Thousands of flowers are in bloom at Sweet Piedmont farm in Waterford. As the fields explode with fresh, beautiful blooms of tulips, ranunculus, anemones, Iceland poppies, and more, owner Sharon Hays is keeping busy creating bundles of joy– free of charge.
Under normal circumstances, the flowers would be used to create lush, floral designs for weddings and other events in town. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Hays has been repurposing the stunning blooms to uplift people who are in assisted living facilities. She has delivered beautiful arrangements to Meadow Glen, Morningside House, and Sunrise Senior Living.
“I actually get kind of emotional when I get back in the car after making these deliveries,” she said.
Although she doesn’t have any close family members who are in an assisted living center currently, Hays said she understands how it must be a lonely experience even under the best of circumstances.
“With the threat of COVID-19 and the restrictions on visitors that has necessitated, the isolation and fear must be an especially heavy burden to bear,” she said. “Nothing replaces the visit of a loved one, but I’m hoping that these small bedside arrangements of flowers provide some beauty to the residents’ environment, and perhaps brings forth happy memories.”
Hays said she plans to continue to make deliveries to those who may need their spirits lifted and to the courageous helpers facing the pandemic.
“Delivering them makes me feel like I’m doing my part — however small compared to the contributions of others — to try to alleviate some of the suffering this pandemic is causing,” she said.
There’s an interesting anecdote that Hays shared on a social media post from a recent delivery.
She wrote: “Years ago, when I was in grad school working on my PhD in biochemistry, if you’d told me there would be a coronavirus pandemic that would cause unfathomable suffering and bring the global economy to its knees, I might have assumed the role I’d play would involve working at the lab bench. I’ve never regretted the decision to leave a career in scientific research behind, but I don’t know that I ever could have imagined that I’d end up here, working and living on a flower farm.”
She continued to say she is “utterly at peace” with her role in this crisis, which “is to provide just a little bit of sunshine — through the flowers we grow — to those who can’t venture out into the world right now.”
Hays is currently developing a long-term business strategy to include delivery in Loudoun and shipping to the entire mid-Atlantic region.
To learn more about Sweet Piedmont flowers and the farm click here.
