[00:00:00] DEANNA: Welcome back to the podcast. It is a delight to have you joining us here today. I am very honored to get to introduce you to one of our incredible Growing Kindness team members. She has been an ambassador for many years, and I think her story is really gonna touch your heart and connect with you.
[00:00:14] DEANNA: she has been building bridges in her community using flowers in a really special and beautiful way. So I can't wait for you to get to hear more of her story. So without further ado, I would love to introduce you to Irma. Irma, you know what I just realized, too? I don't wanna say your last name wrong.
[00:00:30] DEANNA: Can you introduce yourself so that I don't mispronounce?
[00:00:34] IRMA: I'm Irma Lagomarsino, and It's humbling to be here. I live in Portland, Oregon. Lived here with my husband for about 11 years. I am from California originally, the San Francisco Bay Area.
[00:00:48] IRMA: That's where I started my gardening journey. Met my husband back east in graduate school. We were in LA for a while, had a very small little patch there I was gardening. Then we moved to Humboldt County because of my work. I work for NOAA Fisheries. Today I'm involved in salmon recovery and conservation. It's also been an honor to work for NOAA. So we were in Humboldt almost 15 years, Arcata in California. Raised our two daughters there, who are now 29 and 31, and they both live in Seattle. And we moved here a new opportunity showed up for me and with NOAA, and bought a house, and have a very pretty small urban backyard.
[00:01:30] IRMA: I mean, Yeah, we're not downtown in the city, but we're definitely close in, so it's pretty modest. It's a modest space, but it's enough
[00:01:39] IRMA: for now.
[00:01:39] DEANNA: tell more about your garden because I wish I could just come peek in your garden and see, because I get to see a little bit of what's being produced from your garden as you share photos of the ways you're sharing flowers in your community, so it's beautiful what you're harvesting out of your garden.
[00:01:55] DEANNA: and I knew a little bit that you were in urban garden space, but can you share just more of like, kind of the, the logistics of your size and your space and how your garden has grown? I know you're really passionate about roses too, so I'd love to hear more about that.
[00:02:08] IRMA: I don't know the dimensions of my space, but not only is it relatively small, just the backyard really it doesn't have a lot of full sun.
[00:02:16] DEANNA: Okay
[00:02:17] IRMA: it's been super challenging to grow the annuals.
[00:02:21] IRMA: And of course my roses, I have a very small rose garden, and I'll just boast a little bit the Royal Rosarians are here in Portland, and they are official ambassadors for the city, and they ha- they have a annual rose garden competition.
[00:02:34] IRMA: And I just, on a whim, applied this year, and actually I was one of the winners, which it was just makes me wanna take care of my roses even more and give them more out in the community. I just, I love roses. Definitely my favorite flower.
[00:02:48] DEANNA: I feel like though, but like pause for just a minute. Wait, so Portland, Oregon is rose central. Like these are people who have history and deep love of roses. So n- now I have to pause and back up. So now I wanna hear a little bit more about your rose garden, 'cause you said it's small, smaller, and then you must have a ne- an area where you have full sun and that your roses live
[00:03:09] IRMA: It's a very small slice. I had to learn, where to put the roses. I have 13 roses, and some are climbers. Several David Austin. And to enter this contest, you just had to have 12 roses. I didn't... Yeah, I didn't realize this. So anyway I learned over time where I could put the roses. It didn't start out that way, for sure.
[00:03:33] IRMA: But yeah, it's been a, a really nice experience and inspired me, to
[00:03:39] DEANNA: Oh, absolutely
[00:03:40] IRMA: yeah, and this is the Rose City. We have an international test rose garden, and it's fantastic. If you are visiting Portland, you definitely should go because there's just nothing like it. There just really isn't.
[00:03:52] IRMA: It's lovely.
