A Seed was planted....
Our Story
When I bought my house in 2019, I planted a small vegetable garden.
The following year Covid hit. I was an elementary teacher and had to transition to teaching my class online while trying to juggle helping my own two little boys online.
We were all losing our minds!
One day, as a pick-me-up, my best friend sent me this Instagram photo of a Dahlia from Marlee at Fleur Flower Farm.
It was like I exhaled a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding my whole life.
I went to her site and saw that she was a nurse growing tons of these on her property. I didn't know how I was gonna do it, but...
Deep in my heart a voice said, “Let’s go do that!”
I set my sites on my backyard and started dreaming, digging and planting.
Before long, I had flowers covering every surface of my house. My children had nowhere to eat!
The only logical solution being - start giving them away!
Everyone loved them and soon I started hearing, "You should sell these!"
It took a while, but I worked up the courage to approach the owners of my hometown coffee shop, Cultivate. They graciously allowed me to start selling my arrangements there.
Next, I needed a name! At the time I was doing dog-sitting on the side for extra money and....
Bark and Bloom was born!
When I started dropping off flowers at the coffee shop, I discovered the only thing better than growing these gorgeous flowers was the connections I made with people I shared them with!
People literally lit up when I brought them in. They began sharing their stories with me, telling me who they planned to buy them for,
stories about grieving loved ones,
children battling illness in the hospital,
elderly family members in care facilities,
treasured friends and
valued co-workers
or just for the simple joy of having them in their space!
I began to feel like I was part of something much bigger than myself. Partnering with people to spread joy and build stronger bonds with those they love is, and continues to be, both humbling and an honor. I look forward to seeing what this tiny seedling of a business grows into.
