Damascus, Ohio - Three and a half decades ago, David Peterson was a successful florist and he employed a 16-year old apprentice who showed great promise. He lived near Columbus where he might have made a lifetime career as a florist.

“I enjoyed working with flowers and my apprentice, Dick Biery, was a quick learner. But we both had other aspirations,” David says.
The corporate world beckoned them.

“My job as Vice President of Human Resources took me all over the world and Dick, too, climbed the corporate ladder majoring in high tech development.”

David loved his work and it provided well for his growing children, but as they came of age, his thoughts turned to retirement – perhaps slowing down, spending more time with family and friends. He bought a house on 22-acres; eight acres of lawn with an acre of shrubbery and flowerbeds surrounded by woods.

“It’s hard for me to understand how my idyllic idea of restful country living evolved into a kaleidoscope of activities that I can’t call retirement. I’m pretty energetic myself, but when Dick Biery retired, he suggested we might jump back into florals.

“I have to say he’s a force to be reckoned with. His idea of retirement was working part-time as a chef at the Spread Eagle Tavern, a popular restaurant in our area and while we were building the floral business, he also talked me into cooking there three days a week. Eighteen hour days is retirement?”

There have been many changes since the two men worked weddings in the Columbus area years ago. In the ‘70s, cascades were in vogue for bridal parties; formal, tight arrangements and the church and reception decorations followed the same rigid protocol.

“Now garden themes are ‘in’ and brides want to achieve an unstaged appearance although the work behind it is still very much a production. In the past, we used very little silk and now silk is part of the equation if the family wants to spend twice as much money as they might for very elegant real flowers.

“The centerpieces we’re asked to do are huge. Great masses of flowers in raised crystal vases that you see at eye level when you enter a room. They’re raised up so they don’t obstruct the view across the table. It’s kind of like a crystal fantasy.”

They delivered and set up five van loads of flowers for a recent wedding in Nemacolin Woodlands, Pennsylvania, which is about as far as they like to travel. Their reputation has brought them business in Akron, Cleveland, and other cities in eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania.

“We call the business ‘The Briar Patch LTD’ and we work out of my basement. I keep it around 60 degrees down there year round. It’s a giant cooler.”

It’s a far cry from the retirement he envisioned, however, he thinks bringing silk arrangements to Old Fashioned Christmas in the Woods may be more of the relaxed kind of retirement activity he had in mind.

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