Slow Flowers Podcast

https://youtu.be/C_WTDlGYU6U Thank you so much for joining us today! You are in for a very special treat because I've invited TJ McGrath of TJ McGrath Design to join me for a conversation about his flower-filled life. The timing is perfect because we just announced the speaker lineup for the 2022 Slow Flowers Summit and I'm thrilled to tell you that TJ will be one of our guest designers at the 5th annual Slow Flowers Summit, June 26-28, 2020 in Bedford and Pocantico Hills, New York. You can find all the details at slowflowerssummit.com. I first met TJ McGrath when I interviewed him for a Florists' Review article about the floral business in New York City. Ironically, that entire New York issue was never printed; it just appeared online because it was the May 2020 issue right smack in the middle of COVID. Click on the link below to read that story. Doing Business in NYCDownload Two expressive and highly individual designs by TJ McGrath https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpjphtWfIxM Watch TJ McGrath present at the (virtual) September 2020 Slow Flowers Member Meet-Up But that experience put TJ on my radar and I regularly admired his floral designs, as he transitioned from working at a retail flower shop to going solo and renaming his IG account @tjmcgrathdesign. We invited TJ to be a guest at last September 2020's Slow Flowers Member Meet-Up where he shared his unique, fresh, modern approach to foam-free floral designs.​ A whimsical arrangement, quirky and quite elegant, which TJ designed live during our recorded interview. Yes, there are 3 bananas combined with chocolate dahlias! TJ's design philosophy is pretty simple: there are no real rules in nature, so there are no restrictions or rules in his designs. "I strive everyday to push beyond my boundaries and to create one of a kind designs that feel modern, whimsical and fresh. I'm reaching beyond what I've done thus far to discover engaging new shapes, color palettes, and foraged organics to design with using advanced floral foam free mechanics," he says.​ TJ's recent workshop took place at his favorite greenhouse grower, H J Hautau & Sons Florist (c) Jessica Gallo, Fine & Fleurie Photography Committed to fostering a community that is inclusive as well as environmentally and socially aware. TJ believes a sustainable floristry industry is achievable and it starts at home. He has and continues to seek out and support the local flower farming community where he lives in New Jersey. Check the entire program for the Slow Flowers Summit 2022 and meet our amazing speakers, view the schedule, venue, lodging, and registration details -- all found at slowflowerssummit.com. Ticket sales open on December 1st with a fabulous discount offered to the first 50 who register. TJ's presentations include: Sunday, June 26th (Day One), TJ will demonstrate and lead large-scale, freestanding, foam-free floral installations during our "Floral Takeover." Monday, June 27th (Day Two), TJ will demonstrate his distinctive take on centerpiece design using all locally-grown botanicals. Enjoy Slow Flowers x Small Business Saturday Savings! It's the week of Thanksgiving, so that means coming up this weekend, you have lots of opportunities to save -- on Black Friday, Small Business Saturday (and Sunday) and Cyber Monday -- from November 26-29th. Find all the details and coupon codes here. Offer #1 -- use coupon code SmallBiz20 -- valid for 20% off Slow Flowers Mercantile items 11/26-11/29. Right now, you can find books by me, plus American Flowers Week bouquet labels, prints from our favorite artists and lots of Slow Flowers Society merchandise. Offer #2 -- We've packaged 9 very special video presentations from the 2021 Slow Flowers Summit, available for purchase for the first time at just $99 (a value of $129). Access 8+ hours of valuable content, including demonstrations and talks by Susan McLeary, Max Gill, Abra Lee, Pilar Zuniga, Lorene Edwards Forkner, Jennifer Jewell, our fantastic Sustainable Farming x Floral Design Panel (Molly Culver, Kellee Matsushita-Tseng and Emily Saeger) and Teresa Sabankaya! Offer #3 -- Enjoy a $100 discount on my online course, Slow Flowers Creative Workshop: Floral Storytelling, which returns with a January 11, 2022, start date and runs weekly for four weeks. Pre-registration opens this Friday, November 26th. If you register during our Small Business Saturday Weekend (November 26-29) -- as a Slow Flowers member or not -- you will receive $100 off the course ($297 value), paying only $197. I haven't offered this course for an entire year and those who sign up will receive a new BONUS MODULE on "Visual and Verbal Storytelling," which I'm teaching with BLOOM Imprint's Creative Director Robin Avni. You'll also receive our 28-page workbook, "The Journey from Blog to Book." Last Call to Take the Member Survey for 2022! And here's your final r

https://youtu.be/jpeAWpoqUVs Why is it that we're supposedly moving into our quieter, perhaps dormant season, but we are doing everything but resting?! I don't think I'm alone in this feeling, and I wanted to discuss it with you, and bring today's guest into the conversation. Please meet Sarah Wagstaff, of SUOT Farm and Flowers, based in Burlington, which is located in Washington State's Skagit County about halfway between Seattle and the US-Canadian border. SUOT Farm and Flowers is home to freshly hand-picked flowers and foliage. It's a no-till urban farm in the hub of Skagit Valley WA, and includes a hugelkultur demonstration garden, education workspace, and floral studio. SUOT stands for "Small Units Of Time," because, as Sarah says, we know that we aren't able to accomplish everything we want to in one day, but little by little, we will get there together! SUOT Farm and Flowers studio and shop in Burlington, Washington (c) Sara Welch Photo Co. Since 2015, SUOT Farm and Flowers has been committed to providing our customers with the freshest flowers, local bouquets, and unique arrangements with 100% locally grown, Washington botanicals. As an urban micro flower farmer, and farmer-florist, Sarah goes above and beyond for her customers to ensure they know their purchases supports a sustainable, local, woman-owned business. Workshops at SUOT Farm and Flowers Sarah's website for SUOT Farm and Flowers features harvest and holiday workshops coming up in her Burlington Studio, including: in-person garland and wreath-making sessions later this month and in early December. You can also order her signature 12-ounce white ceramic mug with the black "midday murder logo." Of course a little tongue in cheek, Sarah encourages friends and customers to join the midday murder club -- "make yourself a cuppa tea, then take the rest of the boiling water outside, pour it in some weeds, & channel your murderous death, kill, die thoughts to the weeds (and not your kids/spouse/coworkers)!" https://www.suotfarmandflowers.com/product-page/midday-murder-mug Find and follow SUOT Farm and FlowersSUOT on FacebookSUOT on Instagram Notes and News https://youtu.be/lOLRfY7OZa0 I have a couple of program notes to mention before we close. On last Friday, November 12th, we hosted the monthly Slow Flowers member virtual meet-up -- and the topic was All About Flower Co-ops & Wholesale Hubs, featuring several members, including our two featured presenters: Connie Homerick of Ohio Cut Flower Collective and Patti Doell of Garden State Flower Cooperative. If you missed the Meet-Up, watch replay video above. It's filled with lots of education and inspiration! Our show notes also includes the link to our just-released Slow Flowers annual member survey, which we're running through December 3rd. Please take the time to share your feedback and insights, which will be valuable as we plan for 2022 programs, content and resources for you. Click here to take the Member Survey Thank you to our Sponsors! This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 880 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers. Thank you to our lead sponsor for 2021, Farmgirl Flowers. Farmgirl Flowers delivers iconic burlap-wrapped bouquets and lush, abundant arrangements to customers across the U.S., supporting more than 20 U.S. flower farms by purchasing more than $9 million dollars of U.S.