The Floral Heart Project in the City of Brotherly Love
Planting and Podcasts
One of my favorite things to do when I’m working in the garden is to listen to podcasts. I just pop on my phone arm band and off to work I go. My favorite listen is The Flower Podcast. I have learned so many new things and found so much inspiration there.
An interview that really moved me was one with Kristina Libby, founder of The Floral Heart Project. At the start of the pandemic living in NYC, she felt saddened by the lack of public outpouring to memorialize those we had lost. She explained, “I was heartbroken watching what was happening in my home city and in cities across America. The number of people dying was astounding but, so too was my worry about how this would impact the fabric of our nation. There is a term called “disenfranchised grief” which is the idea that people who put off grieving — generally due to war or other high-stress situation — end up with lingering and endemic PTSD symptoms. This includes violence, depression, and anxiety. I wondered if putting off grieving as a nation meant that we would have these symptoms in the fabric of our culture long after the pandemic had stopped. So, I wanted to do something to visualize my grief and allow others to access their grief; to feel connected to the city and to have a moment of comfort.” So she laid one heart and hoped it might show someone that another person cared about their suffering. She said she dropped the first one and ran, fearful that she might get in trouble for doing it. They she laid another and another. A social media influencer took notice and soon more and more people were noticing. When 1-800-Flowers reached out to Kristina to become a partner in the project, it really took off.
Joining the movement
After listening to that episode, I found myself thinking about doing something in my own community. I planned to reach out to Kristina to discuss some ideas. Before I had a chance to do it, a message went out to the ASCFG’s facebook group asking for people who might be interested in participating in the Floral Heart Project! Of course, I immediately said yes. Apparently, this project resonated with a lot of people, and the effort was going nationwide. Over the course of a few months, Kristina held zoom meetings with everyone involved. It was inspiring to hear other people’s stories and ideas.
Many had lost loved ones to Covid. Many just felt compelled to do something like Kristina had. My dad passed away in early April shortly after the quarantines around the country began. Though my father did not have Covid, our experience was similar to so many families over the last year. Thankfully, my mother and my sister were with my dad at home during his last weeks, but my other siblings and I were forced to stay away to ensure the health of my mom. My father lived a long and happy life, but he deserved to be surrounded by his children and grandchildren in those last days. Trying to say goodbye over the phone is strange and painful. I feel blessed that he had the love and care of my mom and sister, but I know the pain of the families who have lost loved ones from Covid alone in hospitals. “Each person's grief is as unique as their fingerprint. But what everyone has in common is that no matter how they grieve, they share a need for their grief to be witnessed. That doesn't mean needing someone to try to lessen it or reframe it for them. The need is for someone to be fully present to the magnitude of their loss without trying to point out the silver lining,” says David Kessler, a death and grieving expert. Without the customary outlets for grief and support of friends and family, so many are bearing the terrible burden of sadness, loss and grief all alone. By creating living memorials to those lost, the Floral Heart Project hopes to provide spaces to start this grieving process and bring some healing to those suffering.
Let’s Help to Heal the Nation
The Floral Heart Project joined Marked by Covid and other grassroots organizations to call on officials around the US to declare March 1st a national day of mourning. "We must respond to this crisis commensurate to its scale," Kristin Urquiza, co-founder of Marked By COVID, told CNN. "Memorialization and recognition of our losses cannot wait any longer.”
Hearts in the City of Brotherly Love
My idea of laying one heart quickly expanded. Originally, I was eyeing two locations in the city, Rittenhouse Square and Love Park, thinking I would choose only one in the end. But then Kristina said, “Let’s do both!” Being a “more is more” and “let’s go bigger” kind of person, I thought, we should include the hospitals too. With the help of DV Flora and 1-800-Flowers, we were able to create seven hearts in Philadelphia. I reached out to friends in my garden club, and they eagerly jumped on board. To create the hearts, we met in small, socially-distanced and masked groups using the over 1600 stems that had been donated.
Photo credit: Wendy Concannon Photography, photos 2-4
A National Day of Mourning
On March 1st, Covid Memorial Day, over 100 floral hearts were laid across the country from Blue Hill, Maine to Chattanooga, TN to Carlsbad, CA as a living memorial to those lost to and during Covid-19. In Philadelphia, our seven hearts were laid in Rittenhouse Square, Love Park, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Temple University Hospital, Chestnut Hill Hospital, and Lankenau Hospital.
Photo credit: Wendy Concannon Photography, photos 2-7; Emilie Lapham, photo 11
It was such an incredible day filled with intention and heartfelt emotion. We were met with such thanks and appreciation. At Lankenau Hospital, a small memorial service was planned with a blessing by the hospital chaplain which included a beautiful quote from poet and writer, Nikita Gill, “Just existing on some days is more than enough. The flowers do it every day, and they add beauty to the world just by being there.” Rev. Casey Bien-Aime concluded with, “May these flowers remind us of that beauty. The beauty of those we’ve lost, who we hold in our memories. The beauty of those we miss, who we long to be near again. The beauty of those who walk alongside us and help us look forward to a new day. May this be yet another connecting force, holding us together, and keeping us strong.”
Those words perfectly sum up my reason for getting involved in this project. I hope that these floral hearts show others that they are not alone under the burden of loss and grief. That we carry it together as a community, and my hope is that we can move forward together toward healing and hope.