Heirloom Soul Florals

Join me on Sat, May 1st for a spring edible gardening seminar at Kin Loch Farmstead! Tour the flower farm afterward to see no-till, organic soil prep in practice.

‘Ice King’ = total babe Harvested a bunch of these today & enjoying them on our dinner table. The fluffy, puffy narcissus are to die for!

Join me on Sat, May 1st at @kinlochfarmstead + tour my Flower Farm for an Edible Garden Seminar! This is just in time to get your new garden growing, or improve your existing one. I’ll be presenting how-to knowledge on one of my favorite topics: Organic gardening & improving soil fertility for higher nutrient density in your food.... You will learn: The basic tenets of a successful, healthy garden & exact steps to get started How to improve your soil organically by harnessing your Soil Food Web Regenerative Agriculture techniques you can apply in your own backyard (no-till, mulching, etc) You’ll tour my flower farm to see actual soil prep in practice (I practice the same soil prep techniques for flowers and vegetables) You’ll receive a Resource Guide specially curated for this experience with links to everything I use, including products and planting guides It’s gonna be good. Whether you’re brand new to gardening & have never planted a thing in your life, or you’ve been gardening for years, I guarantee you will walk away inspired & enlightened Tag a friend who you might wanna bring! Tickets in profile.

Perennial Pollinator Garden Kits are baaaack (tap photo for link) Im planting *so many more* perennial flowers over the next few weeks, like this Liatris that looks like it’s growing on the ocean floor The Perennial Pollinator Garden Kits were such a hit last year so we’re doing it again.... Kit Includes: 20 perennial flowering plants of different sizes, heights and colors that are drought tolerant, thrive in many soil conditions, and require little to no maintenance. They will come back bigger & fuller every year, all while feeding & providing habitat for your bees, hummingbirds & butterflies. Organic, earth-derived fertilizer Planting Guide that has been curated specifically for this experience Local pickup in Lockport on April 28-30 Kits are $54 in my online shop Only requirement: 6+ hours of part or full sun. We all deserve a beautiful yard, even those of us with little gardening confidence! I’ve taken the pressure out of the process by selecting these plants that I know you can grow they are thriving on my flower farm (one year in which I never gave them water once! although I don’t recommend that lol) Available for Pre-Order until they’re gone

Truth: I went my whole life never loving flowers until I *grew* them. At one of my previous jobs, when I lived in Chicago, I had my hand in over 150 edible backyard & school gardens. The protocol was to pretty the gardens up with flowers at the ends of the beds. We planted mostly zinnias, annual salvia, nasturtium, marigolds and the occasional cosmos & dahlias. Up until that point I couldn’t have cared less about flowers, but watching those zinnias grow from seed to bloom wit...h all their bright, quirky faces changed my mind to the point that flowers are now my life. So much of my life had been dedicated to growing edible urban gardens and I thought that’s what I would keep on doing. I loved it so much. Meanwhile, I have a degree in architecture; I’m a designer at heart and I felt like something just wasn’t right. Something was missing. It turned out flowers were the perfect pivot into that creative arena because now I can grow a farm and also design beautiful things with my hands. Part of me felt guilty closing that previous chapter, but now I celebrate my forever love & passion for edible gardens by incorporating dozens of herbs & edible foliages into my flower farm & floral design. Our home gardens grow bigger in size every year, and I am super excited to get back into teaching an edible garden workshop this spring at @kinlochfarmstead (details to come later on). What I’m trying to say is, if you’re out there searching for something more, then be open to pivoting to what speaks to your whole soul. Give yourself permission to recognize when something feels missing. Figure out the steps it’ll take to discover that missing piece. It’s harder than it sounds; it takes time and courage. It takes learning, unlearning, openness, dedication, motivation, and a lot of guts. But once you realize that we’re all in a constant state of change, it’s a whole lot easier to get after what you were made to do. Make it a positive change

Valentine’s Day bouquet & locally-made chocolate bundle in our online flower shop for pre-order now heirloomsoul.com/shop I’m so excited to collab with my dear friend, Laura, of New Moon Bread! Our Valentine bundle includes a beautiful wrapped flower bouquet (fresh + dried flowers) and your choice of Laura’s decadent, locally-made chocolate treats. We’ve got dark chocolate salted brownies; vegan dark chocolate bites sprinkled with rose petals, bee pollen, goji berries & pist...achios; OR just indulge your favorite person & get both Pickup & Delivery available within the Buffalo-Lockport region. Side note, the flowers will not look like the bouquet in this photo. In fact, they’ll be better! I used a different bouquet in the photo to keep it a surprise for those of you who might be tagging or forwarding this to your partners

