LEXINGTON, Ky. — Powerful weather from Hurricane Helene swept through Kentucky, affecting more than 100 years of horticulture and floral history in Lexington.
Family-owned Michler's Floral Shop, a Lexington favorite, is feeling the impacts of the storms after intense downpours and winds up to 65 mph caused a hackberry tree to fall on its property.
Owner Robin Michler said the tree provided shade over plants and an outdoor seating area, which is part of the shop’s restaurant and bar scene. It also damaged one of the site’s oldest steel greenhouse structures.
"That's not something that there are parts available for anymore, so we are sorting through it, seeing what we can salvage," Michler said.
Michler said visitors, staff and even former employees have reached out with their concerns and well-wishes.
“We've seen a lot of comments from many of our past employees who have memories of working in this space," he said.
About a dozen miles down the road in Jessamine County, Edgewood Baptist Church is continuing to recover from damage. Pastor Steven Gray said they were taken by surprise, especially a group of preschoolers who saw wreckage outside the church after the storms passed through.
"I had just left the church; everything seemed fine," Gray said. "I went down to make a hospital visit. As I was pulling into the parking lot, my secretary called, and she said the steeple blew off the church."
While stunned by the damage, he said the church community rallied together.
“There was a pretty good bit of water coming in the front of the church, but their teams got to mopping it up," Gray said. "We have some friends who are roofers, and they came and put a tarp on the roof to seal that off. It's pretty amazing to watch God's people go to work.”
Both Gray and Michler said they were hit with the unexpected but are hoping to bounce back quickly.