My name is Christina, and my business, The Flower Lady, was built on my desire to give back—to emulate the phrase: “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

The idea of starting my own urban flower farmer-florist business began in 2013. I was working for a Paul Mitchell cosmetology school and volunteering for their “Green Team.” The CEO of Paul Mitchell, John Paul DeJoria, was also a philanthropist—dedicated to funding gardening projects among others. So, I approached him with my idea to adopt the oldest community garden in the heart of Cincinnati—The Over-the-Rhine People’s Garden. My goals were simple: to revitalize this inner-city garden with fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers, and to teach as many people as possible how to grow their own—without harmful pesticides or destroying precious pollinators.

The meeting was a success! Thanks to a grant from Mr. DeJoria, I spent the new few years—after work and on weekends—developing the garden and teaching area residents how to grow their own food and flowers. In conjunction, I began studying horticulture with the Berea College’s Grow Appalachia Program, as well as taking online classes with Floret Flowers and reading as many books as I could get my hands on. I was so happy being in nature, working to preserve nature, and surrounded by excited and engaged adults and youth that were eager to be there with me. By then, becoming a flower-farmer florist had become a passion, and I could envision the real possibility of it. I knew I had to find a way to do it full-time.

First, if we were going to live on my husband’s teaching salary while I tried to start a business, we had to lower our expenses. So, we sold our three-bedroom home and a car, and moved to a 600-square-foot loft condo in Over-the-Rhine. Becoming a minimalist and learning how to grow a business had been the first step. The second step happened when my friend and owner of Sunrock Farm allowed me to use a portion of her land to grow flowers for my business. Everything was falling into place, so I decided to go for it. In 2019, I resigned from my position and began the full-time pursuit of my career as a flower farmer-florist.

Then I expanded! In June 2021, through the Urban Agricultural Program of Greater Cincinnati, I was able to obtain an additional 1/3-acre plot of land in the historic East End on which to grow more flowers. Cultivating the land (primarily alone) and using simple hand tools has been a challenge, but I am happy to share that it is full of blooming flowers!

What motivates me? It has been bringing flower farming-floristry to the youth. I lead a free garden club in our community garden with the neighborhood kids, and I also teach flower farming-floristry one day a week to the children attending Leaves of Learning, an innovative educational institute here in Cincinnati. We successfully grew a cut flower garden on the school property, made spring earrings using daffodils, and harvested, designed, and gifted lots of flower arrangements. It’s been incredible!

I specialize in growing flowers and creating beautiful and fragrant solutions for just about every floral need. My primary focus, however, is on serving brides and grooms, my neighbors, restaurants, and florists in and around the Over-the-Rhine (OTR) neighborhood in Cincinnati, Ohio where I live, work, volunteer and grow. I believe in the inner connectivity of all living things. So, not all of my flowers are cut. I dedicate portions of my flower garden to our precious pollinators and I use all organic growing practices, including saving rain water and making my own compost. I love meeting people, teaching everyone how to garden, and showing off my growing business.

So, be sure to stay connected with me through my Instagram @theflowerladyotr & Facebook Page @theflowerladyotr & blog at Grow Appalachia, where you will find updates for opportunities to learn, be inspired to give, and appreciate nature.  

Peace, Love, Happiness & Flowers,

Christina

The Flower Lady OTR