Sometimes you stumble across an old article and suddenly you’re transported back to another chapter of your life.

Throwback to 2010.

Before Flower Energy. Before so many of the chapters that would eventually shape me into Jenny Barker, The Flower Doctor, there I was on national television competing as a floral designer on Logo TV’s The Arrangement.

And today, all these years later, the original Los Angeles Times article is still online. That makes this one extra special.

The Los Angeles Times: October 1, 2010

Just days before The Arrangement premiered, the Los Angeles Times published an article introducing this completely different kind of reality competition.

The concept was wild for its time: take 10 established floral designers and put them through extreme, creative floral challenges on television.

And there in the article:

“Jenny Barker from Redondo Beach.”

That’s me!

The Los Angeles Times described The Arrangement as a competition attempting to do for florists what Project Runway had done for fashion. The show was produced by World of Wonder, the company behind RuPaul’s Drag Race, and aired on Logo TV. (Los Angeles Times⁠)

We weren’t aspiring designers learning how to arrange flowers. The producers specifically told the Times that the contestants already had established careers and professional floral expertise. (Los Angeles Times⁠)

That makes me especially proud looking back today.

And This Was NOT Your Typical Flower Show

This show was crazy, creative and completely outside the flower box.

The challenges weren’t simply, “Make a pretty centerpiece.”

In the very first episode, I was paired with fellow contestant Guillermo Del Pero for a challenge involving flowers, sushi and live models. Yes, you read that correctly. (Los Angeles Times⁠)

There were dramatic challenges, enormous time pressure, celebrity judges and plenty of reality-TV craziness.

The series included guest judges such as RuPaul, Omarosa, Shanna Moakler, Antonio Sabato Jr. and others. (Los Angeles Times⁠)

It pushed floral designers beyond what people traditionally thought a florist could do.

And I loved that.

Looking Back 16 Years Later

What strikes me today isn’t simply that I was on television.

It’s seeing the thread.

Flowers have been leading me somewhere my entire life.

Back then, I was Jenny Barker from Redondo Beach, running Magical Blooms and being given an opportunity to show my creativity on national television.

Today, I’m still designing flowers.

I’m still pushing boundaries.

But now I’m also The Flower Doctor and the author of Flower Energy: Channeling the Healing Power of Blooms.

At the time, I couldn’t possibly have known where all of this would lead.

That’s the beautiful thing about life. Sometimes something you’re doing today won’t reveal its true significance until years later.

Never Discount an Earlier Version of Yourself

I love looking back at this article because it reminds me to appreciate every version of myself.

Every opportunity.

Every risk.

Every scary YES.

Every door that opened.

Every door that closed.

Every bouquet.

Every television set.

Every customer who walked into Magical Blooms.

Every person who believed in me before I completely understood where this flower journey was taking me.

All of those experiences became petals in a much larger arrangement.

And apparently, I’ve been talking to flowers for a very long time.

Read the Original Los Angeles Times Article

This is a genuine little piece of my history, published October 1, 2010, right before The Arrangement premiered.

Read the original Los Angeles Times article from 2010⁠

Sixteen years later, I’m incredibly grateful it’s still there.

Never forget where you started. Sometimes looking backward is exactly what reminds you how far you’ve grown.

With Flower Energy,

Jenny Barker
The Flower Doctor
Founder of Magical Blooms
Author of Flower Energy: Channeling the Healing Power of Blooms