ABOUT US

Beauty Matters. Beauty is not a luxury. Fresh flowers remind us that we are seen, valued, and connected. Everyone deserves that experience.

We believe

Because flowers do more than brighten a room.

Research has linked flowers with improved mood, memory, and social connection - especially among older adults. A simple bouquet, or the experience of arranging flowers together, can interrupt isolation, invite connection, and create a moment of joy.

Sometimes beauty is the invitation.

Why flowers

Our Mission

The Second Bloom Flower Project rescues flowers from weddings, events, and local markets, giving them a second life and a second purpose: bringing beauty, connection, and a moment of being seen to residents in Santa Fe's elder care and hospice communities.

Our Vision

We envision a Santa Fe where flowers move through the community the way kindness does - shared freely, passed from hand to hand, never wasted. Where every bloom is given the chance to bring joy again, and every resident, regardless of age or circumstance, has the opportunity to experience the delight of fresh flowers, given with care.

Our Values

  • We show up with open hearts, not our own agendas. This work isn't about being seen doing good; it's about quietly doing good.

  • Everyone belongs here. We care for one another, volunteers, donors, partners, and recipients alike, because community begins one relationship at a time.

  • Every interaction honors the dignity of the person before us. We treat every donor, volunteer, facility partner, and, above all, every recipient with kindness, respect, and compassion.

  • We honor every gift entrusted to us, flowers, time, money, and goodwill, using each with care, gratitude, transparency and purpose.

OUR STORY

  • The idea of Second Bloom had been percolating for awhile.

    Helping my gifted florist friend with flowers for her larger weddings was pure delight. Breaking those same flowers down the next day, I would often look at her and say, “You know, someone oughtta…” and then basically describe Second Bloom. After a few years of this, I realized that person could be me.

    I come by my love of flowers honestly. Both of my parents were wonderful gardeners. My mother grew extraordinary peonies (but in the most unfussy way imaginable), and my father could spend an hour getting a flower arrangement just right. A physician by trade, he once told me that if he had it to do over, he might have liked to be a florist. There were almost always fresh flowers in our home, gathered from the wild and wondrous abundance growing around us.

    What gives this idea its deeper meaning however,  is the experience of moving my mom into assisted living during the last months of her life. Amazing care.

    Still – it is not home.
    Still – there is the possibility of isolation on the best of days.

    A bit of beauty, of nature, of connection, of being seen, offered into those spaces, can be profound.

    Rescuing flowers that would otherwise be thrown away already felt worthwhile. But giving those flowers a second life; sharing them with people who could use a little more beauty, connection, and joy in their day gives the idea its purpose.

    These flowers still have something to give. So do we. Thank you! -Linda

MEET OUR BOARD

Linda Pedelty
FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Nicole Polarek
SECRETARY, FOUNDING BOARD

Cody Burch
TREASURER, FOUNDING BOARD

Laurie Edwards Wilson
DIRECTOR, FOUNDING BOARD

  • Linda is the founder and Executive Director of The Second Bloom Flower Project. A leadership and organizational development consultant for more than 25 years, she has spent her career helping people build stronger, more connected organizations and communities. Her nonprofit experience includes serving as President of the Board of the Natural Transitions Institute, previous board service with a local animal sanctuary, and early work helping establish an HIV/AIDS outreach and education program in the West Indies. Linda holds a B.A. in philosophy from Albion College and a master’s degree in theology from Harvard University and has made Santa Fe her home for almost 30 years. Her experience with her own mother in assisted living - and a lifelong love of nature instilled by both of her parents - helped inspire the idea that became Second Bloom.

  • Nicole brings more than two decades of executive leadership experience to the Second Bloom board, with senior roles at Kimberly-Clark, Kraft Foods, and Nature’s Way, where she served as EVP and COO. She has extensive nonprofit and community board experience, including leadership roles with On the Mark Dyslexia Clinic and the Green Bay Botanical Garden, as well as service with Bellin Health System and other community organizations. Now an executive coach, Nicole brings particular strengths in organizational growth, leadership, and navigating change.

  • Cody is a Doctor of Eastern Medicine and nationally certified acupuncturist who spent more than 20 years in private practice in Santa Fe before returning to her native Michigan. A longtime small-business owner, Cody brings a deep commitment to service grounded in practicality, hard work, and hands-on care. Her background includes case management, nonprofit work with Challenge New Mexico, helping establish and staff a low-cost community acupuncture clinic, and working with long-term care outpatient care facilities to support people with addictions. While maintaining her busy practice, Cody traveled to Myanmar several times, where she taught Eastern medicine to university students at a monastic hospital outside Mandalay. She has served on New Mexico’s State Board of Acupuncture and currently serves on the board of the Michigan Society of Acupuncturists.

  • Laurie is a longtime Santa Fe business owner with deep roots in the community. As owner of Teca Tu A Pawsworthy Pet Emporium, she has helped make the beloved independent pet store a Santa Fe institution, known as much for its warmth and community spirit as for its devotion to animals and the people who love them. Under Laurie’s leadership, Teca Tu has earned numerous local and national honors, including repeated recognition as Santa Fe’s Best Pet Store. Laurie brings to Second Bloom extensive small-business experience, deep community connections and tremendous community goodwill, and a longstanding commitment to giving back.