[00:03:53] IRMA: We have other rose gardens too, but that's the biggest one,
[00:03:55] DEANNA: So aside from roses, that's your, sounds like your passion for growing. What other things have you leaned into or discovered in your garden that have done well for you there?
[00:04:05] IRMA: You know, I took the, uh, Floret farming course workshop online, like 2021 or something, so I really got into specialty cut annuals. The, the zinnias and slo- slosia,
[00:04:20] IRMA: Amaranth a lot of dahlias also growing mums. S- so heirloom mums I also discovered, which also need light. It's just been really challenging to figure out where to put them, but I'm so excited 'cause I just fell in love with chrysanthemums.
[00:04:35] DEANNA: You know what's interesting is I haven't heard anybody yet who said they tried them and didn't just fall in love with the heirloom chrysanthemums. Everyone who I've heard put some in and tried them, it's just a complete passion now, even if they're not growing a lot of them. So it's it's one of the ones I keep tucking back in the back of my brain.
[00:04:51] DEANNA: "Maybe I'll have to try those too." But it's so lovely because you can extend your growing season, especially for us in the Pacific Northwest, where we have this kind of nice shoulder season where it's not really cold yet, to be able to still have things blooming, really quite a bit into the fall.
[00:05:06] IRMA: Exactly.
[00:05:07] DEANNA: Yeah.
[00:05:07] IRMA: And I can't not tell you about my friend, my very, very good friend here, Allison, who grows for me as well.
[00:05:16] DEANNA: Okay. I do wanna hear about this
[00:05:18] IRMA: she has a much bigger yard and much more sun, and she is just a very generous person that said, "Hey, I'll grow for you." and to back up a little bit, so these specialty cut seeds I buy my husband built me a seed sowing station so I can, as sow the seeds earlier.
[00:05:36] IRMA: And then I have little plants, little starts, and I share them with Allison as well. Sh- it's gotten her going and she basically grows similar things, sometimes different varieties. But she's a, wonderful person for be- doing this, and I can go over there and harvest any time I need to. I actually was there yesterday.
[00:05:54] IRMA: So that's added to my abundance and my ability to share,
[00:05:59] IRMA: you Amazing. Okay, so that kind of brings me to curiosity. It's so fun because we've connected, you and I have connected through the organization off and on for years, and yet there's these pieces of your story that I realize I'm like, "I don't know this part of your story." So you've been gardening for such a long time.
[00:06:15] DEANNA: It sounds like since you were launched and on your own, having a garden's been a part of your journey as an young adult and now adult. So at what point in this journey did you start giving flowers from your garden to other people? What led you to that?
[00:06:32] IRMA: It really, I always wanted flowers in the house, and I gave flowers away, but not to the extent I do now. And it really, I would say it started when I first got here to Portland, there was an organization called The Bloom Project. Do you,
[00:06:47] DEANNA: I'm familiar with them, yeah. Do you wanna share ... Why don't you share about the work they
[00:06:51] IRMA: Oh my gosh. I was so lucky to be able to volunteer for The Bloom Project, a wonderful space on the west side on a farm.
[00:06:59] IRMA: what we did was it was highly organized, and we had partners that would give us flowers, so flowers that couldn't be sold, like at Trader Joe's or, just these kinda big stores that have flowers, but they have- they- new ones are coming in, so they need to get rid of the other ones.
[00:07:19] IRMA: And so we would have members that would go pick them up and bring them to the space, and we had a walk-in cooler. And then we would have volunteers that, like myself, that, especially days of the week process the flowers actually, and then another group would be making bouquets, and another group would be delivering those bouquets. So it was just an incredible organization mainly women very few men older women, and that we would get letters. Oh, and they were given away. Sorry, I didn't tell you this. we would give them away to hospice centers and palliative care, and we would get letters back, and a lot of those letters were pinned up, in this room, and I just, it just I would just tear up.
