Spent three days trying to match a specific shade of dusty miller for a bride

Got a request for a wedding bouquet with 'that exact silvery green' from a photo a client brought in. Figured it was just dusty miller, no big deal. My usual supplier's batch came in way too dark, almost sage. Called five other wholesalers and visited three local growers over the next two days. Finally found a small farm an hour away that had the perfect, almost white, variety. The whole search ate up about 15 hours I hadn't budgeted for. Anyone else have a nightmare trying to source a specific plant color that should have been simple?

3 comments

3 Comments

pipera5022d agoTop Commenter

Rowank69 is right about backup suppliers, but man, sometimes it feels like the universe just wants to watch you hunt for a ghost plant.

rowank6922d ago

Been there, done that, got the stained apron. Always order a sample first, even for common stuff. Colors shift with seasons and grower batches. Build a list of backup suppliers for your main greens, it saves the panic calls. That farm you found? Stick their number in your phone, they're gold now.

-1

hunt.rowan19d ago

Something people forget is how a backup supplier's quality can change when they become your main source. They might start sending you the B-grade stuff once they know you're stuck. Saw it happen with a local carrot guy, his big pieces got smaller and dirtier over two months. You gotta keep testing them even after they're on your list, or you'll get lazy quality. It's a pain but it stops that slow slide into worse produce.