Did you know trees talk to each other? That 4,000 native bee species buzz around North America or that worms craft “black gold”? We live in a wonderfully weird and beautiful world full of magic so often ignored.
It’s something Conner Parrish wants us to reconnect with.
The founder of Bloomistry, a regenerative gardening company, Parrish aims to get back to the fundamentals in an era obsessed with speedy, detached and deceivingly toxic garden solutions. His organic movement, only three years old, is already making a mark, especially through education.
“Education is the heart of everything we do,” says Parrish. He teaches topics ranging from bug farming and cutting gardens to natural dyeing and sustainable living. But there’s a certain class that tends to be particularly life-changing.
“One everyone gets fascinated by is Living Soil: The Misunderstood World Beneath Your Feet”, says Parrish. “It talks about soil life and how it allows trees to talk to each other and feed themselves.”
Courses are hosted throughout the region, including at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, Sheltering Arms Institute, local senior living communities, garden clubs and elementary schools.
In September, a 12-class evening program at Byrd Park’s Round House was launched in partnership with Friends of Byrd Park as a way to help make things more accessible. Hosted until Dec. 10, spots are $10 (all proceeds go back to Friends of Byrd Park) with upcoming subjects focusing on worm composting, pollinators, seed saving, herbs and making pressed flower note cards.
But while education is key for Bloomistry, this company practices what it preaches. It does community-focused projects and organic garden and homestead consulting. The latter works to rebuild home ecosystems, like through the power of native plants and beneficial insects. Beekeeping consulting is also available.
And everything is already making a noticeable impact. “Some of my class attendees and members come back saying ‘Conner, my plants are 10 times larger than last year after using [worm composting]’,” he says. “I had a client who got into gardening two years ago and they grew squash but they were little things. I went over there and did a soil building maintenance schedule and the squash plants had leaves as big as me.”
He’s even had someone swear that her herbs tasted better after soil amendments and were bursting with flavors she never experienced. “Heal the soil, heal the plant, heal the person,” says Parrish.
A nature kid
Founded in 2022, the business was born out of tragedy. “I lost my dad at 18 to a heart attack,” says Parrish. “I started keeping bees as therapy and to disconnect from the craziness. Then I started planting flowers to feed the bees and then thought let’s sell flowers to florists.”
But rewind years earlier and you’ll find a kid growing up in Henrico already in love with the outdoors. Parrish’s grandparents had an 88-acre farm in the Northern Neck where he’d often help out. “Over time, that interest piqued as a kid,” he says. “My neighbor had a greenhouse growing tomatoes in December which was very inspirational as a child… I’ve always been a nature kid.”
Parrish eventually attended Virginia Commonwealth University for biology before switching to business studies. He originally started Blossoming Roots Farm & Supply in July 2022 cultivating cut flowers for local florists while devouring knowledge from industry growers. Life though soon revealed another calling to Parrish: teaching.
“With [Blossoming Roots], it slowly evolved into an education business teaching people about my regenerative organic farming practices,” he says. “I didn’t know I was a teacher by trade, it just started naturally and [had a] snowball effect.”
Parrish reinvented the company and Bloomistry formally debuted. The business is quickly gaining traction throughout the Richmond region and currently has an eight member staff. Parrish estimates this year Bloomistry will likely complete about 50 gardening projects.
But this is just the beginning of Parrish’s dream. He’ll soon introduce a line of curated organic soil products which he has been closely developing. He’s also been working on a dahlia breeding project. The flower patch, situated on a client’s property, is filled with whimsy, colorful varieties Parrish is experimenting with with aims of soon selling the organically cultivated tubers.
“I want the world to kind of reshift their thought on the backyard as [only] being this kind of beautiful green grass,” says Parrish. “There’s nothing wrong with this… but I think [we need to shift to] the idea that the backyard can be a habitat again. We can actually make huge progress just in North America alone by creating these little ecosystems in backyards or apartment balconies.”
And with his ambition and passion, Parrish is well on his way.
“Trying to change the narrative will take a long time but I’m willing to do it.”