[00:08:07] IRMA: It was very emotional reading about the impact of giving. I had never realized this. Never realized it. I have all kinds of stories related to that. just beautiful. And especially being just in the sorority of women. I just loved it. I was missing, it was missing from my life, and I just moved here, didn't know anybody, couple people at work, but really I was kinda on my own building a new life.
[00:08:30] IRMA: The Bloom Project sadly closed down during the first year of the pandemic. It was just crushing. Absolutely crushing.
[00:08:38] DEANNA: at a time when we just desperately needed community and connection and being
[00:08:42] DEANNA: able to, to ser- serve each other and care for each other
[00:08:45] IRMA: Yeah, so I was almost distraught about it. I mean, I'm a very privileged person, but it was hard. And so I was talking to a colleague who now is a flower farmer and was part of the Growing Kindness Project, Sarah Zwissler.
[00:09:00] DEANNA: Yes
[00:09:01] IRMA: So she's on the coast in the H- Nehalem area.
[00:09:04] IRMA: She's a beautiful person and we, she also did salmon conservation. So we connected there. That's how I met her, and she told me, she, I go, I was like, "Oh, the Bloom Project gone." She's "Have you ever heard of Growing Kindness?" That's how I found out. I'm like, "No." And then I'm like, okay, then I've just got really activated to learning more and, it I guess the rest is history.
[00:09:25] IRMA: But it is the Growing Kindness Project that encouraged me to amplify my giving. The other thing going on was during the pandemic, was tel- had mandatory telework, right? I had to work at home. I had more time to grow, actually. I focused a lot more on my growing. And again, I took the Floreat course, and I was listening to all these floristry podcast. So Botanical Brew Ha, the Slow Flowers podcast, which now I'm completely a fan of slow flowers
[00:10:00] IRMA: and
[00:10:00] DEANNA: their move- their movement is beautiful,
[00:10:02] IRMA: working with what you have. So I was listening to all these podcasts, I was just fascinated by it. It was a little bit of therapy, honestly. It wasn't political. Very rarely. so yeah. And I guess the other thing in terms of... that's, have I answered your question?
[00:10:19] DEANNA: Yeah. Yes, and. Yes, and. Now I'm like, "Now I wanna know more too." Okay, so I'd love to back up. So you said you'd always grown flowers to bring them into your house, and then you got involved with Bloom Project and were doing this beautiful work of repurposing these flowers and giving them around your communities.
[00:10:35] DEANNA: Were you also, alongside of those two things, giving flowers in, from your garden in your community, or was it really first when you came to Growing Kindness that you first got that inspiration to like, "Hey, I'm gonna actually take what I'm growing and go give that"?
[00:10:49] IRMA: the Bloom Project just showed me the impact of giving. I didn't increase my giving to too much. Maybe some neighbor... 'Cause we could actually bring flowers home that weren't even used, 'cause we had a very high bar for using flowers and bouquets.
[00:11:04] DEANNA: Aha
[00:11:05] IRMA: The, the incredible founder of the Bloom Project was just incredible, wanted the highest standards.
[00:11:10] IRMA: So there'd be extra, that wouldn't last a week, but... And I brought them home, and I started playing with them. I'd gi- then I would give to neighbors then, yes, neighbors. But
[00:11:19] DEANNA: So this was already a part of how you were moving in the world, though,
[00:11:22] DEANNA: and,
[00:11:22] DEANNA: using flowers as this tool to give to others. I wanna p- pause also and go back just one more step, because you said something that really just tugged at my curiosity. You mentioned that you had this opportunity just to hear about the impact of the flowers that were given, you know, through responses from the people that were...
[00:11:41] DEANNA: I'm assuming were those who were receiving them through those letters and things. Was there any particular story or response or letter that really stuck with you and stayed with you?
[00:11:52] IRMA: There was a man that wrote us, a guy, and he was dying he received multiple bouquets over time from the Bloom Project. And he wrote us and said that no one had ever given him flowers And that he was so touched by them that he saved every single bouquet and dried them upside down,
[00:12:12] IRMA: Put them on a ceiling and So that stayed with me. Yeah. Delivering, just natural beauty, especially those who have never received it. A lot of men haven't actually.
