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Angela Lloyd is spreading joy one bouquet at a time. The South Arkansas flower gardener offers free flowers at a stand near her home on County Road 28 in Lewisville.
Lloyd’s free flower stand began in 2021.
“I had grown flowers around my house and had cut some to share with a few senior citizens nearby. God just spoke to me and said, why not do this on a bigger scale and share His word with all the beautiful bouquets,” Lloyd said.
Blooming Where You Are Planted
With the help of her husband and a few gardening books, Lloyd put a plan into action.
“As 2022 rolled around, I purchased seeds, seed starting trays, and a few grow lights,” she said. “From January to April, my house was covered with seed babies…things were getting exciting!”
By late spring of 2022, the first bouquets were ready. Each bouquet includes a variety of flower types, like zinnias, cosmos and sunflowers and comes in a recycled container. “I started with Mason, spaghetti, pickle and salsa jars I had saved. It didn’t take long to run out of those, and then I had people drop off actual flower vases, coke bottles and even baby jars.” Lloyd said.
Every bouquet includes a Bible verse attached to it. “My hope is that through these bouquets, friendships can be mended, marriages can find a new spark or someone can be inspired to share kindness.”
The free flowers were an immediate hit. Lloyd keeps records of all the bouquets she gives away, and in her first summer, she gave out 18-30 bouquets each day for a total of 1,782.
New Season, New Blooms
Right now, Lloyd is gearing up for her second full season. She will plant the flowers as soon as the risk of frost is over, and the first bouquets will be ready around the beginning of June. She expects to give her flowers to a variety of folks again this year. In her first year, she had kids stop by to get flowers for their moms or people who just needed a pick-me-up. A few people stopped by to get flowers for the grave of a loved one.
Last year, Lloyd said she was terrified when she put out the first bouquets. “I was so worried no one would stop. I had prayed and prayed that God’s will would be done, but it’s scary when you actually take the steps, do all the work, and then have to wait,” she said. This year, her feelings are different. “I’m super excited! I’ve already had several people ask if I was doing the garden again and when I expect the flowers to be ready. It makes me so happy that people are just as excited about them as I am!”
Visit the free flower stand to grab a bouquet or donate jars at 698 Lafayette 28 Rd., Lewisville, Arkansas, known locally as Fuller Mill Road.
Photos courtesy of Angela Lloyd.
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3 responses to “Sharing Free Flowers with Arkansas Neighbors”
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What a blessing you are!!! I’ve developed something called “Brighten your Corner” Ministry. It developed in my church First Baptist Church of Royal, Arkansas. A lovely soul grows flowers to have a fresh arrangement on our altar, each Sunday. On asking, I found that they sat and died EVERY SINGLE SUNDAY. So I began a campaign to collect vases. Then after services, I gather the stems and arrange them in vases to deliver to homebound, sick and depressed. This has continued for 6-8 years… I think. You and I have a kindred spirit!!!
What a blessing you are I am originally from Hope I was a Marcum before marriage.. You really don’t know how much flowers can cheer up a person . I worked with Alzheimer’s and Dementia residents oh how they would light up when they got flowers… You are a Angel
I love this so much! What a beautiful blessing you are!