A Chattanooga florist is joining a nationwide effort to give anyone touched by the pandemic a place to grieve.
On Monday, Becca Coleman will set up a heart-shaped, flower-filled memorial outside Joli Jardin, her flower shop at 1428 Williams St., as part of the Floral Heart Project, begun by New York City artist Kristina Libby.
“COVID has affected so many people,” Coleman said. “People have lost loved ones, jobs, homes. And during all of this, people haven’t been able to mourn publicly. We want to honor those people who’ve been silently dealing with it.”
Volunteers in nearly 100 cities have signed on to participate in the Floral Heart Project, symbolized by heart-shaped groupings of flowers placed in public spaces. In some cities, Monday’s memorials will include vigils, musical accompaniment and speeches by families affected by a pandemic loss. Coleman said volunteers will be posted beside the local memorial to explain its meaning and to listen to anyone who wants to share a COVID-related story.
Libby started randomly placing these floral memorials last April. Hers are simple garlands of roses fashioned into heart shapes and left lying on sidewalks, park paths and pedestrian bridges. Her thinking was, she told The Washington Post, “In this moment when we don’t have normal collective ways of mourning, how can we do something?”