-grown fresh and seasonal flowers and foliage annually. Discover more at farmgirlflowers.com. More thanks goes to the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market, a farmer-owned cooperative committed to providing the very best the Pacific Northwest has to offer in cut flowers, foliage and plants. The Growers Market’s mission is to foster a vibrant marketplace that sustains local flower farms and provides top-quality products and service to the local floral industry. Visit them at seattlewholesalegrowersmarket.com. Thanks to Longfield Gardens, which provides home gardeners with high quality flower bulbs and perennials. Their online store offers plants for every region and every season, from tulips and daffodils to dahlias, caladiums and amaryllis. Check out the full catalog at Longfield Gardens at longfield-gardens.com. Our final sponsor thanks goes to Rooted Farmers. Rooted Farmers works exclusively with local growers to put the highest-quality specialty cut flowers in floral customers' hands. When you partner with Rooted Farmers, you are investing in your community, and you can expect a commitment to excellence in return. Learn more at RootedFarmers.com. Thanks so much for joining us today! The Slow Flowers Podcast has been downloaded more than 785,000 times by listeners like you. Thank you for listening, commenting and sharing – it means so m

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHJmO0SqK8A Thank you so much for joining us today! If there's anything I've learned from my publishing partner Robin Avni, creative director of BLOOM Imprint, it's that some stories are best told visually. And today's guest is going to immerse us in the visual delight of the natural world's amazing palette for pigments, dyes and paints. Please meet Julie Beeler, a farmer-florist and owner of Bloom & Dye, based in Trout Lake, Washington in the Columbia River basin. Julie is a designer, artist, educator and native Oregonian who grew up with a deep love and curiosity for the natural world. Along with her husband, Brad Johnson, she founded and led Second Story, an interactive design studio in Portland until 2012. Textiles reflect the range of beautiful blue pigments from the Indigo plants grown by Bloom & Dye A Trout Lake resident since 2014, she conceived and launched Bloom & Dye in 2018 to grow her work and passion to benefit what she values most: curiosity, education, creativity, collaboration, community, and the environment. Growth often starts with conversations that lead to an interest in knowing more. For Julie, educating others on how plants and their colors reflect the beauty of nature is something she is moved to share as a way to inspire care, stewardship and impact. When she is not digging in the soil, Julie is working in her art studio or leading workshops. Colors of the mushroom world: Julie Beeler's new project will inspire you to explore mushrooms and the colors they produce One detail page that features an illustrated mushroom and the many colors derived from it. She joined me to introduce her newest amazing project, The Mushroom Color Atlas. Julie gathered a small team of artists and experts to create this free resource. The Mushroom Color Atlas is a reference for anyone and everyone curious about mushrooms and the beautiful and subtle colors derived from them. But it is also the start of a journey and a point of departure, introducing you to the kaleidoscopic fungi kingdom and our connection to it. https://youtu.be/c12obA5C7n0 Some of you may remember being introduced to Julie and two other talented Slow Flowers members during our April 2021 monthly meet-up - Diving into Dye Plants, with Elaine Vandiver of Old Homestead Alpacas & Gholson Gardens, Lourdes Casañares-Still of Masagana Flower Farm and Tinta Studio and Julie. It was such a fantastic session, and you can watch the replay link above. I'm so excited that Julie brought this project to life and shared it with our community and anyone who loves plants, the natural world, art and color! And, as we discussed, if you're in the Pacific Northwest, please come to Julie's DIY stage presentation at the NW Flower & Garden Festival, Saturday, February 12th at 5 p.m. -- Colors from the Dye Garden. I'll see you there! Dried flowers from the Bloom & Dye gardens and studio, often used in Julie's workshops, kits and courses. Places where you can connect with Julie Beeler:Follow Bloom & Dye on Instagram and Facebook Follow The Mushroom Color Atlas on Instagram Workshops at Wildcraft Studio School It's a busy week here at the Slow Flowers Society, folks, and I want to draw your attention to two items of note! Connie Homerick of Ohio Cut Flower Collective (left) and Patti Doell of Garden State Flower Cooperative First, this Friday, November 12th is our Virtual Member Meet-up for November and the theme is a hot topic for sure: All About Flower Co-ops & Wholesale Hubs. Now that the growing season is winding down for many of our members who are flower farmers or farmer-florists, it's time to reassess and also plan for the future. We've heard from so many members and supporters about the desire to form a collective selling hub for your flowers -- but the concept may seem daunting. Of course, there are some established models, most notably, the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market, now in its 10th year. What about some of the newer groups? We wanted to bring their stories and voices to you in the Meet-Up format. Click on the Link below to sign up for the Meet-Up. You will receive the log-in details. And the session will go for 90 minutes this time around, beginning at 9 am Pacific/Noon eastern on Friday, November 12th. Click here to pre-register for the November 12th Meet-Up Our guests include: Connie Homerick of Ohio Cut Flower Collective (left) and Patti Doell of Garden State Flower Cooperative and their presentations will be followed by a Q&A session after which you'll be invited to join one of three topic-specific breakout sessions, led by: Jamie Rogers and Carly Jenkins, Killing Frost Farm & Ali Harrison, Florage Farms (Farmers wholesaling their own and others' product); Amanda Maurmann, co-founder of the Michigan Flower Growers Co-op and florist Haley Tobias on the multi-owner LLC model representing Old Dom

