I must confess, I am floral-obsessed. My fetish for fresh-cut buds ranks almost as high as a fresh blowout, and collecting a dozen lush peonies can essentially make my day…or at least save it from any potential disasters. This floral affliction comes in many shapes and sizes, and it’s often I find myself ogling shop windows, that’s how bad I have it. So when I first discovered Birch back in 2007, I seriously fell in love. Florist and photographer Torryne Choate opened her swoon-worthy San Francisco boutique in Presidio Heights, followed by another location in the edgier Hayes Valley in 2009, where her chic stores convey the epitome of beauty, serenity and grace.
The elegant black on black space casts a dramatic backdrop for Choate’s bold, minimalist and unusual floral arrangements and her choice of sleek black or white vases showcases her colorful blooms. Taking flowers to the next level, these arrangements which combine delicate and rough textures with twigs, paper, moss, rocks, bird nests, tin and flickering light have made clients such as Vanity Fair, Refinery 29, Hermes, Bulgari, Apple, Danielle Steel, Ann Getty, Four Seasons, Saint Laurent and the San Francisco Symphony covet Birch’s world class and innovative designs- which have appeared in the pages of Vogue, by the way.
Choate’s presents all floweristas a pared-down aesthetic and dark tones of a European boutique, while offering international fashion, design and music magazines that are paired with gifts and books to complement her romantic and personal flowers- which tantalize with scents of hyacinth and off-beat color palates. As I now stare at my empty vases in my home, I imagine myself on Sacramento Street standing in front Birch’s window…and ogling, of course. www.birchsf.com
