Campus In Bloom

[Oxford] The well-known self-serve flower stand that sits in the Square between Heartbreak Coffee and the Blind Pig Pub has now found itself a home on the Ole Miss campus as well.

The original stand, which kicked off 5 years ago, was put in the Square by Farmstead Florals owner, Katherine Webb. Her goal; to make fresh local bouquets accessible for Oxford residents and visitors during the flower season.

“We had an excess of flowers in the field but no ability to open a retail store so we thought this would be a good idea.” said Webb.

In a new effort to make the same accesibility available for Ole Miss students, the stands which are stacked with mason jars full of colorful, unique flowers, have been placed in a couple of the campus hotspots, the Student Union and Rebel Market.

“The flowers have definitely made the Student Union more unique and colorful.” said Student Union Worker Evan Grace Branstetter. “It’s cool seeing a bunch of people walk around with mason jars filled with flowers.”

The campus self-serve stands have been well-received by some students who are a fan of the original self-serve stand in the Square.

“I remember coming to Oxford for orientation and thinking the flower stand in the Square was the cutest thing ever.” said Ole Miss freshman Katie Brassfield. “I’ve gotten flowers from there a couple times but I might get them more now that the stand is on campus.”

Bouquets seem to be flying off the shelves fast. Webb and her staff have had to fully restock the stand in the Student Union every evening in the past 2 weeks since its opening and every 3 days in Rebel Market due to less foot traffic in the area.

Some students have raised concerns about how well other students will follow the “On Your Oxford Honor” code on campus.

“I dont know; I think it’s cool.” said Ole Miss junior Ava Lewis. “I just wonder how much money they’re actually making because it’s not like the people who work at the P.O.D. are checking that people actually venmo.”

Webb has taken a more positive outlook on the issue and decided to trust the Ole Miss community.

“When we put an unmanned self-serve stand with a cash box on it in the Square, we were basically saying ‘Hey Oxford, we trust you to take care of this beautiful thing we’ve made’ and now we’re saying the same thing to Ole Miss.”

She claimed that “there have been nights where the numbers don’t add up just like with the stand in the Square” but, this doesn’t discourage Webb from continuing to show off her hard work to the community.

She is even open to placing more stands around Oxford as the opportunity arises.

“If there’s room then we’d love to make it happen!”