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRlFmsrRGjM Watch my wonderful conversation with Libby Francis-Baxter of The Modest Florist For our final week of October's Member Appreciation Month, I recorded a terrific interview with longtime Premium member Libby Francis-Baxter, owner of The Modest Florist in Baltimore, Maryland. Libby is one of those constant IG presences in our lives, tagging Slow Flowers Society in her everyday floral posts that show the beautiful arrangements heading out the door of her neighborhood retail flower shop. She's living her values through and through -- and I really wanted to share Libby's story with you. Libby Francis-Baxter of The Modest Florist, posing with one of her popular holiday arrangements in a recycled vintage green glass vase. Here's a bit more about Libby and her cute shop: Libby Francis-Baxter is known for supplying her community with locally-grown flowers, greens and live plants presented in vintage, reusable and biodegradable containers. Founded in 2013, The Modest Florist was created with sustainability at its core and is committed to environmentally-friendly solutions for the modern floral business. As the hometown florist in Baltimore's Hampden neighborhood, it's a source for a full range of floral services with a modern twist! The Modest Florist is the first florist to be recognized by and listed on the Maryland Department of Energy “Green Registry” and the owner is a LEED Green Associate. Libby is proud of being quirky, a trait synonymous with the neighborhood where The Modest Florist is based. You'll also want to check out a few bonus resources, including a recent Q&A with Libby published in Voyage Baltimore and a feature I wrote about The Modest Florist that appeared in the December 2018 issue of Florists' Review, for our Slow Flowers Jounal "How I Do It" column -- an ongoing feature sharing retail florists' advice on sourcing locally. Download the article hereLast week, Libby and I recorded a video interview and you can watch the full episode, including a short, fun video that Libby's husband took on her farmers' market shopping excursion. Find that in today's show notes, too! TheModestFloristDownload Entirely Local! English Country Garden by The Modest Florist After we recorded our conversation, Libby and I kept corresponding and I wanted to share portions of an email she sent me: "The pandemic and the current, on-going supply chain issues have highlighted the importance of local sourcing. When the nation went into lockdown in March of 2020, the floral wholesalers shut down. Conventional florists found themselves without the ability to get flowers from South America and other far off places. Supplies like glassware from China have nearly dried up. Many of our area florists shut down; some for good."My experience was exactly the opposite! I shut my door to the public and pivoted to contact-free delivery. I never missed a beat on having flower inventory as I was able to rely on my local greenhouse growers and field flower farmers to do COVID safe pickups. My community knows that I love reused vases. So many folks were stuck at home and cleaning out their kitchen cabinets that I have gotten more vases left outside the shop than ever before!"I wanted to share my experience as a way to encourage florists to consider a more sustainable business model. As far as I know, I'm the only full-service retail flower shop on the east coast to source only local flowers and plants all year 'round. It's a challenge and more work but I believe our world needs folks to put planet before profit.Libby Francis-Baxter, The Modest Florist Bonus Interview: Ellen Frost, Local Color Flowers https://youtu.be/kffJU7qabvg On this topic, I want to share a bonus interview I also recently recorded with Ellen Frost of Local Color Flowers. Ellen is a past guest of this podcast, so she will be familiar with you. In keeping with the theme of my interview with Libby, I asked Ellen to talk about her upcoming online course offered through The Gardener's Workshop. If you think this workshop has your name on it, vheck out the details for Ellen's course, Growing Your Business with Local Flower Sourcing. The fee is $495, with registration taking place between November 5-9th. That's coming right up! and the course begins January 3, 2022. We have just wrapped up October, our very successful Member Appreciation Month. The month focused on thanking you, our core community of motivated and mission-driven flower growers, designers, enthusiasts and pioneers in the Slow Flowers Movement. There's so much you can look forward to during the month of November, so if you haven't opened up your Slow Flowers November newsletter, check it out here! Thank you to our Sponsors! This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 880 florists, shops, and studios who

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5E5FyIFkvo Thank you so much for joining us today! As you may know, October is our month to celebrate our Slow Flowers members and one of our goals is to showcase and thank as many of our Premium Level members as possible, our top supporters. Just-picked pastels (left) and vivid hues (right) (c) Jamie Horton Photograph Today, we're visiting David Brunton of Right Field Farm in Millersville, Maryland, outside of Annapolis. David is a past guest of this podcast - you can go back to listen to my original interview with him in July 2018 at debraprinzing.com for Episode 529. David Brunton facilitated my 2018 tour of Right Field Farm, including a row-by-row walking tour of the botanical highlights. One key takeaway from my past conversations with David and his wife and partner Lina Brunton, is that they know what and how their farm should work for their family's lifestyle. On their family farm they grow, design and deliver a mix of perennial and annual flowers in Anne Arundel County, Maryland with an eye toward all the natural beauty the region has to offer. From April to October, Right Field Farm delivers over two hundred varieties of flowers in abundant, garden-inspired hand-tied arrangements. Newsletter customers receive weekly updates during the season with all the latest information, including any specials or pop-up flower sales. Growing up! Flowers and kids, with Lina and David Brunton (c) Jamie Horton Photography They are committed to nurturing the health of their farmland, and tending the thriving ecology that it supports there. In addition to flowers, Right Field Farm is home to laying hens, honeybees, sheep (for wool), dogs (for companionship), and their four children. They don't use any pesticides - not on their flowers or in their soil - which means Right Field Farm is also home to wild bees and birds and frogs and soil fungi and all manner of woodland critters. A Right Field Farm seasonal bouquet, hand-tied and displayed in a glass jar (c) Jamie Horton Photograph When I asked David if he would join me on our new video-vodcast channel, he said the timing was perfect. Just a few days ago on Saturday, October 16th, David planned to design for the season's final week of bouquet deliveries. He joined me on screen, from his beautiful covered porch where he always designs, and produced some epic hand-tied bouquets during our conversation. Right Field Farms bouquet options for local Sunday Delivery subscribers or Flower Share customers. You will love watching him and enjoy all the topics we touched -- from deciding what to grow and how to make sure you have plenty to harvest each week of a 26-week-long season for subscribers and a la carte delivery customers -- to the story of one family's flower-based life and business. Right Field Farm's summer bouquet palette (c) Jamie Horton Photograph RFF's Pearl of Opar (Talinum paniculatum)- a favorite bouquet ingredient recommended by David Brunton (c) Jamie Horton Photograph That was one of the most enjoyable and relaxing experiences I've ever had on a Zoom interview! I had to actually turn off the recording because David and I were having trouble "ending" the conversation - it was too much fun. Subscribe to Right Field Farm's newsletter here. Follow Right Field Farm on Instagram We have devoted the entire month of October to Member Appreciation Month, with something special scheduled every day to highlight our members, leaders and visionaries of the Slow Flowers Movement. In addition to joining me here on the podcast, I've hosted Instagram Live conversations and shared stories and other resources like our new Slow Flowers Video, as well as across our other many channels, including at Slow Flowers Journal and in our weekly email blasts. Last weekend, I took a moment to write "Future Flowers," an essay that reflects on what our members Have achieved and accomplished since we launched Slow Flowers in 2013 (and PS, that's year this Podcast began, too!). Here's an excerpt of what I wrote: Even though this question: “What does Slow Flowers mean, anyway?” is still asked, it’s being asked less often. With 98 million social media impressions for the hashtag #slowflowers in the past year alone, there is no denying the term is used around the globe. It is synonymous with the goals and practices outlined in our manifesto.As we approach 2022, my message to each of you is to dig deep into your own values and belief systems and ask yourself: What do I want to achieve through my floral enterprise? The idea of doing “better than” and doing good withour flowers is more important than ever. We’re seeing more of our members use their flowers as a vehicle for causes they support; using flowers to symbolize hope and humanity, while also building a business that offers a sustainablelivelihood to them, their families and their employees while at the same time improving farmland

