Using Flowers as Therapy for Chronic Illness
Three years ago, if you had told me I would own and operate a small business growing and arranging flowers, I would have laughed. Not because I couldn't imagine myself working with flowers, but because I had long suffered from chronic illness, which led me to believe I wasn't capable. When dealing with chronic illness, floral dreams can feel far off—but the flower life is for you, too!
A type 1 diabetic from the age of 6, I always seemed to have health issues. I was 13 when I started getting chronic headaches and fatigue accompanied by body pain, brain fog, and depression. I saw dozens of doctors to no avail and received no answers. My health continued to plummet, leaving me pretty much bed-bound. By my early 20s, I began seeing homeopathic doctors and had shifted to a natural way of living, eating, and treating my body. I saw some improvements but still couldn't get solid answers. It left me depressed, alienated, and lacking a sense of self. The next several years were a blur of doctors' offices and what felt like endless suffering. I kept myself busy at home with craft projects and a little veggie garden, but really, too much of my life revolved around my illness.
When I was 32, I decided on a whim to grow flowers from seed for my landscaping. And that was the start—that's when my life changed. Here I am, almost three years later, with a garden full of flowers, weddings on the books, and offering my first Mothers Day bouquets! I never thought it would have been possible to do all of this with how I felt.
If you love flowers but struggle with chronic health issues, a life with flowers is still possible. I'm so excited to share five tips that helped me make this dream a reality!
1. Set Manageable Goals
It's okay to go slowly with your flower dreams! Try setting small goals that are achievable to build your confidence. Set long-term goals as well, but keep these flexible. I found as I went through my own growing trials (both with flowers and personally), the more experience I gained—and the more I found my long-term goals shifting. Originally, the idea of doing a wedding made me want to run and hide! But as my confidence grew with the flowers, I found that I wanted to share my love of flowers and to create for the public.
2. Take Care of Yourself
It may be tempting when you're lost in the euphoria of gardening or designing to forget to take time to stop and eat, drink water, or rest. But please make sure you do! I've often found I love being amongst the flowers and arranging so much that I don't want to do anything else. Getting that mental escape from illness is a breath of fresh air.
But maintaining balance and caring for your body is crucial—that way, you’ll be less likely to be held back in the future from all the joy your flowers provide! Taking care of yourself also means self-love. Start paying attention to what the internal dialogue you have going sounds like. Years of being unwell and not understanding why I couldn't get well left me feeling like a failure—and consequently, when I first started growing flowers, I found myself only focusing on the failures. I began to shift how I viewed things, first with the flowers and then with myself. There is always tons worth celebrating! There is nothing more powerful than your thoughts. Where you place your attention is where you put your energy. If you primarily focus on what isn't working in your world, then that's all you will see. Be proud of yourself for all you are doing, you'll see how much better this feels, and the feelings of gratitude and self-love will only snowball!
3. Research and Plan
Spend time learning about growing flowers and arranging. Research everything you can! Too tired to get out of bed? Experiencing a flare up? Use this as an opportunity to research and learn. Allow yourself to get excited, even on hard days, as you plan your garden or business.
I suggest focusing on growing first. I found growing to be extremely therapeutic on my healing journey. Growing seedlings takes responsibility and time every day, which will help you keep your mind off how you feel and give you motivation. You see the fruits of your labor relatively quickly, which will help keep you motivated (like a newborn baby, after germination you see changes every day)! And you can grow as many or as few as you like, setting the pace for how much time you think you can physically care for your flower babies. Lastly, if you grow a few different varieties, you will have plenty to practice arranging!
4. Ask for Help
This can be a tough one! I often found it hard to ask for help at first. I had always needed help through life because of how illness had affected me. It left me wanting to do it all by myself. But that's not always the best choice. Find someone who genuinely wants to help—whether it's because they are so excited to see you passionate about something again or because they love working in the dirt as much as you do!
5. Set Yourself Up to Win
You may feel nervous about investing in yourself, not knowing when or where you will make an income. I know I was at first. But if you keep believing that you will make it work because you know how much you love flowers, the rest will fall into place. Investing in and setting yourself up for success might look like buying drip tape (it will save a lot of time and lots of headaches and energy), choosing a website, or purchasing a stock of five-gallon buckets.
See if any of your friends are getting married and having a small wedding. Offer to be their florist for either the whole event or just part of it. Find a way to push your comfort level, but again, within reason! Stick with realistic, achievable goals while you're building your confidence.
Bask in every success you have and learn from every "failure." If you only got four seeds to germinate out of 20, congratulations! You got four seeds to grow!
Can you think of how you could increase the germination rate next time? You only sold three bouquets in your first year? That’s amazing! Do you want to expand next year? What avenues do you think you can use to sell? Remember, this journey is about you. Use the flowers in a way to feed your soul. If it starts to become a burden, then it starts to lose its fun!
Closing Thoughts
It's okay if you aren't sure where you want your flower journey to take you. Whether you end up with a seven-acre farm and a blooming floral business or a 10x10 plot where you grow for your neighbors, it is not only about how much you make, but also the journey the flowers took you on, the joy they brought back into your life, and the therapy they have given you!
Flowers take a long time to turn into the beautiful creation they are meant to be. To make them the best they can be, it takes a lot of support, nurturing, problem-solving, and above all, patience for the reward they give you. Take a cue from the flowers. With patience, the right environment, tools, and support, you can have an abundance of beauty, color, and magic back in your life!
