Recently I saw a dear friend selling at our downtown Thursday night farmers’ market. She grows the most beautiful flowers for weddings, events and local markets.
This made me think back to an article I wrote about her for Mabel, a print magazine. I have edited my article below for Viewfinders and I share pictures of flowers that Courtney grows.
Courtney, the owner of Farmermaid Flowers, exchanged messages with me early on during the pandemic. She lost half of her business because weddings were cancelled, and she found herself with excess inventory. Instead of using stock images, she wanted to update her online ordering system to show flowers she grows from seed. I told her I was up for the challenge, and we agreed to trade my images for her flowers.
In early April 2020, shortly after a shelter-in-place order was issued for our county, I received my first delivery from Courtney. At my doorstep were bouquets of daffodils, ranunculus, and anemones. I felt emotional when I saw this beautiful gift and was grateful that I could offer her something in return.
Almost weekly, she dropped new bouquets at my house. Some flowers I was familiar with, others were new to me: feverfew, hyacinth bean, scabiosa, amaranth, agrostemma, bay laurel, and many more.
In my home office, I have a dedicated space where I photograph flowers, where the light streams in through a sliding glass door. My daughter would stand in the light, and she would hold each bouquet in a variety of ways.
This weekly routine gave us an opportunity to focus on a collaborative project. My daughter stepped away from her schoolwork, and I would pause momentarily from concerns, big and small.
The flower and photo exchange with Courtney was a gift I never could have predicted.
I looked forward to being creative and taking moments to observe flowers and their details amidst all the uncertainty in the world.
– Carolyn
Farmermaid Flowers located in Arroyo Grande, California.
My essay originally published in Mabel Magazine No. 5 designed, edited and published by Stefanie Renee and Liz Kalloch.
These are so lovely! What a sweet opportunity. And this brings me back to the pandemic when everything had an extra poignancy.
Thank you, Deirdre. It was such a lovely exchange. That’s the perfect way to describe the pandemic — and how we can access those memories and experiences that stand out and are so vivid from that time.
So lovely! And this brings me back to pandemic times when everything little thing had an extra poignancy
What beautiful captures! These photos remind us of the beauty and softness of life. Reflecting on the time and patience given to create beautiful images, and the relationship that developed before they came to be, is such a respite from chaos and a reminder of the life we choose!
Hello Kit, It’s been such a joy for me to photograph Courtney and her locally grown flowers. I’ve had a few photo shoots with her – at a wedding site when she was setting up, at her former farm, at a grocery store where she was organizing her bouquets for sale, at her studio where she had her refrigeration for events, and hopefully another this fall. Thank you for your kind words!
Oh Carolyn, these photos and flowers are breathtaking! Thank you for sharing!
It means so much to me that you enjoyed my essay and flower photos! I’m trying to share more these days as I have taken thousands of flower photos! Thank you again.
Love, ❤️ Love, ❤️ Love! 😘
Pam, how sweet to see your name and makes me think back to many sweet times together! Thank you for stopping by to comment.
This is a wonderful story. The photos are gorgeous! Thank you for sharing this !
Thank you, AZ, and for your support, always.
Carolyn! This warms my heart in so many ways. I feel like it’s good to look back on such a wild time, and see how far we’ve come, how much we’ve weathered, and appreciate where we are now. Thanks for capturing those moments and reminding me to pause and look back once in a while. Big hugs to you.
Oh Courtney, What a joy it was to photograph you and your lovely flowers, and to share this story now, several years later. When I return, we have to book another long-overdue photo shoot. Big hugs back to you!
Oh I have to admit this made me cry just a little. What a wonderful collaboration with your friend and daughter in such a difficult time. Thank you so much for sharing.
Kirstin, this meant so much to me. It was such an honor to read your words and I am so glad the images and story moved you. I’m enjoying this collaborative blog to stretch and trust the process of opening up more to share my stories. Thank you, always, for this opportunity.
I’m SO in love with these flowers of yours, Carolyn! Wow!
Thank you, Maite. It has been fun to get to know Courtney who grows these flowers. She has selected such beautiful varieties!
These are beautiful!
Hi Staci — Thank you so much!