The Daylily Cottage & Bouquet Club: From Concept to Community

In 2020 when Covid hit and we were in lockdown, my family and I had gone to church --mind you in the field behind our actual church. Everyone stayed in their cars and listened to our pastor on the radio like it was a drive-in movie. I remember crying and feeling so far away from everyone during the sermon. It was so strange to be with everyone but not really BE with everyone, if you know what I mean. When we got home from church that day, someone had left flowers on my doorstep. That sweet surprise made me smile and feel so loved in a time that was so uncertain and troubling!

The flowers anonymously gifted in 2020

That year, I had a whole lot more time to be in my garden to grow flowers and veggies. And I absolutely fell in love with it even more that I previously had, something that I didn't think was possible. So, in 2021, I started the Daylily Cottage in hopes of being able to provide fresh flowers to people so that they may be able to make someone smile and feel as special as I did that day in 2020. I never found out who gifted us the flowers, but I have never forgotten it.

Although I loved gardening and growing flowers for many years, it had never crossed my mind prior to then to do it as a business. In January of 2021, I stumbled across an Instagram post of a cute little flower stand in the northern part of Alabama and I was smitten. That lead me down a rabbit hole as I researched and I learned that 1). Flowers stands and cut flower farms were an actual thing and 2). local flowers was this whole movement in itself. And I tell you, not having one place in my hometown (not even a grocery store) to go grab some flowers was a little frustrating to me. And the options the next town over weren't much more appealing.

So, I thought, "Huh. I can do that!" And that's how the Daylily Cottage Flower Stand was born. I started stocking our self-service stand on the weekends and added our subscriptions and called it Bouquet Club. I can't tell you how rewarding it has been to see smiles on your faces when getting flowers.

In 2021 at the Daylily Cottage Flower stand---our old property.

That first year of The Daylily Cottage proved to be a challenging one on a personal level. My daughter needed spinal fusion surgery and we faced setback after setback, proving to be one of the most stressful and hard years I can remember for our family. Having The Daylily Cottage allowed me to be home and work around our schedule....numerous out of town doctors appointments, tests, etc. We traveled regularly to Pensacola, Mobile, Dothan, and Birmingham and having The Daylily Cottage flower stand help offset some of those costs. Also, growing flowers and having something to tend to with my hands was a stress reliever when things were so very hard, even though I had to step back from all of my other obligations I was involved in at the time.

Since then, we've moved to another property and essentially started over with the flower farm. After a year break while building our house, I jumped back in with both feet in 2024, offering things I never thought I would when I first started. I finally got my USDA farm number for our property last year and although I still grow on a small scale, it's more than when I started and is enough space to produce plenty of blooms to offer to customers.

Last year, I started doing Petal Parties, and floral design for weddings and events, something I said I'd never do. I guess "never say never" is true in this instance. I've fallen in love with floral design as well as growing the flowers so it's been a delicate balance of learning how to juggle it all. Essentially, I look at my business in two parts....the flower farm side of The Daylily Cottage and the floral design side--Amanda Henderson Designs. I supplement with wholesale flowers for these events and special orders.

It's already that time of year for Bouquet Club again! This year, I'm offering Spring Bouquet Club that starts on April 9th. You can learn more about it and sign up HERE.

Since I first started offering Bouquet Club, I've seen the sweetest things! Husbands gifting subscriptions to their wives, deliveries to elderly or shut-ins to brighten their day, mother's day gift subscriptions, etc. And sometimes, it's nice to get flowers to brighten your work week.

Sign ups for Spring Bouquet Club have started and there are limited numbers of subscriptions available to ensure fresh blooms for members. So don't wait!

And can I just say thank you! You guys have been such a blessing to my family and I can't thank you enough! I truly am grateful to be able to do what I love and hopefully bring you all some joy in the meantime!