SANTA ROSA BEACH — On a sunny Monday morning, Barbara Pierce grabs a handful of leaves, a few flowers and a small mason jar and gets to work.
It takes just a few minutes for the member of the Seagrove Garden Club to complete her floral arrangement.
Pierce is one of more than a dozen women who gather every Monday to fashion from 50 to 100 floral arrangements from leftover flowers. After their work is complete, the women take them to nursing homes, patients at Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast or to residents suffering hard times.
“If you ever have the opportunity to see these people, they wait for us every Monday,” Pierce said as tears welled up in her eyes. “Giving up half your day is nothing if we get to brighten their lives.”
The women, known as the Shuttle Ladies, have met for seven years in garages, homes and now at the Chapel at Crosspoint.
They say the floral arrangements are their way of giving back to the community.
Each week, the women gather leftovers from floral shops, grocery stores and occasionally weddings to use for their arrangements. They say their arrangements offer a second life for flowers that were not purchased at stores.
Dianne Smith, leader of the Shuttle Ladies, said the women show up toting their own shrubbery and flowers to add to the ones already collected. Some weeks are better than others.
“It’s feast or famine around here,” Smith said. “There are weeks when we have plenty of flowers, but then there are weeks when we have to use a lot more greenery.
“This has taken on a life of its own,” she added. “We work with what we have but we can always use more.”
Flowers are placed in everything from glass vases to tin cans to mason jars. They are topped with a bow and a card for the recipients.
Smith said the club has a small budget from the garden club, but donations of flowers, ribbon, vases, cans or money are appreciated.
“Flowers make everyone happy,” Smith said. “It’s just a bright spot, and we get the pleasure of giving that to people.”
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Angel McCurdy at 850-315-4432 or amccurdy@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @AngelMnwfdn.
