Sarah Amaya and her children Joseph (left) and Lydia, appreciate a bouquet created with the help of the Ann Arbor Farm & Garden Association’s “Flower Ladies.” | J. Adrian Wylie
“We are making these flowers for my brother,” a girl about eight years old tells me. “He’s having brain surgery right now,” she adds, tapping her forehead.
She, along with her sister and pregnant mother, is immersed in Flower Therapy at the Jones Family Center at Michigan Medicine’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital. Around them, tables are laden with blooms: bundles of soft yellow and orange tulips, dark red roses, piles of fragrant eucalyptus, perky white-fringed daisies, and carnations dyed every color possible. The girls each choose a foil-wrapped can, add their favorite flowers, and tie on bright ribbons for their brother.
Flower Therapy at Mott Hospital, the oldest activity of the Ann Arbor Farm & Garden Association, started in the 1950s. The program has always been entirely staffed by volunteers, with flowers donated by local grocery stores, florists, and a flower farm.
“Flower Therapy is by far the most rewarding volunteer work I’ve ever done,” says chair Karen Mikus, who’s been volunteering with the program for ten years. “We always leave with our hearts lighter and smiles on our faces, even when very sick child patients have made bouquets that day.”
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When I joined AAF&G in 2018, I knew I wanted to be one of the “Flower Ladies,” as they are affectionately called. One of our newest volunteers, Mary Greener, joined after her nephew was hospitalized repeatedly. She brought him flowers whenever she visited, and says they “brought joy and life to his room.” After his untimely death, she looked into whether there were any programs that involved flowers for patients. Ours was the perfect fit.
On days that are often scary, painful, and uncertain, Flower Therapy gives patients and their families a few minutes of comfort. Child patients, some in wheelchairs and attached to IV poles, create arrangements alongside other children there for presurgery visits, difficult tests, and procedures. Parents, grandparents, and siblings can relax among beautiful, fragrant flowers and make bouquets for themselves, hospitalized loved ones, or a favorite hospital staffer. Even toddlers can make a simple bouquet.
For the past year, Flower Therapy has also been offered on the ninth floor of the Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital for women with high-risk pregnancies. These women often need to be hospitalized for months; Flower Therapy is an opportunity to chat with others going through the same isolating, anxiety-filled experience. Their partners and nurses make bouquets for those who can’t leave their rooms.
I have not been disappointed with my aspiration to be a “Flower Lady.” Each month I meet new children with their families and hear them say things like “This was our best time here today” or “This was my favorite part of our hospital stay.” Recently, I spent some time with a new mom from Grand Rapids who made a colorful bouquet for her four-month-old daughter. The infant had just had a second open heart surgery and has never been able to leave the hospital.
“I’m giving my daughter her first roses,” her mother said.
AAF&G welcomes new members and is always looking for Flower Therapy volunteers. For more information, visit annarborfarmandgarden.org.