The Flower Lady
Learn about an urban flower-florist located in the heart of Over-the-Rhine.
Looking for some beautiful blooms to celebrate the warmer months approaching?
Christina Matthews, owner of The Flower Lady OTR has a passion for all things floral. She grows her own beautiful flowers and uses them in her designs straight from the garden to the vase.
Matthews’ inspiration for her company came from her former career with Paul Mitchells Schools.
They had a “culture that encourages employees to do more for their community by giving back.”
From here Matthews and a close friend were able to secure $10,000 worth of garden funding from the CEO of Paul Mitchells Systems, John Paul DeJoria, Grow Appalachia program for the OTR People’s Garden.
After years of learning how to grow flowers, food, and her own business she resigned from her job and decided to pursue creating The Flower Lady full time.
She had “hopes of making a positive impact for our planet and community while also earning a honest living that is in tune with nature and my personal beliefs.”
The Flower Lady has grown into an amazing company, and grows different flowers based on the season:
- Spring: Tulips, ranunculus, anemones and mint
- Summer: Zinnias, dahlia, snapdragons, strawflowers, gomphrena, basil, eucalyptus
- Fall: Sunflowers, dahlia, celosia, amaranth, basil, eucalyptus
“My most popular arrangement is my newspaper wrapped bouquets during flower season and in the fall and winter it would be my hand-made wreaths,” she says. “Right now, I make eucalyptus and lavender wreaths.”
The Flower Lady has a strong dedication to give back to the community and has volunteered with Wesley Chapel Mission Center, in OTR that offers different educational programs for the youth living close to the community garden.
“We have developed a garden club called “Grow Your Business” where I teach all about flower farming, we taste the fresh food our community garden grows, and we learn how to make money by designing flower arrangements and making boutonnieres.”
She is a huge animal lover and even creates floral collars for some of the dogs and cats that are looking for forever homes at the Animal Adoption Foundation.
The Flower Lady has much on the horizon for her flower business.
“I recently won a grant from the Made for More small business fund created by Newell Brands, the maker of Ball home canning products. I plan to use the money to expand my urban flower business! This fall became involved with the City of Cincinnati’s Urban Agricultural program, and just acquired a 1/3 of an acre lot to grow more flowers for the city I love so much”
To learn more or place an order visit her website. For daily updates from her garden follow her on Instagram or Facebook.
