This May, I had the privilege of participating in the Memorial Day Flowers event in Washington, D.C., alongside my son, Aiden. We volunteered with the Memorial Day Flowers Foundation at Arlington National Cemetery, placing flowers at gravesites in honor of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.
I knew it would be meaningful. I didn’t realize how personal it would feel.
My father was a veteran, a proud one, even if he didn’t talk much about his time in service.
He was 100% disabled, stricken with Multiple Sclerosis after being exposed to Agent Orange during his years in Vietnam. That wasn’t just part of his story; it was part of ours. It shaped our entire family.
I spent much of my childhood watching my incredible mother care for him. My parents worked so hard to give my brother and me as normal an upbringing as possible, but the reality was that my dad had been wheelchair-bound since I was three years old.
He wasn’t the strong, larger-than-life Marine from his younger years, or the man building greenhouses with his own hands when we first came to Florida. That version of him existed, but I mostly knew him differently.
And yet… his strength never left.
He didn’t talk much about what he went through, but he carried it. Quietly. Steadily. And he was proud. There was always a Marine Corps hat, a pin, something that honored his time served.
Not many people know this, but part of the reason I’m in the flower industry is because of him. It’s my way of carrying forward his legacy, his vision, and building something beautiful from the life he fought so hard to live.
So this trip… it meant more than I can fully put into words.
It felt like I was honoring him in a way I never had before. Bigger. More intentional. In a way that connected everything, his service, his sacrifice, my journey, and now Aiden’s.
And it was in his honor that Details was a sponsor of the initiative this year.
Just weeks ago, Aiden turned 18. He graduated from high school at the end of May, and in August, he’ll enter the Marine Corps.
So this trip to Washington wasn’t just about honoring my father, or even my grandfathers before him; it became about my son, too.
Watching Aiden walk those grounds… placing flowers one by one… stopping to read headstones… looking up insignias he didn’t recognize… it brought me to tears more than once.
We spent five hours doing that.
Five hours of quiet.
Five hours of perspective.
Five hours of understanding something I don’t think I ever fully grasped before.
Memorial Day isn’t about a long weekend or a backyard BBQ. Those things are fine, but they’re not the point.
The point is remembrance, sacrifice, and acknowledging that the lives we live today are shaped by people we will never meet.
And standing there, you feel that.
Every single headstone represents a story. A family. A future that was given up for something bigger. It’s humbling in a way that’s hard to put into words.
What made it even more meaningful was doing it alongside Aiden.
We weren’t just volunteering, we were connecting. Reflecting. Honoring the past while staring straight into his future.
As a mom… that does something to you.
When Tracy Park asked us to sponsor Memorial Day Flowers this year, I didn’t hesitate. I didn’t fully know what to expect, but I knew it would matter, and I thought it would be meaningful for Aiden.
It exceeded every expectation.
We spent six days in D.C., touring the Capitol, visiting the Air & Space Museums, walking the monuments, and even stepping inside the White House thanks to our Congressman. It was meant to be a graduation gift.
And it was.
But the most impactful part of the entire trip?
Placing flowers at Arlington.
Not even close.
As someone who has spent my entire career in the floral industry, this experience hit me in a different way.
We talk about flowers all the time, celebrations, weddings, and sympathy.
But this reminded me that flowers can also be acts of service.
Simple. Quiet. Powerful.
A single flower placed on a grave doesn’t seem like much. But in that moment, it becomes something more.
It’s gratitude, acknowledgment, and a way of saying... "You mattered, and you still do."
That stayed with me.
I left Arlington with gratitude for my father, pride for my son, and respect for every family represented there. But also a renewed belief in the power of what we do as an industry.
Because sometimes… A flower says more than we realize.
And maybe that’s what we’re really doing, every day in this industry, helping people say what words alone never could.
A massive thank you goes to the Memorial Day Flowers Foundation for organizing this incredible event year after year and providing our industry with such a meaningful opportunity to give back. A project of this scale truly requires a community, and we are so grateful for their leadership.
We also want to extend our deepest appreciation to the key industry partners who made their vision possible, including transport and supply leaders such as DV Flora and Armellini Logistics, as well as premier growers and suppliers such as Rosaprima, Jet Fresh Growers, Ball SB, and many more.
Most of all, thank you to the hundreds of volunteers from both within the floral supply chain and the broader public who gave their time to process, prepare, and lay these beautiful tributes. We really could not have done it without you.
Thank you for your service.
Love, Corrine