A Vandergrift woman is using her green thumb and the power of flowers to brighten the lives of strangers.

Last year, Katie Vance, 33, transformed her front lawn, once a rocky, barely there lawn with two small trees, into a floral oasis, complete with native perennials and annual flowers.

Each week during the spring growing season, she carefully selects, cuts and arranges the flowers into what she has dubbed “blessing bouquets.”

The flowers are delivered and donated by Vance and her two home-schooled sons, Eli, 7, and Peter, 9, to area hospice patients, businesses and senior care homes.

“I always say, I’ve never met someone who doesn’t smile when they see flowers. By bringing these little blessing bouquets, we’re brightening our tiny corner of the world,” Vance said.

Katie Vance of Vandergrift gives her late grandmother, Dorothy “Dot” Lydick, a kiss in this undated photo. Lydick died in 2013 at age 82. Courtesy of Katie Vance  

Her inspiration for growing flowers and giving them away sprouted from her relationship as a child helping her late grandmother in her garden in Buffalo Township.

“My first job was to pull weeds for my grandmother,” Vance said. “She would sit and tell me which was a weed and which was a flower, and the day would end with sandwiches and tea.”

Vance said she often thinks of her grandmother when she is arranging flowers.

“I know she would be proud. She raised amazing kids and grandkids,” Vance said.

Vance maintains a pesticide-free, pollinator-friendly garden.

Louis B. Ruediger | Tribune-Review Katie Vance of Vandergrift selects flowers Friday from her yard for arrangements to be donated.  

Supervisor Ashley Bell delivered 11 blessing bouquets Friday to community tables in the dining room at Pleasant Ridge Mature Living in West Leechburg.

Bell said residents appreciate the fresh blooms in vibrant colors.

“It brightens up the room. They’re beautiful. It can get a little stuffy in here, and the residents always comment how nice it is to have the flowers,” Bell said.

Pleasant Ridge resident Madeline Sudnik, 82, of New Kensington said the floral centerpieces are a welcome addition to the dining room.

“The first time I saw them, it was so uplifting,” Sudnik said. “We never had fresh flowers before. It’s bright and alive and makes everyone feel good — even the guys, they comment on the flowers.”

Vance, a homemaker with no formal floral arranging experience, grows all of her flowers from seeds.

“I’m very frugal like my grandmother was, and it’s cheaper to grow my own — and I can control the flowers I’m growing,” Vance said.

Vance incorporates the garden experience into her sons’ home-schooling curriculum, and both boys have gardening duties.

“My goal is to have no grass in our front yard. It’s going to be a flower party in the front and a kid party in the back,” Vance said.

Her husband, Jesse, is supportive of her endeavors.

Eli is an enthusiastic helper and loves finding bugs such as monarch caterpillars, praying mantises and katydids among the hundreds of blooms.

“I liked it when they dumped all the dirt (in spring), and I like to dig trenches,” Eli said. “I love to help mommy.”

Peter likes to play with his toy trucks in the dirt and helps to collect all the flower vegetation at the end of the growing season, before the first frost, for composting.

To date, Vance has delivered more than 185 free bouquets throughout the Alle-Kiski Valley.

Louis B. Ruediger | Tribune-Review Katie Vance and her sons, Eli and Peter, deliver fresh-cut flowers from their yard Friday to a facility in West Leechburg.  

This year, the Vances added three raised flower beds and expanded the garden from its inaugural growing season last summer.

Vance plans to continue her free floral outreach and said arranging flowers is relaxing.

For Sudnik, having fresh flowers for months on end during the year makes her feel grateful.

“Everyone growing up in New Kensington, everyone had a garden,” Sudnik said. “This takes me back to my childhood. I just wish to thank her and hope she knows we appreciate it.”

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