SHADYBROOK’S SMILING

It was great to be at Shadybrook Assisted Living this afternoon.  Each time we come we become more popular.  Many residents come to help or to pick out one of the arrangements for their rooms.  It’s been great to be there.  Here’s a fabulous photo of Shaquana, Betty Lou and Violet laughing and working away.  They made all 40 bouquets today, enough for all the residents and the staff.  This is amazingly satisfying for them to do.  I knocked on Violet’s door to tell her we were here and she hopped out of bed and was ready to go in a flash.  This was Shaquana’s first time but she was a natural with it.  And Betty Lou has loved learning about how to work with the flowers.  It has been very satisfying for all of them.

Up on the right is a photo of Bob.  We were glad to catch him outside his room for this shot.  The other photo is of Lisa and Audie.  Audie loves to take walks outside by the creek and through the neighborhood.  He goes out several times a day.  He also really likes to talk.  So we’re going to have him join us in the cafeteria next time while we work with the flowers.  We’ll get him talking and before long I expect he’ll be making some of his own floral arrangements.  There seems to be a hidden floral artist in all of us!

THREE IS NOT A CROWD

Many hands really do make light work.  We usually just have one or two volunteers but we’re liking three.  Much more leisurely, no feeling of being rushed.  Plenty of time to talk to staff and residents in the halls.

Today it was Judy, Fred and Emily who helped us at Highland Farms.  We had some great flowers from Fresh Market and you can see how everyone was enjoying them!  Confidence was in the air as our trusted volunteers creatively chose the flowers, snipped and delicately arranged them in a most attractive Second Bloom cup.  That would be a cup with our logo on it.  Our cart filled in no time with beautiful little arrangements poised for their precarious journey down the halls.  To find out more about how that journey progressed, you’d best click here.

LOVING OUR VOLUNTEERS!

This morning worked like knife through soft butter…smooooth!  That’s what happens when we have such great volunteers - and so many of them.  Judy, Fred and Emily joined us at Highland Farms for the morning.  Flowers were generously donated by The Fresh Market.  Emily, a new volunteer, participated like she’d been volunteering with us for months.  And she was not only not camera shy, but she was photogenic to boot!

When we first arrived we knocked on the doors of Rose and Elizabeth, residents at Highland Farms, and they came right down to use their creativity making sweet little arrangements.  They love the activity and it is always a delight for them to see all the flowers.  We never know in advance what we’ll be getting but we have yet to be disappointed!

This was the first time we’d been at Highland Farms in the morning and it was definitely a buzz with activity.  We met all kinds of new people who were glad to finally say thanks for the flowers that they see in all the rooms.  Lisa and Emily walked the halls, handing the bouquets out to all of the residents.  On the left is Emily with Freddie and on the right she’s giving a beautiful arrangement to Jim.  These flowers will last for a good 4-5 days in their rooms, providing color and beauty for them to enjoy.

TWIST AND FLOP

So after our morning at the Laurels, learning about how to twist flowers into small bouquets, we gave it a try at Hospice.  Need I say more?  Let me anyway….we chose our flowers carefully, building the arrangement first in our hand, a simple twist as we went.  Placed it in the cup.  It didn’t stand up, it flopped.  We decided this new method was actually an advanced technique that we’d have to dedicate more time to in order to perfect.  But bouquets were made and appreciated all the same.  The flowers were fabulous, donated from Fresh Market and from Blossoms at Biltmore Park.  We had a lot of flowers left after we made bouquets for the patients, so we made large arrangements for the nursing stations.  They truly enjoy them.  Look at the delight on their faces.  Debra, Wanda and Sherry - smiling and on the Web!

TALENT ABOUNDS AT SECOND BLOOM

Our two volunteers today have a fair amount of experience with flowers.  Sally, on the left, helped out at Blossoms at Biltmore Park to see what all she could learn.  And she is growing so many flowers in her garden now that she may begin selling some.  Then Lizzee, in the photo to the right, is a semi-retired florist that has recently moved to Asheville.  Together they were quite a team for us.  We finished making 100 bouquets for all the residents at the Laurels of GreenTree Ridge in record time.

The task of making all these bouquest can seem a bit daunting at first…..buckets of flowers, empty cups, how to begin?  But it doesn’t take long to get going and get some sort of rhythm with it.  Before too long, we had everything on our cart and the place all cleaned up.  Another bloomin’ day!

TWIST AND CUT

We were fortunate to have flowers from two sources:  Blossoms at Biltmore Park donated 4 beautiful buckets of flowers and then we picked up another 4 from The Fresh Market in Hendersonville.  To the left, peepin’ out of the posies, is Judy from Fresh Market.  She and her husband love growing flowers at their home in Mills River.

What a banner day with flowers!  We chugged over to the Laurels of Green Tree Ridge where Marjorie, a resident there, was ready to jump in with the shears.  And Sally and Lizzee, two new volunteers, helped us out.  And as always, we needed it!  We were so excited about having two new volunteers that we basically forgot to take photos….oops!