[00:12:24] IRMA: So that stayed with me.
[00:12:25] IRMA: Yeah. I mean, there's other stories, but that one in particular
[00:12:28] DEANNA: When you see and hear. And it becomes so personal, and it's somebody's... When, I think when we're creating flowers to give in ways that they're going out to organizations as a whole, like they're going to the food bank or they're going to long-term care or whatever, and we're not necessarily having this like personal one-on-one connection of who we're giving them to.
[00:12:47] DEANNA: But just knowing they're going out and they're getting into the right hands it's this very different and special l- layer of like depth and purpose when we get to hear back from those people. And actually there's a- Somebody's real story and real experience on the other side of that, that we may, may not have known or been able to, I don't know, hear or engage with otherwise.
[00:13:08] DEANNA: And I think you're right. I think that, I think culturally we forget. It's interesting. So last week's podcast episode, you and I were talking about this with my husband Shane. We were talking about how special it is for guys to get to be involved with giving flowers. But on, on the other side of that is how rarely men get to be the recipients of flowers.
[00:13:28] DEANNA: And I think that somehow I don't know. I think we somehow have
[00:13:32] DEANNA: put expectations on who enjoys flowers maybe at times and think, "Oh they wouldn't enjoy them as much," or I'm not sure what the reasons why we don't give them as often to men. But I think it's really beautiful reminder in his letters back to you that everybody can benefit from the power of being given something
[00:13:52] DEANNA: beautiful and to know they're cared for
[00:13:54] IRMA: A- and I think that we just feminize it so much.
[00:13:58] IRMA: It's a tradition of men giving flowers to women, for such and such occasions. And I think that when I see men holding flowers with bouquet, it's very disarming.
[00:14:10] IRMA: Really ... I love to see that. I just love it. There's a florist in Brooklyn, New York, and she has done several podcasts, but she has an annual Father's Day event in front of her store where she has men come by, and usually from, Black men, 'cause she's in that community, and she is Black herself, African American.
[00:14:32] IRMA: to see the pictures she takes of them with these beautiful flowers, I- it's just again, it's very disarming and beautiful and lovely, and sometimes they're with their kids 'cause it's Father's Day. I just love that.
[00:14:43] DEANNA: That's beautiful. I think that just when we can be intentional about seeing people who are often unseen is, there's just so much power and beauty in that. Which I guess, Irma, that kind of leads me to a place in our conversation. I've got to watch over the last few years as you have used flowers in your community.
[00:15:04] DEANNA: Not only through the ways you were giving before and giving in your neighbors, but really intentionally and purposefully to build bridges in your community. And so you had this transformational experience of giving through the Bloom Project and recognizing the power and the impact of giving flowers to others, especially in their times of need. So then you were dove into growing and sharing flowers in your community. Tell us more about how that journey has evolved for you and the ways that you started with your giving in your community and the ways that now you have a really specific mission in the ways that you're giving and the way that you're allowing flowers to build bridges.
[00:15:44] IRMA: It's a good question. The other thing going on that was part of my inspiration was the killing of George Floyd And that really took me aback and led myself and my husband and our two daughters to read a book together called Me and White Supremacy. And we not only read it together, took us like nine months, but we also journaled and we talked. And they were in other places. We were here together in Portland. And that really started this journey, both recognizing my white privilege that I was raised, my parents are good people, but, raised in a culture of white supremacy, let's just say. And it just... I started thinking about actions I could take, to start my anti-racism journey. And so that was happening at the same time I was starting to grow more flowers and give flowers. And so the first bouquet I ever gave, it was very intentional. 'Cause I fin- I saw, oh, I've got this value and I've got this value. I'll just bring them together, intersect them. And I did. And the first Growing Kindness bouquet I ever gave was to a Black-owned business that she, Kamiko was making smoothies.
