I can't believe it's been a whole year since Wildwood Flower Shop was established. It has been a whirlwind of busy, fantastic (and at times stressful) work, but I've enjoyed every single second of it and I look forward to working with flowers for decades to come. It seems like everywhere I go, I leave a trail of petals, stems, leaves, and general plant debris.
Aside from being able to spend the majority of my time working with natural elements, the part of this job that inspires me most is the enjoyment that others receive from my work. And honestly, my ever-developing ability to create a visually compelling floral arrangement is a very small part of the general effect; the flowers and foliage themselves, the incredible beauty inherent in Nature, is the part that resonates in our hearts. When we seek comfort, when we wish to spread love and kindness and happiness, when we want another to know how much they mean to us, we turn to flowers for the expression of our feelings. It truly is a beautiful thing to witness, and I will be forever grateful for the opportunity to be a part of such a profound experience.
I will also take a moment on this rather important anniversary to discuss my future plans for Wildwood Flower Shop. The brick and mortar section of the business model is still unrealized, partly because of the unfortunate and nerve-wracking circumstances we find ourselves in right now. However, thanks to Myrtle the Flower Delivery Van, there is now a new
opportunity to be explored, and that is the idea of a mobile flower shop! The concept is still in its early stages of development, but the idea is to travel to other established brick and mortar locations - most likely other small businesses in the area - and bring prepared bouquets, wreaths, arrangements, decor items, potted plants, etc. to be sold right out of the delivery van. Myrtle has been given a makeover and only lacks a few more things before you'll see her running around the Asheville area, so that the poor Mustang can return to being the sports car rather than the delivery car. I will certainly post updates on the timeline and logistics for Wildwood Flower Shop going mobile, so stay tuned!
Another future plan - for realization in Spring 2021 - is what I am fondly referring to as the Wildwood Flower Farm, a small, experimental endeavor at growing my own flowers for distribution in my work and at local farmers markets. Earlier this afternoon I bought seeds of thirty-something varieties of flowers and herbs to plant in the hopes of not only honing my gardening skills, but adding some extra brightness and color to my yard, supplementing my cut flowers supply that is as of now exclusively from elsewhere, and providing ample attractiveness for our extremely important pollinators.
Speaking of pollinators, another endeavor my husband and I are embarking on together is beekeeping. We are gradually acquiring some of the supplies now, and will purchase our bees at the right time in the spring. (Aaron was a little jealous of my job being so cool, so he wanted his own side-hustle.) I suppose we can name the operation another spin-off of the flower shop - maybe Wildwood Honey!
If you haven't yet subscribed to the email list, I encourage you to do so (and I promise I won't fill your inbox with emails every day - after all, it took me an entire year to update this blog). Once I have official news to share, I will send out an email containing the pertinent information so that you can keep up with all things Wildwood Flower (And Etc.) related!
Thank you so much for your support during this first year of growth. Words can never express just how grateful I am for wonderful family, friends, and perfect strangers who have encouraged me to pursue my goals and develop these flower-filled dreams!
Here's to letting love and hope and kindness bloom!