I'm Katie Lila.

I make art displays out of fresh cut flowers.

Wow, this is looking so fabulous.

Flowers really are nature's art, and I love using them as my medium.

So fun.

Like these little fantasy flower worlds that people can interact with.

Oh my gosh, this is stunning.

I want this for my bedroom wall.

It's hard to be around flowers without smiling.

Thank you.

Way to go girl!

I love looking at something and being like, oh, how can we make that into something that could be in a flower installation?

Oh, this space is going to be dynamite.

So beautiful.

A lot of variables.

A lot of question marks.

How's it going to go?

How's it going to play out?

We did it.

Oh, my install team is amazing.

They just jump in action and fill in all the weird requests.

So come follow the blooms with us.

You never know where the adventure is headed.

(acoustic guitar strums) Follow the Blooms on KSPS PBS is proudly supported by Skyline Flowers Wholesale.

Spokane has an annual race called Bloomsday.

Are you kidding me?

I got to get in on that action.

I'm going to meet Don, the founder of the race going on 50 years ago now.

I've been dreaming up some designs.

I hope he loves them.

Something I've never done before.

That looks so good.

My goodness.

Yes.

When I heard about how it all began, And kind of your vision for that.

It was just really inspiring.

How did it start?

I was teaching school at the time, so I wasn't planning to be, starting a race, but founder of a big thing.

The ball started rolling.

First year we had about 1200.

What year was that?

77?

77.

The next year, we had 5 thousand, then 10,000.

13, 17, 20 It was just wow.

Like crazy.

Yeah.

So yeah.

Exploded.

Yeah.

It did.

Every year I get such a kick out of it because, just surrounded by people.

at the start.

And everybody's in a good mood, and everybody's wanting to, you know.

do 7 1/2 miles.

Well Don, I've got some wild ideas.

Okay.

But I think it's going to be really fun.

You know, I'm always dreaming up these crazy things.

But here's the here's the visual.

All right.

Okay.

See that?

Yep.

So we'll make, like, a shoe wall with the art from Jesse Harbour.

I've got this wild idea to turn running shoes into containers.

Right.

Vases for the flowers.

And then I want to incorporate the art that was made for Bloomsday.

I'm thinking big sections of the art.

And then inserting those into the design.

And, you know, the idea of blooms on the run, right?

That this spring, this life, this running.

It's all coming together in my mind.

That sign of hope and spring.

Yeah.

One of the first flowers you see this spring.

So.

Yeah.

Yeah.

One thing that it reminds me of is, there's one runner.

Her name is Lucy, who, has had some health challenges, but she and her family are all going to do Bloomsday this year.

So Lucy had battled leukemia.

And, one of the things she did to kind of keep her spirits up was to walk around, you know, the hospital grounds.

She, she's really, used to the whole thing with walking.

As a way to keep, you know, happy and inspired Lucy is special.

One, one.

I would love to meet her.

Yeah.

So her whole family's running?

That's what I understand.

Oh, maybe they'd let me run with them while they're probably walking.

I don't know if they're runners of walkers.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I could put my walking shoes on.

It's good for your body, but I think more than anything, it's good for your.

Your mind.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

And probably, you'd get some good ideas for your your installation.

Well, that is true.

That is true.

When I'm out in nature, I always look at the patterns that nature makes.

And, new ideas keep flooding.

Right?

And and I'm always trying to push the, the boundary of what I can create.

Allright, Don Okay.

Race day.

Here we come.

Okay, let's see it.

People run for all different reasons, right?

But one of the reasons I love to run.

And I think a lot of runners and walkers, you get out in nature, you see everything happening right around you.

It's not only great physical health, of course, but the mental clarity and the mental calm and that inner grounding.

Every day I try to get out on what I call an on walk.

Just observing nature, taking it all in.

Slow down.

Let it be.

Just letting go of worry and fear.

Doubt, criticism.

Holding on to beauty and joy and just connecting with my maker.

Living in the very moment I try to stop and look really closely at things.

I try to just meditate and five senses.

What do I feel?

What do I hear?

What do I sense?

What I smell?

We all live these very fast paced lives, and, it's easy to let nature take a backseat.

