Growing Flowers & Processing Grief: An Interview with Stephanie G.
Today I wanted to share with you an interview with fellow flower grower and giver, Stephanie. We met in the Growing Kindness Community and I think you’ll really enjoy her story!
1. Can you tell us a little bit about who you are and where you’re from?
My name is Stephanie G., I live in Baltimore, Maryland with my husband and baby boy! My most favorite things involve faith, spending time with family, coffee and flowers! I get the privilege of working as a life coach for my church community in West Baltimore, helping others find employment, and hope in the mundane moments of everyday life. I moved back to the East Coast to be closer to family and it's been a sweet adventure thus far!
2. We are both part of The Growing Kindness Project. Can you explain what the initiative is?
The Growing Kindness Project is an initiative that believes in spreading kindness through flowers! It's a really sweet community made up of people ranging from flower farmers to brand new gardeners who love sharing flowers and kindness in their communities.
3. How and where do you give the flowers that you grow?
I live in a pretty dense area in Baltimore City, it's a colorful neighborhood that's often marked with both the beautiful and the broken. My husband and I set up a 8 x 8 raised garden bed and planted some basil, zinnias, cosmos, anise hyssop, snap dragons, and dahlias! I collected all my old kombucha glasses over the course of a couple months and would give them out to my neighbors who I often see on the stoop. Stoops are historic for hangouts in Baltimore and when the weather is nice, you can find all your neighbors outdoors. My son and I would harvest flowers in the mornings and evenings and then go and knock on a neighbor's door to deliver soon after! It was really sweet to see him light up whenever someone would answer the door!
4. Are there any tips you would like to give others on growing or giving cut flowers?
Give yourself grace and know that whatever mistakes you make, it only serves as a lesson for the next round. I didn't expect gardening to be so challenging but even more than that I didn't expect to be a part of such a supportive community!
5. Is there anything else you’d like to share? Any stories that have stood out to you on your flower journey that you would like to share?
I got involved in this initiative as a way to process grief. I wanted to delve into the world of slowness, of waiting with anticipation, of learning to trust the process even if the result seems to have failed and to see beauty in every stage. Gardening wasn't always an easy project but it felt so good to work hard on something that could bear so much fruit. I fell in love with flowers at an early age. My father would bring a rose by my bedtime every now and then just to celebrate the beauty of them! As I grew older I fell in love with how delicate flowers are yet the effects are long lasting. I'm grateful to be able to marvel at each stem and pass that beauty on!
