PAUL CHARTS NEW TERRITORY FOR SHADYBROOK

Paul became the first man at Shadybrook to join in the flower arranging!   And he had some definite talent.  Sarah, Betty and Violet also helped.  We had flowers from a wedding at Homewood and they were created by Shady Grove Florist.  They were so colorful and unusual! We also received flowers from a wedding at Lake Eden, put together by the Bloom Room.  Here we had a lot of gorgeous orchids to work with.  The colors were great!  There were so many flowers that the residents had never seen before.  They all wanted the names of them, but I wasn’t much help.

It was very touching to have Paul helping out.  He doesn’t speak clearly, but he was definitely able to communicate his enjoyment.  After we had a cart full of flowers we all went around to hand out the arrangements to each of the residents’ rooms.  Paul took charge of wielding the cart down the halls and everyone helped hand them out.

CAMERA READY

I came to Shadybrook a few weeks ago with a bulletin board full of photos and copies for everyone to have.  It was great fun and everyone crowded around to get a look.  Then, those that hadn’t been included in the photos, made sure they got in on the second round.

I try to come to Shadybrook in the afternoons or on the weekends so that I can get more residents to help me.  Sarah, Betty and Violet provide the most consistent help, but Susan will often join in as well.  I’m still waiting on the men to help out, but right now they just bring in the return cups and collect a new arrangement for themselves.  Maybe next month.

THE SOOTHING QUALITY OF FLOWERS

We showed up at Shadybrook on a rainy afternoon with flowers from The Fresh Market.  The Second Bloom Rea-Rangers were at it again, rea-ranging flowers……maybe you had to be there for that joke.  Anyway, Jackie joined us and we needed her help.  Here’s a photo on the right of Sarah, Jessica, Jamera, Jackie and Betty Lou.

Our friends at Shadybrook seemed a bit out of sorts today, feeling agitated and somewhat upset.  It had been a tough week for them.  But the flowers slowly began to do their magic.  The longer they worked with them, the better they felt.  I feel like we’re getting close to having some of the men participate.  Maybe in a few more visits we’ll have a men’s table complete with manly flowers for them to make into strong, handsome arrangements.

But today it was a few of the women that helped. Above is a picture of Sarah with her favorite creation that was full of flowers with greens all around it.  Everyone got flowers in their rooms and we had plenty for the tables in the dining hall.  The window shades were up, the room was bright and there were all the colorful flowers to brighten the space, and the spirits, of all our friends at Shadybrook.

SATURDAY SENSATIONS

The arrangements that Rita, Betty and Sarah made today were sensational!  They had beautiful flowers to work with from a service that Morris Funeral Home held.  The flowers were fresh, colorful and abundant. Here’s a photo of Sarah on the right looking over the flowers, picking out just the right one for her arrangement.  And Betty was choosing flowers, mixing up the colors, cutting them all to just the height that she wanted.  Betty was practicing being nice today and she was doing a great job of it.  She said it’s easy to be nice when she’s not frustrated.  Betty likes doing the flowers and it was apparent - the only thing that took her away for a few minutes was the opportunity to have a cigarette…..

Here’s a photo of Rita, Betty and Sarah behind the cart of arrangements that they made.  Lots of activity today as many residents came in to talk or to pick out a bouquet for their room.  Here’s a great photo of smiling Tom with the one that he chose.  Tom (Tam?) always greets us with a wave, a smile and a laugh.

It was good to be with all of our Shadybrook friends again on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.

RIGHT IN KEY AT SHADYBROOK

Yes, there’s that wonderful guitar (still a bit out of tune, though I was no help tuning it!).  But that doesn’t stop Audie one bit.  He was still willing to sing a song for us.

We are so loving Shadybrook!  These are great folks, we laugh a lot and they totally love the flowers.  Some of them like making the bouquets, some like just picking them out to take to their rooms or give to staff and some like to wheel the cart down the halls and hand them out.  Some like to watch it all happen.  The photo above is of Betty Lou on the left (she’s a triplet, you know) and Violet on the right, busy at work making the arrangements for both the residents and staff.  Frank picked up one for himself and one for his roommate, while Betty Lou (she’s a triplet, you know) made one for Diana.  Flowers were donated, once again, from The Fresh Market.

MUSIC TO OUR EARS

The talent at Shadybrook never ends.  We showed up with flowers from Fresh Market, Earth Fare and The Biltmore House.  For the first time Darlene helped us out!  Look at the smile on that face!  She said, ‘The flowers make me feel good about myself.  When I wake up and see them in the morning and they’re so beautiful, I just feel good!’

