Floral Fever (and a Giveaway!)

Spring has sprung for many of you, dear readers. However, in my part of the country, winter hasn’t quite let go just yet. Even if Mother Nature graces us with some early spring-like days, we usually get a cold snap around St. Patty’s Day, and nothing really starts blooming until April. I’m finding myself with a case of floral fever! 

I love flowers and floral patterns! Every room of my house has some nod to flowers and plants – be it a picture, a textile, or a plant. I think living in a cold climate makes me an even bigger fan of florals. I have lived most of my life in Connecticut, yet in my memories I can still clearly see the wildflowers in the Texas hill country from when I was small. A field of Texas wildflowers is a sight I will always miss. 

Living in New England, I appreciate blooming trees and plants now even more, and especially love flowers. I look forward to my favorite flowers blooming each spring, signaling the end of winter’s rest. 

While I love all flowers, my favorite flowers are peonies. I just love their big, fluffy blooms that remind me of an old-fashioned petticoat.

Blooming in cooler climates, peonies have a short bloom time, and can be delicate, losing their petals in a heavy rain. Even so, the scent of a peony is Heavenly! 

One event that we look forward to each year is the Connecticut Flower and Garden show. It’s usually at the end of February, and is a sign that the end of winter is near. There are vendors of all sorts, plants, and beautiful displays. Held at the Connecticut Convention Center, it is so exciting to go up the large stairway and into the doors where it is a gardener’s proverbial candy store! This year did not disappoint.

We had a wonderful time at the show this year, but my most favorite booth this year was that of a local artist from Westport, Connecticut, Kerstin Rao. Her booth was so bright and happy! My daughter bought me a beautiful tote bag, featuring a stunning bouquet of peonies, as an early birthday present.

Sketching all the time as a child, Kerstin Rao was known in school for her drawings. Originally from Minnesota, Kerstin moved to Kentucky when she was in the third grade, when her college-professor parents moved to the state for positions. An art major in college, when Kerstin moved to New York in the 1980’s, she realized at the time the New York City art trend was grunge and dark – the complete opposite of Kerstin, whose art was more delicate and cheerful. (Kerstin herself is a sunny breath of fresh air). Knowing she had to make a living, a sculptor friend suggested that Kerstin try teaching. She loved it from day one, and teaching became her calling. 

Using art as a way to engage and explain to her students, Kerstin was an educator for 34 years, teaching in inner-city schools, and eventually ending up in Westport, Connecticut in 1999. 

It was during the lockdown of March 2020 that Kerstin found her second calling, creating the art that now graces her beautiful totes, tea towels and note cards.

When the Westport Farmers’ Market carefully reopened, the first thing Kerstin bought was  a beautiful fresh flower bouquet from Kristin Burrello’s Muddy Feet Flower Farm. (Her bouquets and fresh flowers are amazing)!

Looking at that first purchased bouquet in the breezeway of her home, Kerstin pulled out her sketchpad. Kerstin began sketching bouquets she purchased each week from Kristin, loving the shapes and colors. She would lose herself in drawing, leaving behind the tension and worry of the Pandemic. Kerstin says she feels she “vanished into a world of natural beauty.”

After posting her sketches on Facebook, Kerstin received lots of encouragement and requests for items like greeting cards, and the rest is history! Kristin’s flowers inspired her, and she helped Kerstin as a sounding board, as Kerstin left teaching in her late 50’s to become a woman business owner of Vivid Cottage. Kerstin says “bouquets are a tiny world”, and “every bouquet is a fresh opportunity for adventure as an artist.”

To me, flowers are also medicine for the soul. I’m looking forward to spring, summer and fall blooms. 

Until then, I will enjoy my bag, my flowery dresses, and other florals. And to help YOU with floral fever, I put together a little floral-themed giveaway: flowery note cards, a cute little hanging sign, flower seed packets, floral emery boards, and beautiful floral seals. One reader this month will be randomly chosen from the comments, so don’t forget to let me know that you stopped by!