Third-generation florist shares tips with gardeners

Carly McKie shows petal trimming techniques

Describing herself as a third-generation flower child, florist Carly McKie transformed a variety of blooms into a fall arrangement for members of the Happy Gardeners Club at a recent meeting. Her placement of roses, orchids, date palms and an assortment of grasses demonstrated the floral expertise of the former corporate businesswoman, as she shared tips for creating a seasonal centerpiece.

She explained as she trimmed stems, removed thorns and clipped petals, “I was blessed to grow up spending almost every day in my family’s garden center as a child and working there as an adult.”

“My grandparents met at a floral shop, where my grandmother assisted a gentleman from Norway with a flower order, was taken with his accent and determined that the man with the delightful Norwegian accent would be her husband—my grandfather,” she smiled.

McKie, who owns Bellini Blooms in Ridgeland, serving the metropolitan area, received a Rotary Club scholarship to the University of Edinburgh, where she earned a master’s degree in business. After years in the corporate world, she realized she had inherited the floral calling from grandparents and other relatives who were florists. As she placed stems into a grid to stabilize roses, she emphasized the need to conceal the foam or wire stabilizer in the vase. Completing the arrangement, she presented it to members of the gardening club.

Carly McKie shared instructions for fall floral arrangements with Happy Gardeners Club members, interspersing the presentation with facts about her family’s longtime association with the floral world. Shown (l to r) are Janie Fields, program chair; Diane Eubanks, Happy Gardeners president and hostess for the meeting; McKie, and Sandy McGuire, hostess.