Los Altos Florist Finds Power in Flowers

Johnson, who took flower designing classes at Filoli before launching a business, works in her home studio in Los Altos.

Sometimes, saying a wish out loud makes it come true. Just ask Eryn Schroeder Johnson, a Los Altos mother of three who turned a lifelong passion for creating beautiful environments into Flowers by Eryn, the source of some of Silicon Valley’s most sought-after floral arrangements. The seed sprouted three years ago when Johnson, who formerly worked in development and event planning, divulged to a friend that she dreamed of opening a floral business. The moment it left her lips, she says, “I knew it was what I had to do—like that day!”

She started small, gifting a few favorite Los Altos businesses flower arrangements and offering her work on a trial basis. “I remember carrying the first arrangement to Cezanne Hair studio, I was so nervous I thought I would pass out,” she says. She needn’t have worried: Right off the bat, she gained three accounts, then business grew quickly through word-of-mouth.

Today, Flowers by Eryn’s California-meets-English garden arrangements are favored by everyone from local business owners to Los Altos power moms. One Saturday morning per month, she and her self-described flower bike “petal pushers” are in downtown Los Altos, selling bouquets outside Linden Tree Books and Manresa Bread. She also offers flower design workshops called Petal Playdates in her flower studio, which doubles as the family garage. That’s where you’ll usually find her, hard at work fulfilling custom orders and a biweekly subscription floral service called Bunches (available September through June), with her kids, husband Mike (an attorney at Facebook) and Buddy, their golden retriever, nearby. “A wise person said to me, ‘You can have it all, but you can’t have it all at once,’” Johnson says of blending her family and blooming business. “Getting clear about what my values and priorities are in all facets of my life—and staying true to them—allows me to come pretty darn close to that.” 650.397.1498, flowersbyeryn.com

An arrangement by Flowers by Eryn ($300) evokes a modern California take on an English garden, with dahlias, ranunculus, thistle, garden roses, rosemary and olive branches.