Sally loves growing flowers and has seen her garden increasing in size each year.  Lizzee is a semi-retired florist from California who’s just recently moved here.  It wasn’t long into our process when we realized that Lizzee had a special technique we knew nothing about - no surprise there.  She would arrange the flowers in her hand, twisting each one as she added it in.  Then she’d clip the stems and put them right in the cup.  Done, no fuss at all.  Marjorie caught on right away.  It looked easy, but we tried it later when we went to Hospice and found it to be a bit challenging.

Some people might find it stunning to think that two people with little to no horticultural experience would decide to start a business recycling flowers.  However, I like to think that it gives us an opportunity to showcase our volunteer talent…….

JANUARY THAW

It was great to have Judy and Jackie volunteer with us once again.  It was a beautiful, sunny 65 degree day - our January thaw.  We set up in the solarium at The McCune Center.  In no time, we were cooking.  And I don’t just mean we were cranking out the bouquets, which of course we were.  The sun coming in those windows was just short of a sauna.  But we had all dressed in layers so it felt like a hot summer day.  The photo above shows Louise, Judy, Joyce and Jackie basking in the sunlight streaming in.  James also joined us as we were finishing up and he really enjoyed the flowers.  He approached it as a competition that he was sure he was winning, but every little bouquet was overflowing with beauty - how can one judge?  Take a look at Louise with just one of her creations and James proudly showing his.  There were more than enough arrangements to go to every room, every table in the dining hall and as many staff as we could find.

ROSES FOR DEERFIELD

Now that we’ve met Loretta and the BLT Girls from Deerfield, we’re always know where to take a couple extra buckets of flowers.  So today, while Loretta was just going about her day, wondering where she might find flowers……we were scouting around for her.  And we picked up two buckets of flowers from Fresh Market that definitely had her name on it.  A quick call and we met for our ‘Flower Exchange’.  She gasped when she saw all the beautiful roses and called The BLT Girls into action.  Yes, they came through again with flowers for the tables of the dining room at Deerfield Retirement Community!

BOOTS RIDES AGAIN!

I asked Boots, owner of Black Mountain Floral Center, when I was going to get a photo of her and she said ‘Never’.  So you’ll have to stop in to see her if you want to know.  Boots once again got several buckets of flowers for Second Bloom from the wholesale delivery truck that dropped her flowers off at her store.She simply asked if he had some he’d be throwing out - voila!  We were in luck.  We combined those flowers with some from Fresh Market and off we went to Courtyard Rehabilitation and Nursing Center.  We had a lot of folks helping us.  We had Vernelle, Buddy, Kim (Activity Director), Lisa (Second Bloom), Charles, Jean (Activities Dept) and Nanette.  We had our work cut out for us because there are 105 residents at Courtyard!  But with all that help the work went quickly and before you know it, I was able to bring a beautiful arrangement to Laura.  And Charles left the ‘bloomin’ activity looking quite dapper with that yellow rose in his lapel.

MELTING VOLUNTEERS

It was January.  Last week at this time it was in the single digits.  But not today.  Outside it was balmy, inside we roasted.  Judy found a bit of shade at one end of the tables we set up, but Jackie stayed in the sun.  Not even a complaint.  The rest of the folks at McCune thought it was simpler to stay put with the strong beams coming through the window than it would be to move.  They had a point.  So we stayed put, working on our tans.  Both Jackie and Judy love working with the flowers, no matter what kind.  Judy had brought a bucket full of greens of various kinds that she’d cut from her yard.  Beautiful holly with berries and pine boughs.  They definitely added some interest to the bouquets.  We started the day not expecting to have enough flowers to go two places, but as soon as we realized we could we gave Judy a call.  Then Jackie called to see if we were ‘blooming’ anywhere in the afternoon, so she joined right in.  It was great to have their help.

ORANGE YOU GLAD WE CAME?

It was an obvious joke, what with at least 12 dozen orange colored roses.  Some might say they were peach colored, but that doesn’t go with any joke I know.  Betty Lou thought it was a pretty funny joke, at least the first time I used it.  And Rita, on the right, was kind enough to give it a smile.

Shadybrook has definitely livened up since we started bringing flowers early last fall.  Now we get a lot of help, both making the bouquets and handing them out as well.  As you can see from the photographs, the small arrangements with the pink roses were the most desirable.  Frank chose one and when he was sure no one was looking, he leaned in for a smell.  They were definitely sweet!

FRED’S GOT VERVE

Not nerve, verve!  Enthusiastic, has a zest for life, energetic…..qualities like that.  Fred, a regular volunteer with Second Bloom, was definitely a help today as we were immersed in being interviewed and photographed for Verve Magazine.  He spent a fair amount of time filling cups with water as Helen, Rose and Elizabeth busied themselves with making arrangements for all the other residents.  And then we delivered them to all 80 rooms, only spilling a few on the cart, a new record for Second Bloom.

