From beautiful bouquets to silly signs, Wild Root Florist and Gift Shop is known for spreading joy and smiles to the Spring Hill community. This positive energy couldn’t have grown from anyone other than the vibrant owner, Kathy Miller. “In college, I would work on weekends or during holidays at a local flower shop and I thought to myself ‘this is home’, which made me realize that I needed to be a florist full-time. I am very fortunate to have worked with some very talented people along the way which was immensely helpful,” Miller shares. “Eventually, I went full-time and began doing what I loved. I made my own name and have owned the business since April of 2016.”
After starting the business, Miller’s love for the shop and the flowers cultivated experiences that inspired her work. “I’ve had some amazing opportunities while owning the shop. I buy my flowers straight from Virgin Farms in Ecuador and over time I got to know the owner of the farm. He invited me to travel to the Andes mountains, which is the most temperate place on earth for roses. We went to nine different rose farms and toured. There were roses as far as I could see and it was absolutely beautiful,” Miller reflects. "Going into the experience, I thought about Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day and when the United States uses the most flowers. But I was humbled by remembering that we are just one country. These farms are thinking about Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day and all of the other holidays for each of the different countries they ship to. The whole trip was a bucket list experience but I learned so much as well. It takes 72 hours from the time the flower is cut to the time it is on my doorstep and that is unheard of. To see the process that brings us our fresh flowers blew my mind.”
Miller’s experience and knowledge in flowers are not the only thing that Wild Root is known for, however. “When I bought the shop, I decided that I wanted the sign outside in the front to say something funny, light, and humorous. We put the signs up every Monday morning and people began to say to me ‘Oh! You run the shop with the funny signs!.’ One Monday morning, our delivery guy who normally changes out the sign, got busy with deliveries and left it blank for a while. Someone at the gas station took a picture of the empty sign and said ‘unacceptable.’ This joke got spread around and people began questioning why the sign wasn’t up until eventually someone stopped me at the doctor’s office and asked if I had checked the ‘I Heart Spring Hill’ Facebook page. Once I looked at it, I couldn’t believe the community’s reaction.”
“After a thousand people had commented on the page, I posted 10 signs and had everyone vote so that we could make the top three into t-shirts. That was when things really began to expand. About 29,000 people viewed the post and 14,900 people voted. I was astonished! I thought to myself ‘I’m not sure what going ‘viral’ entails, but I think we did! I think we’ve gone viral!.’ Now we have t-shirts and it’s been such an entertaining ride ever since.”
The joy of both Miller and Wild Root is shown throughout the entirety of the shop. “I get my ideas for the signs from everywhere. Some from friends, some I make up, some I find online. But if it makes me laugh out loud, then I know it’s going on the sign,” Miller says. “The signs have been confirmation to me that people need some levity from the heavy things around them. The goal of the shop is to bring a smile to people’s faces and that’s what the signs and the flowers have done. I’m proud that I’ve been able to do all of this. I didn’t know if I could. But to have formed the relationships in the community that I have has been such a blessing.”
WildRootFlorist.com
Kathy Miller designed for florists in the shop's location for years, but was able to take ownership of Wild Root in 2016. With over forty years of experience and expertise in the floral industry, combined with over twenty years in the Spring Hill community, Wild Root Florist and Gift Shop has turned into a local gem.
“I get my ideas for the signs from everywhere. Some from friends, some I make up, some I find online. But if it makes me laugh out loud, then I know it’s going on the sign."