My name is Addison Riley Greene (Addison Riley or even Addi for short) and this is my story.

 

Growing up gay in rural Rutherford County was not in any way easy, but I survived and it made me a stronger person because of it. I grew up on a 120-acre farm located in the deep roots of Ellenboro, NC, and learned my entire plant-based knowledge and sustainability skills surrounded by family and grandparents. My grandparents meant (and still mean) the world to me because I had very strong relationships with all of them, and they taught me pretty much everything I know in life. My mother is also a vegetable gardener and a homebody, so learning a few things from her has also helped me over the years.

 

I started In Bloom in the summer due to being sent back to my hometown because of COVID-19 as well as to help assist with caring for my elderly great-grandmother whom we moved in with. I found myself very bored with my time and felt unproductive, even though I had graduated high school in 2019 and was beginning college in the fall of 2020. So, I began to remodel and completely refurbish my Grandmama’s front yard. The broken pots filled with stiff dirt and ant colonies were cleaned up. The flower beds that were full of weeds, were converted into colorful blasts of blooms for summer. The vintage gliders from the 20th Century were repainted and put on display as well as some cement furniture that belonged to another grandfather of mine and some other original art pieces done by me. I completely added life to her world and yard again and made her smile ear to ear when she saw it. She loves to sit at the front door in a wheelchair and watch the endless amount of hummingbirds attracted to all of her flowers and even watch me work outside. I spent most of my college savings money on her and her yard, and it gave me an idea to start saving the seeds that were slowly dispersing throughout the summer, making things out of my herbs and flowers as well as selling my art and refurbished furniture. 

 

The demand was incredible from my small town as no one had really seen such colors and vibrance come from my “neck of the woods”, especially someone of my age (I’m still 18). My business ideas kept coming in around every corner from there until the idea with my best friend Addie Harris came to launch In Bloom. A completely organic, U-Pick Flower Field in the middle of my farmland used for hand-picked arrangements as well as pictures. Selling my hand-made, natural skincare products, as well as seeds, are also a component of In Bloom’s self-made legacy. The rest is history.

 

I hope you all can gather some inspiration that with enough time and hard work, no matter your circumstances or background, you are capable of moving mountains.

 

Bloom my loves,