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OURJHGtx7XA Thank you so much for joining us today! October is our celebration of our Slow Flowers members and one of my goals this month is to showcase and thank as many of our Premium Level members as possible, our top supporters. Today, we're visiting Eileen Tongson of FarmGal Flowers, coming to us from Orlando, Florida. As a farmer-florist, Eileen has experimented with a number of channels to market the flowers she grows, but she's honed in on two key portions of her business: teaching workshops and designing for events. Eileen Tongson withone of her signature Florida-grown bouquets When I asked her to join me during Membership Appreciation Month, Eileen suggested sharing a design demonstration during our interview. You'll enjoy meeting Eileen and learning about her robust workshop schedule -- offered all year long, season by season -- to satisfy customers eager for ways to connect with locally-grown flowers and to learn more about gardening. Eileen and I recorded this conversation and demo last week and I know hearing it and watching the video will get you thinking about harvest and holiday workshops that you can offer. Eileen in her home-based studio, featured in Where We Bloom Here's a bit more about Eileen before we get started, excerpted from her website: For as long as she can remember, Eileen has truly loved gardening. Her parents were avid gardeners and the family spent countless hours outdoors cultivating vegetables, fruit, and of course flowers. They taught Eileen to appreciate nature and all that it provides, and she is so thankful to them for the early introduction to what has become a lifelong passion.After all these years, she's still just as inspired by the natural beauty and cultivation of flowers. Eileen considers herself a city dweller, turned home-grown FarmGal.Life has taken her to the west coast and back, but her heart and my home have always been in the Sunshine State and the beautiful city of Orlando, Fl. It is where she has raised her family, and now with great enthusiasm that she gets to share her love for flower farming and floral design with her community.Eileen has studied floral design at numerous locations including Floret Flower Farm, the City College of San Francisco, and Flower School New York. She also completed the University of Florida IFAS Master Gardener Program in 2009. I continue to expand and refine my skills regularly through floral design and flower farming workshops across the country and as a member of Slow Flowers Society and the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers.Eileen's flowers and gardening expertise have been featured in Florists Review, Edible Orlando, Houzz.com, TravelChannel.com, The Monarch Initiative, Ocala Magazine, Orange Appeal magazine, Team Flower, Glam.com and most recently, in my two books, Slow Flowers Journal - Volume One and Where We Bloom. She was also included in Floret Farm's book, "Small Plot, Big Impact." Inside Eileen's efficient and compact studio, which opens onto her Orlando area garden FarmGal Flowers was also named Best Florist in Best of Winter Park 2019. Clients have included The Ford Motor Company, Williams-Sonoma Winter Park, the Orlando Magic, the Orlando Museum of Art, The Grove Winter Park, and Salata Winter Park.Eileen believes in locally and sustainably grown, seasonal flowers that support and beautify her community. And, if I am successful in creating a delightful bouquet or arrangement of freshly cut beauties for clients and local friends, then that makes me her HAPPY home-grown FarmGal! Slow Flowers Florida Botanical Couture Fashion Photo Shoot Thanks so much for joining me today!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nICvbZxTo2k I've just returned from a short trip to New York City and Brooklyn, one of the highlights of which included my spending two days in the lower Hudson Valley doing some pre-planning for the 2022 Slow Flowers Summit! Xenia D'Ambrosi and Debra Prinzing at Sweet Earth Co. Of course I spent time at our venue for 2022, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, in Pocantico Hills, New York . . . and I'll share much more about that in the coming weeks. But I also had a fantastic visit to Sweet Earth Co., located in Pound Ridge, just 20 miles away. Listeners of the Slow Flowers Podcast may recall that I hosted farmer-florist Xenia D'Ambrosi as a guest in January 2018, when she shared her story of recovering from cancer by moving away from corporate finance to a new life growing, designing and teaching around plants, flowers and wellness. Sweet Earth Co.'s herbal tea collection ~ a diversified product from the farm. Each of us has experienced our own version of a "pivot" due to the pandemic, and Xenia has done so herself. She's tightened her focus on the essential aspects of Sweet Earth Co. and taken some very intentional steps in marketing and content development to communicate to her customers. Sweet Earth Co. is described as a floral and garden design studio located on a sustainable flower farm. A glorious seasonal bouquet from Sweet Earth Co. Here's more about Xenia D'Ambrosi, excerpted from her website: Xenia is lead designer and farmer-florist at Sweet Earth Co. Most wouldn’t have imagined that a city girl like me would find her calling amidst flower fields and gardens, but I can't deny a history of generations of land stewardship & farming engrained in my DNA. Having my hands in the soil brought me healing and ignited my passion for sustainable gardening and horticulture. In 2012 I started Sweet Earth Co. which specializes in growing specialty cut flowers and herbs, and in garden and floral design and installations. After touring the growing grounds, I sat down with Xenia to continue our conversation, which we recorded in her studio. You can watch the video of that tour and interview above. Find and follow Sweet Earth Co. and subscribe to Xenia's newsletter here: Sweet Earth Co. on YouTube Sweet Earth Co. on Facebook Sweet Earth Co. on Instagram Sweet Earth Co. on Pinterest We are in the midst of October's Member Appreciation Month and I'm so pleased at all the great content we've been able to share with our community of members. If you aren't a member yet -- and why haven't you joined us? It's the perfect time to step up and commit. This month, all new members will receive our special Member Benefits Booklet with coupons, discounts and other perks from eight of our partners and sponsors -- the savings will more than cover your annual membership investment. All new members also receive our Slow Flowers Society collector's pin, made in the USA and featuring our teal and lime green logo. Plus, if you upgrade to or join at the Premium Level, you'll also receive the video bundle of all our Slow Flowers Summit 2022 speaker videos, valued at $129. Interested in learning more? Head to slowflowerssociety.com and click our "Become a Member" Button Before we wrap up, I want to draw your attention to another incredible free and timely resource -- an extensive report that we just produced for the October Johnny's Seeds' Advantage Newsletter. The