We wheel our cart down the hall with Violet, pictured here with Darlene, and amazing sounds get louder.  Yes, we’re hearing someone playing the guitar.  Quite out of tune, but wonderful to hear music in the halls of Shadybrook.  It was Audie.  I’m going to bring him my tuner next time I come and we’ll coax him down to the dining hall to entertain us as we make bouquets.  Now that’s a plan we’ll try to remember!

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!

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!

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!

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.

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.

BUCKETS OF ROSES DELIGHT SHADYBROOK

Kermit The Frog used to sing a song, maybe still does, that goes ‘It’s not easy being greeeeeen….’  But he was wrong - it’s actually easy to be green, at least as far as recycling flowers is concerned.  Just ask Fresh Market, who’s no longer throwing out the flowers they can’t sell, but are instead donating them to Second Bloom.  We pick up the flowers and with a minimal amount of effort can bring smiles and pleasure to many, many people.  Today we took 17 dozen roses and 4 bunches of baby’s breath over the Shadybrook Assisted Living Center. The residents and staff all love the flowers!  Audie always lights up when we knock on his door and today he asked us to sit for a while and talk with him.  He told us about his life building furniture, constructing his own home near Mars Hill and about his family. When we finally get permission to take photos, you’ll be able to see Audie and the others friends we’ve made at Shadybrook.  But until then, you get to see a photo of Lisa as we’re getting ready to wheel our arrangements around to the residents’ rooms.

COLORFUL TABLES FOR MAGNOLIA AND SHADYBROOK

Last time we tried to deliver flowers to Magnolia only to find that they were in the midst of remodeling.  They mentioned their Open House this week and we all thought that floral arrangements for the centers of their tables would look very bright.  Second Bloom was hoping to get a call from one of our generous donors with flowers to spread around.

And Fresh Market did not disappoint….the call came in and we began to roll.  We got six buckets of flowers.  Four of them went into making large bouquets at Magnolia.  We had a lot of help - the room we were using was full of activity.  There was painting, binding their cookbooks and of course, all the re-arranging of the flowers we’d received.  In short order we had plenty of large vases for the tables.  The other two buckets of flowers were delivered and made into beautiful, small bouquets for the dining room of Shadybrook in Black Mountain.

BRILLIANCE AT HOSPICE AND SHADYBROOK

Fresh Market once again provided us with some gorgeous, brightly colored flowers.  They are fast becoming one of our most consistent supporters, committed to recycling and not wasting all that beauty.  These flowers we took both to Hospice and then to Shadybrook.  This was our first time at Care Partners Hospice.  Danny Johnson, the volunteer coordinator, is pictured here with the flowers we brought.

The Hospice was spacious, warm and supportive.  It felt good to be there.  We had plenty of flowers for everyone, with a few large bouquets for the nurses’ stations and the large, brightly lit gathering room.

We still had one more bucket of flowers to distribute so we headed back to Black Mountain and to Shadybrook.  We had help with the flowers and more residents came in to visit us and to get their own flowers.  We’ve been going to Shadybrook from our beginning days and the residents now recognize us.  They wave as we come in, someone always rushes to the door to open it for us and they crowd the room where we’re making bouquets.

SECOND BLOOM SCAVENGERS

It was early Sunday morning but no calls had come in to the Flower Exchange Train Station.  However, we knew there were flowers out there.  So we packed up and began our escapade, sleuthing the event sites of the Biltmore Estate.

At the Italian Garden we ran into some of the folks from Blossoms at Biltmore Park.  Alan was happy to help with our adventure.  So within no time we secured flowers from them at both the Biltmore Country Club and their warehouse in North Asheville.  Then, as we were snooping around the Arboretum at the Biltmore, we saw beautiful arrangments from The Flower Gallery, prepared for a wedding held the night before.  A quick call to Luck and we had those gathered up.  Ready to call it a good enough haul, we heard from The Bloom Room - so off we rolled to West Asheville and somehow found space in the truck for more flowers.  All of theseflorists were contributing to what turned out to be a banner day for Second Bloom!  Therefore a banner day for the residents at both Highland Farms and Shadybrook, who received bouquets with roses, hydrangeas, dahlias, lillies……

SUNSHINE AT SHADYBROOK

Here’s a great photo of Lisa with Karon and Cindy, two staff members at Shadybrook Assisted Living Center!  We’ve been coming to Shadybrook every couple of weeks since late summer, but today was the first day that some of the residents joined in making bouquets for the tables.   It was great to have the help and the fun of doing it together. The yellow lillies and deep red roses were a hit!