By Kaitlyn Yaffe
Buckets of vibrant peonies, tulips, and anemones fill the electric blue Le Bloom cart at the center of Southern Methodist University’s Dallas Hall lawn. Hundreds of students roam the lawn, celebrating the annual Peruna Palooza, stopping to play yard games, ride ponies, and pose for photos. A growing crowd gathers around the flower-focused pop-up shop, waiting for a chance to grab flowers and create a bouquet of their choosing. Amid the bursts of pinks, whites, blues, and yellows and between outstretched arms of students hoping to build a perfect bouquet and wrap it in the signature Le Bloom blue wrapping paper, stand Laynie Tenenbaum, owner and creator of the award-winning flower brand, and her mom, Julie, who helps manage the crowd and oversee the buckets of blossoms. Laynie’s dirty blonde, perfectly tousled hair cascades to her shoulders, and she sports a crisp white tee and faded blue jeans with sleek sunglasses perched atop her head. Her mom wears a denim button-up, white jeans, and a signature Le Bloom hat. SMU, Laynie’s alma mater, serves as just one pitstop on a bustling floral circuit. Le Bloom’s chic cart sits on Knox Henderson Avenue monthly, where an average bouquet sells for $34 at this and other pop-ups across Dallas, and she creates floral designs for events three to four times a week. Event pricing ranges from $1,500 to $7,500.
Laynie Tenenbaum, 24, and her mother, the sole members of Le Bloom’s employee roster, have seen their business partnership grow from laboriously creating 60 rose bouquets nine months ago to now expertly crafting more than 600 with remarkable efficiency and earning a good deal of attention, including a recent article touting the flower company’s expansion to a coffee shop. With plans to open a dual-purpose coffee and flower shop in three to four months, Laynie plans to expand her entrepreneurial roots beyond her already successful ventures in flower sales and event planning. Laynie has collaborated with Shugs, Sugar and Sage, and several SMU sororities.
Le Bloom recently earned the silver award from the World Brand Design Award Agency for Best Branding Photography. Their website is adorned with an array of delightful fonts. The images of bright colors and different pattered flowers fill the screen. A distinctive shade of blue fuels Le Bloom’s brand, a color inspired by a family trip. Unimpressed with the typical pastel palette dominating local flower shops, Laynie wanted a rich, fresh color. On a trip to Greece with her mother, they discovered an electrifying shade of blue rarely seen in floral arrangements. “We saw this color and said, ‘That’s the blue,’” Laynie says. “So we took a picture that we hoped was good.” Once home, they began to weave it into the fabric of their branding, handled by their agency, Truffl, drenching their merchandise and website in this vivid, bold hue.
Laynie’s road to becoming a floral entrepreneur began at Southern Methodist University. She graduated in 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in marketing and started work as a content strategist at Epsilon in Dallas. But she quickly found herself bored behind a desk. Inspired by what she loved in her home state of California, she quit Epsilon to start Le Bloom. “We had a bunch of flower shops and just open-air flower markets and farmers’ markets,” she says. “It didn’t feel like there was anything similar to that in Dallas.” So nine months ago, Laynie launched her company, which blossomed in her parent’s home in Highland Park. Laynie approaches floral design with a personal touch and an experimental mindset. “Practicing a lot is so important if you want to get good at it but also just kind of figuring out your style,” she says, adding she uses video tutorials from platforms such as YouTube and TikTok to refine her skills and adapt new ideas to her work. Laynie strategically selects and assembles her flowers, paying particular attention to the hues and dimensions of her arrangements. She emphasizes using monochromatic schemes — choosing a single color and gathering various shades — and varies the flowers’ heights, shapes, and sizes, adding depth and interest to each piece. Laynie’s floral inventory boasts a global flair, with blooms sourced from Colombia, Ecuador, and Holland. Unlike California, where growers are plentiful and locally accessible, the process in Dallas, Texas, requires navigating the competitive landscape of Texas’s flower market.