article is called Collective Selling Models for Flower Farmers. As you have heard many times on this Podcast, it's no wonder that over the past 10 years interest in collectives, cooperatives and co-marketing models is definitely on the rise. This change runs parallel to the general explosion of new flower farmers and increased demand among florists for local and seasonal product. But there is no one-size-fits-all template, which has been frustrating for some startup groups. Our article for Johnny's reviews three popular options for creating a regional wholesale flower hub, including Legal Cooperative; Multi-Owner LLC; and For-Profit Wholesale Business.I spoke withseveral Slow Flowers members who have formed regional marketing hubs to learn about the appeal of each model. Thank you to Slow Flowers members Diane Szukovathy of the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market; Martha Lojewski of Alaska Peony Cooperative; Melissa Webster and Megan Wakefield of Old Dominion Flower Cooperative; Christine Hoffman of Twin Cities Flower Exchange and nationally-recognized expert in shared ownership strategies Margaret Lund. Thank you to our Sponsors! This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 880 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers. Thank

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FlSd-SPH8I I have a great interview to share with you today -- and it includes a virtual visit to Bitterroot Flower Shop in Missoula, Montana, where I caught up with owner Lindsay Irwin. Local flowers "Designer's Choice" I first met Lindsay through fellow Slow Flowers members Carly Jenkins and Jamie Rogers of Killing Frost Farm. and their wholesale venture Farm to Florist Montana. They consider Bitterroot Flower Shop one of the top customers for their fresh, seasonal and local Montana-grown flowers. It's a family business! Lindsay Irwin (left) with Nancy Larson, her business partner and Mom Over the years, on a few different visits to Montana, I've come to know Lindsay. She is active in the Montana Florists Association, having served as president in the recent past. A few years ago, I was invited to speak at the MFA annual conference and we were hosted at Lindsay's shop, Bitterroot, a sizeable retail and production space located at a strategic intersection in downtown Missoula. I was so impressed by the many conversations I had with florists across the state . . . including Lindsay, who are pursuing new sourcing models with local flower farmers. Bitterroot Market circa 1952 Last summer, Killing Frost Farm reached out and asked if they could buy a gift membership in Slow Flowers Society for Lindsay -- as a thank you for her support of their farm and their flowers. I was so touched by that creative way a flower farm connected on a deeper level with a key customer -- and it's a great client gift idea for other flower farmers to consider! Bitterroot Flowers for a beautiful Montana wedding (c) Elizabeth & Samuel Bitterroot Flowers for a beautiful Montana wedding (c) Elizabeth & Samuel That gesture brought Lindsey and me together, too. When I was in Missoula earlier this month, she and I recorded an audio conversation, which you'll hear today. We also recently recorded a virtual design demonstration, which appears at the top of this post. The flowers she used are all Montana-grown, along with beautiful fruiting raspberry branches from Killing Frost Farm and some California eucalyptus. Let's jump right in and meet Lindsey Irwin of Bitterroot Flower Shop in Missoula, Montana. Follow Bitterroot Flower Shop on Facebook Find Bitterroot Flower Shop on Instagram Bonus: Listen to my 2020 interview (Episode 473) with Jamie Rogers about how Killing Frost Farm is getting more Montana-grown flowers into the hands of Montana florists! Thanks so much for joining me today! As October gets underway, this is the first podcast episode of the month featuring visits that highlight our members and the ways they share the Slow Flowers Message with their customers and marketplace. Join me, each Wednesday, for a new live-stream video interview on YouTube and our Facebook page, and here on the Slow Flowers Podcast for the audio conversation. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel Connect with Slow Flowers Society for our Facebook Live Content Sarah Reyes of Wildflower & Fern (left) and Toni Reale (right) of Roadside Blooms As I mentioned last week, October is Slow Flowers Member Appreciation Month! We have lots planned each day of this month to connect with you and others in our community. This Friday, be sure to join our Member Virtual Meet-Up -- and hear from two members, retail florists who will share their marketing and branding tips to leverage the Slow Flowers message to their customers. We've invited Sarah Reyes of Wildflower & Fern based in Oakland, Calif., and Toni Reale of Roadside Blooms, based in North Charleston, S.C., to discuss some of the ways they have successfully developed Slow Flowers' messaging, marketing & PR, and consumer education programs that underscore their values about sourcing and sustainability.Bring your questions!! Here is the LINK to pre-register -- and we'd love to see you this Friday, October 8th in the zoom room at 9 am pacific.noon eastern. Thank you to our Sponsors! This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 880 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers. Thank you to our lead sponsor for 2021, Farmgirl Flowers. Farmgirl Flowers delivers iconic burlap-wrapped bouquets and lush, abundant arrangements to customers across the U.S., supporting more than 20 U.S. flower farms by purchasing more than $9 million dollars of U.S.-grown fresh and seasonal flowers and foliage annually. Discover more at farmgirlflowers.com. Rooted Farmers works exclusively with local growers to put the highest-quality specialty cut flowers in floral customers' hands. When you partner with Rooted Farmers, you are investing in your community, and you can expect a commitment to excellence in return. Learn more at RootedFarmers.com. Johnny&#

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPyvi6pwqro You may have met today's guest as the owner and design director of Floressence, an event floral design studio focused mainly on weddings . . . over the years, thousands of weddings! In 2020, Anne Bradfield followed her dream to become a full-service floral studio, providing deliveries for daily floral needs, subscriptions, as well as wedding and event florals. In the spring of 2021, Anne officially made the leap and rebranded as Analog Floral. Anne Bradfield from Analog Floral, teaching wedding design with locally-grown flowers at Seattle Wholesale Growers Market (c) Missy Palacol Photography Analog Floral is home to artfully irregular floral design committed to sustainability, environmentally friendly practices, and connecting people through the joy of flowers. Anne is one of the very first florists I met on the sales floor of the brand new Seattle Wholesale Growers Market in 2011 and she has been a huge supporter -- and member of the Slow Flowers Movement, committed to sourcing flowers from local flower farms whenever possible. I visited Anne recently in her Seattle studio, located in a warehouse district next to the train tracks (you might hear train noise in the background!) and I filmed her designing an arrangement using a bucket of blooms I brought from my garden. Some of the recent seasonal "Designer's Choice" everyday arrangements from Analog Floral I forgot to mention that you can also find a link to my first Podcast interview with Anne Bradfield from Episode 236 -- I can't believe it's from 2016 -- wow! You'll love learning more about Anne's path to flowers. I captured a little video showing Anne's photography setup in her studio. Notice the retractable shade that serves as an always-clean backdrop! Bridal