Free Bouquet Stand

The little free bouquet stand is my joy project -- an idea that began with a handful of seeds in early Winter 2020, shortly before our communities and world underwent a lifetime's worth of change and uncertainty in a short matter of time. I had been thinking about ways to spread sharing and bring joy into people's lives, and in January 2020, began planning to create a free bouquet stand on our parking strip that summer. I ordered seeds, potting soil and a grow light, and got to work. By June, I had dozens of annual flowers coming on, and couldn't have been more excited. That summer, I designed and gave away 80-ish bouquets from our parking strip, using glass jars from our recycling or ones gifted by neighbors and friends.

I shared what happened with the source of my seeds and an incredible resource for inspiration and information, Floret Flower Farm in Mount Vernon. They shared that letter on their Facebook page, and I was blown away by the worldwide response to this simple little project. So many people were inspired by it, others were doing similar versions in their own homes, and it reinforced a need to keep sharing and keep spreading beauty -- especially during a time when our ability to connect with others was limited.

It brought me so much joy to wave at people from the porch, chat with them about my flowers, and just have a general sense that humanity was still intact. I hadn't fully anticipated the impact that sharing something simple and beautiful can have, but hearing stories from neighbors about what it meant to them to have those flowers in their kitchens, and have something to look forward to, was deeply inspiring and helped cement my commitment to the project.

The next summer, I grew even more flowers and shared around 200 bouquets, getting a great nod from our local newspaper, the Centralia Chronicle, about the bouquet stand.

 Please stop by this summer and grab a free bouquet -- I hope it brings you as much joy as I get from sharing it with you :-)