include stems from my own yard when possible, while also supporting the lovely folks at the Oakland Flower Market - a place that was considered a “special” destination while growing up.

Launching STEMS is a dream come true, perhaps before I even knew it was a dream - and I am beyond excited and honored to bring you along on my floral decor adventure!

Here Comes the Bloom!

Celeste Winkel