Beyond a marketing degree, Laynie’s alma mater also offered her a daily dose of intentional landscaping with a focus on flowers as an undergrad. Laynie remembers appreciating the stunning landscaping at SMU, recalling with fondness the gardeners tending to little red flowers. “I did appreciate the beauty of it all,” she says. Dr. Kevin Dillard, who serves as SMU’s landscape director, is responsible for that beauty. He has overseen the campus’ grounds for 23 years, transforming a once sparse campus into a lush botanical haven, which Architectural Digest named one of the nation’s most beautiful. In Dr. Dillard’s office building, he stood above 6ft and wore a button-up and tie, his silver hair gleaming under the office lights. The walls feature landscaping awards, a bookcase full of A to Z botanical books, and a sign that reads, “Keep off the lawn.” In the lush landscapes of SMU, Dr. Kevin Dillard weaves a visual narrative of SMU spirit, favoring a vibrant palette of red, white, and blue blooms that echo SMU’s colors (and while not explicitly a demand of President R. Gerald Turner, his landscaping decisions exclude purple flowers — a direct nod to the university’s rivalry with TCU). He strategically selects plants, utilizing a carefully curated list that specifies each plant’s characteristics and suitability to the local environment, including details about sun exposure, water demand, and adaptability to Texas’s climate. He frequently uses pansies, hyacinths in the cooler months, heat-tolerant hibiscus, and vinca in the summer. But with every selection, he considers ecological impact and visual appeal, ensuring that each planting enhances the campus’s beauty and supports its biodiversity, attracting butterflies and supporting local wildlife. But he also thinks about students, faculty, and visitors as he plans the landscapes of SMU. Dr. Dillard earned his doctorate of liberal studies at SMU, focusing on how landscapes influence student retention and exploring the potential of natural surroundings to help students feel more at home and less stressed. That research continues to inform his planting decisions. For example, he purposefully selects flowers from various states, such as the Columbine from Colorado, to subtly introduce students from that state to the campus. “It’s both consciously and subconsciously comforting; when students see something recognizable from home, they feel more at ease,” he says. “It helps them adopt this new environment as their own.” Dr. Dillard’s thoughtful approach to landscaping at SMU, aimed at making students feel at home, sets a comforting backdrop for university events. The campus community comes together in this familiar environment for annual celebrations such as Peruna Palooza.
Photo featuring Laynie Tenenbaum of Le Bloom
The theme for Peruna Palooza this year is the Kentucky Derby. Sophomore Elise Waterston, a member of the Student Foundations, becomes charmed by Le Bloom during a group presentation in her advertising class. Enthused by the creative concept, she saw no better option than to reach out to Le Bloom through their website for her event needs. Impressed by Laynie’s swift and accommodating responses, Elise finds collaborating with her easy and delightful. She praises Laynie as “an awesome person,” highlighting her professionalism and the joy of working with someone so responsive. Waterston’s positive experience with Le Bloom reflects the broader Dallas trend of residents valuing and heavily investing in their gardens. Similarly, Stephanie Walker, who owns Outdoor Aesthetics, highlights the city’s dedication to lush landscaping.
Stephanie Walker, the owner of Outdoor Aesthetics, highlights Dallas’s unique landscaping trends. Her company primarily serves homeowners in high-scale areas such as Preston Hollow and North Dallas. “Dallas is up there as far as wanting to maintain the beauty of their gardens, almost on a competitive level,” says Walker. As a proud member of the Dallas Arboretum and entering her ninth year with her woman-owned business, she understands the importance of investing in green spaces for aesthetic and environmental benefits.
Even though Big Dallas lacks flower carts, it does have an Arboretum. Dave Forehand, the vice president of gardens at Dallas Arboretum, manages the plants, the landscaping, and all things blooming. He bounds through girls taking quinceanera photos and offers to snap a picture of three older women enjoying the gardens. Then, he sits in front of a large cypress, pointing and saying, “I planted this tree; I think it was 2002,” said Dave. His colleagues honor him with the title of the Arboretum’s historian, recognizing his 24 years of dedication out of the 43 years the Arboretum has been running. Dave Forehand recounts the transformative journey of establishing a significant botanical garden in Dallas. Forty-three years ago, as the city matured into a significant urban center, advocates saw the need for a botanical garden to match the offerings of other large cities. Their efforts culminated when the town acquired the 44-acre DeGoyler Estate from SMU. Initially intended as a residence for the SMU president, the estate was ultimately transferred to the city after the president chose to live near Highland Park. This pivotal move provided the leverage necessary for advocates to establish the long-envisioned botanical garden, now a cherished part of Dallas’s park system. Similarly, Dr. Kevin Dillard thoughtfully enhances well-being through landscaping at Southern Methodist University.
As Dr. Kevin Dillard strolls through the perfectly trimmed pathways of the campus, he pauses, his gaze lingering on the delicate dance of monarch butterflies flitting about the abelia bushes. He has witnessed this enchanting spectacle year after year, capturing its beauty in countless videos. Standing near the Recreation Center, where the air hums with the soft flutter of wings, he finds himself mesmerized by the scene. “The monarchs come through for just two or three days,” he remarks, a sense of wonder in his voice, “and it’s simply amazing.” He reflects on moments like these, affirming the profound impact of his life’s work in nurturing not just the landscapes but also the soul of the campus.
Photos courtesy of Le Bloom and SMU
