flower power foundation
spring flowers are sometimes just too damn tempting to deny.
the hard winter left a lot of us blue, and the bright cheery blooms are just the fix for raising spirits. i jumped the gun a few weeks ago and put crocus & tulips in my window box. (yes, this is NYC! we have window boxes instead of yards.)
while they are still hanging in there, i do fear the last tendrils of harsh cold may have injured their tender little petals. they desperately do reach for the sun though, a sure sign of life despite the circumstances. a reminder to live life.
ahhh, the healing power of flowers! a friend gave me some daffodils to cheer me up. i’ve been getting small $3 dollar bundles every week since. they come tightly budded–so after cutting the stems i put them in warm water to help coax them into sharing their sweet yellow gifts. they last for at least a week–a happy greeting when i get home to a quiet house.
i think we all need a little bit of happy. whether it’s just saying hello to people on the streets, finding your patience, smiling on the subway…whatever. we all need to feel special & loved. that thoughtful gift from my friend helped turn my day around. but imagine being in the hospital or a nursing home–how nice would it be to have a sweet surprise of flowers! the thoughtfulness touches you & something about flowers, they just make a person smile. they’re like puppies! so consider how much joy you can give by donating the flowers from your party to local charities, nursing homes & hospitals. let the joy of your event extend out into the world.
there are lots of ways to get your flowers into the hands of strangers after your event. at garden party, we can refashion blooms from our events into smaller arrangement & deliver them to elder communities through our millie’s garden project. but you can also choose the services of the flower power foundation to help you out as well.
flower power foundation is a non-profit is currently working in association with world-renowned hospice care centers, nursing and rehabilitation centers, rape crisis centers, alzheimer facilities, and hospitals. since inception they have facilitated millions of flowers from being discarded and turning them into heart opening experiences for both the receivers & the givers. it’s a wonderfully passionate organization that takes care of people in the here & now–with simple things like helping someone with the door, baking cookies to share with neighbors or sharing what you have with others.
here are some of the organizations that rock the power of flowers!
-The Lenox Hill Hospital, NYC
- Memorial Sloan Kettering, NYC
- James Lenox House, Assisted Living, NYC
- Carnegie East House, Assisted Living, NYC
- The Dewitt Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, NYC
- Saint Luke’s Medical Center, NYC
- The Ronald McDonald House, NYC
- The Veterans Hospital, NY
don’t have any parties on the calendar?
no worries! even if you don’t have any flowers to donate, you can volunteer your time/skills. you can help in many areas including graphic design, making the actual deliveries & for those with green thumbs–creating the floral arrangements.
