You may have seen Mother Nature at the Earth Day celebration in Scappoose this year, and next year, she may be featured on TV across the country. If you did, that was JJ Duehren, who dressed in a floral dress with a flower crown.
Duehren is a volunteer for the Scappoose Parks Department and has been doing events for the city and library for the last eight years. Duehren recently learned that she was a winner of a “ridiculous amount of flowers,” courtesy of a photo contest held by the national TV show J Schwanke’s Life in Bloom. Duehren submitted two photos to the show after seeing the show on KOPB.
“I had some great pictures, and one of them was of me as Mother Nature, and then I took a picture of the little girl that I gave the flower crown to at the end of the event,” Duehren said. “I submitted those two pictures and wrote a little note about what we were doing for Earth Day for the planet. A couple weeks later they asked for more information, and then last week they announced I’m the winner!”
Duehren was ecstatic and said that she did, in fact, receive a “ridiculous amount of flowers.” In addition to the flowers, Duehren said that the photos may be featured on a Life in Bloom episode next year, as the show is filming.
This is the second year Duehren has dressed up as Mother Nature during the Earth Day event. She said it’s kind of a way to express her passion for nature. Beyond the occasional flower crown, though, Duehren has also done work to support clean energy in Columbia County.
“I negotiated with Tesla to put superchargers in Columbia County, which was a three-year process,” Duehren said. “Did that in conjunction with Columbia River PUD, who’s been a big help, and a sponsor of our events.”
Duehren said last year’s Earth Day event was, in part, a celebration of the new state-of-the-art EV chargers brought to the city. Duehren said events like the Earth Day celebration and the upcoming Scappoose Outdoor Fun Festival are a way to engage the community and also raise awareness to important issues.
Being recognized by J Schwanke’s Life in Bloom was exciting for Duehren, as she’s been a longtime fan of the show.
“I really like that show a lot because he reminds me of Mr. Rogers with flowers. He’s very kind, explains things, and is very warm,” Duehren said. “I think it’s a great show, and it’s really cool that they recognized my efforts.”
The Columbia County Chronicle & Chief got to hear from the “Mr. Rogers with flowers” J Schwanke in a phone interview about the contest.
J Schwanke’s Life in Bloom is in its sixth season. Though it is produced in Michigan, it is shown to about 115 million households each week, according to Schwanke. A fourth-generation florist, Schwanke said he’s been in the industry his whole life.
“It’s a show about cut flowers. It’s not a gardening show; it’s a show about the health and wellness benefits that flowers can provide,” Schwanke said.
Schwanke said that a couple of years ago, the show decided to start sharing photos submitted by the audience because of the number of submissions from viewers. The segment is called “Flowers from you,” and Schwanke said it’s his favorite part of the show.
J Schwanke said they get hundreds of submissions each week and that Duehren was the 36th winner. The winners are chosen at random, but Schwanke said that when he saw Duehren’s photo, he was drawn to the flower crown, which is a “signature of the show.”
“She went further to say that she gave [the crown] to somebody. That part is the most touching. When people realize they can give the flowers to someone else and it makes them feel wonderful as well? I have done what I set out to accomplish,” Schwanke said.
Schwanke and Duehren have been messaging back and forth since she was announced the winner, and he’s getting updates on how she’s arranging the flowers. Schwanke said that the world is short on kindness and he wants to generate kindness and love toward one another.
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