By Michelle Forbes

If someone gave you a dozen roses to share with those you met, who would receive one? This is the question Flowers Galore’s Sue and Paddy Brown ask as they prepare to give away a dozen roses to the first 130 people through their doors at 9 a.m. on Thursday, September 28.

So, what’s the catch? There is none. No donations to a charity, or expectations in return, except for each person to give away 11 of the 12 roses to colleagues, friends, family, or strangers throughout the day.

Although this is Sue and Paddy Brown’s third year bringing this initiative to Kimberley, it is not new. First created by a florist in Jacksonville, Florida, it was created as a way to help encourage people to be good neighbours and good friends.

The Browns previously owned a FTD flower shop in downtown Calgary, when FTD caught hold of the idea, and encouraged all their stores to run it. In Calgary, Paddy said, it was a huge event, covered by a TV station, all the radio stations, and newspapers. Located on the bottom of a busy office building, people lined up outside their shop, wearing looks of anticipation, and 350 dozen roses disappeared in under an hour.

The Browns moved their family to Kimberley in 2009, and took over Flowers Galore in 2012. This is the third year they will celebrate ‘Good Neighbour Day,’ but last year, it took on a special meaning for them.

At the end of July 2016, their daughter, Meaghan, was killed. To them, Meaghan epitomized what the day was about – loving your community, being generous, and being kind, and reaching out to others. In honour of this, they renamed it “Meaghan’s Friend and Neighbour Day,” to celebrate their daughter’s life and spirit, which lives on in the stories of people touched by the simple gift of giving or receiving a rose.

The days leading up to Neighbour Day are a blur, with five people working two days straight, stripping the roses down, packaging them in dozens. Sue Brown laughs, “Our fingers are cut from all the thorns on the roses, but it’s a lot of fun. We enjoy doing it.”

And when the stories start pouring in after, it makes it all worth it.

People who have caught the spirit of Neighbour Day line up early, their faces beaming with excitement as they wait. And then come the phone calls. “We’re in Marysville, and everyone has a rose, and everyone is smiling.” Stories pour in on Facebook and in person of people who have given or received a rose, and how much it meant to them.

Two stories have always stayed with Sue.

A few days after Neighbour Day last year, a lady came in and said she had got some roses, and wanted to tell them her story. Then she burst into tears. Sue patted her shoulder, wondering what had happened. When the lady had collected herself, she told her story.

She had picked up her dozen roses, and went down the street, intending to give them all to neighbours. But then she saw a frazzled new mother with a new baby and a puppy, looking like she was almost in tears. The lady gave her a rose, and they both started crying, and hugging, and it meant the world to both of them. By the time she arrived home, there were no roses left. They had all been given to strangers she had met along the way, every one brightening a day.

Another story was from a recipient of a rose the year they were working on the flume. She had been walking past the flume with a big bag of apples, and shared one with each of the workers. She said she never would have done that, except the day before, someone had given her a rose.

As Sue Brown said, it’s good for the soul, to give someone something for no reason, and the stories that are told after Neighbour Day affirm that. So, thank you, Paddy and Sue Brown, for helping make the world a little brighter, as you share this day with the community around you!

If you would like to take part in Meaghan’s Friend and Neighbour Day, be sure to stop by Flowers Galore early on September 28 to pick up a dozen roses to brighten the days of those you meet. And share your story or pictures with them as well.

Check out their Facebook Page for more information

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