Peaseblossoms Flowers

11/01/2025

Today is the "sweater weather" art market today . You will find us there til 5! Made some pretty neat bouquets in honor of some of my favorite artists. Also gives us a chance to highlight our porcelain paint palettes, cyanotype and our usual in house made goodies. Loads of parking!!! I so love getting to nerd out with my art history background...

10/27/2025

One of my favorite things to do is flowers for . Is it because we are supporting the written word and other literary aficionados? Maybe - Definitely. Is it because they throw fun challenges at me? 100 percent. Romantic, vintage and a little gingerbread-y. Check! So if you need to cheer yourself on a blustery fall evening- warm up with authors Kristine Winters and Laurie Gilmore this evening at Memorial Park library. What's your favorite thing to do on a Autumn evening?

10/20/2025

This little block has been my home away for 25 years, it's worth fighting for its well-being. Tomorrow is a chance to make some magic. I try to stifle the panic that it all goes wrong. Our livelihood is in the balance. I still believe in good governance and good leadership. I believe that we can make a difference especially when we support each other. That doesn't mean always agreeing but it means caring enough to include everyone at the table to try and find solutions that aren't at the expense of someone else. That's the society and culture I want to champion for my kids and neighbors. What is good governance? Participation, accountability, transparency, responsiveness, effectiveness & efficiency, consensus- oriented, equity & inclusiveness, rule of law. These core values create an environment for a thriving community. Add some emotional intelligence and empathy and you are on fire! Does that mean replying to constituents when you don't agree? Yes. Does that mean our government does what it wants with out input and accountability? No. If you are signing up for public service- it is just that. Not nepotism, or a clique- the public. Representational democracy is our responsibility. As soon as you treat constituents like a nuisance- time to dial in. I sent out an email to the ward 8 candidates as well. I didn't get my answers answered per say but I did hear from all but one. Not bad I suppose. I was once given a brilliant piece of advice from the amazing 2 term calgary buffalo MLA Gary Dickson, who strongly recommended voting for the person not the party. Because as he said- if they do their job, it wouldn't matter if you voted for their party or not- they are there to work for you. Chin chin Gary- you were on to something. Civic elections should be non-partisan and about grass roots governance. Your ward rep should be your neighbor- someone who you can look in the eye and hold accountable because they have to live near you and those decisions. If there is good governance, the little details can be addressed - it's all about someone who shows up for you. So thank you wholeheartedly for your visits, calls and emails the past 2 days, it means a lot to show up.

10/20/2025

When I started at Peaseblossoms in year 2000, I was in the thick of development/ARP circus in Cliff Bungalow Mission. My gal lived upstairs, lived across the street and I thought to myself, it doesn't get more neighborhood than this. I would walk to work, picking up French pastries at the Eiffel Tower bakery on 17th while enjoying the walk from mission. There were 5 really great florists in the hood and a third of the population. We always had a homeless population but we all knew them and kept an eye out for them. My belief back then was to have a community centered life, the urban village model that we so dearly fought for in CBM. We eventually bought 8 bks from the shop, kids went to Connaught where Ms. Fran had been the principal for decades. It was the dream and I couldn't understand why everyone didn't want to live with such diversity and culture with such good nature access near by. I always believed that through community coordination and collaboration we could do amazing things. Fast forward to now. My heart is broken with how things are. If I hear the word "vibrant" battered one more time...I am not responsible for what happens. Gone are so many of the beautiful shops, trees, buildings that gave us soul. Gone are the days where you could call your Ward office or have a real convo with your community association team. Gone are our safe streets, our respectful differences, our problem solving- replaced by 'what's good for us' and dismissive civic leadership. This can be better- has to be better. I have faithfully included the mayor's response because I was so mind blown to get one. We have been trying to be heard by the mayor's office for years, even sent a very personal letter and flowers with zero response. So while we are listening to everyone fan up their merits- buyer beware. Look at who gets back to you, who isn't afraid of what you have to say and who is a big enough person to say sorry I f'd up. It's certainly not been the admin of the past 4 years. So whatever you do- do not pass up the chance to make a difference. Channel your inner Jane Goodall and speak up for better. We are an amazing bunch of smarty pants.

