RELAXING MORNING AT McCUNE

The flowers were already in the car, held over from Fresh Market yesterday, so it made for an easy trip for the ‘bloomers’.  We worked in the solarium at McCune, which was sunny and bright and gave us lots of room to spread out.  We ended up with about 8 ladies who came to arrange flowers.  The arrangements were what we like to call ‘The McCune Specials’ - arrangements that have both height and  fullness.  Many flowers in a cup.  I gave one out to a resident that had 8 roses in it with lots of baby’s breath and other greenery.  And they are definitely appreciated.  Vernon always loves to see what will show up in the floral extravaganza we give him!  Today he got a white spider mum and a huge red amarylis.  We put it up on the bureau so both he and his roommate can enjoy it. That particular bouquet may very well be an arrangement that Angie made for him.  In this photo you can see Angie working away with a relaxed concentration and an eye for color, height and fullness….yes, she’s in the process of creating another ‘McCune Special’.

LAST MINUTE CALL FOR HELP

Fortunately for us, Fred was into spontaneous action this afternoon.  Because that’s what we needed from a volunteer.  We had more flowers than we could handle on our own so we gave him a call.  It was a beautiful, warm December day so we worked outside at Highland Farms. What a treat!  Rose joined us and we arranged flowers in a most relaxing way.  We had a few bees buzzing around the flowers while we talked quietly, picking up roses, carnations, spider mums…..and doing what we do so well, sticking them into cups.

SPRING LIKE WEATHER IN DECEMBER

Here we are today at Highland Farms.  It’s 65 degrees out so we’re  working outside.  What a treat for the end of December!  Fred volunteered again and Rose, a resident at Highland Farms, also helped out.  We made bouquets for every resident to have one in their room.  The flowers were from Fresh Market - we sure are happy they donate.  They have provided more joy than they could possibly know.  Look at just a few of the faces of those who received them.  To the left is Arnold and below is Eugenia and Frances. They were just two of the 77 who we happily encountered as we rolled our cart down the hallways.

BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS FOR HOSPICE

This was a banner day for flowers!  We started out with over 14 buckets, from both Fresh Market in Asheville as well as Hendersonville.  The Prius was overflowing with blooms and the truck had a fair number as well.  We started by bringing a couple of buckets to Hospice where we made small arrangements for all the rooms.  We had so many flowers today that we also made bouquets for the nurses’ stations and the front desk. It’s always interesting when we ask to take photos of the staff - suddenly everyone thinks someone else looks better than they do.  But we always manage to get someone to agree.  Today it was Melody, in the photo to the left, and   Brenda, to the right.  Care Partners Hospice is a treat to go to.  They see us pull in with flowers and race out with a cart for us.  There is a warm, welcoming feel from everyone we meet there.  And the patients and their families truly appreciate the beauty of the flowers we bring them.

AN EIGHT BUCKET HOME!

I usually don’t characterize the size of a facility by the number of buckets of flowers we go through.  But this was truly amazing.  We had flowers galore, stuffed to overflowing, all from Fresh Market in Asheville.  Sure we’d be going to at least two facilities we just brought 4 buckets in.  But I kept coming out for another one, and then another one…..until we’d made 105 bouquets!  Fortunately we had help.  That is a huge, eight bucket home!  But we had a great time stuffing the cups full of flowers - roses, spider mums, carnations, delphiniums, coffee berries and baby’s breath to name just a few.  And they were greatly appreciated by the residents.  Above is a photo of Danny and Lisa and to the left is one of Nancy and Robert.  It’s quite something to hand these flowers out and see people light up when you bring them in.  Some get great big smiles on their faces, like Danny and Robert.  But with some, you just see it in their eyes and in the few moments of connection, of exchange.  They brighten as you give them this simple gift of flowers.

JUDY COMES TO THE RESCUE!

Happy to once again have Judy helping us out!  We certainly needed her today at Magnolia.  We made 105 bouquets and went through 8 buckets stuffed with beautiful flowers from Fresh Market in Asheville.  That is a lot of small cups full of flowers.  But we were all up to the task - Nanette and Vernelle helped us and Caleigh also joined in.  Caleigh’s in 6th grade and volunteers at Magnolia during the holidays.  She’s in the blue shirt in the photo to the left.  She wasn’t so sure about flower arranging but after watching for a bit she decided to give it a try.  Found out she has quite a knack for it!

