Ok so it’s no secret that I love flowers. I grow a lot in my little yard and although I’m not great about giving them the water they need, I do very much enjoy having bright blooms. So when I was thinking about a new series featuring local mommas that do really cool things, the first person that popped into my head was Andrea from Loveland Blooms!
Loveland Blooms is a suburban small scale flower farm – when you think of flower farms, you often think of acres and acres of flat tilled earth with rows of flowers lined up neatly. But Andrea is proving that you don’t need a lot of space to grow beautiful and abundant flowers for arranging.
Andrea spent many years in marketing and business consulting, but has always enjoyed volunteering and being creative. Growing flowers has been one of those creative outlets and she launched Loveland Blooms as a business early this year.
Growing Kindness
In addition to the business side, she is also a project cultivator for the Growing Kindness Project, a non-profit that supports flower growers and gardeners to cultivate kindness and connection within their communities by giving flowers.
One of the mottos of the Growing Kindness Project is to start where you are, with what you have, and that even a little bit of kindness can make a big difference. That really resonated in 2020 when Andrea had an abundance of flowers and so many people were struggling with isolation from the pandemic. Andrea and her two young girls started leaving bouquets on neighbors doorsteps, which brought them as much joy as it did the neighbors.
Anyone who enjoys flowers can benefit from the Growing Kindness project, and isn’t that nearly everyone? This year Andrea is working on even more ways to extend our reach in the local community.
Getting started:
Andrea grew up around flowers, with a rose garden of her own in her childhood home in Northern Ohio. After visiting Seattle and seeing Pike Place Market’s flower booths lined up with buckets and buckets of amazing dahlias, her passion for growing was reignighted. They come in so many various shapes, sizes and colors, the variety is endless! Andrea wanted the chance to share many of the unique varieties that she enjoys with others who also appreciate flowers.
“Often the flowers that we buy in stores are imported and shipped here from other countries, which limits bouquets to varieties that hold up to shipping. There are so many amazing flowers (like dahlias!) that can only be found by growing and purchasing locally. It’s wonderful to be able to offer fresh, locally grown flowers to our community.
I think many people would be surprised at what you can grow on a suburban lot and it’s so exciting to see the bees, butterflies, and birds that now show up because of our flowers.”
Balancing Family:
Andrea’s two girls (ages 5 and 2.5) often help her in the garden, and working outside is something they do as a family. The girls like to help plant seeds and watch them grow. They also really enjoy helping picking flowers to cut and making their own bouquets. That being said, there often aren’t enough hours in the day and sometimes she’s out harvesting after the girls are in bed by the light of floodlights and flashlights.
Learning from the Garden:
“Gardening has taught me that there’s always something to learn and that there’s always a chance to try again. It makes me extra appreciative of the seasons – spring is always so exciting as tulips come up and seedlings are growing, things start to take off in summer when early flowers like snapdragons and sunflowers appear, early fall is when dahlias are in their prime, and winter brings a much needed break and time to plan for the next season.”
Get featured on Living Local:
If you know of a local woman in our community who is doing really cool things, drop me a line! I’d love to feature her! I’m especially looking for MOMS in the Loveland/Mason/Milford/Blue Ash general area.