But really, it's it's there.

It's right there.

So the minute that I pause and just step out into it, connect with it.

My brain is a butterfly.

It's everywhere.

It stops when it's beautiful.

And it's easy to forget that nature really is the source of everything.

It's our lifeline.

It's our connection to this planet.

It's our connection to each other.

Nothing says hope more than that.

All right.

Wow.

It is a rainy day, but we're heading out to the farm.

I want to see Louise, a local grower.

So we're going to go out and see what she's got growing and see if she's got any good ideas.

Maybe we can put some of those fun, bright spring flowers and just, everything pointing towards joy.

Wow, this is looking so fabulous.

I love all your brights and spring.

Well.

It's cheerful.

Yeah, it's here and we love it.

I know, I'm so excited to be here for the daffodils.

I know you and daffodils have a long history.

We do.

They have an incredible story.

She was moving out of a really hard chapter of her life.

And then her mom bought all of these daffodil bulbs for her to begin again, and moved to this farm and plant these daffodils.

And she was going to move with her.

But she passed away before they got there.

So the daffodils came.

And the cool part is that these kind of became this, like protective patch of daffodils when they're farm was under, in the fires that came last summer.

It burned all the way to the edge of those daffodils, and the house stood standing.

These are not your mama's daffodils.

These are my mama's daffodils.

And it's so fun for Bloomsday to have your daffodils.

And what an honor, because my dad went to Yale Med School and was a physician, and he tried to keep people healthy his whole life.

And that's what that creed is and what he did.

Yeah.

And so the fact that people that are running and concerned with health and concerned with well-being, that we tie into that.

Yeah.

With our flowers for Bloomsday is a perfect marriage.

I think these are going to look so amazing at the Bloomsday Expo Center.

Okay, I'll be back to pick them up.

Okay.

See you soon.

I'm scared.

Flowers have been around forever, right?

They.

They were here from the beginning, and they've been part of every human culture.

And experience.

Where there are people, there are flowers.

And I love that connection.

I love that they represent joy and delight and that they're fleeting.

I think that's cool.

I love the fleeting things in nature.

You know, sunsets and snowflakes and, and flowers.

Oh.

Hey, Catrin.

So glad you could finally get in touch.

I would love to hear a little more about Lucy's story.

Tell me in.

We've heard some details, but I wanted to hear from her mama.

Yeah.

It's been a long journey.

We just passed her one year mark from getting a stem cell transplant.

That's incredible.

That's crazy.

Yeah.

Well, you know, I would love to hear a little more about Lucy.

Some of her favorite things, some of her hobbies.

This is a very active kid, as you can tell, with track and field already just one year out from treatment.

She's, a wrestler, and she wasn't able to do wrestling this winter, but she's hoping to do that next year.

Yeah.

She's a drummer, so she's a musician.

She wants to play drums.

Just.

Yeah, around.

All around.

With so many interests.

That's so great.

She sounds like an incredible girl.

We would love to make a special, I'm thinking a bouquet for her.

That could be there at the end of the race after her big day and accomplishment.

Sounds great.

Thanks, Catherine.

We'll see you there at the race.

Okay.

We'll see you then.

Talk to you soon.

I'm imagining.

And a large wall like.

Think of a running shoe store.

You go in and you just see shoes, right?

And so I love the idea of this long panel, and, Artifact Rental has these shelves.

They're actually champagne shelves.

But I immediately thought, oh, would be perfect for the shoes.

Hey, Tony.

You guys good?

I'm Sierra.

Nice to meet you.

Yeah.

Good to see you again.

Give me a hug.

Thanks for letting us come in.

Of course.

Yeah.

Notice, I appreciate it.

When I saw your black shelf, I was like, oh, I think this might be perfect for what we're looking for.

Yeah, so I hope I love that.

I hope it's going to work.

We have oh three of these and we just have one of them set up today.

Oh, yeah.

I think this is going to be perfect.

Yeah, this is it.

What do you think?

Oh, I love it.

I love it.

Bigger than I thought.

Yes.

Yeah, they're very tall.

So you're thinking shoes on the actual shelf?

Yeah.

And then just put shoes here.