[00:17:01] IRMA: She's not there anymore, but she's still in the community doing great things. And I remember going and being nervous. That first bouquet, I just wasn't sure how she would respond. I wasn't sure if she would accept it when I finally got there and went in, she's "Would you- I grew these in my garden to give to you.
[00:17:22] IRMA: Would you like them?" And she was just completely, big smile, so happy, really excited, wanted to know more about why was I doing this, why am I growing. And I just that first year, maybe first two years I delivered to her, every week, every other week. and then I expanded.
[00:17:39] IRMA: But, and let's be honest, there's not a lot of Black-owned businesses in Portland. It's a very white city. The other constraint for me is I work full-time
[00:17:48] IRMA: And I can't drive all over the city to deliver flowers. I only have a certain amount of time. So I really tried to focus more on Southeast Portland, where I live, and that's where she was.
[00:18:00] IRMA: And then just, I think it was the next year or two, I discovered other Black-owned businesses, and now I found a Native American woman-owned business. And there's a Hispanic-owned restaurant I go to, and the- I've gotten to know them 'cause they're right next to my work. So those are the ones that stand out for me.
[00:18:19] IRMA: And so I deliver really to the same people, community.
[00:18:24] IRMA: I don't spread it out. It's just where I am right now. I'd like to give more, but I just focus on these businesses. And what I do is I, if I ask them, "It's okay if I take your picture with the flowers?" Then I, as post it and then I tag the business because I'm trying to promote these businesses as places to go and for people to spend money there to
[00:18:46] DEANNA: Ja.
[00:18:46] IRMA: them.
[00:18:47] DEANNA: Ja
[00:18:47] IRMA: 'Cause they're all small businesses. They're small business owners, yeah.
[00:18:50] DEANNA: You know what you were saying earlier about that using what you have, both seasonally
[00:18:55] DEANNA: And within the limitations of what your garden can produce. But I think what's really beautiful, too, is I think sometimes we look at things and we see global problems, right? And we want to d- to do more and reach farther and help in big ways, and yet there's so much power in starting where we are.
[00:19:12] DEANNA: I think that's one of the most beautiful things about flowers being a tool for connection is we have time limitation and distance limitation with them typically, right? And so we end up sharing within our close community. And what's just really beautiful to me is to think about the relationships that you are fostering in your neighborhood, in your close community, and how big that impact can be when we do what we can where we are.
[00:19:39] DEANNA: And I just, I can only begin to imagine. I've seen your photos over and over, and I just think, I wish I could just be a fly on the wall and hear the conversations and see the responses and... that happen when you're walking into these businesses week over week, time over time, and here you come in with flowers again the next time.
[00:19:55] DEANNA: Just the kind of connections and community that's being built and just being so intentional and showing up for the same people over and over again in a way that's so steady. that's just beautiful to me.
[00:20:08] IRMA: I do feel like I'm a growing part of their communities. Especially Third Eye Books, which is a Black owned, operated bookstore and wellness center on on Division, Southeast Division and 33rd here in Portland. And I just love what they do. They had a book club for a while, Charles did, and I attended that.
[00:20:29] IRMA: I w- was just expanding my knowledge of the history of this country and the horrible injustices the Black community has suffered. And to see their smiles when I come in with the flowers, I mean, it's just so worth it, and they've gotten to know me a little bit, and I them, and I it's a gift to me.
[00:20:52] IRMA: It, it really is.
[00:20:52] DEANNA: I think that, that piece of, when we talk about loving our neighbors, it's just showing up and learning how to be in community together. And flowers are just this really incredible tool that allow us to open these doors that maybe, I don't know, would have been more challenging to open otherwise.
