Big hearted blooms
some color & light in the winter night
Born out of a desire to connect and support one another in dark times, Sue Buddenbaum began Big Hearted Blooms back in 2018. Taking the remnants and scraps of what is cast off in systems littered with waste, from florists throughout the northeastern Ohio region, the volunteers and members that make up the organization are able to take in and repurpose floral arrangements into vivid new lives. Arrangements that have already been used in some way, or have reached a “point past prime”, are gathered, sorted and returned to the world in beautiful new displays of light and life, and delivered to the livers and staff of health care facilities throughout the region.
Seng is one of many volunteers that are part of the Big Hearted Blooms mission, sifting through the bouquets as they come in and rearranging them into something new
With this kind of mission and ethos held, the relationship between Rust Belt Riders and Big Hearted Blooms seems like a beautiful melding of purpose and intent. How can we begin to return and remember the threads that weave us all together, and reimagine our relationship to the discarded and disposed ?
Every time the arrangements are sorted and repurposed, the scraps that have weathered slightly more are returned to the soil through their collection and addition to the Rust Belt Riders compost flow
“We’re intercepting flowers and we’re trying to do everything we can to keep things out of landfills,” says Sue, “and so we’re very naturally aligned, in our missions and perspectives.” According to her, “it’s a commitment that is well worth it to us because everything that we do really has a sustainability motive to it.”
This alignment comes with ease as well, working along the edges with fluidity of two organizations making their way in the fast, harsh world of capital and imagined scarcity.
“I feel like you’re very easy to reach !” Sue says, “I don’t personally run the account, the person who does is on a first name basis with whoever is driving the truck, and they’ve been super flexible, you’ve been super flexible to meet our schedule, because we’re not here all day, everyday. It’s been something we’ve had to work out to make sure we’re responsive to your needs, and you’ve been very responsive to our needs, and that flexibility is really [key].”
Big Hearted Blooms co-founder Sue Buddenbaum speaks to hope and joy through petals reimagined
Following this thread allows us the opportunity to tend to the garden of the present, the sprouts reaching for the future in fragrant bloom. The joy present, whether on the face of volunteers sifting through the rainbow, those receiving the bundles of color or the box truck driver collecting petals from the compost heap, is undeniable. In a world often bereft of slow spaces and reimagining, the sparks of color allow us to step back into the moment and share it with one another.
