Nestled between products by Dr. Dre, Ashton Kutcher, and even Oprah’s own book – High Camp Supply’s deluxe bloom box is number five on the 2014 Favorite Things list from Oprah Magazine. “It’s gardenia heaven in a beyond-elegant box;” says Winfrey. KDHamptons discovered High Camp Supply on Instagram, where I actually find so many great new design resources. High Camp was founded in June 2014 by friends Margaret Wells and Susan Hanson in Belvedere, California, who tell KDHamptons, “Gardenias are our favorite flowers.  They immediately alter people’s mood, and we love living with them en masse in their perfectly imperfect form as blooms and vines.  They make the ordinary extraordinary! ”

So whether you are planning an elegant dinner party, love to keep fragrant flowers by your bedside, or need the perfect hostess gift, receiving a beautiful box of gorgeous smelling gardenias with dark green waxy leaves is total delight. Learn more about High Camp Gardenia Supply in this new KDHamptons Design Diary below:

KDHamptons: What inspired you to launch High Camp Gardenia Supply?

Susan Hanson and Margaret Wells: Gardenias are unique because they are equally lovely at home on a simple breakfast table, or in cascading arrangements at the chicest event imaginable.  They inspire deeply imbedded memories.  What other flower brings people together and interacting like a bowl of gardenias?   People plunge into the center pieces and put them in their hair, shirts, carry them, hand them to loved ones…..there is nothing that compares.  We ourselves are blown away by the emotional response it evokes in our customer.  There’s a Bruce Weber shoot in W magazine called “High Camp” from 1992 that’s always stuck with us featuring stylish scenarios of elegant and simple living.   For us High Camp Supply is an experiential lifestyle brand that will continue to unveil unexpected ephemeral treasures.

KDHamptons: Where are the gardenias grown?

Susan & Margaret: High Camp Farms are in California and Hawaii.  Our gardenias are the darkest green foliage and whitest large bloom stunning quality varietal-  and they are available year round.    Flowers are cut to order then shipped priority fed ex overnight to your door.

KDHamptons: Can you share with our readers the 3 most important gardenia growing tips you have learned?

Susan & Margaret: It’s very difficult to grow gardenias outside of sub-tropical environments. Acidic soil and good drainage are important. Like all of us, every pest under the rainbow is drawn to the fragrance so gardenias are very susceptible to hostile takeover in an outdoor environment.

KDHamptons: Any tips for making cut gardenias last longer?

Susan & Margaret: “Snap” the ends of the vines like asparagus and pull the leaves off below water line.  Gardenias are traditionally a floating flower because they struggle to get water through their woody vines   This opens up flow and allows the flower to draw water more efficiently.  Also, a couple days in, as blooms begin to tire, snap off bloom and float for a second coming

KDHamptons: Do you ever visit the Hamptons?

Susan & Margaret: Yes, some of our closest friends live in the Hamptons, and we are very excited about an upcoming trip this summer.

KDHamptons: Do you ever tire of the fragrance being around the flowers so much?

Susan & Margaret: Never. In fact the simple fragrance makes an ordinary day special   Our children now get sad on the off day we don’t have them

KDHamptons: What’s up next?  A fragrance or candles?

Susan & Margaret: A gardenias scent can not be replicated.  We wish it could, but like lilac, nothing compares to the real thing. PSST! there is a hint in there for you ;)

KDHamptons: How can we order? What is your average price and do you ship anywhere in US?

Susan & Margaret: For more information and to order, visit www.highcampsupply.com for delivery anywhere in the US. Prices start at at $119, or call us directly at 415-770-2360 to customize gardenias wherever you are year round. Also, follow us on our social media channels: 

instagram and facebook @highcampgardenias

“We just received an order for 100 bottles of rose and 1000 gardenias for a birthday in St Barths,” shares Susan.