This year on Sunday, June 28th, is the International Lonely Bouquet Day. What is that you may ask? The idea of the Lonely Bouquet came from a small flower garden from Belgium, Fleuropean, and it is a very simple, sweet initiative that anyone can participate in. The goal of the Lonely Bouquet is to spread happiness to strangers through the power of flowers, and this soon became an international movement for one dedicated day per year.
This year in Louisville, the City of Compassion, a local business, Blooms by Essential Details, is taking part in this international day. I spoke with Nancy Rankin, Owner and CEO of Blooms by Essential Details, Huber Decor, and Idea Source, about this event. Rankin explained that they have never heard of the Lonely Bouquet Day until this year when their wholesale supplier in California, Mayesh, sent them an email about it. In celebration of the Lonely Bouquet, Mayesh was even holding a day, open to all its customers and florists, to come in and put together bouquets with complimentary flowers.
Rankin stated that upon learning of this event, they were instantly interested in participating, and they learned just how easy it was. Rankin emphasized the simplicity of this cause and explained that all you have to do is: 1) collect flowers (from your garden, a florist, nature), 2) arrange the flowers into a bouquet, 3) add a special “take me” tag, and finally, 4) leave the bouquet in a public location for someone to find!
Rankin mentioned that she’s never heard of anyone in Louisville being a part of the Lonely Bouquet Day, and she hopes that more people will learn about it this year and carry it on in the future. Rankin repeatedly expressed their excitement to spread happiness, to raise the spirits of others, and to give back to the community through the use of flowers.
Blooms by Essential Details’ Manager and Floral Designer, Kati Esser, arranged the six beautiful bouquets that will be placed at six different locations throughout the Louisville area on this day. Each of the bouquets has a unique “take me” tag with a little note about the event as well as how to contact them through email or Facebook after the bouquet is found.
Esser explained that each bouquet is one-of-a-kind and made up of various combinations of seasonal as well as year round flowers. For example, some of the bouquets have yarrows, roses, sunflowers, lavenders, poppies, and dahlias. Each bouquet will be placed in the vicinity of the following locations:
1) Walking Bridge Downtown
2) Restaurant in LaGrange
3) Springhurst Shopping Area
4) Museum Row Downtown
5) Seneca Park
6) University of Louisville Area.
Blooms by Essential Details is taking the initiative to bring this cause to Louisville with the hopes of bringing joy to strangers as well as inspiring others to follow and expand upon it in the upcoming years. If you want to participate in this International Lonely Bouquet Day, you can find more information on their site or Facebook Page. You can put together your own bouquet of flowers and sunshine for someone in need of cheer to find!
Photo Courtesy of Irena Tran