[00:21:08] DEANNA: To just walk in. What... When I started giving flowers kinda in my journey, it was long-term care, and I just felt like a heart of I want my kids to know what it's like to just connect intergenerationally. And yet, just to walk in felt weird. I wanted to build a relationship, but I didn't know how to do it just kinda cold turkey.
[00:21:25] DEANNA: And this dis- like you said, it's just disarming. Flowers just bring down all of these walls and open all these doors to connections It's just the simplest but also most powerful way. We don't... It's like they, we talk about how flowers have this whole language, of, this flower means this, and this color means that.
[00:21:44] DEANNA: And yet really we say so much to people when we walk in with this bouquet in our hands to give them. I think it just says so much about, " I see you, I care about you, I want there to be beauty in your life. You deserve this." And we don't have to say anything even just the flowers alone speak for themselves.
[00:22:03] DEANNA: then the walls just come down, and they open up the most beautiful conversations. I was just in the garden last night with some friends who I had met at a county fair, and like just beginning to, grow a friendship. And they'd never been in a flower far- at a flower farm before, and so, you know, getting to kinda experience all these different flowers.
[00:22:20] DEANNA: But the comment was, you know, just made over and over again is that everybody loves flowers. They do something for all of us. And whatever it is that we need that to be, like, it gets to be that for each person who's receiving it and getting to enjoy the beauty of it. But just the power of that to just walk in, and those flowers get to be...
[00:22:38] DEANNA: They get to be the spokesperson almost. They get to be the icebreaker. And now you get to have these beautiful conversations and connections and be a part of a community that you were n- not a part of before and to be supporting individuals who have been, unseen and misunderstood. To be able to reach out like that is just, it's just beautiful.
[00:22:58] DEANNA: I just wanna like, sit in the celebration of what that is.
[00:23:02] IRMA: I mentioned the Mexican restaurant that I've been delivering to 'cause it's right next to
[00:23:06] IRMA: my work in the Lloyd Center area. I've been doing that for a year or two, but I remember the end of the first year, Diana came around the counter and s- said to me, this is like in December, " I can't tell you what it has meant to us." I mean, she very intentionally came around, like it meant a lot to them, me bringing them those flowers
[00:23:27] IRMA: just about every week. it was such a gesture on her part to just be very clear she wanted to let me know
[00:23:33] IRMA: It was emotional.
[00:23:34] DEANNA: as it should be, right? Because it's so t- it's heart work, it's ... When we show up for each other, in ways that ... and like you said at the very beginning almost always it requires us to have the courage to step into vulnerability, to either be rejected or to be misunderstood or what- whatever it may be.
[00:23:53] DEANNA: I think there's always like, over and over again, I hear from people even people who've been maybe giving flowers or stepping out in other ways of giving and caring in their communities, they're, I think, al- often times, or maybe always, I think we have this pause of is this gonna work out okay?
[00:24:09] DEANNA: Because we're stepping into true vulnerability. And then what that does though is it creates this incredible opportunity for connection, when it happens, like you said. I- Just to, for somebody to be seen and remembered and encouraged and to have beauty shared with them, like week over week what that does, to know that, just to be seen, I think is just, it really comes down to that, just being seen. It's a powerful gift
[00:24:35] IRMA: It is.
[00:24:35] DEANNA: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:24:37] IRMA: been an inspiration for me. Yeah. And I, part of me feels a little bad that I'm only giving three or four bouquets away. Putting aside my neighbors and whatnot. But I try to make those bouquets, I spend time on them. They're a little bit bigger typically, because I just want them to have that really beautiful Seasonal, a bit of nature.
[00:24:58] IRMA: Yeah.
[00:24:58] DEANNA: it gives me goosebumps to think about. And obviously, in your just to get to watch you and what it's doing for you. Isn't that the beautiful thing about...
[00:25:09] DEANNA: I think that's the most beautiful thing. I, and I am gonna butcher the quote, but for me, like in my experience of giving flowers, it always ends up giving me back so much more. And there's this, is the quote is something to the effect of "When you don't know what to do for yourself, do something for another."