When we decorated Delaware Park last summer for @jessgranchelli & @andr_ew_henesey’s intimate wedding Wedding guests entered this sidewalk path leading down to the Ivy Arch Bridge. There, Jess & Andrew’s beautiful ceremony took place in the cool dappled shade, surrounded by the breath of trees & loved ones. We topped these metal barricades with flowers that acted as an entrance guide to the ceremony path, tying the event together. Always, always mark your entrance with flowers if you can fit it into your budget. Details like this whisper to the specialness that is to come

Raise your hand if you’re one of those people that has a hard time accepting praise In 2020, I grew 120 varieties of cut flowers and harvested, used and sold over 10,000 stems on my flower farm. I flowered 23 weddings from June-October. I was featured in 3 printed magazines: @wnyweddings @ediblewesternny and the cover of @auxiliarymagazine. I spoke at a regional cut flower conference & booked my dream clients. I expanded the flower farm. In my free time I read 70 books. Whe...n covid hit, I embraced, rather than resisted, the change that was necessary for my small business to thrive. Pictured here are my #topnine Instagram posts that received the most praise over the past year (thanks!) If you raised your hand before, you can probably relate: You shy away from tooting your own horn and typically brush off any and all praise that is given to you. You’ll try to change the subject as quickly as possible when anyone, even your closest loved ones, tell you how beautiful your work is or how proud they are of you. We all have internal flaws, and the struggle to be kind to myself in this way & accept others’ admiration is a raw challenge, always has been. Perhaps it’s a wounded ego thing or fear of being misunderstood. Perhaps it’s related to my belief that what I do on a daily basis isn’t a big deal, it’s just what I do just like everyone else does what they do. Perhaps it’s cause I’m an 8w7 enneagram type. These are the stories I tell myself. So this year I’m going to work on accepting praise, allow myself to feel pride, and dislodge the uncomfortable pit that forms in my throat every time someone who loves me tries to share in that pride. We’re all humans with emotions & our weird human shit and I’m right here with you for all of it. If you raised your hand in understanding, perhaps you could work on giving yourself this permission, too! Thanks for all the love & support, friends. It means the world!

I’m a snow lover and today my snow day dreams are coming true The flower farm views are missed but I give myself full permission in this season of Now to sit back in rest & reflection. As the natural earth around us exists in hibernation our bodily inclination is to do the same. The history of winter rest is written in our bones. Yet so many of us, despite living in the throes of a pandemic, seem to still be ‘outliving’ winter. Enter the ‘slow winter.’ Where we hibernate... from the outside & fold into our insides. It’s discovering what it is we need to recharge from the previous seasons. What we need to work on. What we need to change. What we need to nourish our bodies & souls. Its discovering what we need to be the best version of our selves. As a flower farmer / earth tender, I’ve embraced slow winters for a long time now (this is my 9th slow winter to be exact). I’ve always had home cities with 6 months of cold (Detroit, Chicago and now Buffalo/Lockport), perpetually surrounded by people choosing to complain & relent over the cold and snow rather than choosing to see it is a gift. This isn’t a particular place thing, this is a human thing. We fixate on inconvenient things (bitter cold, snowfall) and see it as an impediment to how we want to live our hurried lives, never really changing our intentions from season to season. An unfathomable amount of people have treated COVID-19 with the same attitude, refusing to slow down & refrain from the bustle even when other people’s lives are at risk not acknowledging this as a time to step back & reflect on what is important and meaningful in life. What if we saw snowfall as a gentle reminder of that inner hibernation we all need so badly? A blanket covering our doorsteps and flecking our eyelashes, a weather event the earth needs and because we’re of the earth, we need it too. We need that inner hibernation. This is a call to embrace the slow winter, to hibernate & reflect, and to please stop complaining about the goddamn winter snow because the South exists and you’re welcome to move there. When it snows in June, we can talk.

Collecting clematis seeds I’m going to scatter these along the fence line in my backyard this week and see what comes up in Spring. Sweet Autumn clematis is one of my absolute favorite flowering plants in the garden *and* designing with in the studio. The dainty vines billow up and finish with the puffiest white blooms at Summer’s end

I’m already dreaming of flower harvests Heading out into the dew-soaked field on an early summer morning to cut fresh flowers is one of my favorite parts of my job. The birds are awake & chirpy before the heat of the day sets in. Bees & butterflies are in early flight. I fill the buckets with a few inches of cool water and walk up and down the rows cutting blooms to be used for weddings, florists, bulk orders and whatever vase arrangements I need to create over the next f...ew days. I do this harvest ritual 2-3 mornings every single week from Spring thru Autumn. Harvesting flowers is both methodical & intuitive. Every flower has its preferred harvest moment and it requires a quick reading of the plant to know if it’s ready or not. It took a few seasons for me to get good at it, and the more I do it, harvesting has become an immensely enjoyable experience. Pictured here is a harvest from last June of nigella, yarrow, larkspur, rudbeckia, sneezewort, butterfly milkweed, and red hot pokers. These flowers have never seen the inside of a cardboard box & they haven’t traveled across oceans wrapped in plastic. These flowers are as fresh & fragrant as they come, straight from the field to your bouquet, sometimes within just a few hours. I guess I’m just excited for flowers!

