Mother Nature Laughing

Born and raised in the Netherlands where flowers are more common than clogs and windmills, I grew up with a passion for petals in the rural Twente area. My father, a concrete truck driver, often used cement to ‘enhance our back yard’ but my mother, unperturbed, never failed to find (or create) a crack in that concrete to plant some of her many, flowers. Her good flower sense inspired a passion in me that eventually received the focus it deserved when I trained with the Floral Design Institute in here Portland, OR, to become a professional floral designer because after all: ‘Flowers are Mother Nature laughing” and what could be better?
Soon after launching Petal Passion in 2005, I realized that the flower industry was hardly making “Mother Nature laugh.” Agressive growing practices and flowers that had traveled long distances, often covered with chemicals, made me rethink the career that I had chosen.
Being an avid gardener, growing the flowers personally was a logical–but not a simple– next step. However, I felt strongly about wanting to offer a greener option so I started working towards this goal.

Now, in addition to conventional options, Petal Passion offers a line of seasonal bouquets that are sustainably grown in North Portland “in harmony with nature and the neighborhood!” It’s called: Audacious Bouquets!

Audacious Bouquets are available during the Northwest growing season, April through September.

Please feel free to come and visit the gardens or my studio. Just call to make sure I’m there! (503) 286 9041 or my cell phone (503) 453 0912.

Tot Ziens,

Marianna Smith,
Owner and principal designer at Petal Passion floral design.