The Power of Flowers
Hello Flower Friends!
Springtime left so quickly and now it’s the end of summer! Can you believe it?!
We gave hundreds of beautiful blooms and foliage grown in local and community gardens, including roses, peonies, privet, mint, shasta daisies, poppies, tansy, mallow, verbascum, hydrangea, toadflax, lovage, alkanet, buddleia, smoke bush, choisia etc. etc … the list goes on and on.. to vulnerable and isolated people in our communities. New beds were planted in our volunteers’ gardens and in our Chiswick plot and we are now seeing monster dahlias and gladioli and a whole array of other late summer flowers coming through!
Life hasn’t always been a bed of roses though. Sadly we had to say goodbye to the residents and staff of Willesden Court, which closed down due to financial difficulties. We wish them all the love and luck in the world and hope that they get settled soon into their new homes and jobs. But we were delighted to be able to team up with Methodist Homes again and now give our flowers to residents and staff in their care home in Willesden, Lawnfield House.
Since March we’ve given 295 bunches of flowers, including special birthday bouquets to residents! We’ve had fabulous feedback, confirming what we all already know, the undeniable power of flowers.
We’ve also offered flower arranging and flower craft workshops to local community support organisations. In July we gave our first posy making workshop at the Asian Women’s Resource Centre in Harlesden and have been invited back there to give a four week flower arranging course in spring 2025. Soon you’ll be able to join us for a free bouquet making demo at the Harlesden Town Garden Harvest Festival on Saturday 28th September from 1.30pm. And if you’re a local organisation, business or community group interested in inviting us round to spread a little joy with a floral workshop, or you’d like to join us as a volunteer or supporter/sponsor or to donate and/ or grow flowers for us, please do get in touch!
All this hasn’t been possible without the amazing love, dedication and generosity of our volunteers Chris, Jeanne, Karen, Kirsty, Ros, Verena and Victoria and our charity and business supporters, including Brent Mencap, Jacksons Gardens, Harlesden Town Garden, Salusbury School Greenspace and Scarlet and Violet. Thank you all so very much! We just couldn’t do this without you!
Of course I couldn’t say ‘au voir ‘without sharing some of my tete a tetes with the locals on my weekly travels to and from collecting donated flowers! Like the Irish ladies on the 266 bus who told me that my bucket of flowers reminded them of when they were children, and the young man at the bus stop who came up to tell me how beautiful my bucket of flowers was and how it made his day! And the amused looks I got on the bus when I hogged the whole back seat for the flowers – oh dear, I would have given it up if I’d been asked, promise!😉
So, as we tip toe quietly into autumn, I leave you with an adapted snippet from a sonnet by the great bard (sacrilege, I know😊).
That time of year thou mayst in me behold,
When yellow leaves and blooms, or none, or few, do hang
Upon those boughs which nod and shake against the cold,
Bare ruin’d choirs where late the sweet birds sang and insects fluttered.
….This thou perceiv’st which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well which thou must leave ere long.
William Shakespeare
Until next time….