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Roses are red, violets are blue, chances are, the Flower Lady knows you - Kamloops This Week

I would be, if it was all open,” Chernecki said, unsure at the tail end of her career whether bars will reopen in time for her to again sell flowers. “I certainly miss it.” Six months later, British Columbia is largely open for business, but nightclubs remain shuttered by provincial health orders to halt spread of the novel coronavirus. Restrictions have wiped out not only Chernecki’s work, but also that of bouncers, bartenders, coat checkers, DJs, bands and more. Chernecki feels for owners who had been trying to adapt when the most recent ban on nightclubs was ordered. “Those guys have invested so much,” she said. “Time, money, blood, sweat and tears into everything.” KTW caught up with Chernecki on her home turf, Victoria Street, during daylight hours to discuss her unique career, which came to a halt amid a global pandemic. Anyone who has been looking for love on a Friday or Saturday night in Kamloops has likely seen Chernecki, as much of a staple to Kamloops’ nightlife as the very bars she frequents. People recognize her on the street. University students play games in which they need to purchase a flower from her. “I’ve been invited to about 66 weddings,” Chernecki said. “I had one fellow years ago and their twins, I think, are 12 now. Eleven or 12. He would see me, he would buy the whole bundle. They split up the one time. He just wouldn’t give up. He kept buying flowers and buying flowers. Whenever they’ve come out afterwards, he’s always bought her roses since.” Chernecki got her start selling roses just before Rick Hansen came to Kamloops during his Man in Motion tour in 1987. Sahali Flowers and K97 radio station were putting on a fundraiser called Roses for Rick and Chernecki’s sister asked if she would sell. Chernecki agreed, recruiting a couple of others to sell roses in downtown bars. The philanthropic enterprise blossomed into a business. “A couple of years later, when Rick Hansen was doing motivational speaking, I ran into him and I actually took him a yellow rose and went over and thanked him because it morphed into my job,” she said, noting she was grateful because jobs were not easy to find for a single parent who had just moved to Kamloops in the 1980... https://www.kamloopsthisweek.com/community/roses-are-red-violets-are-blue-chances-are-the-flower-lady-knows-you-1.24216291

Founder of Victoria's 'cheeky' flower count, dies at 97 – Vancouver Island Free Daily - vancouverislandfreedaily.com

The Victoria woman who started a light-hearted campaign to count flower blossoms sprouting in British Columbia’s capital when much of Canada remained locked in winter’s grip has died.Norma Fitzsimmons, whose annual Greater Victoria Flower Count signals the early arrival of spring in Canada’s warmest winter city, died Friday, July 24 after suffering a stroke. She was 97 years old.This year’s 45th annual flower count, held March 4 to 11, saw a total of 45.9 billion blooms recorded in Greater Victoria.“I don’t think she meant to get under anybody’s skin,” said granddaughter Sheri Bourrie. “It was just a cheeky way of being, ‘Hey, look at us and look at how fantastic Victoria is.’”Fitzsimmons, born in August 1922, never left Victoria and stayed in her home overlooking scenic Cadboro Bay until the final two weeks of her life.Flowers were her lifelong passion and served as her way of helping people and promoting Victoria, known as the City of Gardens, said Bourrie.“You didn’t ever go to her house and there wasn’t a flower arrangement,” she said. “Even the last time we visited her the... https://www.vancouverislandfreedaily.com/news/founder-of-victorias-cheeky-flower-count-dies-at-97/

The Flower Bucket in Yarmouth County nurtures joy with flowers - TheChronicleHerald.ca

Bucket is a family business, with Fordham’s husband, Darcy DeSutter, helping with tractor jobs and the spreading of compost. Neighbours help with their tiller attachment.The couple, formerly from British Columbia, have lived in Yarmouth County for seven years. Fordham’s love and enjoyment for making bouquets has grown steadily over that time.Creating bouquets with wild flowers and seedheads is one of Lisa Fordham’s passions. This bouquet features wildflowers and material collected oceanside.Lisa Fordham Photo - ContributedThree years ago she read The Cut Flower Garden by Erin Benzakein. Fordham was inspired by the fact that someone was making a living from a flower farm and says she was hooked.“I started really loving arranging the flowers and creating designs. I’m not a florist but I just practiced and practiced. I started growing things that are good for cut flower production. Some flowers are better than others, they have longer vase lives than others.”She likes letting flowers do what they naturally want to do in a vase, instead of trying to control them. She says her mother was like that too. Fordham is also in her element when it comes to arranging material that’s in season locally.“If it’s in bloom and it looks beautiful and it’s going to last in a vase, then I’ll cut it. I’ll cut anything!” she laughs.“I drive around with snippers in my car (for wild material or cultivated, and cut with permission.) You never know what you’re going to see.”Each morning she visits the flowers on their property, cutting those that have reached perfection. These are placed in buckets of water for the day’s arrangements.She custom designs each bouquet according to the price point supplied by each customer, sometimes including plants like basil and mint for their fragrance.Last Christmas season she held a highly successful wreath making workshop. It’s something she plans on doing in other seasons, when she has time.“Everyone made their own and every creation was beautiful and original. There was Christmas music playing, hot cider, it was so much fun.”Fordham says this is The Flower Bucket’s first serious year as a business.She’s learning to accept failures along with success, when it comes to growing specific flowers.“I’m so new to all this and learning as I go. Maybe I won’t grow that flower there next time, or maybe I didn’t start it early enough. I’ve learned to focus on things that need my attention the most.”Once a week she walks her gardens and makes herself a bouquet for the week. “It’s my favourite thing to do on Sundays,” she says.The practice of giving flowers is a wonderful one, she adds, especially because of their finite lifespan.“We all have too much stuff. That’s why I love flowers. You can give flowers to somebody and they get to experience it for a couple of weeks and then it’s done. They don’t have to put it on their shelf somewhere and feel bad if they ever throw it away. It’s like eating food. You eat ... https://www.thechronicleherald.ca/business/local-business/the-flower-bucket-in-yarmouth-county-nurtures-joy-with-flowers-482841/

Self-serve flower cart in North Vancouver delights neighbours - North Shore News

Klausen says she was inspired to open the self-serve flower cart in front of her house after noticing how common this kind of makeshift commerce was in smaller communities around British Columbia, such as the Gulf Islands or some places on Vancouver Island. “We were driving by and there was this little cart and it just said, ‘Self-serve apricots,’” says Klausen, recalling a recent trip to Duncan. “I just thought it was so interesting. I’d never seen anything like that and then just driving around the island I saw them everywhere.” Klausen has been a florist for six years, but it wasn’t until this year that she was determined to start her own business, which she called The Bird of Botanicals. An advocate of the sustainable farmer florist movement, Klausen’s goal is to showcase the beauty of West Coast flora while promoting local growing. “A big thing for local florists that I follow is: grown, not flown,” she says. “This is the very first year I’ve actually started growing flowers myself. Prior to that I was just buying flowers from the auction out in Burnaby.” But like many businesses this year, a lot of Klausen’s plans were put on hold when the COVID-19 pandemic ramped up. Suddenly, farmers markets weren’t open and person-to-person contact was essentially barred, which made selling her flowers more difficult. That’s when she had the idea to set up her small cart. “I figured most people were stuck at home, their only outing of the day was a walk around the neighbourhood, so I thought people would love to see some flowers,” says Klausen. “Lynn Valley’s got a small community feel to it and I felt like it was a trusting enough area that it would work well.” As seen in #LynnValley #FlowerCart #selfserve #... https://www.nsnews.com/community/self-serve-flower-cart-in-north-vancouver-delights-neighbours-1.24179798