ST. GEORGE —A unique flower business has emerged, using the language of flowers to help others process grief from trauma and loss while rebuilding self-esteem and acceptance through custom flower creation workshops.

Cammie Hurst, owner and founder of Two Wild Wallflowers, a business she created out of her love for flowers and her own healing journey, provides a safe place for those to grieve while building something tangible to take home as a constant reminder.

Hurst told St. George News she has been working with flowers for over eight years, beginning with her experience working in a flower shop while attending school. During that same time, she was also taking a Victorian literature class where she learned about the language of flowers. She continued doing her own research and started applying what she learned to her own life.

Hurst said at the age of 20 she was dating a boy she thought she was going to marry. Young and in love, she ignored a lot of red flags in the relationship. She said she experienced immense control and manipulation. This emotionally abusive relationship ultimately led to her having no control over any aspect of her life.

“He had the final say on what I ate and what I wore, who I hung out with, what I did and I was isolated from my friends and family,” Hurst said. “In my 20-year-old brain, I was like, ‘It’s OK – I’m going to marry this man.’”

Hurst said while they did get engaged, she ultimately broke off the engagement, leading to a place in her life where she was forced to completely rebuild herself. 

“I was working at a flower shop and I was going to school at the same time, and I was able to create these parallels between what I was learning at school with Victorian literature and the language of flowers, applying this to the flowers I was working with every day,” Hurst said.

She said in the Victorian era, they used flowers to send messages. These messages mostly applied to forbidden lovers and people who weren’t supposed to communicate. Each flower holds a different attribute and as she learned about each one, she realized that these attributes were things that she loved and saw in other people but couldn’t see within herself. 

“I couldn’t see it in myself because I was trying so hard to rebuild something that was so broken,” she said. “So I started making flower crowns and using the flowers in the flower crowns of things that I wanted to emulate. And that’s how it started.”

After moving from Northern Utah to Washington County, she said she had the idea of sharing this knowledge and experience with other people. Then, in 2020, Hurst launched her own business, Two Wild Wallflowers, through which she started organizing flower workshops, to share with others the healing experience while creating flower crowns and wreaths of their own.

“I wore flower crowns for every significant and insignificant event in my life,” she said. “I never felt more beautiful than wearing a flower crown, especially knowing the purpose and meaning behind it.”

Hurst said when the pandemic hit, she was forced to pause her workshops. In 2021, she experienced her first miscarriage, leading her down a familiar, yet unique path of rebuilding herself, while figuring out what it meant for her as a woman and her future as a possible mother.

“It also felt so lonely. I didn’t feel like I could talk about it because it was uncomfortable for other people to experience that grief,” she said. “It felt very much like I was being silenced and I struggled really hard.”

Hurst said after her miscarriage, she was told by many to move on or to get pregnant again right away and that those statements were not healing for her at the time. Instead, she decided to honor her miscarriage, making a wreath using the language of flowers. She said the experience was very healing and it felt good to go back to flowers, something that had built her up in times she felt so low.

Two Wild Wallflowers offers two types of workshops – wreath-building and crown-making.

“The wreaths are all geared towards the remembrance of a loss. The flower crowns are more about empowerment and embodying those intangible aspects of your feminine and your beauty,” Hurst said.

Wreath workshops

Hurst said when decorating and creating wreaths with flowers by hand, attendees create a physical representation of their families, both those still living and those that have passed away. She said most attendees use this workshop as a way to mourn and heal from the loss of a loved one.

Hurst said she has been surprised to see that most women who have attended the wreath workshops have been there to grieve a loss they experienced 15 or 20 years ago.

“They are now finally finding a place where they can express that grief and honor that loss and where they can come and they can feel part of a community,” Hurst said. “As sad as it is, one in four women have a miscarriage or an infant loss. Being able to provide space for those women has been really incredible.”

Flower crown workshops

Hurst said the flower crown workshops focus on building women up, using flowers that represent things women love about themselves. During the workshops, there are conversations surrounding positive body image, the ability to share stories and providing a safe place to talk about past experiences.

“I think it’s so easy for women to look at social media and other people’s lives and not see a representation of who they really are or what they really look like,” Hurst said. “To instead be able to create a physical representation of things that you love about yourself and wear it and emulate it, that is really powerful.”

Hurst said she loves watching women light up during the crown workshops, adding that it is so easy for women to make themselves smaller and less, in order to fit how society thinks they should be. She said her goal for the flower crown workshops is to focus on the things that women find beautiful about themselves, while also encouraging a more positive view of self, both physically and mentally.

“Think about it this way, how often are you in a group of women and you start talking about the things you hate about yourself,” Hurst said while arranging flowers on a picnic table. “How much more empowering would it be if you gathered a group of women together and you said, ‘I love that I can face a challenge and learn from it,’ or, ‘I am so glad that I have relationships that I’m loyal to,’ or, ‘I’m so grateful that I am living an abundant life.’ What would happen with that conversation, rather than, ‘I wish I wasn’t this or I wish I had that.’”

An upcoming Mother’s Day halo flower crown workshop will be held April 29, from 6-8 p.m. at the Snow Canyon Scenic Overlook. Hurst said this event will be geared towards motherhood and honoring individual journeys. Whether there are struggles with infertility, the loss of a miscarriage, the process of adoption, or the experience of being a stepmom – any journey women did not envision motherhood would look like for themselves, this event will provide a time to honor it.

Two Wild Wallflowers also offers private parties for those interested in doing a private group event. They offer custom wreaths that can be created for those who do not wish to attend an event but would like a wreath to honor loved ones. Email them for more information. To learn more about Two Wild Wallflowers, visit their website.

Event details

• What: Halo Flower Crown Workshop
• When: Friday, April 29, at 6 p.m
• Where: Snow Canyon Scenic Overlook
• Admission: Tickets are $50
• For more information visit the event page

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