I know you’ve seen them, at the grocery or local farmer’s market- it’s a flower you might pass by, since Alstroemeria has become as common as carnations, and it’s easy to forget how lovely they are, when enticed by so many other choices of beautiful flowers. But there’s something to be said for this small lily, the blossom a size of a silver dollar. They are available in a multitude of colors, are SO long lasting,...

  Happy Anniversary to Heliotrope for Hospice!! for five years we have been repurposing”gently used” flowers to people in hospice care! Donations from celebrations- people sharing their flower love. I keep learning how to improve on the basic idea, find better ways to streamline the process. How many volunteers will I need to contact to get each floral donation repurposed?  can I do it on my own? How to get the flowers to me,...

Story #1- Seeds My mom has a way of honoring people who have passed away. I like to call it “Surely, you will be remembered:… because my mom’s name is Shirley! In Lieu of Flowers, she makes a donation to Heliotrope for Hospice, in a loved one’s honor, and I send a letter of acknowledgement to the family, with a packet of sunflowers seeds. I never know if they plant the seeds, but I feel like it’s an appropriate...

There’s something about flowers and fabric that go together- the complementary embellishment that happens when you mix two worlds of nature together. Flowers are a “Stand Alone” kind of beauty… Fabrics & ribbons are a Beauty of Intention- woven, crafted lengths of organic fibers, with purpose. The bedside arrangements of flowers I make for people in hospice care are beautiful. Carefully gleaned for the best blossoms,...

petals unfurling Trending in the World of Flowers is like Trending in the World of Fashion… I think people have favorite flowers that they’re drawn to, not necessarily because of “Très chic”, or the “flower de jour” but because there’s something about a specific bloom that resonates with their soul… happy… calm… thankful…joyful… contemplative…  mystified…. Every flower has a life cycle that matches our own- beginning, growing, blooming, fading…...