OUR SURPRISE VOLUNTEER

This is a photo of Jen and Leon.  Jen helped us out at Shadybrook.  It was an incredibly delightful morning for all of us.  She filled the place with willing residents and had a wonderful way of engaging with each of them.  Jen flew all the way from Colorado to volunteer with Second Bloom and so far has the record for most miles traveled to reach us.  It’s possible she’ll hold that for a little while, although you just never know who might show up to help us out.  Look at the gorgeous arrangement of flowers.  The colors are spectacular!  And no one could resist them.  But then, if someone like Jen showed up at your door, smiling with a bouquet of flowers for you, would you refuse?  I didn’t think so.

MANY SHEARS MAKE LIGHT WORK

It was an amazing array of volunteers, residents and flowers at The Laurels of Green Tree Ridge.  The flowers were from both Fresh Market and the Biltmore, quite a fantastic variety to work with.  Both Judy and Fred returned for another round of flower arranging with us and Jackie also joined us for the first time.  Jackie is pictured here in the photo to the right with Marjorie, a resident of the Laurels.  She helps us each time we come.  However, even though today was Jackie’s first time with Second Bloom, she’s already planning on returning next week!  You know what this means, don’t you?  Yes, volunteering is great fun.  Wonder why?  Well, for starters it’s very satisfying to work creatively with the flowers - we don’t often get that opportunity.  And it is especially touching to do that with some of the residents, to bring them flowers to their room, to spend a few minutes talking, to brighten up their lives and their environment.  The activity enriches us all.

SHADYBROOK SURPRISES US!

It was a fabulous day at Shadybrook in Black Mountain.  Jen, from Colorado, helped us out and attracted a crowd.  We’ve been coming to Shadybrook almost every week for several months and this was the first time that so many residents helped us make bouquets.  There were four residents going strong.  Several other residents came in to either collect their cup full of flowers or to simply watch.  We decided it must be Jen’s magnetism that brought them all in.  We truly loved it!  The activity was great and we found quite the hidden horticultural talent among those that helped.  All the residents and staff received some of the small beautiful floral arrangements.  Up top is a photo of Jen helping Betty Lou.  And to the left is one of Violet, who cranked out a record number of beautiful arrangements for everyone.  She then helped us distribute the flowers to all the residents and staff.  There’s a photo of Levon with his flowers and one of Pete and Lisa.  So many good photos made it hard to choose which ones to include here, but stay tuned. The rest will follow along at our next visit.

FLOWERS ON THE MOVE

It took until late afternoon to have enough flowers to be blooming, but look at the beautiful ones we received.  We picked up flowers in the morning from both Fresh Markets, in Hendersonville and Asheville.  And then filled up the back of the truck with flowers from the Biltmore House.  We headed over to The Laurels of Green Tree Ridge and met our three volunteers for the day:  Judy, Fred and Jackie.  They teamed up with Marjorie and we put them all right to work making 100 floral arrangements for every resident to have one.  It’s a delight to work with beautiful flowers and be as creative as you dare.  These volunteers held nothing back!  Look at the delight that just one of the residents shows.  It’s a picture of Myrtle with Jackie.  Myrtle loves the flowers we bring and even if she’s napping a bit when we come in, she lights up with a big smile, grateful words and makes sure we place them where she can easily see them.

GREAT PHOTOS AT HIGHLAND FARMS

This was a day of piecing together buckets of flowers.  We picked up some flowers from Fresh Market in Hendersonville yesterday, but not enough to take anywhere.  So we waited to hear from Fresh Market in Asheville today.  And they pulled through again…buckets of flowers to take to Highland Farms.  Rose helped us today and it was great - we had missed her floral arranging the last two times we’ve been there.  Click here for a photo of Rose from a few months ago.  That was one of the first times we’d met her, before we knew she liked to arrange flowers.  Today it was great to be with her.  Look at how much fun she’s having making these beautiful bouquets!  Rose made all but about 3 of the arrangements for the residents’ rooms.  How were they received?  Check out a few of the faces of those who received them!  We have photos below of Elizabeth, Barbara and Mary Beth.  Elizabeth had seen our news clip on ABC and wanted to hear about more it.  She’s very appreciative of the flowers we bring to her and it was great to spend a few minutes sitting and talking.

