Forum Discussion

If you are non-profit you can ask local florists or grocery stores for donations, even if you aren't non-profit you might still be able too, i think it just depends. We use artificial flowers and rearrange them once a month; but i work with memory care clients so many don't recognize its the same batch month after month.

Yes, you could ask for donations. It seems like the best idea. Do you have a garden in your place? You could cut flowers from there as well.

Hi Robin, great idea for an activity. One way is to place a request on your newsletter asking residents’ relatives and staff to donate whatever they have in their own garden. Give them a list of suitable foliage suitable like English Ivy (or any other ivy), ferns, groundcovers, common rosemary, olive tree branches, and any evergreens with small leaves. Don’t forget to condition the cut foliage properly for several hours - water containing flower food - before you start the activity. Good luck!

Call your local funeral homes. Many donate flowers.

Hi Robyn,

We have a weekly flowers and crafts class here. I submitted letters to small local grocery stores (bigger stores aren't always willing to work with you) asking for donations of flowers that are past "expiration date", but still have flowers that are usable. Let the stores know you will put something in your newsletter so everyone knows where the flowers are coming from. I have a volunteer that calls the store every week to check with the stores and picks them up if they have any. If they don't we do a craft project that we keep prepped just in case we don't get any flowers. Then we don't have to cancel our class. We make the flower arrangements for our dining room tables. If we don't have flowers we try and make something to decorate the tables. We also get them from local funeral homes and weddings. Sometimes they will drop them off at your facility.

can any of your residents walk in your facility garden with their walkers to pick flowers, even if you cut them and they place them in the baskets of their walker.

Thank you all for your suggestions - really appreciated..

You're welcome Robyn... it's all I could think of at the time! Did you manage to find your flowers? All the suggestions here are really good by the way.

I have been getting donated flowers for about a year now....Most come from wedding venue establishments. A local venue can have up to three weddings per weekend and I have established a relationship with them where I pick up left over/donated flowers every Monday.....super beautiful arrangements. Hotels will also donate leftover event/wedding flowers. Contact the event coordinator at the hotel....not all will help but there are nice people everywhere ;-)

Thanks Janey

Robyn:

To add to the list of places to call, sometimes churches will donate flowers if they are left after a funeral. Sometimes funeral homes also have left over flowers. Maybe keep the requests in your town to let people know everything they donate stay in the community.