10/20/2025

What a week it's been, has been in full swing and I think it's super apropos that the night closes with Freedom to write, read and Speak. Flowers tell a story, so on the Eve of a very critical Civic election- South African blooms it is w a dash of Dutch and Heather ( for Scotland). All places that have seen historically some tough times in that department. I was limited to 10 pics, so this post is one of a series this evening-lol. I truly hope you take a moment to look at them all. The shop was always my space to connect to community- because I truly in my bones believe that with privileges like freedom come great responsibility. Talking to folks in the shop and in the hood has made it abundantly clear people are very conflicted about this election- to the point where they have considered not voting. In an effort to help bring some clarity, I came up with questions of my own and based on conversations. 3 candidates replied. Given our fantastic interactions with the first 2, I am not surprised. There are no perfect candidates - that is life. What we need is real, down to earth basics- like who has the emotional intelligence and respect for representational democracy? Because at the end of the day, if you don't include the people you are representing, you are just doing what you want. What I am looking for is someone who actively listens and looks for solutions, consensus and viable compromises. To disagree is not a bad thing if done respectfully and with aim to figure it out. I am so done w dismissive behavior and top down telling what's good for us. Ignoring the basic tenants of good governance is going to reap poor results. We can expect better! I have also posted hard copies on the shop door and if you want these answers emailed- let me know! On to post 2!

10/05/2025

The end of market season is always a little bitter sweet. Making wreaths are the constant reminder that seasons are cyclical. Was up crazy early cutting what I could before the freeze! I will be missing my market village. You have til 2 today to stock up!

09/09/2025

I am sure you have heard at one point in your life or another that life satisfaction or happiness comes from the simple things in life. Perhaps one of the biggest reasons why I adore flowers. They work hard, look good, smell better and help release positive hormones in your bloodstream by just being in close proximity to them. How’s that for perfect function and design. I also love how accessible and simple they are to incorporate into your daily life. Living art. Don’t just take my word on it. Harvard did a study! As we hedge into the next season, I cannot help be excited for the flowers coming. What’s your favorite?

08/30/2025

Each vendor chose their favorite item in their offerings today. So many delightful treasures to be found. Here til 4 today. Come on down!

08/30/2025

08/26/2025

What a perfect way to end the month, hanging out with friends in the garden finding all sorts of goodies. Turns out I have lots of really great vendor pals! So this is post one about this weekend. We are giving the bee friendly pollinator garden a weekend in the limelight. A work in progress but a very good reason to have an event! 4-8 pm friday evening and 11-4 sat you will find the ever talented Kris Twyman with her oh so charming paintings, the always effervescent Sandra with her magical Decks and intuitive readings, the bee-uitful Lisa from , the ever keen eyed Coralie with vintage jewelry from , and some tasty summer time treats from the talented Daniela . Oh! And us of course🍄. Wildflower seed packets will be given out to guests and we will have fresh, dried on hand as well as a seriously sweet deal on tinted pampus grass. And a few other things up my sleeve. I will be making wreaths on site and the company does not get better than this. Message or call the shop for the studio address. What are you up to this glorious long weekend of summer?

08/16/2025

I am in the shop and the sound of the equipment and stench of paving right outside my door is making me pine for the garden at studio. Work like this should never happen on weekends in front of small businesses as these are the days we do the bulk of our sales. There have been some wild comments on our posts- a couple notes. Discounting someone's experience as invalid because you don't want to believe it does not make it less true- that's gaslighting. It has no place in healthy respectful discussion. Empathy, good listening skills and being open minded are all hallmarks of emotional intelligence. I will always listen to your opinion respectfully whether I agree or not. I should expect the same. Small businesses are in fact impacted by this stuff- that's real. Ask any business in this community or marda loop. If businesses were not impacted- well I would be just chatting about community stuff and my garden, my pets, family, etc. Businesses do not make up stuff just for fun, we have too much other stuff to contend with. Looking for a silver lining today. 2 weekends from now we will host our first garden-vintage market at studio- to take a break and just be with friends and clients in a peaceful space. Aug 29 4-8 pm, sat 11-4pm. If you would like to attend- please contact us for address!!! Will be super fun!

08/15/2025

Over the many years I have worked with flowers, I have come to theorize that anything you need to learn about a good life can be learned from a flower. Somehow today this feels more relevant than ever. So while I am working on my book of this theme, I would like to share a couple things that sunflowers have taught me. All parts of a sunflower are useful. They have the capability to amend soil, feed bees, birds, humans. They are safe for all animals. When they are young, they look to the sun and follow it. When they are mature, they stay still-steadfast facing east greeting the morning sun. When there is little to no sun, they are said to face each other. They are resilient. So what can we learn from this humble blossom? Toxic places can be amended when we grow our roots, when it seems like there is no light-turn to your community for support. What we offer of ourselves can support others to grow. When we find our empathy and grow into ourselves, we do not need to be influenced by others to know what it right. Simply greet each day with steadfast knowledge that our very being contributes. We are tougher than we think. The past post brought up a great deal of interesting aspects of where we are at as a community. One thing is for certain, there is a whole lot of room for healthy discussion and perhaps more empathy. For all the toxic comments, there were so many more filled with care and kindness. So many of you showed up today in various ways of support. So like a field of sunflowers, you chose to be the sun when it felt like there was so little of it. Thank you