Take a walk behind Good Earth market and almost hiding in plain sight is Marin County’s voted #1 florist. Green Door Design has been voted by the community as Best of the County 2021: Florist. If that isn’t enough for you, here’s the real story...

It all starts with a bit of Mill Valley history. One of the most successful high-end garden and tool stores, Smith and Hawken, was founded in Mill Valley, CA in 1979. After rapid expansion across the United States, Smith and Hawken’s founders decided it prudent to offer Orchids, formally a rare, “luxury” item, to the masses. At that time, an enterprising finance professional at the company was working on the purchasing side of the business. Little did she know, this education in a seemingly small market luxury item would have mass appeal and therefore an opportunity to “grow” a future business. See what I did there?

It was only a few years later that Susie Turner made the decision to go all-in on orchids. With her gained knowledge of this famous flowering plant, her corporate finance background, and entrepreneurial spirit she set off to start a bespoke Orchid business out of a van. After the birth of her first child and having established deep relationships with orchid growers, she introduced an exclusive orchid business to the Mill Valley community and lovingly became known as the “orchid lady”. To this day, she still serves clients who’ve been with her for decades.

Her “out of the van” business ran for 8 years until, as she says, her husband had enough of her van success and said, “get these Orchids out of the house!” So, in 2007, when her 2nd child was 3 years old, she opened Green Door Design in Tam Junction, located just a few miles from her home. The space was formerly a bike shop, and fortunately for her, she was able to clean the bike grease out and establish a brick-and-mortar operation. 

Today, Green Door Design has orchids, succulents, house plants, a lot of decorative vessels, and 5 designers, including Green Door Design’s senior designer, Bobbi Greene (10 years at GDD) and Karolina Cinka (who co-manages the store with Susie). They work tirelessly for their clients to create beautiful, unique arrangements for their homes or businesses. As I came to learn from our conversation, one big advantage of being a “living florist”, and only working with living plant material, is that orchids and other living presentations have a long shelf life -several months to several years - as opposed to cut flowers, which often only last a matter of days. 

For clients of Green Door Design, you have an experienced staff at your fingertips that will work to build your vision. Just bring photos of your home into the studio, provide some thoughts and the design team will take care of the rest. You can even bring in your collection of containers for the designers to use.

Ultimately, what I love about Susie, is her connection and participation in the local community. She has lived in Tam Valley for 23 years, sits on the board of Mill Valley’s Chamber of Commerce, and with her husband Paul, has raised two children here. Green Door Design contributes yearly to the KIDDO foundation and donates orchid arrangements to local schools for auctions to raise funds. If that wasn’t enough, they also donate plants for local school gardens. Like many Tam Junction businesses run by local business leaders, Green Door Design is no exception. She is a major institution in Marin and especially here in Tam Junction. I think what I’m most impressed with is the design and education provided to her customers. When you move down the path towards creating something beautiful, her team will guide you, and as shown through her decades of continuous support and repeat customers, her ability to deliver is unparalleled. 

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Green Door Design

Address: 219 Flamingo Rd, Mill Valley, CA 94941

www.greendoordesign.net

415-381-1886

Hours:

Friday 10AM–5:30PM

Saturday 10AM–5:30PM

Sunday Closed

Monday Closed

Tuesday 10AM–5:30PM

Wednesday 10AM–5:30PM

Thursday 10AM–5:30PM