Flower Power
Calluna Flower Truck, a flower shop on wheels in a turquoise 1951 Chevy pickup truck, pops up at events around the county. The truck’s bed is filled with metal buckets of blossoms and greenery, including locally grown plants. Customers buy flowers for $3.50 a stem to build their own bouquet. The driver behind the verdant vehicle is Elissa Abod (pictured above), 59, who lives in Rockville and started the business in 2022. She has a background in consulting and teaches full time at The Universities at Shady Grove. Abod will be peddling petals at the Downtown Silver Spring Fall Makers Market on Nov. 9 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and at the Sugar and Spice Stroll in Gaithersburg’s Rio shopping center on Dec. 7 from 3 to 5 p.m. You also can book the truck for private events or sign up for floral arrangement workshops.
A Holiday Tribute
Every year, droves of volunteers gather at Arlington National Cemetery to lay holiday wreaths on all of the graves. Here in Montgomery County, two historic cemeteries have their own Wreaths Across America program. On Dec. 14, civic groups and individuals will be adding wreaths to veterans’ graves at Monocacy Cemetery in Beallsville (pictured above) and Darnestown Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Darnestown. Opening ceremonies start at noon, followed by wreath laying. As of mid-October, Monocacy Cemetery needed more sponsors to pay for more than 350 wreaths for the 500 veterans’ graves; the cemetery can accommodate lots of volunteers, according to event organizers. Darnestown, which has met its fundraising goal, typically sees an influx of volunteers to decorate its 100 graves, organizers say. Registration is required for wreath laying.
Monocacy Cemetery, 19801 W. Hunter Road, Beallsville; Darnestown Presbyterian Church, 15120 Turkey Foot Road, Darnestown; wreathsacrossamerica.org
This story appears in the November/December 2024 issue of Bethesda Magazine.