Yeah.

So we built this as a champagne wall originally, but kind of built the shelves so that it would be able to be used for lots of other uses, too, as display.

Yeah, but honestly, I never imagined that it would be a shoe display.

So this is amazing.

Oh, look, they're totally going to stay, okay?

Yes.

I would love for this to go right when everybody's entering the expo.

The trade show for Bloomsday.

Everybody has to come pick up their number.

There's a big fair.

It's really exciting.

I would love it to be there where everybody can stop and enjoy it.

Take pictures.

You know, share, share in the whole, ambiance of it.

I'm, like, honored to have some of our pieces there.

I think it will be so fun.

And I love the concept of this installation.

I think it's going to really work.

Oh my gosh.

I mean, I'm excited about it.

It's going to be so fun.

So great to see you.

I'm glad you got to meet Sierra.

We're super excited.

So we'll just work out the details of getting that to the space.

On the timing and logistics.

Yeah.

Okay.

Thank you, thank you, thank you guys.

Can I have coming in?

This is so fun.

It's 2022.

All right.

I'll see you soon.

This space is going to be dynamite.

So beautiful.

Can we can come sit him over here?

The shelves are going up.

They look so good.

Sierra, those are perfect.

All right.

You're like the champion.

Oh, those are amazing.

The colors are so good.

I'm really happy.

And look.

Oh, my goodness.

I have to see it with the shoe.

So you kidding me?

I know, isn't it perfect?

Isn't that perfect?

It's.

I know that's like instantly when I saw them, I went to the printer.

I'm like, oh, my gosh, this is serendipitous.

Yes.

It's so perfect.

Yeah.

They did such a nice job.

So we've sprayed all these fun running shoes.

Okay.

And then we're just going to pop the jar in first, and then we'll design the daffodils.

So it kind of covers that.

What I would think is just make a little cluster in your hand.

Give me, you know, maybe like 3 or 4 of each.

And then we've got a couple of these.

Those are called gooseneck daffodils because they kind of have that little poof.

And then you can always just design in your hand because you can think the jar is going to be kind of like that.

Right?

So what how many is that.

123456789 1011.

Yeah.

Okay.

I like to create, like, these little fantasy flower worlds that people can enter, you know, and interact with.

I fell in love with these little Muscari.

Aren't they so, darling?

So I was thinking, once we finish, then we'll just pop a couple of those bad boys in, because, I mean, the color combo.

Perfect.

Okay, so then if you put it in the shoe first, then you can design around because every shoe is going to look different at the top right.

So we'll just play with that a little bit.

Keep on messing with things until they look about right.

It's that cutie cutie.

And then we'll put a couple of those these little guys in boop boop.

And those ones will open.

So fun.

Yay!

Yeah.

So, okay.

One done.

How many to go?

39.

At least (upbeat guitar music) Thats what I noticed Working with flowers.

It slows people down.

It brings them this beautiful sense of the present moment.

They touch the flowers, and it.

It always brings a smile of people's faces.

Oh, I'm so excited.

Lucy's arrangement came in.

It is glorious.

So beautiful.

I ordered that from the local farm.

So, I'm just going to add some special touches for Lucy.

I was able to talk with her mom and find out her favorite, some of her hobbies.

And I've got some really fun things to pop in here.

This is something anybody can do.

Is order a fresh bouquet, preferably from a local farm, and then you can add just some fun touches.

So just some bamboo skewers and, hot glued those on there and then just popping them in and a little fan shape.

So she loves to paint and draw.

She loves music.

She loves treats.

Easy peasy.

So fun.

I hope she loves it.

I'm really just looking forward to just finishing the race with her and having her have this special surprise.

A really neat side note is Lucy's sister was a perfect match as a donor when Lucy was in treatment.

So we're going to make her a special bouquet as gratitude and giving her a shout.

So I'm starting with my longest stems.

Hi.

And then I'm going to build backwards in this waterfall motion.

I really like this.

And then if you want, you can cut a little, v out of it to showcase your flowers.

Okay.

I'm super happy with how these turned out.

And I have one last surprise.

These leis from the local wholesaler just came.

I thought it would be so fun to have something that could just mark the very special moment of her crossing the finish line.

