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| Fred and Chiyo Tayama |
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The Early Years
Tayama Wholesale, a division of Tayama Greenhouses, was founded by Fred and Chiyo Tayama, and opened for business in the Los Angeles Flower Market in 1947.
From the beginning, Tayama offered a special service to its customers. It was the first business in the LA Flower Market to  "tailor" Gardenia flowers, supplied by George Inagaki of Kitagawa Nursery. "Tailoring" means that the centers of the flowers are waxed. It's a time-consuming process that adds beauty, luster and life to the bloom, and it was initially handled by a Tayama crew that's still around today -- Tamie (Fred and Chiyo's daughter), Midori Tayama (Tamie's aunt) and family friend Sumi Kashiwagi.
Soon after, in 1950, Tayama pioneered the importing of tropical cut flowers from Hawaii to California. To this day, Tayama remains the Western United States' largest importer of tropical flowers. In the early Fifties, the Hawaiian Cut Flower industry was in its infancy, and most of its growers were small hobbyists or "backyard entrepreneurs."  The first floral goods imported from them were greens, such as Ti leaf, Vanda Orchids and Leis. Tayama's first Hawaiian suppliers were Charlie and Kay Mizukami, who still reside in Hilo, Carl and Harriet Saito, and the Oda family of "Orchids of Hawaii" fame. Tayama is still heavily dependent on its Hawaiian suppliers, who include Harold and Eric Tanouye of Green Point Nurseries, and the Lum family of Puna Orchard, who have been shipping product to us for over twenty years.
The early Fifties also saw a new location and new family partners. Ben Kimura, later of Kimura Wholesale fame, was Tayama's first full-time employee. In 1951, Tayama moved to a new, more visible location in the main building of the LA Flower Market. In 1953, Joe Kimura (no relation to Ben) came aboard, and six months later married Fred's daughter, Tamie.
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