We recently connected with Sarah Bridgewater and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Sarah thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

Rewind to April 2020. Miscarriage…My real flower journey happened after this moment. It started as a coping mechanism to mentally heal from this heartbreak. Our business is named Eliza June Blooms, for the baby we didn’t get to meet. The garden became a way to watch her grow. Not only did she grow, but I saw myself and my dreams too.

In the future of our business, I want to venture into horticulture therapy. This is the concept of how plants and gardening can help promote better health. The overarching theme is plants and people share a rhythm of life. Just as the flower grows and changes so do people and we grow better based on the environment and nurturing we are given-same as plants.
Over the past few years, I have really come to understand my own mental health and how beneficial it has been to grow a garden, tend to my plants, and watch my creativity and self-confidence thrive.
In conjunction with this mission, I want to help build a sense of community and kindness that transcends to those broken places we feel. The growing and giving of flowers have brought healing to my life and can to others. 2020 was hard for a lot of people and the years following have proven to bring their own challenges.

While selling at the farmer’s market this year I have seen how flowers were a salve for deep wounds. The flowers brought joy to a widower after he had lost his wife. The flowers brought hope to a woman who had just lost her sister. Talking about flowers helped the elderly feel less alone. Flowers helped others express how much they care. The flowers let people marvel in the moment and smile. There is a healing that the flowers, plants, heck nature in general can do.

When I stand back and really think about it flowers are used in so many life-changing events. Wedding work, funerals, births-birthdays, and everything in between. There’s got to be a reason people are so drawn to them and often enjoy them so much.

Sarah , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’ve always had an admiration for flowers. In high school I would spend a lot of time outside and photographing them with our family camera. It wasn’t until 2020 that I really decided to pursue it as a business. It started after I experienced a miscarriage during the pandemic. The garden was my place of healing. There is something so rhythmic about watching the seasons pass by in the garden so natural of the ups and downs we experience in life.

I chose the honeybee as our logo because they are resilient and help so many beautiful things grow. They are vital and I never wanted to forget Eliza June, the baby we lost. It’s a part of my story that I’ve been able to encourage into something more beautiful than I ever thought it would be. A fun side note: my talented sister Megan Franzen designed the bee for me.

For me creating floral bouquets and arrangements with solely fresh local flowers sets me apart from most typical florists along with the fact that I grow almost all my flowers from seed, tuber or bareroot. I get to know the flowers intimately. The flowers are totally like children. So different in water needs, nutrient needs, sunlight. As a farmer I get to personally know them and grow attached to them. I saw them from “birth” to adulthood and sadly in death.

A fact a lot of people don’t realize is that almost 90% of the flowers in grocery stores are imported from other countries and have toxins sprayed on them in the field as well as before they are shipped here. Fresh local flowers are even more beautiful, smell fresher and last longer than the typical flower. In terms of wedding experience I take alot of time to personally care for the florals used in my weddings. I can never promise color schemes, but I’m able to give the bride the most beautiful seasonal flowers. We operate off of the vibe of the wedding and then try to capture it with all local fresh cut flowers. I think this allows the bride to be more surprised- like a special gift to herself on her wedding day.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being creative is the chance to explore, be messy and take a chance. For the better part of my life, I have suffered from anxiety and always worrying. Often when I walk out into the garden, I created I am awe struck. There are so many beautiful colors, textures, and just amazing plants. The worries that I feel diminish at the sight of it. My overwhelming curiosity to explore in this situation trumps my insecurities and I feel like a kid free to do so many wonderful things. I am safe to explore and make mistakes within the garden.

A step further than the garden is creating arrangements. I can try any combo I want. If I want to try tomatoes with my flowers, sugar snap peas or unusual ingredients I have the freedom to do so. Want to test the limits of the type of vase I use, don’t mind if I do. The garden and creating with flowers give me a tremendous opportunity to stretch what I thought was possible within myself. While I’m creating, I can also feel my mind unwind and frequently I reflect and am able to problem solve a situation I had earlier. It truly gives me the space to think, dream and just be.

How did you build your audience on social media?

At first social media was intimidating. I spent a lot of time looking at other floral accounts and noticing the qualities I liked about them. Sometimes I would mimic the ones I really liked. The further along I got, I realized, I needed to just be me. I know it’s cliche, but frankly it’s true. Stay in your own lane and don’t worry about what the other people in your field are doing.

Comparison caused a great deal of stress for me in the beginning and sometimes still does. In my field and flower community I have met a lot of other wonderful farmers, farmer-florists, and florists who are doing wonderful work. I noticed that cheering them on and celebrating their wins with them and aweing at the beautiful flowers they create helped kill the jealousy and comparison I was feeling. When I felt like I was getting competitive or feeling uneasy it helped when I would say something kind and realize they are human too and they are in this field because they love flowers. Social Media Advice don’t compromise you or compare and be kind and encouraging when you are feeling jealousy creep in.

Contact Info:

• Website: elizajuneblooms.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elizajuneblooms/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElizaJuneblooms

Image Credits
Leanne Hunley Photography Brooke Townshed