Reflections on 2020...
As 2020 comes to a close, I’ve been reflecting on what a mad year it’s been!
2020 started with Bloom registering as a company, a legit real life business. We were so keen to get going and start up our Gardening to Feel Good Groups, so sent out referral forms, information letters and emails to, what seemed like, every organisation in Sheffield. In the garden, we still had no water tight buildings and just a half dug patch of land, with no beds or flowers. February saw us tackle the glasshouse by knocking down the rotten, timber frame and getting ready for new beginnings. We learnt so much whilst building that glasshouse (we have a blog pst dedicated to it, if you’re interested!) and it was a major milestone in the development of the garden. We finally had a space where we could go and not get soaking wet if the weather decided to turn on us.
In March we welcomed Lucy and Lauren, our Occupational Therapy students who were doing their placement at Bloom. It was SO great to have two extra heads on board and they came with enthusiasm, knowledge and great ideas. We were all set up for our Gardening Groups to begin, and then the first lock down was announced. Before Boris told us, Lauren and I had spent the day at the garden building a raised bed, and it felt like a weirdly poignant moment. Over lockdown, I was so lucky to be able to go to the garden most days. To be perfectly honest, it saved me. I was so worried that the government would close allotments, that I went down everyday and spent time building raised beds and filling them with compost. It meant that I had space to plant the seedlings that had been growing since Autumn and gave purpose and meaning to my days. I witnessed the first flowers to ever bloom in the garden and I felt deeply sad that they weren’t being enjoyed by our community, and the women that had planted them. Obviously, because of the lockdown, all our groups, sessions and open days were cancelled so I tried to make the best of a bad situation by keeping the garden ticking over, ready for when people could return to enjoy it.
When June came round we were ready for a challenge and thought we would give selling our flowers a go over one weekend. I thew it out to Instagram and you guys went mad for it! I called in some socially distanced help from my two florist friends, Vicky and Erin, and we set to work. We had loads of people asking if we were carrying on selling flowers each week, so we thought we’d give it a blast. We honestly couldn't believe how popular our bunches were and we are so thankful to everyone who bought one (or several). The Summer was also the time we made connections with Dyson Place Market and Joe and Flo from Tonco. They have been so supportive of us this year, and we are so grateful to them for letting us have space at their market each week. We got to speak to lovely people about Bloom, eat great food and make connections within our community. One of these connections ended up being a very fruitful one, as we made friends with Emily from Kelham Candle Co. We decided to create a candle together, inspired by our flower garden. I felt like a kid at Christmas, when I opened up the first candle. It smelt amazing; of lavender, rose geranium and orange. It was such a calming scent, and it felt great to team up and work together on something so beautiful.
In the middle of all of the flower making, we also recruited the most wonderful volunteer team. We all met at the garden, and it felt like such an amazing meeting of minds. Each woman bringing wisdom, talent, knowledge and enthusiasm to the team and it honestly made me feel so excited for the future. Having all those amazing people in one team, felt too good to be true. I feel so lucky and thankful for all the time they have spent volunteering and for all the support they have given me over this year. I could not have done any of it without them.
In August, we took the plunge to start running Open Days again. We needed to make sure that all our groups were Covid safe and that our volunteers and attendees felt safe and looked after whist at the garden. I felt so lucky that we had an outside space for our community to share, and we couldn’t have been more lucky with the weather. For all the open days from August - October, we only had rain on one!! Nailed it. It felt so great to have women back in the garden, working together, sharing skills and spending positive time outside in the fresh air. We spent time tackling the overgrown jungle at the back of the plot, learning how to put up trellis, planting seeds and making use of the all the flowers that we had grown throughout the year. One of my favourite open days was when Sophie and Sarah, who are the cut flower gardeners from Chatsworth House, joined us for a masterclass. I felt like I was an attendee, I just turned up and they ran the whole day. They shared so much knowledge with us and so many laughs. It really was a magical day, and I will be really excited to welcome them back in 2021.
In the middle of all the craziness this year, we have also welcomed new members to the Bloom family. Jane has come on board as our new Director and she will be managing our funding and finance. Meeting Jane was amazing, and I feel like she has been holding my hand and guiding me through the whole business process. She has an unbelievable amount of knowledge and experience, and I feel so very lucky to have her working with us. Olivia has also joined Bloom, and she will be managing products, design and marketing. Liv has a wealth of experience in this field and I love sharing ideas and working on product ideas with her. This woman knows her stuff, and I can’t wait to see how her unique take transforms Bloom and takes us to the next level. Another addition to the Bloom team is Sarah. When Sarah came from Chatsworth to run an open day, she never left!! Sarah will be managing all our growing as our Head of Horticulture and will be heading up a new project for 2021. Exciting things to follow…
This year has been bizarre for everyone, and keeping a small business alive has been no mean feat. I know, for sure, that I would have crumbled into a million pieces without the support from all the women mentioned above, along with many others (I worry this is now starting to sound like an Oscar’s speech, but I’m going to carry on anyway). The two main rocks for me, and Bloom, this year have been Vicky and Erin. They have been with me the whole way. They have made and wrapped, literally, hundreds of bouquets, made nearly 100 wreaths, mopped up my tears, given my pep talks, made me cry with laughter, and shared so many memes that it’s embarrassing. 2020 would have been shit without you. Thank you.
We have got so many plans for 2021, and one that is particularly exciting. I can’t wait to share it all with you soon.
Kendall x