BY SHALEEN DESTEFANO

Beet & Yarrow has been a Denver fixture for years, but their recent move back to our neck of the woods, is something to celebrate. Their bold floral designs, and carefully curated boutique has just breathed new life onto South Broadway. We were thrilled to learn more from owner, Kimberly Hyde about her evolution as a florist and shop owner. 

When did you decide this was the path you were destined to take? What did you do prior to opening Beet + Yarrow? 

My process has been an organic flow of one decision at a time, and wasn’t planned from the start. I’ve always believed real life is a bit more interesting than my initial plans are. I went to school for graphic design, worked for a magazine for several years as a designer, and then was daydreaming about plants and how I could be around them everyday. So I dabbled in different things, like volunteering at the Botanic Gardens for a couple of hours a week and started working with a florist friend here and there. I got a job watering plants in office buildings, and picked up a small list of clients, who I’d help set up veggie gardens for or maintain their landscapes. Eventually, I had the most traction and list of clients for cut flowers, so I decided to focus on floral design. I was offered a spot at the Source (12 years ago now), which was to be the first market hall type place in Denver, and initially turned it down. A few months later, I accepted, and opened with a tiny 250 square foot shop. 

We love that your floral designs make an artistic statement, and go beyond the expected. Where do you find inspiration for your arrangements? 

We find inspiration just about everywhere. My team has always been multidisciplinary, so we draw from our other interests. We’ve had ceramic artists, and theatre people, bee keepers, botany enthusiasts and flower farmers on staff. My personal inspiration often comes from my love for architecture and landscaping. 

We appreciate businesses who are committed to sustainability. What can you tell us about your dedication to sourcing ethical florals? 

I like to be very transparent on this topic, both about the wins and the struggles. It’s tough with florals. We source as much as possible from local growers in the short growing season in Colorado — maybe 5 months out of the year. And even then, we can only get a fraction of our flowers from places where we know the growers, the working conditions and that there’s a lower carbon footprint in getting them delivered to us. In total, it’s only about 10% of our total flower supply in a year. I hope to increase the percentage every year, but without changing our entire business model, it’s only a couple percent increase year-over-year, and yet we appreciate that small bump in sustainability. When we buy from our wholesalers, we know that we are supporting another local business at least one more time, before the money moves outside of Colorado and to the rest of the world. There are a lot of middle-men in this industry, and even labels that say “responsibly grown” or “fair trade” on our blooms, but it’s hard to know if the labels are reliable.

   We also do our best to be plastic free in our packaging, using only paper, cardboard, and re-using dried cut stems as note holders in the arrangements (instead of those plastic forks you traditionally see). For bouquets that do not come with a vase, we use a compostable plastic wrap and compostable/re-useable towelette to keep the cut stems hydrated. On the composting front—we have run into some serious roadblocks with Denver and the composting companies. There seems to be a shortage of composting companies at the moment. We were promised a bin months ago at our new location and haven’t seen any sign of it. It seems many of the compost companies are unwilling to take on commercial companies, partly due to frequent contamination. We can all do better as individuals, by being careful where we place our trash. Our last composting company canceled our building’s account due to a printer being in the bin! 

What is your personal favorite flower? 

My favorite flower changes on a daily basis, depending on the season, who grew them, and what we’re using them for. A lot of my favorites have a short growing season, and even vase life, and maybe that is why they seem so special to me. There are certain flowers I like straight on but not their profile view. Or I like the leaves more than the bloom or vise versa. Maybe the bud is the best part, or the fruit after the bloom (Snowberry!). From a florist perspective, there are certain flowers that are tried and true and you know will hold up, and they are easier than others to design with. I always want to defend carnations and mums. They come in a wide variety of colors, they’re sturdy, they’re big and fluffy and they can give you three weeks of enjoyment with care, even after traveling a long distance. It’s quite amazing. My favorite just came to me, the Ornithogalum Arabicum Arabian star flower. It’s small and unassuming at first, but it will slowly open with these cute white flowers with dark blue green centers and will last a solid three weeks. I love them in December which is often when we get them in. 

Do you design florals for weddings? If so, can you tell us about a favorite project you’ve worked on? 

We’ve simplified our wedding offerings in the past couple of years –creating a collection of pre-designed looks and color palettes for the couple that enjoys flowers but maybe want a simpler wedding, are eloping, or planning something small and intimate. So we skip the big consultation, lead times and high minimums in exchange for a-la-carte, quick turn around, and online ordering options. We enjoy seeing the adventurous couples who just want to drive up to a favorite hiking spot, throw a ceremony on the mountain side, and celebrate with their closest loved ones. There are so many talented wedding florists in Denver who can do full scale personalized wedding floral, and maybe don’t offer daily arrangements. It’s a good alternative if you want a florist who can be focused on just one big wedding at a time.

Much more than a flower shop, Beet + Yarrow is brimming with unique gifts. For those who have not yet been in, can you paint a picture of what they can expect in your beautiful boutique? How do you curate your gifts? 

We carry home goods, gifts, garden and plant care products, and items that surprise us and make us smile. We choose items that we love and would want to buy ourselves (and do). We’re drawn to well designed goods with pops of color or just natural and useful products. For pops of color, I’ve been eyeing the brands MoMA and Dusen and Dusen home products for years, so we started carrying a selection from their lines this year. We love the natural and heritage products of the brand Earth and Nest—with natural French soap cubes, traditional nutcrackers, wooden cleaning brushes, and glass reusable straws in great opaque colors. We also carry the full line of Lego plant and botanical sets, some great Colorado made items—like candles, linen hot/cold packs, eye pillows, puzzles, and loose leaf teas and chocolates. 

Back in the neighborhood you started in, how has the South Broadway community embraced you? 

Well for starters, we’re very grateful to Matthew—the owner of FM, his team, Kelly from Meek, La Lovely Vintage, The Ti Cafe people, and many others for being so welcoming and helping us feel like we’re part of the neighborhood. I never wanted to be a business in isolation, and I feel like we gained a new community by moving back to South Broadway. We have many neighbors coming in daily and telling us they enjoy our store, so that’s really been a gift to us. 

Have you had the opportunity to collaborate with other small businesses in Denver? 

Yes, many. We’ve had some in store guest pop ups like Arise Bakery for Mother’s day and Merigold skincare doing a build-your-own bath salts bar this summer. We also just did an Instagram giveaway with a really fun cake maker and decorator called Emily Love Bakery. 

What is currently spinning on your record player? 

I’ve been having a Beyonce moment recently and I always keep St Paul and the Broken Bones on the rotation. And I have a 7 and 9 year old daughters so I have no choice but to regularly listen to Taylor Swift. But I admittedly love her new(ish) song with Post Malone — Fortnight. 

What can we expect from Beet + Yarrow in the future? 

We love a good tablescape with flowers for fall hosting and Thanksgiving so we’ll be taking those orders soon. We’re offering some fun workshops for the holiday season including our very popular Spooky Halloween Arrangement Workshop. I’ve also been thinking about an 8 foot wreath I’m going to make for December for our front window. Fall is truly the best floral season. 

To see this gorgeous space in person, visit Kimberly and her lovely staff at 55 N. Broadway, or check out their goods online at beetandyarrow.com.