Blossoming Beginnings has reached it’s twelfth year in business and what an wonderful ride it has been!
We started our business armed with a few tools, some gardening knowledge, and a deep love of nature. Every garden a challenge and a hard won triumph.
We leapt…
and like most new businesses, our failures humbled and informed us, even as our successes strengthened and encouraged us.
The time we cut a 1/2 an acre with a 21” mower and it took over two hours.
The time we broke a blade on a brand new mower on a stump hidden in knee high grass.
The first run with a brand new snow blower and the pins broke in the snow which was 1’ deep. It was Sunday, so repair shops were closed and we spent a back breaking day digging people out with, you guessed it, shovels.
We discovered the “joy” of garden installation brings with it all kinds of challenges. The intrepid garden warrior battles soil hiding roots, rocks, construction debris, and in one ridiculous case, an old bathroom. We found a toilet and sink buried in someone’s backyard.
It took no time at all to learn that Fall leaves, while looking delicate and crunchy, en masse can way a ton.
We blossomed…
As we embraced the expected and unexpected, slowly mastering our craft, by observation, study, trial and error, and with a little help from industry friends we made along the way. Without those friends, who gave unstintingly of their years of knowledge, we wouldn’t have grown so fiercely, or so fast.
At the beginning, we were driven by the thought of the fantastic gardens we could create, lush flora, waves of color and splendid lawns.
What no one told us to look out for was the people along the way.
For us, working on gardens is, occasionally transformative, and often, a healing endeavor. If you’ve ever watched a garden show, I can confirm it’s true, people have cried with joy when their gardens are done, as it is a dream years in the making.
We have watched people, traumatized by life events, rediscover possibility and hope as they fall in love with their garden.
A garden is more than a place, it is a living entity, to love and nurture.
It will perhaps not be a surprise that we have met a great many artists, musicians, architects, record producers, photographers etc. In other words, builders and creators. Kindred spirits :).
In the Fall of 2020, a year marked by the changes and trauma of CovID-19, we were surprised yet again. We were asked if someone could take pictures of us while working on their property. I was unaware that the man was a professional, famous photographer, until he presented us with the prints. The photographer is Mel DiGiacomo whose work has captivated the photography world for decades. His pictures are embedded above and you may visit his site by clicking here.
Upon seeing them, I broke into tears because I was reminded of why we are here. In a few minutes he had masterfully captured the passion, contemplation and driving love we have for this business. The same passion that has propelled us out the door every April… for twelve years.
We never know who we will meet, or what great gardens we will create...
Blessed.