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Growing up in Southern California’s Orange County, Teresa “Teá” Chaffee remembers a childhood charmed by the sea.

She watched her mother search for rocks and driftwood for ikebana arrangements, saw the passion for the ocean’s ways in her father’s eyes, enjoyed beach picnics with clams plucked from the waters by a local dive club for fresh clam chowder and rode her cruiser bike every day to collect seashells from the sand.

Later, she worked as an artist for a surf wear company there, designing clothes, making patterns and doing illustrations, before rearing three children.

Today, Teá (pronounced Tee-ya) is a Mill Valley resident, singer in a Sausalito band named — appropriately enough — King Tide and owner of a new business, SeaGardens Marin.

“I started the business during the worst of the pandemic in 2020 when we were all on lockdown and had to shelter in place for such a long period of time,” she says. “I was bored to tears and missed connection to friends and the outside world, so I found myself spending a lot more time in my garden.”

That’s when she really noticed “the beautiful succulents that were growing so happily in the garden, completely unaffected from the chaos of the world,” she says.

Soon her garden and her small greenhouse became her “creative happy space,” where she played with different ways to showcase her succulents, until one day she remembered some seashells she had stored away in her garage.

“I grabbed the largest one I could find and started to arrange succulents inside it to see how it would turn out,” she says. “Well, I’ll never forget that moment when I felt like I had created something truly magical.”

She posted a photograph of the arrangement on her personal Instagram account and instantly found an audience for her work, and soon found a business that would fuel her spark of creativity.

SeaGardens Marin offers made-to-order, one-of-a-kind seashell and succulent arrangements that can be picked up locally or delivered nationwide.

Arrangements feature seasonally available succulents that are propagated in Chaffee’s garden or purchased from small independent nurseries, and then planted in domestic, ethically sourced shells of various shapes, sizes and colors.

“I buy seashells from beachcombers on the East Coast, where shells in a variety of sizes and neutral colors are washed up on the shores,” she says. “I do not support or buy from sellers that use shells found with a living creature inside.”

Her arrangements often favor New Jersey’s state shell, the knobbed whelk; Delaware’s state shell, the channeled whelk; and Florida’s state shell, the horse conch.

“If a customer has a special request, such as a shell color or a certain type of succulent (or want to use their own container), they can reach out to me,” she says. “But, typically, customers seem to be very happy to leave the living art designs up to me.

“I add pops of colors by accenting each SeaGarden with dried flowers, small seashells, coral and/or mother-of-pearl, and a care card is included with each purchase.”

SeaGardens are statement pieces, she says, that add interest to home spaces and make thoughtful gifts.

“One of the best features of a SeaGarden is that it is very long lasting and will outlast cut flowers by months,” she says.

They are best displayed anywhere that receives some natural light whether it is indoors or outdoors. Ideal places can include kitchen counters, office desks and outdoor tables.

“When the succulents outgrow the shell, they can be easily removed and replanted in the garden,” she says. “Succulents are amazingly hearty and drought-tolerant. When planted in your garden, they will grow and propagate with very little care. They are magical that way.”

The empty shell can become a décor piece or, for a fee, Chaffee will refresh the shell with new succulents.

Her latest line includes arrangements of orchids and succulents planted in vintage seashell planters that are available only at shows or for local pickup.

Customers can browse examples of SeaGarden arrangements, and purchase similar ones, at SeaGardensMarin.com. Prices range from $20 to $200. First-time online orders receive a discount using the current promotion code.

If you have a beautiful or interesting Marin garden or a newly designed Marin home, I’d love to know about it.

Please send an email describing either one (or both), what you love most about it, and a photograph or two. I will post the best ones in upcoming columns. Your name will be published and you must be over 18 years old and a Marin resident.

• Art from local artists Liz Campbell, Josie Iselin, Marcia Donahue, Lyn Swan, along with three other artists, is on display in the Shop from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. now through Sept. 17 at the Marin Art and Garden Center at 30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. in Ross. Call 415-455-5260 or go to maringarden.org.

PJ Bremier writes on home, garden, design and entertaining topics every Saturday. She may be contacted at P.O. Box 412, Kentfield 94914, or at pj@pjbremier.com. 

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