[00:25:25] DEANNA: Because I think we always end up receiving so much, even though we're the ones that are maybe like the perceived giver in that experience. And it's not like we go into those experiences expecting to get something back. That's why it really is kindness freely given, no strings attached.
[00:25:41] DEANNA: And there are no expectations, but almost I think truly because of that, because we're walking in with no agenda, no, no expectation of receiving anything back. Because of that, ultimately I think we receive back in this really bountiful way, and it's connections, and it's conversations, and it's encouragement.
[00:26:00] DEANNA: it's just a reminder of, I don't know, every time I'm sure I can see it in your face and hear it in your voice, like every time it's just a reminder of the goodness that does exist,
[00:26:08] IRMA: I definitely get back every single time I give flowers away, and it is a little hard to describe. But it's a feeling that I'm having an impact even though it's small. I'm making a difference And in a world that, where there's so much chaos and it feels like there's so much, most things are out of our control if we're being honest.
[00:26:34] IRMA: They really are. So when I can do this and see the smiles and feel the connection I just, it, I take that with me. And doubly when I can post on Instagram and tag them and encourage people to go to these businesses, that feels really good to me, that perhaps someone will think about going and visiting these places.
[00:26:58] IRMA: And, what power do we have? Where we spend our money,
[00:27:02] DEANNA: Yep
[00:27:02] IRMA: That is the power of the people right there, where we can spend our money and where we do not spend it. And so if I can encourage folks to spend money in really, at really good businesses I'm gonna do it.
[00:27:16] DEANNA: Yeah, absolutely. I think it all comes back to that, like, seeing those who've been unseen and supporting those who've been unsupported, or caring for those who have m- maybe not received the same kind of care in our communities. And that, that goes specifically for the bridges that you're building. But also like, I mean, really at the, at the heart, that's what we're doing every time, when you're looking out in your com- I just think it's beautiful to look at our communities and look with, I don't know, open eyes, and look with new eyes of who, who are the people who are being overlooked?
[00:27:48] DEANNA: Irma, I just, I'm so grateful to get to have borne witness to the, the relationships that you're building in your community, and the ways that you're giving, and that you're caring, and that you're seeing people and showing up.
[00:28:01] DEANNA: And I'm so honored to get to share your story here, and I really do hope that it, all of us, as we're listening, really can pause and look at where are the people in my community who are underrepresented, underprivileged not being seen, not being encouraged? Where are those people at, and how can I be intentional about reaching out and just letting them know, "I see you and I care about you, and I wanna be in community with you"?
[00:28:27] IRMA: That's exactly it. Yeah. Who out there has extra burdens? Ex- that's, that is what it is. It's extra burdens. If I can help lighten that in any way, I wanna do that, there's only so much I can do. But I've learned a lot. I don't... I'm not an expert. But I would say especially the Black community, I, I mean, I now I hear stories of race. They tell me stories about the prejudice, and I've learned a lot more.
[00:28:56] DEANNA: Mm-hmm.
[00:28:57] IRMA: And that's a privilege to learn more about it. And
[00:28:59] DEANNA: When people trust you and you can, they can actually open up and share their real experience. Again, that's that vulnerability piece. When we step out in vulnerability, it invites other people to d- that's why we build relationships. It's like tru- it's trust, and when we're willing to be vulnerable and to give and be generous and just be present for people, it's beautiful the doors that can open
[00:29:20] IRMA: A- and it's still, racism is alive and well.
[00:29:22] IRMA: And Charles told me a story about oh yeah, last week, something. It wasn't last week, but he was saying, "Yeah, last week somebody came in and barely got through the door," and two white people and basically said, "Oh no, we don't go to N businesses." Okay? And I'm really glad he told me that story 'cause it just reinforces that is the world we're living in,
[00:29:49] IRMA: That he felt comfortable telling me that story, that's where I'm really grateful that he felt comfortable telling me that. so
[00:29:57] DEANNA: Yeah. It's beautiful work to be doing, and it's really inspiring to hear the relationships that you're building. And you're, like, the bridges that you're building in your community y- with- through the power of flowers.