FRIDAY’S FANTASTIC RIDE

It was a triple play today, in three separate innings. We started out with flowers from Boots at Black Mountain Floral Center and Earth Fare.  Yesterday Boots hijacked a truck full of flowers for us at the end of their run.  It was great!  Enough flowers for us to go to Magnolia Health Care Center first thing in the morning.  There were poinsettias everywhere at Magnolia so we made some large bouquets for their dining room tables, activity room and nursing stations.  You can see Nanette helping us out in the photo above.  We finally got to meet her son Mike and his wife as they came to take her out for the afternoon.  Then we were off to Fresh Market to see Louise and pick up some more flowers from her.  So who do we see in Fresh Market?  Check out the photo of Nanette, Mike and Louise.  Mike used to be the manager at Fresh Market so Mike and Louise already knew each other.  What a small world!  But we had to keep moving….we had flowers to deliver now to The Laurels of Green Tree Ridge.  Fortunately Marjorie was there to help us fill the 88 cups full of flowers and hand them out to the residents.  Marilyn, in the photo to the right, was one of the happy recipients.  She loves the baby’s breath so she chose an arrangement that had a lot of them.  Then off we went again - we don’t have ‘Flowers on the Move’ as our tag line for nothing.  We picked up 8 buckets of gorgeous flowers from the Biltmore House - look at those colors!  Nothing quite like it.  But what to do with them?  Well, we moved along to The McCune Center.  And although most of our help was out Christmas shopping, both Louise and Weezie were there to lend a hand.  We managed to spill several cups of water on the floor as we delivered out beautiful floral arrangements to the residents, but everyone was happy to get them and happy to help us mop up the place.  Three facilities in one day - a new record for us!  Something only to repeated with more volunteers…..

FESTIVA RESORTS

This is a photo of Sara Bader of Festiva Resorts, the morning after their corporate holiday party.  Festiva donated both of the large arrangements to us.  Sara found out about us through the press release from early December.  Festiva Resorts is a family of boutique interval ownership resorts located in some prime spots in the US and Caribbean.  Their home office here in Asheville is a beautiful old estate on top of the tunnel of Tunnel Road.  We are happy to now have Festiva Resorts as one of our generous donors.  Find out more about what they offer at www.FestivaResorts.com.

LOVING PRESENCE

Jackie, Fred and Alan all volunteered with Second Bloom this past week at Highland Farms Retirements Center.   Jackie was our designated photographer.  It was Fred’s first time volunteering with us.  Here’s a great photo of  him with Martha.  Look at the direct, open contact he’s making.  Fred said that his mother used to arrange flowers all the time.  He definitely took to it easily.   Not only was Fred good but he was fast.  He and Alan were like a tag team.  They made sure everyone got an arrangement, wheeling the cart full of flowers down the sprawling hallways.  What a wonderful presence they all are for the residents, greeting them openly and whole heartedly, willing to spend a few minutes talking with them as they give them these beautiful flowers.  The flowers are the vehicle that allows for this warm exchange.

THE LONE REA-RANGER RIDES AGAIN…….

Lisa was on her own again today, riding the streets of Asheville in search of flowers, desperate to arrange and rea-range…..After only a short time she found flowers at Fresh Market and Earth Fare, just enough for the patients at Hospice.  Lisa claims she did just fine on her own, keeping a nice relaxed pace for herself.  She took her time making the arrangements, adding a flower here, some greens there - tweaking them until they felt complete.  If you look closely at the cups you’ll be able to see our new labels.  Yes, we are constantly innovating and improving.  Now everyone will know who it is that’s providing all the flowers!

