Fresh Cuttings: Flowers with Purpose, Beauty, and Heart

Diana Pierce
Oct 15
3 min read

A Second Bloom for Veterans

By Diana Pierce, Oct. 15, 2025

Mourners honoring a loved one. Photo: Ivan Samkov, Pexels.

With Veterans Day approaching on November 11th, many of us will honor those who served — perhaps by thanking a veteran in person, sharing their story, or visiting a cemetery to remember those we’ve lost.

While Memorial Day in spring is traditionally the time for decorating veterans’ graves with flowers, the gesture carries meaning any time of year. Those blooms — rooted in Civil War-era traditions — remain a symbol of remembrance and gratitude, a quiet way to say: your service still matters.

One Minnesota organization has found another beautiful way to honor veterans year-round: with repurposed flowers for the living.

For the last four years, TwoFold Blooms has been giving once-forgotten flowers a second life — rescuing blooms from events and creating individual arrangements for seniors in memory care and hospice. Now, they’re expanding that mission to include living veterans, ensuring retired service members receive fresh flowers and the dignity, beauty, and connection they deserve.

Their goal: raise $10,000 to secure a permanent workspace for processing weekly donations and to purchase flowers when donations slow — so no veteran goes without.

This Veterans Day, consider two ways to honor those who served: Leave flowers at a memorial for someone you’ve lost, and support organizations like TwoFold Blooms in bringing flowers to veterans who are still with us.

Learn more and donate: twofoldblooms.org

Help us honor more flower-giving heroes by Veterans Day. Know of an organization in your area bringing flowers to veterans, seniors, or hospice patients? Reply to me with their info — we’ll feature them in our next newsletter and drive support their way.

Fall Beauty in a Bulb — This Saturday!

Orange Lily image. Photo: From the North Star Lily Society.

And if you’re thinking about flowers this weekend, here’s another opportunity: the North Star Lily Society’s Fall Bulb Sale returns Saturday, October 18th at Bachman’s Heritage Room (6010 Lyndale Ave S, Minneapolis).

With over 150 varieties — from Asiatic and Aurelian to the hard-to-find Martagon lilies (only available in fall) — it’s your chance to plant next year’s color before the ground freezes.

See the full variety list: North Star Lily Society website

Local Bloom in the Spotlight: Arnie Sachs

Arnie Sachs' National Blue Ribbon winner. Photo: Mary Sachs.

Speaking of show-stopping blooms — big congratulations to Arnie Sachs, who brought home ribbons at the National Dahlia Show in Chicago! Arnie’s passion for dahlias and his eye for form and color have made him a fixture in Minnesota’s dahlia community.

His ribbon-winners this year? Absolutely stunning.

What can dedicated growth achieve? Arnie’s dahlias are living proof.

Reader Story: Seeds of Joy

After my mention of prairie seed collecting, Aimée B. volunteered with Three Rivers Park District:

“Spending three uninterrupted hours outside on a beautiful prairie was calming — almost meditative. The group was welcoming. What a treat!”

There’s something magical about gathering seeds that will become next year’s wildflowers.

Speaking of Flower Beauty Worth Preserving...

If you love blooms as much as Arnie and Aimée do — but want to enjoy them year-round — join me at the Plymouth Artisans Market on Friday, November 22nd.

I’ll have 2026 flower calendars, 5x7 notecards (perfect for framing), and canvas and metal prints featuring some of the season’s most beautiful captures. Whether you’re decorating your own space or looking for unique gifts, there’s something for every flower lover.