VERVE ABOUNDS AT HIGHLAND FARMS

So what is ‘Verve‘?  We all know it is Western North Carolina’s Smartest Magazine For Women, but what else is Verve?  And how did we end up being in it?  Plain and simple….it’s enthusiasm, zest for life, vim, vigor, razzle-daz.  We got it!  And there was plenty of it going around today as we brought in bucket after bucket of roses.  Rose, Helen and Elizabeth helped out and Fred came to volunteer as well.  We put together over 80 bouquets for the residents.  Here is a photo of Helen making a beautiful arrangement of roses.  In the background is Nichole Livengood who’s writing the article about Second Bloom.  I would have taken many more photos except that we were being interviewed and photographed by yes, Verve Magazine.  Be sure to pick up your copy of the March-April edition and look for Second Bloom.  We’ll be there somewhere!

WHAT SEASON IS IT?

McCune Center was flooded with beautiful flowers from Clements and Fresh Market.  And they of course handled it with ease.  There were flowers spread out across the table with several women busily making arrangements into our new little cups with our Second Bloom logo on them.  There is nothing quite like flowers to help us forget about the cold winter weather outside.  It was in the teens outside but like spring inside McCune.

FULL OF LIFE

This is Loretta Heiser, who is one hot ticket!  Here is a woman that has a dynamic magnetism about her.  We’re convinced it’s because she genuinely likes people and wants to see them happy and successful.  So, of course,  everyone wants to be around her.  Perfect for us here at Second Bloom.  Loretta is determined to find flowers for Deerfield’s skilled nursing facility as well as for her BLT Girls.  (What does BLT stand for?  We can never remember…..beautiful toned ladies?)  We’ll be teaming up with Loretta and her gang soon to bring flowers to the residents at Deerfield.  This week Loretta was out finding flowers for Second Bloom.  She managed an introduction for us at Clements Flower Shop and Greenhouses and secured 3 buckets of beautiful flowers for us to take over to Highland Farms.  We made great use of them.  We have a feeling that Loretta is going to be spreading the word to everyone she meets - and we couldn’t be happier about it!

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CLEMENTS FLOWER SHOP

Clements has absolutely gorgeous flowers, brilliant colors filling their display case as you come in the door. It lifts your spirits just to come into their store.  But it’s not just the effect of seeing all those beautiful flowers, it’s how happy everyone who works there seems to be.  Above on the left is a photo of Richard, Holly, Sandy and John.

Above on the right is a photo of Richard with Loretta Heiser, of the BLT Girls.  She made our initial introduction to Clements for us and we arrived to find carnations, red roses and baby’s breath ready for us to take to Highland Farms Retirement Community.  Those flowers were stunning and really fun to work with.  As you can see from the photo of Richard and Loretta, Clements is a very fun place to shop!  Stop by their storefront at 462 Sweeten Creek Road or call them at (828) 274-2140.

LOAVES AND FISHES

The talk today at Highland Farms was all about ‘loaves and fishes’.  That’s because every time we pulled a flower from one of the buckets, another flower seemed to magically appear in its place.  So from what seemed like a small amount for a large home, actually made flowers for everyone - all the residents, the staff, the dining tables and nurses’ stations!  We got some great help today:  Rose, Helen and Elizabeth.  This was the first time Elizabeth helped out and she really enjoyed it.  We also had two great volunteers from Minneapolis: Jan and Marga.  We kept them as busy as we possibly could.  The flowers we got to work with were spectacular.  We had red roses, baby’s breath and carnations from Clements and some beautiful yellow spider mums and pink roses from Fresh Market.

THE MINNESOTA TWINS

Okay, so they’re not twins (as you can see) and this has nothing to do with baseball, but they are from Minnesota.  And they did ’step up to the plate’ and volunteer.  Well, enough of that.  Here is the photo of our Minnesota Twins,  Jan and Marga, who joined us at Highland Farms.  You can tell by their smiles that they had an absolutely fabulous time and if they were local we’d be sure to see more of them.  Their humor and easy style made the afternoon go quickly.

WELCOME HOME, SHADYBROOK!

We received some gorgeous flowers from the cooler at Blossoms at Biltmore Park.  And we had great participation again today at Shadybrook so it was a lot of fun to be there.  Sarah, Susan and Lisa were among those that helped make the beautiful arrangements.  Sara and Susan are in the photos to the left, Lisa directly below and Darlene below on the left.  We finally got to see Darlene again - it seems that every time we’ve been there for the past couple of months, she’s been out.  Great to see her smiling face again!
A few days ago Shadybrook had some problems with their heating so the residents had to leave while it got repaired.  They just returned last night.

And these beautfiul flowers added just the right welcome home touch!