Proposed by: a member of Rye Garden Club, Zone III

Floral and event designer and author Lewis Miller’s love of nature emerged as a youngster in California’s Central Valley farm country and evolved in Seattle where he studied horticulture and landscape design. From Seattle he moved to New York City where he founded Lewis Miller Design (LMD) in 2002. After more than a decade in business, he created the Flower Flash in 2016—colossal, one-of-a-kind, exuberant street installations of floral art—to share his passion for flowers and as a gesture of goodwill toward his adopted hometown. Miller and his team stealthily build their designs before dawn and quickly leave each site.

During the pandemic Flower Flashes were installed outside of hospitals to hearten overworked and exhausted health care providers. More than 100 Flower Flashes later, shared delight and awe at the sight of hundreds of blooms brimming out of municipal trash bins, garlanding bus stops, twining up lamp posts, and draping construction sites have served to build community and inspire civic pride.

Recycled flowers from parties and weddings are often incorporated into Flower Flash exhibits and have inspired countless Garden Club of America clubs from coast to coast to create their own displays for the benefit of local communities.

Miller’s commitment to community has spread to Florida with the establishment of a branch of LMD in Palm Beach. Citing the benefits of connecting with nature and the wonder inspired by Miller’s Flower Flashes, Matthew Constantine, chief executive officer of Adopt-a-Family of the Palm Beaches, Inc. writes, “For client populations who experience disproportionately high levels of stress, anxiety, trauma, and mental illness, Lewis Miller has brought the salve of the garden.”