ROSES FOR ALL

It was a rose colored Sunday morning as Second Bloom volunteers, one of whom I’ve never met, picked up over 100 dozen roses donated by the Rhododendron Brigade.  They transferred the flowers to buckets and went off in several different directions:  To the McCune Center, Deerfield and Courtyard.

I was out of town but heard from every facility about how gorgeous the roses were.  What a generous donation that spread joy to literally hundreds of residents and their families.

FLOWERS A PLENTY

I received a call Saturday afternoon from Asheville Event Company about a wedding they were having at the Inn On Biltmore.  Becca said there would be plenty of flowers left for Second Bloom.  And she wasn’t kidding.  The room was full of arrangements and within a short time everything was loaded in the truck, filling the inside and out.

Sunday morning proved to be a delight for five facilities!  Flowers went to Deerfield, McCune, Shadybrook, Golden Living and Highland Farms.  Above on the right is a photo of the flowers with Loretta and one of her trusty BLT volunteers.  They took in 4 of the large arrangements and rearranged them into small bouquets for the entire assisted living section of Deerfield Retirement Community.

On the left is a picture of Rose at Highland Farms making some beautiful arrangements for the tables and nurses’ stations.  All these flowers were from Clements and they were spectacular!

WEDDING FLOWERS SPREAD JOY

The flowers from a beautiful wedding in Morganton on Saturday night became the joy and afternoon pleasure of over 500 residents at 6 different facilities in Asheville and Black Mountain.  With plenty of help the work went quickly.  We knew it had been a bit wet because the ground was quite soft…..then we heard tales of wild weather….rain, hail and lots of wind.  But today was sunny and warm.  We loaded up a van and the back of the truck, inside and out, and headed off for a bit of shade to take a short break.

Then it was up the mountain with the truck going one direction, the van another and by early afternoon everyone had their flowers.  One of the facilities called me later to say how much they all appreciated them, but it was especially sweet for 3 residents that had just returned from the hospital.  And then of course with it being Mother’s Day, everyone was especially happy.

Flowers went to Mountain Ridge Wellness Center, Golden Living Center, The McCune Center, The Swannanoa Christian Ministry, Courtyard Rehabilitation and Nursing Center and Deerfield.  Over 500 residents were touched by the flowers this one bride donated to Second Bloom - quite remarkable!

BLT GALS ARE GOOD AT MANIFESTING FLOWERS

It was a great day at Deerfield as I drove up with a truckload of flowers from the Biltmore Estate.  They saw me round the corner and they all began to cheer.  And who wouldn’t….they were ready to have an afternoon of working with some beautiful flowers.  They make arrangements for all the tables in their dining room.  And if they see someone who should have some flowers, they don’t hesitate to pass them along.  Last time I was there, Loretta passed some along to a volunteer at Meals on Wheels so they could give them out to everyone they were bringing lunch to.

DEERFIELD’S DELIGHT

Loretta was lucky enough to answer the phone late Sunday morning…..she got my call that I had a lot of flowers left from a wedding.  So she took action.  By the time I arrived there was a tub of water for the flowers, tables were being set up and she had contacted some of the other BLT Girls to help out.  They spent 3 hours arranging flowers for the tables!

The flowers were soft and rich looking.  Beautiful pink, yellow and white tones.  Huge white hydrangeas - about 40 or more of them!  All the flowers were donated from a wedding at the Biltmore Estate, the florist was The Flower Gallery in downtown Asheville.  Deerfield was the second stop, first stop was Care Partners Solace Center.

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!

DEERFIELD’S BLT GIRLS

Months ago we contacted Deerfield Retirement Community, expecting to bring them flowers within a month or so.  But then wedding season was over and we began scrambling for flowers.  So here it is several months later and I get an email from Loretta, ring leader of the BLT girls, (which I know does not

stand for Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato). Loretta was looking at our website, having seen us on TV and she wanted to know how Deerfield could be included.  They wanted flowers for their dining room tables.  Well, just so happens (no real surprise here) but we have an extra load of flowers this week.  First time in quite a while.  So we agree to meet them.  And what a treat that was!  We simply got swept up into their activity, laughing and joking while making small arrangements for their tables.  Mostly we watched, feeling no need to make any more bouquets than we’d already made today.  It was a great connection, very open hearted and appreciated all around.  To the right is a photo of Nancy making one of the extravagant centerpieces for one of the tables.  And above is Second Bloom with the gang:  Nancy, Loretta, Jeanie, Renee, Linda, Marian, Jane and Norma.