Bouquet by Anne Bradfield (c) Missy Palacol Photography Find Analog Floral on Facebook Discover Analog Floral on Instagram Bonus: Flower Farming School Online with Lisa Ziegler Here's a bonus conversation with Lisa Ziegler of The Gardener's Workshop, a Slow Flowers Sponsor. I spoke with Lisa recently about her upcoming course: Flower Farming School Online -- registration opens on Oct 1st -- so you'll want to stay with me to hear an update from Lisa. We're almost to October and I want to give you a head's up that We're almost to October -- that's when we kick off our 2021 Slow Flowers Member Appreciation Month!Every day during October, we'll be thanking YOU, our members, and highlighting their stories. Yep, 31 days of Slow Flowers and we promise lots of surprises, perks and fun conversations with our community. Keep an eye out for our Slow Flowers Society Newsletter on October 1st and watch our social media channels on Friday, October 1st — where we'll share the Full Schedule of Daily Events during October — stay tuned! Thank you to our Sponsors This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 880 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers. Thank you to our lead sponsor for 2021, Farmgirl Flowers. Farmgirl Flowers delivers iconic burlap-wrapped bouquets and lush, abundant arrangements to customers across the U.S., supporting more than 20 U.S. flower farms by purchasing more than $9 million dollars of U.S.-grown fresh and seasonal flowers and foliage annually. Discover more at farmgirlflowers.com. Thanks also to Red Twig Farms. Based in Johnstown, Ohio, Red Twig is a family-owned farm specializing in peonies, daffodils, tulips and branches, a popular peony-bouquet-by-mail program and their Spread the Hope Campaign where customers purchase 10 tulip stems for essential workers and others in their community. Learn more at redtwigfarms.com. Thanks to Seattle Wholesale Growers Market, a farmer-owned cooperative committed to providing the very best the Pacific Northwest has to offer in cut flowers, foliage and plants. The Growers Market’s mission is to foster a vibrant marketplace that sustains local flower farms and provides top-quality products and service to the local floral industry. Visit them at seattlewholesalegrowersmarket.com. Thanks to Longfield Gardens, which provides home gardeners with high quality flower bulbs and perennials. Their online store offers plants for every region and every season, from tulips and daffodils to dahlias, caladiums and amaryllis. Check out the full catalog at Longfield Gardens at longfield-gardens.com. Thanks so much for joining us today! The Slow Flowers Podcast has been downloaded more than 770,000 times by listeners like you. Thank you for listening, commenting and sharing – it means so much. As our movement gains more supporters and more passionate participants who believe in the importance of our domestic cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious.

https://youtu.be/UKxyY99TUk8 I have a very special treat for you. Earlier this month, I traveled to Missoula, Montana, where I gave the opening presentation to the Montana Cut Flower Workshop. The conference planners asked me to share a national overview of the insights and forecast for the Slow Flowers Movement, including flower farming and floral design trends. Julio Freitas of The Flower Hat Immediately following my presentation was Julio Freitas, a longtime Slow Flowers member and owner of The Flower Hat, based in Bozeman. Julio originally entered the floral world as the designer of phenomenal weddings and events, but that pat led him to flower farming. He shared the how and why that happened in his lecture, which he graciously permitted me to record to feature today. Meet Julio Freitas, The Flower Hat -- a Bozeman, Montana-based florist-farmer putting his distinct style on the map. The Flower Hat is a floral design studio and flower farm located in Bozeman, MT. In Julio's very short season, he grows thousands and thousands of beautiful flowers for use in dozens of weddings throughout Spring, Summer and Fall. The farming side of his business originated on a 1,800 sq ft parcel when Julio couldn't get his hands on the quality of botanicals he needed for design work. Over the years, that growing space expanded to 1/4 acre, including leased land, to accommodate The Flower Hat's demand for more flowers. Today, The Flower Hat occupies five acres in Bozeman, Montanta. I'm excited for you to hear from Julio about his approach to selling flowers to fellow florists. I know it will be beneficial. If you're a florist, you'll learn a thing or two about how to source from local flower farmers; and if you're a grower, the tips Julio shares are priceless. A seasonal bouquet by Julio Freitas Below you will links to Julio's social places. Visit his website to sign up for his newsletter, which means you'll be the first to learn about the fall bulb sale that starts in just a few weeks on October 15th, and get advance details on Julio's 2022 workshop series. Check out "Montana Mentor," my feature about The Flower Hat workshops that appeared in the January 2020 issue of Slow Flowers Journal for Florists' Review (link below). TheFlowerHatWorkshopDownload Follow The Flower Hat on Instagram Find The Flower Hat on Facebook BLOOM Imprint New Releases: Pre-Orders Open Just a little news to share with you about BLOOM Imprint, our book publishing division of Slow Flowers. We have just posted pre-ordering for two new books, out later this year. Pre-orders are open for A Life in Flowers, by Holly Heider Chapple, which will be released at the end of October. Be inspired by Holly's story and learn all about her floral design aesthetic, her innovations, her mentorship and community building, and Hope Flower Farm in Virginia, where she has established a center for floral education.You also can pre-order Felicia Alvarez's new book on growing garden roses for the floral design, called Growing Wonder, based on her experience as a rose farmer and educator. This is the only rose book developed with our Slow Flowers Community in mind -- because it is focused on rose selection, cultivation, harvest, post-harvest care and crop management for cutting gardens and flower farms. This book will be released in January. And if you're over at bloomimprint.com, you can also order my signed copies of our first book, Where We Bloom, perfect for the gardener and flower lover in your life. Thank you to our Sponsors This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 880 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers. Thank you to our lead sponsor for 2021, Farmgirl Flowers. Farmgirl Flowers delivers iconic burlap-wrapped bouquets and lush, abundant arrangements to customers across the U.S., supporting more than 20 U.S. flower farms by purchasing more than $9 million dollars of U.S.-grown fresh and seasonal flowers and foliage annually. Discover more at farmgirlflowers.com. Roadie, an on-demand delivery company offering affordable same-day and scheduled delivery. With a network of friendly, local drivers who handle each delivery with care, and one-on-one support from a designated account manager, Roadie guarantees a smooth and reliable delivery experience--from pickup to delivery. Sign up for your first delivery at Roadie.com/slowflowers and use promo code slowflowers--that’s one word--to get five dollars off. Flowerfarm.com, a leading wholesale flower distributor that sources from carefully-selected flower farms to offer high-performing fresh flowers sent directly from the farm straight to you. Find flowers and foliage from California, Florida, Oregon and Washington by using the "Origin" selection tool

