FEBRUARY 15, 2018 // 13
Readers’ Choice Awards
BEST GARDEN
CENTER
BEST FLORIST
BLOOMIN’
CRAZY FLORAL
BRIM’S
FARM &
GARDEN
ASTORIA
Runner-up: Erickson Floral
Company, Astoria
Honorable mention:
Artistic Bouquets & More,
Seaview
ASTORIA
Runner-up: Basketcase
Greenhouse, Long Beach
Honorable mention:
Dennis’ 7 Dees, Seaside
By RYAN HUME
D
By RYAN HUME
W
ell, it has happened
again. The country
feel and top-notch
customer service of Brim’s
Farm & Garden has won
over Coast Weekend readers
once more, handing them
their 10th award for Best
Garden Center in as many
years.
This family-owned feed
and garden operation is
tucked away on the U.S. 101
Business loop, south of the
Old Youngs Bay Bridge and
just before the turnoff onto
Lewis and Clark Road.
Mike and Linda Brim
opened the business on
March 6, 1986, as primarily
a feed store, though they
also sold apples and berries,
too. Interest in becoming
the North Coast’s premier
garden center didn’t arise
until 1995 when Linda quit
her day job. “I went back to
school,” she said.
Taking classes at Portland
State University and running
through Oregon State Ex-
tension’s Master Gardener
class a number of times gave
Linda the expertise to build
up a garden stock and green-
house specific to the needs
of land adjacent to the coast
and river.
Brim credits their success
to the knowledge of the
owners and staff. “The
ability to come in and ask
face to face, ‘How do I
do that?,’” Linda said, is
RYAN HUME PHOTO
Linda Brim co-owns Brim’s Garden Center with her husband,
Mike Brim
a powerful motivation for
repeat business. The Brims
also know their clientele.
“Most of our customers
have a rural, self-sustaining
mindset,” she said. For this
reason, Brim’s stocks plenty
of non-GMO vegetable
seeds and starts and carries
enough high-quality feed
on site to keep Noah’s Ark
sustained for at least a few
days. Whether cattle, alpaca
or calicos are your thing,
Brim’s stocks the feed they
need. They also carry a wide
array of fencing.
Now that Spring is on its
way, expect live poultry to
appear soon. Young chicks
have just arrived, ducks will
return around Easter and tur-
keys, too, are on their way.
With more than 30 years of
excellence under their belt,
know that whatever you
need for your yard or farm,
Brim’s can help. CW
Thank you
for
voting us
your
favorite!
iane Berry, owner of
Bloomin’ Crazy Flo-
ral on Commercial
Street in downtown Astoria,
refers to her quaint little
shop squeezed into the east-
ern corner of the Sanborn
Building as “a continuing
work of art.”
Coast Weekend readers
certainly seem to agree,
having fallen in love once
again with Berry and staff’s
arrangements and evolving
aesthetic, honoring Bloom-
in’ Crazy Floral with anoth-
er Readers’ Choice Award
for Best Florist.
Berry has been working
in the floral business in the
Columbia-Pacific region
since 1975, but she did not
set out on her own until
opening Bloomin’ Crazy
Florist in November 2009.
“We started out with plants,
flowers and a few gifts,” she
said.
Today the shop has ex-
panded to include clothing,
jewelry, tchotchkes and
ceramics. Berry also recently
installed a blind built of
reclaimed wood from a local
barn due to be razed, which
separates the interior of the
shop from the elaborately
curated display window
facing Commercial Street.
Though, even as this “work
of art” continues to grow
new limbs, the focus remains
on crafting unique flower
arrangements and bouquets
for all manners of events and
holidays. They deliver, too.
Bloomin’ Crazy has
also proven to be a good
neighbor in the Astoria
Downtown Historical
District, opening their doors
during Second Saturday
Art Walks to showcase the
talents of local artists and
RYAN HUME PHOTO
Diane Berry, owner
Bloomin’ Crazy Floral
jewelry makers.
But how to stay ahead
of the curve and anticipate
the needs of your custom-
ers? “I spend a lot of time
on the internet looking at
arrangements when I should
be doing housework,” Berry
said. “We follow trends and
try to have our own distinc-
tive look.”
Berry is constantly
searching out new suppliers
and available products. She
often works with a wholesale
supplier in Swan Island in
Portland. “Every Friday I
ask, ‘What do you have that
is fun and funky and afford-
able?’” CW
COASTER THEATRE PLAYHOUSE
Thank You!
Your
voting
for us is
greatly
appreciated!
February 2-24, 2018
Tickets $20 or $25
Shows begin at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday shows start at 3:00p.m.
Sponsored by Mike & Tracey Clark
243 11th Street,
Astoria, OR 197103
503-325-1787
1198 Commercial St.
Astoria, OR 97103
503-975-5305
of
Tickets: 503-436-1242 or coastertheatre.com
108 N Hemlock Street, Cannon Beach, OR