Meet the founder
Ami O'Grady
I didn't grow up planning to be a farmer.
Before The Bloomery, I spent many years in healthcare, first as a nurse and later in executive leadership roles in healthcare technology. Caring for others was meaningful work, but like a lot of people in caregiving professions, I eventually found myself running on empty.
During a particularly difficult season for my own mental health, I started planting flowers. At first it was a few beds in the garden, something peaceful to tend after long days.
Then the garden started changing me. Watching seeds push through soil, caring for living things, and spending time outside gave me a kind of healing I didn't know I needed. Little by little the garden grew, and somewhere along the way I realized the flowers weren't just growing in the garden. They were growing me, too.
That season of healing became the beginning of The Bloomery.
The Bloomery today
Grown close to home
Today The Bloomery grows seasonal, locally grown flowers in the Chelmsford and Pepperell area of Massachusetts, harvested close to home at their peak.
- SpringTulips, anemones, ranunculus, and stock
- SummerSpecialty garden roses (including David Austin varieties), sunflowers, zinnias, dahlias, lisianthus, campanula, and echinacea
- AutumnCelosia and heirloom chrysanthemums
Those are the headliners. Every season brings plenty more, along with the foliage and textures that make each arrangement feel full and alive.
Because they're grown locally, these flowers are fresher, longer-lasting, and true to the natural rhythm of New England. Choosing them also helps sustain small farms and agricultural land across Massachusetts.
When New England goes quiet for winter, I bring in flowers from farms in warmer parts of the U.S., so you can still have American-grown flowers in January.
The philosophy
Intentional growing
Flowers taught me that nature has its own kind of quiet medicine. Seeds don't rush, flowers bloom in their own time, and tending something living reminds us to slow down and breathe.
At The Bloomery, flowers are grown with a focus on:
- Seasonality, celebrating what naturally blooms in each moment
- Healthy soil, through organic practices and regenerative growing methods (I'm not certified organic)
- Local connection between the land, the grower, and the people who bring the flowers home
Each bouquet reflects patience, care, and the simple joy of something grown with intention.
Why The Bloomery exists
Flowers celebrate our joyful moments and comfort us through the difficult ones. Sometimes they help us move through seasons of change.
I believe flowers are a small form of everyday self-care, a reminder to pause, notice beauty, and reconnect with the natural world. A bouquet on your kitchen table, flowers shared with someone you love, or stems brought into a workspace can quietly change the feel of a room.
seed → soil → season → bloom
In a world that moves quickly, flowers remind us to slow down, breathe deeply, and notice what's growing around us, and within us.