These, cirium orchids with their bright colors.

The magic of flowers never ceases to amaze me.

People are always timid at first when they're playing with flowers, and then once they touch them, there's no coming back.

Okay.

We're here.

Everybody's coming to the expo.

It's super fun.

It's been great to see the interactions people are having.

Excited about the display, gathering in front of it, snapping pictures.

I've got these fun little boards.

Everyone's jotting down why they run.

I, of course run the fastest way to see a lot of flowers around town.

And fun fact, the Bloomsday runners are called bloomies.

So that's cool.

Run for the Bloomies.

I'm just like, lit up inside seeing people interact with this wall.

It's so cool writing their answers.

And then I'm wish, you know, as I'm erasing them, I'm like, oh, I wish I could save all the answers because they're so, inspiring.

They have they, they came with and they knew.

They know why they run and they're writing it down and they're sharing it, and it's just so magical.

So much joy in all of their experiences.

You know, it's hard to be around flowers without smiling.

Flowers really are nature's art.

And I love using them as my medium.

You know, people are sharing their innermost heart, little kiddos are drawing pictures.

Everyone's just having such a great time with it.

It's race day.

We're so excited.

The energy's crazy.

We're watching for Lucy, keeping our eyes out.

She's going to meet her right here at the start line.

(Starting gun fires) I'm Lucy Riggs, and when I was diagnosed with leukemia, I spent a lot of days just in the hospital.

And I was bored.

So I just started walking.

And eventually we'd walk more and more, One day, my mom was like, well, how far was that?

And we measured it and figured out how far a mile was.

And then we had goals.

And that was my goal for the day.

Like, I'd walk a mile today, and then once you finish that halfway through the day, I was like, well, I could walk two miles and then I would just keep on walking and tally up the marks of how far I've walked.

And eventually one marathon and then two marathons, and eventually four marathons.

Laura, the child life specialist there, started a red tennis shoe challenge where you earn things for walking.

I have the shirt from the Red Tennis Shoe Challenge, and since I did four marathons, I have four pins.

I also have the Bloomsday pin.

I decided it would fit good there.

Exercising in general has physical benefits to healing and recovering.

And then there's also just the ability to get out of my hospital room and walk and see something different than just the same four walls I've been trapped in.

So it really helped me not feel as trapped.

And it also gave me some goals like I could walk a mile today and that was my goal.

I could actually see the physical results of what I'd been working towards.

Bloomsday was fun.

We've got to listen to a lot of the bands and that was really fun.

Thinking maybe next year I'll be one of the bands playing.

Awesome.

You guys made it.

Who wants a leis?

All right, you get a leis.

Start it together.

Finish together.

Yeah, well, we have a fun surprise for you.

Come on over.

We wanted to give you something that just celebrated your crazy, amazing journey.

And, like, rebirth, new beginnings, all the things.

Yeah.

Thank you.

And and then we had a special gift for your sister.

We know that you were the donor.

And we really appreciate all that you did.

Your sacrifice and love, the whole family.

I know that's been a big journey for everyone.

Yeah.

All right.

Should we get a picture?

Everybody gather round.

Okay.

Amazing.

Go, team Lucy!

Yes!

So awesome.

Guys.

I sometimes forget what I've been through and forget that other people don't normally do that.

And then walking through this, like people know my name.

That's weird.

Like they recognize me.

I did something cool, and sometimes I forget.

And I like being able to help people and inspire people to do more and better themselves.

You do whatever you can do in the moment, whether it's just being able to go for a walk or doing something, whatever you're able to.

It doesn't always have to be something big, but if you wait till tomorrow, there might not be a tomorrow.

Tomorrow might be a rainy day, and you don't want to go on a walk on a rainy day.

So just taking advantage of the time we have.

Wow.

Another amazing episode in the books.

The run, the shoe wall.

Building the great flower installation of blooms on the run.

Seeing everybody interact with that.

So fun meeting Lucy and Louise.

Sheesh.

See you next time on Follow the Blooms.

(acoustic guitar strums) Follow the Blooms on KSPS PBS is proudly supported by Skyline Flowers Wholesale.