[00:30:08] DEANNA: Irma, you have been a lifelong gardener. So as a lifelong gardener, what would be your parting wisdom for anyone who's listening today who maybe isn't growing a garden yet Who is in the beginning stages of growing a garden what would you wanna encourage them with?
[00:30:23] DEANNA: Maybe something that you wish somebody would have told you then, or something that you've gleaned and gathered over these years of gardening.
[00:30:29] IRMA: I would say that think about a couple of things before you dig in. One, why do you want a garden? What, why, would it... Is it just something to look at, or do you hope to harvest and give? And that has a great influence over what you decide to plant. My other one is very practical as well, just what is the sun situation in your yard?
[00:30:54] IRMA: 'Cause especially when you first move to a place, you don't know it. You haven't lived there a year. It might be better just to hold back before investing in a lot of, especially perennials or woodies and trees and all of that. Just wait. Yeah, and be really intentional about what does this plant need?
[00:31:12] IRMA: Does it need full sun, part shade? Whatever it is. I wish I had known that a long time ago. And then the third thing is, I feel while we're not all beginning gardeners, I learn every year more about my garden, about what I wanna grow, what works where. So just always have that mindset of learning and growing as you get more and more into gardening.
[00:31:37] DEANNA: Amazing. That's excellent advice. Irma, it's been an absolute delight to get to hear your story and just get to see more of your beautiful heart in this interview today. As we wrap up this conversation, there's a question I always love to ask everybody. I think it highlights the power of small acts of kindness.
[00:31:57] DEANNA: What is one small act of kindness that someone has once shared with you that you still carry in your heart today?
[00:32:03] IRMA: I'm happy to answer that question, but I also wanna just let you know how much I appreciate you and what you do for the movement, how much you give. It's just incredible. Just incredible. And I don't, I know I don't know the half of it, but it's meant the world to me. an act of kindness that I remember happened very recently actually here in Portland.
[00:32:27] IRMA: I lost my wallet I was on a bike ride and across the city. I live on the east side, I was on the west side, and I lost my whole, bike bag actually. And I didn't know until I got back and I retraced my steps, couldn't f- on my bike, and I couldn't find it. And then I'm just going through this whole trauma, quote-unquote, of what, what was in there?
[00:32:49] IRMA: And, what do I need to do? Stop the credit cards, new driver's license, all that. And I, I talked to my husband, Nick, I'm like, there is this tiny possibility that somebody's gonna return my wallet." And someone did So two days later, we're out front on our driveway, this Black gentleman starts walking up our street, looking our way, and Nick gives him a wave.
[00:33:09] IRMA: And he comes and approaches us and says, "Are you Irma?" And I Yes." And he has my driver's license, and it's just, I can't believe it. I just cannot believe it. And he's like I think this is yours, and here's your wallet." And every single thing that was in my wallet was still in my wallet, And it was Larry. Larry lives on the West Side. He took the bus to come to our white neighborhood, pretty, pretty white here with his dog, and he had the courage, to approach two white people 'cause how are we gonna react, right?
[00:33:49] IRMA: We could have just gone off. We're kinda... White people can be unpredictable, can be a little bit crazy at times, I would say. And Larry was just this angel that came and gave me a lot of important things back, and we talked to him for a while. Yeah. He's somebody that I think struggles to get by a little bit, but he did this beautiful thing.
[00:34:08] IRMA: And he said he had gone to church in the morning to try to figure out what to do, and so that was when he decided he would return the wallet even though he was, it took a lot of effort to get to us and not certain how we would respond. So that was... That really touched me.
