Actually, she’s the newlywed. An accountant for a flower greenhouse decided she wants to dress like a grown-up.

by Mick Kelly . photo by Matt Rose

This time of year, everything in Kathleen Lemkes’ life is coming up poinsettias—about a million of them, to be exact. She’s the comptroller for Van Wingerden International, a Mills River company with 38 acres of greenhouse space under plastic. The company now has around 250 employees, but come spring, they’ll expand to some 450 workers who grow, package and ship petunias, begonias, African violets, mums and other types of plants to local and regional clients like Ingles and The Home Depot. This month, the crew will ship around 1 million potted poinsettias. “After we’re done, I won’t want to see another poinsettia for a while,” she says.

Lemkes really couldn’t avoid the flower business, even if she wanted to. Her father, Bert Lemkes, is part owner of the Van Wingerden company. Her mother, Margarethe, works part-time in the customer service department. The couple, both Dutch immigrants, live on property adjacent to the greenhouse acreage, and two of Kathleen’s four sisters work at Van Wingerden. In September, Lemkes married her boyfriend of three years, Jonathan Ray, who took a job working as a Van Wingerden engineer in November. Luckily, Lemkes likes flowers. She started working on the operation’s transplanting line at age 10. “I begged my dad to go work there,” she says, explaining that, if she worked at the company, at least she could earn cash instead of dividing up housework with her sisters. “My accounting started early.”

Lucky for VERVE, Lemkes took a break from her busy holiday shipping season to let us dress her up. The 28-year-old is married now and headed toward her 30s. We wanted to help her hit 30 looking less like a girl and more like a stylish grown-up. Jenny Lane, manager of Frock boutique in downtown Asheville, fitted Lemkes in some flattering “jeggings” (jeans + leggings) and a warm shirt and wrap combo from Michael Stars. On top, Lemkes wore earrings made by Frock’s co-owner, Elizabeth (Betsy) Bradfield. On the bottom, we found stylish knee-high boots for Lemkes at Lulu’s consignment shop in Fletcher. After makeup by Scott Thompson of Makeup at the Grove Arcade and a saucy, playful haircut by Guadalupe Chavarria, Lemkes was transformed from little girl into a glamorous adult.

Kathleen’s clothing by Frock Boutique in downtown Asheville. 828-255-4626 or www.befrocked.com.

Makeup by Scott Thompson of Makeup at the Grove Arcade. 828-505-4075 or www.makeupatga.com.

Hair by Guadalupe Chavarria for Studio Chavarria. 828-236-9191 or www.studiochavarria.com.

Shoes by Lulu’s Consignment boutique in Fletcher. 828-687-7565 or www.ilovelulus.net.