The Forgotten Chinese Flower Growers in the S.F. Bay Area

The Bay Area’s agricultural history reveals a thriving 20th-century flower industry, particularly within the Santa Clara Valley, where Chinese immigrant farmers played a pivotal role. Despite discriminatory land ownership laws, these growers leased plots from Stanford University, transforming the landscape into a hub for chrysanthemum production. Through self-organized cooperatives, these families scaled their operations to access mass markets, supplying flowers for popular traditions like corsages during major collegiate football games. This economic opportunity provided a vital path to the middle class for many immigrant families, including the family of George Chin, who worked alongside his parents in Palo Alto greenhouses. While the rise of South American flower imports and Silicon Valley real estate development eventually displaced these farms, the "Forgotten Flowers Project," led by archaeologist Laura Jones, now preserves this legacy through digital exhibits and the revival of traditional corsage-making practices.