Flowers bring hope during the pandemic

Amid Darkness, Montco Woman Gives Flowers To Strangers

Justin Heinze

A Montgomery County woman takes old flowers and gives them to strangers who might need them, both during the pandemic and long before that.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA — Out of the forbidding thorny underbrush of the pandemic, social upheaval, and threats to democracy, there grows from time to time a flower of simple human kindness.

In Montgomery County, that blossom takes the shape of Patricia Gallagher.

For seven years now — long before the coronavirus outbreak began — the Worcester resident has been seeking out local florists who plan to throw away their flowers. She then sets out in search of someone she thinks needs to receive them the most.

For Colleen Gillies Peterson, a friend she met during the height of the pandemic through the Make Masks for MontcoPA volunteer group, this is the height of service.

"She doesn't boast," Peterson told Patch. " She walks the walk rather than just talking the talk. And, to me that is the most special thing one can do for the children and families in need."

And since the pandemic began, one would be hard pressed to find a local resident not in need of kindness.

Gallagher even has a name for her venture: the Happy Flower Day Project. Since she first began her work, originally focusing on senior living facilities, she's delivered more than 65,000 bouquets.

"Never underestimate the power of a bouquet of flowers for someone in a nursing home or even on the street," Gallagher shares online. "The heavenly fragrance, the beauty and the surprise of a gift of flowers has shown me that little things mean a lot."

But Gallagher's work goes far beyond just distributing flowers. She's started a project called "Team of Angels" which shipped pins and encouraging poems to American soldiers deployed overseas. She's written several books about her charitable work. And, according to Peterson, she's constantly working to make sure everyone who gets her flowers is okay.

While the events of 2020 have tested society's collective optimism, there remain ever-present reasons to have faith in humanity.

"Patricia is always helping people she does not know," Peterson added. "(She) makes them feel special."