Love is...Paris in the Winter

15 February 2023. Mrs. Dalloway is ever expanding her definition of love, for she feels above all else that life is about loving and being loved. As a floral designer, she is grateful for the love she feels from her clients when they choose their designs; she is moved by the notes they send with her bespoke blooms to their loved ones; and she is humbled by the kind emails and phone calls she receives after an event for which she designed the flowers. Mrs. Dalloway's fleuranthropy is another way she feels love-- when her community donated one thousand coats/hats/scarves/sweaters to provide comfort and warmth to the Ukrainian people during the severe cold and winter weather; when she gifts blooms to the elderly at senior homes; and when she donates flowers to Plants and Blooms Reimagined so that they can be repurposed and used in horticultural therapy for those in need. And while Valentine's Day marked the day of love, Mrs. Dalloway wonders, isn't that really every day?

These past few years have been so difficult-- the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, the earthquake in Turkey. That is partly why Mrs. Dalloway thinks often about love. She feels the loss of dear friends who have died far too young. She feels her elderly but young at heart Mum's loss of too many friends who have died from one disease or another. She feels the loss of time passed missing friends and family who have moved or live far away, and of love lost. She knows in her heart, however, that it is because of love that the loss feels so heavy, and for that she is grateful.

It is almost the one year anniversary of Mrs. Dalloway's Flowers. To mark the occasion, Mrs. Dalloway is traveling to London and retracing her usual steps in Bloomsbury. She will also spend time in Paris and hone her floral design skills, this time training with internationally renowned nature -inspired florist Catherine Muller. By necessity then, Mrs. Dalloway's Flowers will be closed from February 18 through March 31, 2023. She will be happily back in her studio on April 1 just in time to design your bespoke centerpieces for the Passover and Easter holidays. Life is short, so Mrs. Dalloway must seize the day as she combines her loves of travel, language and flowers. She will continue posting @mrsdallowaysflowers and writing her Love, Clarissa blog during the time away from her studio.