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6znwoR7IIU I'm excited to share Part Two of my visit to Vashon Island and introduce you to Halee Dams of Marmol Farm. Halee describes herself as a small-scale grower who uses organic and earth-friendly practices. Marmol Farm's Hallee Dams with her flowers She has a farm stand and a flower truck and she supplies private customers and Island shoppers through a retail partner on Vashon Island. The name Marmol Farm comes from Halee's great-grandparents Agnes and Martin Marmol. They were dairy farmers in Canada (where she's from) and she likes to think they’re the inspiration for her love of farming. My visit to Marmol Farm, where Halee Dams and her son Russell welcomed me on a recent September morning Halee is also a mother to two-year-old Russell and a palliative care social worker. She's balancing quite a lot and I know many of you can relate to the demands of trying to do it all well. I found Halee's attitude refreshing as we discussed the so-called work-life balance (does that really exist?). Anyone who's flower farming as a side hustle or while also raising children will definitely related to her story! The tiny flower farmstand at Marmol Farm in the Dockton community on Vashon Island Rosie, the flower truck, which will soon appear at flower pop-ups with Halee -- both on Vashon Island and in the greater Seattle area Last week I visited Vashon Island, Washington and featured Part One of my two-part series about island flower farming with Alyssa O'Sullivan of Sweet Alyssum Farm. You can check out that episode here. Dried flowers, grown and preserved by Halee for a wedding she recently designed The wedding -- Halee's first! Designed for friends who wed in Stehekin, a remote community in Central Washington reached only by a ferry boat Here's more about Halee: By training, she is a social worker whose career has mostly been involved in hospice and inpatient palliative medicine. These days, she combines social work with parenting a 2-year-old-son. Halee believes in local, sustainable flowers and is proudly floral-foam free. she is a member of Slow Flowers, and tries to grow her flowers in a way that is regenerative to the earth. Marmol Farm is a certified wildlife habitat and Halee is an ambassador of the Growing Kindness Project. Follow Marmol Farm on Instagram Sign up for the Marmol Farm newsletter here Thank you so much for joining us today. I'd love to hear from you about the addition of video interviews to the Slow Flowers Podcast. My visit to meet Halee Dam on her farm is the eighth video "Vodcast" and I've learned a lot about how to produce, record and share content with you in a new way! But I'm eager for feedback, so please post a comment in the show notes or shoot me an email at [email protected]. I hope to hear from you! Channel Your Inner Fashionista I want to remind you that it's time to apply to create a botanical couture look for American Flowers Week 2022! Slow Flowers will Commission at least FIVE Floral Couture Looks for our 2022 American Flowers Week Collection. We’re soliciting proposals from farmer-florist creative teams for this campaign. Those submitting must be active Slow Flowers members. Consideration will be made for specific new regions and botanical elements not previously featured. We have special focus on inclusion and representation! The selected Botanical Couture fashions will be published in our 2022 Summer Issue of Slow Flowers Journal. For the 2022 Application, you will be asked to submit a Mood Board or Pinterest Board to express your concept. You will also be asked to write a description of your construction methods and mechanics to be used. This is all to ensure that you will be able to execute the design for photography and publication. Please reach out to [email protected] with any questions. As a bonus, we recorded a webinar earlier this year with tips and techniques shared by past American Flowers Week creative teams. I'll share the webinar link for you to watch --you can find it in today's show notes, too! Can't wait to see the floral fashions that we'll publish in 2022! Thank you to our Sponsors! This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 880 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers. Thank you to our lead sponsor for 2021, Farmgirl Flowers. Farmgirl Flowers delivers iconic burlap-wrapped bouquets and lush, abundant arrangements to customers across the U.S., supporting more than 20 U.S. flower farms by purchasing more than $9 million dollars of U.S.-grown fresh and seasonal flowers and foliage annually. Discover more at farmgirlflowers.com. More thanks goes to:Johnny's Selected Seeds, an employee-owned company that provides our industry the b

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXTA76tCFPE Last week I took a short ferry ride from the mainland - from Tacoma's Pt. Defiance - to Vashon Island, Washington, a beautiful, evergreen place with deep agricultural roots and people who love both living among nature and having relatively quick access to the urban settings of Seattle and Tacoma. I actually look at Vashon Island everyday from my upstairs office window -- across Puget Sound to the west. I don't get there often enough, but before summer came to an end, I wanted to schedule an afternoon visiting two Vashon Island-based Slow Flowers members on their flower farms. Alyssa O'Sullvan of Sweet Alyssum Farm on Vashon Island, Washington (c) Rylea Foehl @familieswhofarm And so, today you'll enjoy Vashon Island Flowers, Part One, my visit to meet Alyssa O'Sullivan of Sweet Alyssum Farm, and next week, I'll introduce you to island flower grower Halee Dams of Marmol Farms during Part Two. Alyssa in the sunflower field (c) Rylea Foehl, @familieswhofarm Meeting them and enjoying a glorious change of scenery, not to mention personal field tours, inspiring conversations and 2 ferry rides, was just the thing I needed to re-center my mind and remind me about why I care so much about nurturing and supporting the Slow Flowers Movement and its members through content like you'll enjoy today. Recent floral bouquets from Sweet Alyssum Farm Alyssa is the owner and founder of Sweet Alyssum Farm, which grows specialty cut flowers to nurture creativity within the local floral community on Vashon Island and beyond. Her focus on sustainability nurtures the earth, animals and people these flowers touch along the way. U-Pick flowers at Sweet Alyssum Farm As a small, creatively-run farm, Sweet Alyssum shares flowers through several outlet, including: Market bouquets at local farmers markets flowers for weddings and eventsbouquets for several local food CSAsand special order arrangements A prolific harvest at Sweet Alyssum Farm I know you'll enjoy our conversation as Alyssa describes the many ways she and her partner are creating multiple income channels to sustain their livelihoods on their beautiful property. Here is a link to Alyssa's essay "Why Flowers," which she wrote last year for Slow Flowers Journal online Imagine!! Camping at Sweet Alyssum Farm Thank you so much for joining us today. Did you catch the details about on-farm camping at Sweet Alyssum Farm? Right now, for $35/night, two guests can settle into a spot there on Vashon Island. Alyssa books campers through a website called Hipcamp.com. I checked out her listing, which sounds just like the farm looks: Sweet Alyssum is located on 12 acres of sloping fields set against a tall, forested backdrop, and only a 5 minute walk from restaurants, shopping, bars and groceries. Level campsites are spaced around the property, each with a fire pit and picnic table. There is a communal central deck for campers' use, with a water spigot, power outlet and sink, plus a propane stove and some cooking utensils. While the working farm fields are not open to campers, the flowers serve as a terrific backdrop. And, there's always the You-Pick flower patch and farm stand at the entrance of the property, open for shopping, picture-taking and flower-picking