BOISE, Idaho — Oct. 16 marks Petal It Forward Day – a nationwide initiative to bring joy to communities across the country through flowers.
Fifty Flowers, based in Boise, is leading the initiative in Boise – handing out 10,000 flowers across town. The idea is to give away two flowers to everyone they see – one for people to keep, and the other for people to give away.
“We're going to just be able to maybe take a moment and create one glimpse of a smile for somebody who just needs that special feeling, that flower feeling,” said Liza Roeser, the CEO and founder of Fifty Flowers.
Roeser started Fifty Flowers in Boise in 2000, and it was the very first online wholesale flower company. They shop flowers directly from flower farms – to the consumers doorstep.
“Who knew that this little girl from Texas would build an internationally known business based in Boise, Idaho,” Roeser said.
The Society of American Florists – which Roeser is a part of, started the Petal It Forward initiative ten years ago. It’s meant to get flowers into communities to spread joy and kindness through one simple act – giving away flowers.
“We're just one of thousands of florists and people in the flower industry that are hitting the streets today to share this joy,” Roeser said.
It’s also meant to inspire others to share acts of kindness – by keeping one flower they receive for themselves, and giving the other one away. No matter what is going on in someone’s day, this flower is meant to be a reminder of joy.
“It's this reminder that everything's gonna be OK and life is beautiful,” Roeser said.
Roeser said flowers are scientifically proven to lower stress – so having them in your environment can be one way to simply create a smile, and she hopes to share that message for Petal It Forward.
“Watching the barista from a distance look and see the joy on her face when she saw the bucket of flowers, that's the special moments that we're going to create all throughout Boise today,” Roeser said.