Henry Tieu Spreads Joy With Bespoke Floral Brand Petal To The Meadow By Writer and Contributor Emily McGinn
For the past 14 years, Petal to the Meadow has been providing exquisite floral arrangements to clients across the South Bay. Based in Orange County, it offers services for a variety of events, from corporate settings to private home arrangements.
Henry Tieu is the quiet, elusive figure behind the business. He opts for a behind-the-scenes persona, dodging the camera, even on his own Instagram account. Tieu emphasizes a humble approach to his business and prefers to keep the flowers front and center, focusing the lens on his life’s work.
“I prefer to be a wallflower and the man behind the production, but I never want to be visibly seen,” Tieu says. “It adds a mystery to it. On my Instagram, I have no pictures of myself. A lot of florists like to pose in front of their work — good for them. But for me, I’d rather have my work speak for me rather than put my face in front of it. I don’t like being the center of attention. I like my work and my flowers to be the center of attention.”
Originally from the Bay Area, Tieu has always gravitated toward flowers and plants, even as a child. He recalls taking note of their appearances and scents, and he even worked in a flower shop at one point.
“That was the only job that I really absolutely loved, and it was the beginning of a realization like, ‘Hey, I think I found a job that I love,’” Tieu says. “But unfortunately, it didn't pay much. So that's when the office job came in, because they paid better, with medical insurance and all of the other sorts of benefits, you know, just to make ends meet. But I didn't like the job.”
Though Tieu had to take an office job to pay the bills in San Francisco, he still found ways to incorporate his real passion into his day-to-day life. At the office, his colleagues would receive bouquets from significant others and Tieu would watch them toss the flowers in a cup of water. When Tieu saw this, he was struck with inspiration, and he began to take the bouquets and make arrangements for his colleagues.
“The word got spread around the office. And so then, I got a phone call from other ladies and so it kind of started from there on,” Tieu says. “And then some of the men who had their own individual offices knew what I enjoyed doing and that I had the know-how, so they hired me to do weekly flowers in their office so that their clients could enjoy it.”
The small word-of-mouth side hustle, a foreshadowing of his future career in the floral industry, eventually morphed into Tieu’s first large event: he did the floral arrangements for a wedding for a colleague’s son in 2004.
“I just lit up. It was like, ‘Oh my God. I really discovered my passion. I think this is it,’” Tieu says.
When Tieu’s partner got accepted into law school across the country, they decided to move to Durham, North Carolina. The move served as an inflection point for Tieu’s career — he left the office job behind and decided to pivot to doing what he really loved. He began working in a retail flower shop and eventually transitioned to a floral studio where he did work for weddings and corporate events.
“I was just loving it. I was at my happiest part of my life in terms of career life, so it started from there on,” Tieu says.
Once his partner graduated law school, they returned to the West Coast, this time landing in Southern California. Tieu continued his career, freelancing for some of the big floral studios in Orange County.
After years of gaining experience in the industry, Tieu made the leap to opening an independent studio, landing The Pacific Club in Newport Beach as his first major account. From there, Petal to the Meadow grew organically, spreading through word-of-mouth marketing and referrals.
“We never once did any advertisement or paid advertisement, so my whole entire business has been all word-of-mouth,” Tieu says. “We're very fortunate to be where we are. And it's about 14 years later, and it's still growing, so we're very, very happy with what we do.”
Tieu likes to keep the business exclusive and bespoke, which falls in line with his word-of-mouth marketing approach. He views referrals given by existing clients as one of the most gratifying aspects of owning Petal to the Meadow.
"That would be the top of my list is the accomplishment of being able to show what we can do, and it visually speaks highly of our work,” Tieu says.
He has landed major accounts like Chapman University. Large accounts like that also give him exposure to a new audience, such as philanthropists and alumni.
Although Tieu sees some evolution in the floral market — he sees early Gen Z steering away from expensive floral arrangements at weddings, for example — he still sees much value in what flowers contribute to events.
“[Flowers] really make a huge impact, whether it's a wedding or corporate event, birthday celebration, anniversaries and even funerals,” he says. “It sets the vibe and the mood, whether it's positive or sad or whatever. It's a huge impact. Visually, it really makes a statement, and it really defines the event.”
Amid his success, Tieu has received offers for merging his business with another in the past. However, his vision for the company is simple: he hopes to keep the “mom-and-pop” feel, maintaining the high-quality, exclusive work he does for his clientele. The controlled growth of his business thus far has allowed him to focus on attention to detail and include his personal touch in his work.
“I don't want to lose the love of design and what I do. I don't want my business to become massive industrial productions where it's cookie-cutter and you're churning out all these big-budget weddings and events,” Tieu says. “I see that if I ever have my business grow that big, I would lose the love and joy of what I do. It becomes something else. It becomes production, as opposed to love and design with flowers. I don't want to lose that.”
You can follow Tieu and his work on Instagram @petaltothemeadow.
Bio:
Emily McGinn is a journalist based in the Los Angeles area. She enjoys reporting on and writing about a variety of topics from lifestyle to news, especially in her areas of specialty, environmental science and political science.