“My love of nature started early”, Menno says. “As a child, I would watch flowers grow from tiny seeds, seeing plants take root and bloom into something beautiful. It was such an amazing feeling, it just stuck with me.” Nature’s cycle – growing, blossoming, the inevitable goodbye… and then beginning again in spring – remains an important inspiration for Menno. “I never stopped being in awe of nature’s energy, growing such beautiful flowers… you can feel it in the heart.”
Menno: “Every year I look forward to ‘peony season’. First, you have your summer flowers, then branches in fall. In winter you think: we’ll never see the end of it! But then, as if by magic, the weather changes and nature powers up again. Isn’t that phenomenal? After the tulips, it’s peony time. They’re only available for a short period, and during those weeks I’m madly in love with peonies. Their limited availability makes them all the more special, I think.”
“Peonies are truly special flowers, you know. They continue to be exclusive, and personally, I don’t think that’s changing any time soon. A peony is like magic: a single flower changing colour, shifting from green to pink to cream. In our concept store, a peony is never “just” a flower. In the right setting, it’s an entire bouquet all on its own.”
What are the current trends? According to Menno, peonies are timeless rather than trendy.“People are so often rushed”, he says, “you could consider that a trend. Parents bike past in the morning with their children, hastily having a breakfast yoghurt to go because they don’t have time for proper breakfast. And it’s the same with flowers. People take a photograph of a beautiful flower to post on Insta, but they seldom take the time to truly enjoy it.”
Peonies can’t be rushed, blossoming in their own time. “People look at me funny when I suggest they carry a rose with them, put it on top of their nightstand in the evening, enjoy its scent throughout the day. But you’ll experience so much beauty!” Menno: “A good florist makes you realise you’re witnessing a tiny miracle in each flower.”
For over 22 years, Menno has been creating fantastic designs out of exquisite flowers in his concept store in Amsterdam. “The store is a great place to work”, says Menno. “We’re visited by so many different people, from famous designers to locals. We welcome everyone who loves flowers!” He thinks for a minute, then adds: “Except spoiled people, they usually visit different shops anyway.”
The stories Menno expresses through his designs are about more than flowers. They are about life, about the things people deal with every day. He dreams of connecting people, sharing his own sense of wonder. Menno: “I’d love to make a set design, where the natural lifecycle of the flowers can be an integral part of the play and the story. From first bloom to farewell, a story with a beginning and an ending.”
Menno Kroon (1961) is educated as a master florist and perfected his craft working with the best arrangers and florists in the Netherlands. By the end of the ’90s, he opened his own concept store in Amsterdam. It combines his creative studio with a storefront annexe exhibition space, filled to the brim with eccentric, colourful compositions. For more information visit mennokroon.nl
