The Memorial Day Flower Foundation, an organization that honors veterans by placing flowers at their graves, has organized to distribute 500,000 stems at cemeteries throughout the U.S. Photo courtesy of the Memorial Day Flower Foundation.
As thousands of stems of roses, lilies, tulips, sunflowers, and more make their way to cemeteries around the country this Memorial Day, Ramiro Peñherrera is thinking about how the emotional tribute of placing a single flower at a service member’s gravesite could include retail florists.
“This is quite personal,” says Peñherrera, the co-founder and executive director of the Memorial Day Flower Foundation, an organization committed to honoring those who sacrificed their lives while serving in the United States military. “Flowers are an appropriate way to express sentiments. And this brings the flower business together — it brings us all together. There is room for retail florists to get involved and connect with their communities.”
Each Memorial Day since 2011, volunteers with the foundation have placed a flower at headstones, while quietly reading the inscription and thanking the person for their service.
The focus has always been at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, but the efforts have spread over the years to include national cemeteries in Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Oregon, and Texas.
Flowers as Tributes
Including retail florists is the next logical step, Peñherrera says. Already positioned in their communities as a retailer who helps the community show appreciation for others, there is a clear connection between a local florist and the community veterans.
“What if florists get a box of flowers and say to their communities, ‘Come in and receive a flower to place on a grave or give to a veteran?’ They could get involved with their local Memorial Day parades or services,” he suggested.
This year, he didn’t push the idea because of the ongoing pandemic and the focus on ensuring the flowers are available and arrive on time. He also recognizes it’s a busy time for the industry, falling just after the rush of Mother’s Day and amidst weddings and graduations, but in working with wholesalers, he believes there is room for Memorial Day.
A Call for Stems
The flowers, which are donated or discounted, arrive from Ecuador, Colombia, and California. Given the ongoing global challenges with freight and importing, it’s unclear exactly how many flowers will make it to the various sites, but about 170,000 stems are anticipated in Arlington and a total of 500,000 will be distributed throughout the country, Peñaherrera says.
Some flowers are being sent to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where J Schwanke’s ‘Life In Bloom’ public television show is filming an episode on the foundation’s efforts.
CalFlowers, the California Association of Flower Growers & Shippers, is among the biggest supporters of the foundation, each year turning to its membership for 20,000 donated stems.
“We put out a call to California flower farms and they respond,” says Executive Director Steve Dionne, AAF, who is also and a member of the Memorial Day Flower Foundation’s board.
With global supply chain disruptions, donations from California were even more critical he says. He praised Armellini Logistics for providing the ground transportation for the donated stems.
Armellini’s refrigerated trucks will deliver 700 bouquets from Holland America to Arlington National Cemetery. Armellini is also transporting Mellano & Company’s sunflowers among others.
Elsewhere, Mayesh Wholesale Florist donated 47 boxes of roses containing 5,888 stems, says Marketing Director Yvonne Ashton. The company, which has been involved in the effort since 2013, is also helping with logistics for two pallets of roses that are going to Houston, Texas.
“It is a wonderful way to for our industry to connect with our communities across the nation for this important holiday,” Ashton says.
Passion Growers in Miami, Florida donated 30,000 to 40,000 roses, Peñherrera says.
The wholesaler DV Flora in Sewell, New Jersey is another major contributor, donating several thousand stems of roses, carnations, pom pons and lilies.
Penherrera is particularly touched by the international contributions that support an American holiday, noting a dozen importers that are donating stems.
“I’m blown away by this. This is something that brings people all together,” Peñherrera says. “About 70 percent of our sponsorships come from non-Americans. They are Colombians, Cubans, immigrants who are working in Miami, and first-generation Americans.”
Dionne is moved by the fact that California-grown flowers will be placed in Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery, where soldiers who lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan are interred, inurned, or memorialized.
“It is a place that provides a stark reminder of the bravery of our young men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice,” he says.
Sarah Sampson is a contributing writer for the Society of American Florists.
