Today we’d like to introduce you to Kim Bowling.
Hi Kim, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I grew up in Southeastern Kentucky surrounded by the most beautiful of nature. I was surrounded by flowers in every season, from the most common of wildflowers to the rarest, like Lady Slippers. My grandmothers grew flowers all-around their yards and even grew African violets and begonias inside year-round. I’ve always carried their love of flowers with me and have always grown them in some capacity or another.
During the winter of 2019 into 2020, I tried my hand at growing flowers from seed, and when the pandemic hit, I decided to go all in. I grew as many flowers as I possibly could. I fell in love with growing flowers all over again, and it became therapy for me. By the summertime, I had more flowers than I knew what to do with. There was not a surface free in the house that did not have a bouquet of flowers on it, even after sharing them with family, friends, and neighbors. That’s when I decided to start Summer Thyme Blooms the following the year, and now we will be going into our 2nd year of business this year.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I love to romanticize things, so in an ideal world, I would be able to just walk through a garden overflowing with flowers all day. In reality, I am learning the business side of a business; taxes, logo and website design, marketing, etc., not fun, but challenging. I’m a sometimes-extroverted introvert, so the marketing piece has been really difficult for me. It’s been hard for me to put myself out there as the face of the business. I wish I could just show off the flowers and they would sell themselves, but that is not the case. So that is something that I am slowly but surely working on.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Summer Thyme Blooms?
Summer Thyme Blooms is a micro flower farm that specializes in sustainable cut flowers. We create custom bouquets for your everyday enjoyment, or for those special moments in your life. We have had the honor of creating floral pieces for baby showers, graduations, birthdays, holidays, memorials, and even funerals. We love being able to spread joy with our flowers, and I am a strong proponent that fresh flowers are an excellent source of self-care.
We have collaborative partnerships with local florists, selling wholesale. Did you know that 80% of all flowers sold in the U.S. are imported, and have a history of harsh chemical fertilizers, toxic pesticides, and unfair labor practices? We love working with florists to provide them safe, locally grown flowers.
We also dry our flowers to use in the off-season for dried floral arrangements, wreaths, and ornaments. Using our dried flowers, we are able to offer sustainable dried bouquets for winter holidays, like Valentine’s Day. In addition to our custom dried pieces, we source locally grown evergreens to create holiday wreaths for our clients to enjoy as well.
We do not use imported or dyed flowers, nor floral foam, as sustainability is very important to Summer Thyme Blooms.
What does success mean to you?
To me, success is being able to do what makes you happy, brings you joy, and having the ability to share that joy with others.
Contact Info:
- Email: summerthymeblooms@gmail.com
- Website: www.summerthymeblooms.com
- Instagram: @summerthymeblooms
- Facebook: Summer Thyme Blooms
Image Credits
Kourtnee Kate Photography
