How I Became a Florist

Flowers have always been a part of me. I was born and raised on the North Oregon Coast, surrounded by Douglas Fir forests and bucolic dairy farms. Our house was out in the country, and along with horses, chickens, rabbits and many other animals, we also had a huge flower and vegetable garden. It was an amazing place to grow up, albeit very rainy! But rain provides a lush environment for things to grow. My mom taught my sisters and I the names of countless flowers and plants, both in the garden and growing wild around our home. Learning their names and how to grow them came as natural to us as learning how to read.

By the time I was in high school, Better Homes and Gardens was my favorite magazine, I had houseplants all over my bedroom, and I decided that I wanted to be a florist when I grew up. That aspiration was met with some disapproval and obstacles, however, so I went to college instead. I attended University of Oregon (Go Ducks!) and graduated with a degree in journalism. I value my education greatly; it has afforded me many incredible opportunities. But I never forgot about my little dream, and I never stopped having plants and flowers in my life.

Over the years, flowers have become more and more important to me. I always had flower arrangements around the house for casual dinners with friends, Army social events, and especially for my annual Academy Awards Ceremony Watch parties. I always arranged them myself, and over time, I taught myself how to make them look good and not flopping over all cattywampuss. I think it’s safe to say, all my friends associate me with flowers. To me, having flowers, both inside and out, turns a house into a home. As an Army family, we moved every one to three years. We had to make a home in three different continents and 5 states, from Alaska to Tennessee, and now that my husband is retired, North Carolina! Flowers have provided a constant in my life when so few things (traditions, friendships, etc.) can be carried on from one place to the next.

As I said before, I never forgot about my dream of becoming a florist, but for many years, my priority was raising our boys as a stay-at-home mom and supporting my husband as an Army wife. I just continued playing with flowers on my own. While living in Washington state, I hosted an elaborate baby shower for a friend of mine. Providing a huge amount of flower arrangements and baking and decorating the cake (with real flowers), was part of my gift to her. I went to the local flower shop and pre-ordered certain flowers that would fit the specific colors and theme that my friend had envisioned. I took those loose flowers, added a bunch of foraged grasses, branches and wild sage, and filled the entire space with arrangements and Pinterest-worthy backgrounds in every direction.

Baby Shower cake made with love.

Ellensburg, WA 2018

I was really proud of what I had accomplished, so afterward I visited the florist and showed her some photos, just so she could see what the flowers ended up as. She told me, “If you ever want a job here, just let me know. You have the touch.” I was so pleased but also shocked. I never thought I had enough knowledge or experience to get a real job as a florist. I always figured when I was ready, I’d just show up to a flower shop and beg them to take me on for free until I learned enough to be paid! But at the time, we were three months away from moving again, so all I could say was “thank you.”

We moved to Germany in June 2018, to Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, a city in the middle of Germany’s biggest wine region. We were in a remote assignment, meaning we were 50 miles away from any US military installation, and one of the few American families in the city. I learned basic German, but nowhere near enough to work in a German flower shop. So again, I simply continued to arrange flowers for myself and my family.

Then, the pandemic hit and everything in Germany shut down in March 2020. For several weeks, we were not allowed to go more than one mile away from our house except for essential work, groceries and gas. We weren’t even allowed to drive a few miles into the mountains to go hiking as a family. But, our family was blessed to live right beside the vineyards at the time. They were literally just beyond our backyard, and oh, they were gorgeous! I can tell you that living next to a vineyard is just as romantic as it sounds.

In Germany, all the tractor paths that crisscross through the vast vineyards are considered public areas so people could still walk through them, so long as they were only with members of the same household. Walking through the vineyards as a family, sometimes several times a day, saved our sanity. And with the lockdown occurring at the beginning of spring, each day I would see more and more wildflowers and cover crop flowers popping up between the rows. So, of course, I started picking them! Everything from grape hyacinth, daisies, cornflowers, different varieties of clover, bright yellow mustard flowers, and even pink wild roses. I began making mini-arrangements in whatever empty jars I had in the recycling bin, then I’d drive to my friends’ houses in town and leave them on their doorsteps. Giving them little bouquets of flowers was like delivering a bit of sunshine during a dark time, and I started to understand the positive, comforting effect that flowers have.

Foraged vineyard flowers.

Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, Germany 2020

I finally became an actual florist in August of 2020. Rather an unusual (but also fitting) time to start a new career! Our family had just moved, again, closer to an American military base, and while shopping for school supplies, I walked past the base flower shop and saw that they were hiring. Despite all the uncertainty, I felt compelled to walk in and inquire about the job. I told the manager, “I don’t have any actual experience, but I’ve been working with flowers my whole life and I can name every flower you have over there in your cooler.” It was enough to get me an interview!

I ended up spending rest of 2020 and most of 2021, through many lock downs and hard days of the pandemic, surrounded by flowers. As a florist, I had the great honor of helping people make other people happy, and I can’t tell you how profound that experience has been on my life. I always say, “Flowers rarely solve problems, but they ALWAYS make things a little better.” The pandemic taught me that.

My first bouquet on my first day as a florist!

Ramstein Air Base, Germany 2020

Flowers bring people joy, and I believe the true joy in flowers is found when shared with others. That is why I started my business, Forage Joy Florals. I want to teach people (you!) how to add more flowers to your life, to increase confidence in your own creativity by teaching the fundamentals of design, how to prolong the beauty of your flowers by teaching proper care and handling, and introduce you to the incredible abundance of gorgeous blooms grown seasonably and sustainably right here in our region. I hope you’ll join me in a workshop soon. Let’s make something beautiful together!