OUR FIRST CORPORATE DONATION OF FLOWERS

This is a photo of Sara Bader of Festiva Resorts in Asheville.  Festiva donated two large bouquets from their corporate holiday party.  Sara heard about Second Bloom from the press release that went out early in December.  The centerpieces were a creation from The Flower Gallery and Lisa recognized them right away.  We have seen many arrangements from various florists and after a period of time, it’s easy to tell who designed them.  These large arrangements were made into 30 beautiful bouquets for the residents at Shadybrook.  Rita, a Shadybrook resident, greeted Lisa at the door and immediately filled a cup full of roses for herself.  She then helped make the rest of the arrangements, wheeled the cart around and handed out all the flowers.

HIGHLAND FARMS

Flowers galore from Fresh Market and The Biltmore House! We had three volunteers with us this week at Highland Farms:  Jackie, Alan and Fred.  Helen, a resident there, also helped us again this week.  This was a wonderful day for her.  She made about 10 large floral arrangements, as only Helen can do.  They were stunning!  Helen is 98 years old and has a lot of experience making floral arrangements.  She would talk about the flow of the flowers, the beauty of each bouquet. The staff kept coming in and hovering around her while she worked.  She expressed her love for everyone that came in:  ‘This is my favorite nurse.’  And ‘This is my favorite nurse.’  The love was genuine and poured out of her.  You can see it on her face, as well as Fred’s, in the photo to the right.  And the best part for her was that she had beautiful bouquets to give them.  It’s a wonderful thing when residents have something they can give to those that care for them, be it staff, family or friends.

Fred joined Alan and Jackie as our volunteers today and the work, once we found where to set up, went smoothly.  Alan’s shown here taking a few minutes talking with Bill as he gives him a fresh bouquet for his room.  And here’s a photo of Alice with a bouquet of roses that Helen made.  She was very excited about the flowers and was delighted that they were for her.

ABC NEWS 13 AND SECOND BLOOM

What a day!  Totally unexpected, a delightful surprise!  As we were driving in to pick up flowers from both Fresh Market and Earth Fare, we got a call from ABC News 13.  They wanted to do a story on us!  And there we were, just minding our own business…..  So they met us at Fresh Market and followed us to the storage room where we found a basket full of flowers. Louise was interviewed, talking about how glad she is to not be throwing the flowers in the dumpster anymore, but instead having them bring some happiness to people.  And they definitely are.  We met up again with News 13 at The McCune Center.  We set up in the solarium, a beautiful and spacious room.  The ladies were ready.  They all showed up wearing something red, looking both beautiful and festive. They were as colorful as the flowers they were arranging.  We had plenty of flowers to go around in all the residents’ rooms as well as the tables in the dining hall.  This was an exciting day for all of us.  You can be sure that the 5:30 edition of ABC News 13 was well attended at The McCune Center tonight.  Want to see Second Bloom on TV?

BLOOMIN’ ART

Beth Stickle of Bloomin’ Art has a beautifully decorated storefront at 60 Haywood Street in downtown Asheville.  She has been in business since 1987, beginning as a grower.  She now designs floral art for any occasion, creates exeptional wildflower weddings and has a store full of irrestible home accessories.  Plus she’s got a huge glass cooler full of flowers!  ‘Flowers so fresh they talk back.’  You can tell she is an artist simply by looking at her storefront windows or by looking at the displays she has in her store.  The photo on the right is a view from the cooler into the store, which gives you an idea of how festive it was.  I found Beth on a busy Monday morning with a store full of customers.  Stop by and see all that she has to offer or call her at 828-254-6447.

WHERE DID THAT BUCKET COME FROM?

We were at Hospice today with a few buckets of flowers and Judy Garry, our first professional to volunteer with us!  It was a relaxing, easy time of arranging flowers.  It seemed to go quickly though without any effort.  We finished handing out flowers to the patients and staff, cleaned up and were ready to head out…..only to find we’d left a bucket of flowers by the front door.  Ah, maybe that was why it seemed to go so quickly.  There were too few flowers to take somewhere else, so back we went.  We rounded up a few large vases and Judy had given us some bud vases, so we had at it again! As we finished up, I looked around for someone on the staff that wasn’t camera shy and was fortunate to find Dr. John Langlois, who’s been with Hospice for about a year.