When we reuse your fabulous, wild ceremony pieces at the reception

Hello friends! I just love this photo of a zinnia harvest from last summer. This is a typical moment in a typical day for me, as a flower farmer. I get to enjoy the beauty of these flowers everyday through the whole summer, and they bring absolute joy to my soul. They can bring joy to yours, too! In light of reminiscing on my flower babes, and the holiday season, I'm announcing my favorite gift I have to offer: 'Flowers of the Month' Club. With Flowers of the Month, you'll re...ceive a beautiful wrapped bouquet of our farm flowers once per month, from July - October 2021. There are two pickup locations, one in Buffalo and one in Lockport (TBD). This is the ONLY (I repeat: only) bouquet share / CSA I will offer in 2021. Spots are limited. Get it while ya can. Thanks for your love and support SIGN UP HERE: heirloomsoul.com/shop/flowers-of-the-month heirloomsoul.com/shop/flowers-of-the-month

Hugs. Cheers. Gratitude. Comfort. Warmth. Hope. Support. I wish all of these things to you & yours today & into the new year. Merry Christmas! Photo: Essjay Photo

Cute shirt alert! 'peace love & plant magic' cropped tee available in our online shop - Free shipping in the U.S. We are happy to support & help raise the voices of our local Black & Brown communities by donating 25% of the profits of this t-shirt to Black Love Resists in the Rust - #blackloveresistsintherust I encourage you to support local small businesses & social causes this holiday season, friends! Consider spending your money on actual people - not corporations. We lo...ve you, we appreciate you, and we need you http://heirloomsoul.com/shop/plant-magic-tee

I’ll cut to the chase: I wrote a blog post about how to save money on wedding flowers (ironic, but I did it anyway). Tag a friend who would find this info helpful! There’s a link to my blog here scroll down 3 posts: heirloomsoul.com/blog Here’s the reason why I willingly share this sort of information. I’m all about a client (human) centered approach when it comes to wedding floral. I want your wedding to be beautiful and representative of you as a couple I’m happy to ma...ke suggestions if you need them, but I’m also happy to just listen to what you want. If my floral style jives with your vision, we move forward! And if I don’t feel like I’ll be able to produce a design that you will absolutely love then I’ll recommend someone else who I think will. Meanwhile, I’m also over here making suggestions to bring the cost down if you need me to. Cost is always a factor and I recognize that wedding floral isn’t cheap & it’s what my business is fueled on but I still care about you. My intention is to be open & honest & vulnerable about money so it’s fair for both of us. You’re not hiring a florist to fall into debt & I didn’t start a floral design business to rip people off. I started this business to make a living independently of the traditional workforce, to decide my own worth, and to do work that will bring happiness and joy to myself and others (not unique reasons they fall in line with many other small business owners!) I’m here selling wedding flowers, but I’m also here telling you that you don’t need all of that *my hands waving in the air* and you don’t have to feel shame or anxiety if you have a smaller wedding budget! I have floral options for nearly every budget, guys. It’s not a contest. Get off Pinterest and dive into what you & your fiance really love (then use Pinterest later on to save it because who can function anymore without the best internet filing tool ever created?!) If you’re still with me, thanks for your time, and remember to tag a friend who might need this info

The dusting of snow I woke up to yesterday morning reminded me of Karen’s soft, whimsical bouquet - & this incredible dress Photography: @mary.dougherty Bride: @dawsokm0 Location: @chq1874 ... Dress: @annakaraofficial from @missbushbridal Floral: @heirloomsoulflorals See more

I need to share/brag about two of my amazing friends in Lockport... Jess, who is opening Terroir General Store in the Bewley Building downtown, and Laura, of New Moon Bread, who makes the most incredible sourdough loafs and plant-based baked goods using wholesome, local ingredients. The two of them are cooking for you this Thanksgiving, offering meals for 4 or 8 people, along with a whole bunch of A La Carte food options, all for easy online order. If cooking isn’t your thin...g yet you appreciate thoughtful, nourishing food cooked with love, I encourage you to order from Jess & Laura. I have been nothing but beside myself in happiness every time I eat food prepared by these ladies, and that is not an overstatement! Ordering is open now thru 11/20 (link below)! Please share if you live in Niagara County, and follow them on Instagram if you’re on it! ORDER HERE: https://www.terroirgeneralstore.com/s/shop