To commemorate the anniversary of the mass shooting in Orlando, Florida, In Bloom Florist created a floral heart for City Hall and handed out hundreds of flowers at the site of the shooting.
To commemorate the one-year anniversary of the country’s deadliest mass shooting, Orlando residents and visitors turned to song, prayer, community — and flowers.
“Hundreds of people have left flowers, cards and drawings at Pulse nightclub to remember the victims who were killed a year ago in Orlando, Florida,” according to a CBS News report on Monday. “Many cried and strangers hugged each other during solemn remembrances on Monday as the names of the 49 victims … were read out loud.”
Last year, John and Sally Kobylinski of In Bloom Florist helped coordinate a floral industry response to the tragedy and offered to donate all funeral floral arrangements for the immediate families of the victims.
For the anniversary this year, the shop created a floral heart in rainbow roses for City Hall and handed out around 600 flowers at Pulse.
“Honestly, it was hard to figure out our place in the anniversary,” Sally admitted. “Our heart at the time of the tragedy was to provide something to soften the grief and financial burden to the victims’ families. Obviously, this was not the same need now.”
Other florists have faced similar questions — what to do? — in the aftermath of tragedies in their local communities. Read one florist’s take on the important, healing role flowers can play.
