The Conversations Flowers Lead Us Into
flowers are often where the story begins.
Noticing
Flowers are rarely where the conversation ends.
More often, they're where it begins.
A bouquet becomes a memory of a grandmother's garden.
A favourite flower becomes a story about home.
A wedding becomes a reminder of what really matters.
This is a collection of observations from life among flowers.
Things I've noticed.
Things I've wondered.
Things I've learnt.
And the conversations flowers have quietly led me into.
Observations from a life among flowers.
There are some stories that begin with flowers.
This one began with a friend.
The Drawing That Became Real
A few years ago, I asked artist Alexandra Graham to create an illustration inspired by my life among the flowers. Beyond that, I gave her very little direction. She had complete creative freedom.
When she sent it to me, I remember quietly smiling.
Not because it looked like me.
Because it somehow felt like me.
She had noticed all the little things I probably never would have thought to mention. The old leather tool belt I wear every day. The colour of my secateurs. My well-worn hat. Even a dress I'd only ever worn once to a wedding.
It wasn't simply a drawing of a florist.
It was a drawing of how a friend saw me.
For a long time, it hung on the wall of my studio.
Then one day, somewhere between harvesting flowers and letting my mind wander, I had a thought.
"I wonder if I could step inside it."
The idea became impossible to ignore.
So, with every flower picked from my own little patch, I began building the landscape she'd imagined. Branch by branch. Stem by stem. Bucket by bucket.
My beautiful friend Katelyn Nelson came with her camera, quietly documenting the afternoon as it unfolded.
Most of it went exactly to plan.
Although, in true farm fashion, my bull Phoenix decided escaping his paddock was a much better idea than staying where he belonged. He wandered over to inspect our work, sampled a few flowers, and quite happily followed us around while Katelyn laughed and kept photographing anyway.
Looking back now, I'm grateful she did.
Not just because we created the photograph.
But because together we captured something much harder to explain.
The feeling of a life lived with flowers.
When I look at the illustration now, and then at the photograph beside it, I don't really see two different artworks.
I see a conversation.
One friend noticed something before I did.
Another helped me bring it to life.
Perhaps that's what flowers have always done.
They quietly lead us into the people who help us see ourselves a little more clearly.
- Stace
- jill
Stace just thinking about everything you created and how beautiful of a person you are just makes me so emotional. I basically gave you zero brief yet you created my idea of the most perfect wonderland I could possibly imagine. I will never forget it. From the bottom of my heart, thank you
"you created my idea of the most perfect wonderland I could possibly imagine. I will never forget it"
- Stacey & James
"Stace was an absolute pleasure to deal with from start to finish. Nothing was ever too much trouble and her constant communication with me in the months and even hours leading up to our special day were fabulous.
As someone who has next to no idea about flowers, only had a few ideas for what I wanted included in our wedding florals. Stace managed to put together the most beautiful bouquets, boutonnières and arbour arrangement I could have ever imagined. I was so in love when I saw them all!
Then due to the weather we had a last minute change of ceremony location. Stace kept in constant touch with me that morning and made our arbour arrangement work perfectly in our new location. She even located the exact spot in our rustic shed that would be the most aesthetically pleasing for our ceremony and photos. Thank you so much Stace, I was so relaxed about the whole situation which I partly contribute to you taking this on for me.
So Stace, thank you so much for your contribution in making our day so magical.
"I was so in love when I saw them all!
- Gemma
"Working with Stacey was one of my favourite parts of the wedding process! She understood my vision completely and was even open to incorporating flowers I had grown myself. Even 6 months after the wedding I am still getting comments about how unique and beautiful the flowers were. Beyond the flowers, Stacey is just a dream to work with and her skills and natural design flare made me feel so relaxed about the whole process."
'Stacey is just a dream to work with and her skills and natural design flare made me feel so relaxed about the whole process."
- Lizzie
It was an absolute delight to work with Stacey for the flowers for our recent wedding! I had instantly fallen in love with Stacey's flowers and her designs, each piece was so unique and stunning and our wedding pieces where no exception! Not living locally didn't make the slightest difference to how beautiful our flowers where Stace and I were in regular contact via email and phone, she went above and beyond to make everything perfect sourcing a particular flower for me, and matching flowers perfectly to my dress and bridesmaids dresses. Each flower was so thoughtfully picked and arranged, I could feel the love in each piece. I received so many compliments on the day and since the wedding on how stunning our flowers were! We both loved supporting a local business as part of our wedding, and Stacey was exceptional."