seasonally. Tempted? Click here to book your camping trip soon! Meet Rebecca Raymond, EMC, of Rebecca Raymond Floral (left) and Gina Thresher, AIFD, EMC, of From the Ground Up Floral (right) Please join us this Friday, September 10th, when we resume our monthly Virtual Slow Flowers Member Meet-Ups, after a summer vacation. The time is 9 am Pacific/Noon Eastern, as we welcome Rebecca Raymond, EMC, of Rebecca Raymond Floral and Gina Thresher, AIFD, EMC, of From the Ground Up Floral who will share tips for planning and executing a successful Styled Shoot! They will give attendees an inside peek at their new webinar, The Ins and Outs of Styled Shoots, which covers best practices for the entire Creative Process of producing a collaborative Styled Shoot. Bonus: Gina and Rebecca are extending a $100 off discount to Slow Flowers members who sign up via this course link and they will also share a few other surprises!Follow this link to pre-register for the session. You can always find the link in our Instagram profile at slowflowerssociety, as well. And PS, we know this is a busy holiday week, with lots of weddings and also Rosh Hoshanah! So rest assured, you will be able to find the replay video of our Meet-Up on YouTube later in the month. Thank you to our Sponsors! Thank you to our lead sponsor for 2021, Farmgirl Flowers. Farmgirl Flowers delivers iconic burlap-wrapped bouquets and lush, abundant arrangements to customers across the U.S., supporting more than 20 U.S. flower farms by purchasing more than $9 million dollars of U.S.-grown fresh and seasonal flowers and foliage annually. Discover more at farmgirlflowers.com. Seattle Who

I'm so excited to introduce today's guest, Vanessa Vancuren of Pop's Flowers, based in Edgewood, Washington. Click below to watch the farm tour and interview, recorded on August 23, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tef_MdZkZ9c Dahlias of the season (left) and flower farmer Vanessa Vancuren of Pop's Flowers Sunflowers frame the view of the log house at Pop's Flowers I visited Vanessa last week to record a video tour of her flower farm, which is based on a two-acre parcel complete with a solid log cabin. Here's the delightful surprise -- she is literally 12 miles from my suburban home (we're both situated between Seattle and Tacoma) and visiting Pop's Flowers truly feels like a trip to the country. What an incredible find -- and you'll love seeing what Vanessa and her husband Garrett Burns have created in just two seasons. The Saturday Flower Stand at Pop's Flowers (left) and Vanessa Vancuren (right) I sat down with Vanessa to talk about her business, which she describes as in its young-teenager phase! It's a great conversation. Before we get to that, here's some background on Pop's Flowers. Garrett and Vanessa (c) Angie Arms Photography Vanessa is an old soul, a millennial, a floral entrepreneur and an artist with a background in photography. Her partner Garrett is naturally curious, has a humanitarian heart and a car enthusiast, who is also now an accidental flower farmer. The Pop of Pop's Flowers is CP aka Clarence Paul Reardon, Vanessa's 94-year-old grandfather, and inspiration for this business. Pops is a widowed WWII Veteran, an avid gardener and homesteader and a retired cabinetmaker/woodworker. Vanessa with Pop, the flower farm's namesake and inspiration (right) In 2017, Pops gave his garden to Vanessa and she began to grow flowers and sell them in a hyper-local channel - their local Facebook community in the Edgewood, Milton, and Fife, Washington, located between Seattle and Tacoma. From 2017 to 2019, all the flower proceeds went to Pop, helping him with household costs and home repairs. In 2020, Vanessa and Garrett found their own modern homestead, not too far from Pop's house. And you'll hear the rest of the story as we meet Vanessa. Thank you so much for joining us today! You're hearing this episode on September 1st and this is the day that Pop's Flowers opens their new online store, designed to make shopping for local flowers in the South Puget Sound region just as convenient as ordering from a traditional florist. As Vanessa explained, working with Anna Krumpos, a new member of the team who will serve as designer, Pop's flowers will be transformed into arrangements for everyday orders for delivery on Thursdays or Saturdays, featuring 100% local and American-grown flowers, including those grown at Pop's Flowers. I'll share all the links for you to check it out and follow along on Vanessa and Garrett's beautiful journey. Join Pop's Flowers on Facebook Follow Pop's Flowers on Instagram Watch Pop's Flowers on YouTube Slow Flowers News As I mentioned, it's September -- how did that happen so quickly! I want to share a few opportunities for you to connect with me and the Slow Flowers Society. First, I'm heading off right after Labor Day to Missoula, Montana, where I will speak at the Montana Cut Flower Conference on Wednesday, September 8. I'll be sharing insights on the cultural, consumer and marketplace shifts in the U.S. floral industry, and I'm excited to reconnect with some of my favorite flower friends, including our members who will also be speaking -- including Julio Freitas of The Flower Hat and Lindsay Irwin of Bitterroot Flowers. You'll hear more, I'm sure, because the recorder and video camera are traveling with me. On Friday, September 10th, we'll be resuming our Virtual Slow Flowers Member Meet-Ups, after a summer vacation. Designed as a member forum for connecting with one another in the early days of the Pandemic (remember then? back in April and May 2020?) the Meet-Up has evolved into a way for Slow Flowers members to share their knowledge and learn from one another. Our September guests will be focused on the why, what, how and art of Styled Shoots. Click here to pre-register. See you there! Thank you to our Sponsors This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 880 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers. Thank you to our lead sponsor for 2021, Farmgirl Flowers. Farmgirl Flowers delivers iconic burlap-wrapped bouquets and lush, abundant arrangements to customers across the U.S., supporting more than 20 U.S. flower farms by purchasing more than $9 million dollars of U.S.-grown fresh and seasonal flowers and foliage annually. Disco

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vr35HgXyJE Today, we visit the gardens and workshop of longtime Slow Flowers member Kris Bennett of KRISanthemums, a full-service floral design studio that is situated at Bennett Botanical Gardens, Kris's five-acre garden and wedding venue in Eastern Oregon. I've finally placed Hermiston on the map -- it's close to Walla Walla, Washington and Pendleton Oregon -- a beautiful place in the Pacific Northwest. We're going to enjoy a video tour of Bennett Botanical Gardens that Kris recorded for us yesterday, and then meet Kris in her design studio to see her create an arrangement while we talk. Kris Bennett of KRISanthemums Having been raised among tulips, daffodils and dahlias in Washington, Kris learned at a young age the beauty of flowers. In high school, she interned in a local flower shop; then she moved east to study at WSU, married and eventually settled a bit south to Eastern Oregon. Her floral journey includes studying with top designers including Paula Pryke, Ariella Chezar, Max Gill, David Beahm, Amy Osaba, Alicia Swede, Francoise Weeks, Holly Chapple and others. Bennett Botanical Garden, a private garden and wedding venue KRISanthemum's 750 sq. ft. studio is located within walking distance of Kris's home and beautiful landscape. She likes to say, "When I need encouragement or inspiration I can walk outside the studio doors and harvest branches, blooms or enter the greenhouse to see what's in bloom." Two bouquets designed by Kris Bennett of KRISanthemums The Sunflower and Apple Bouquet, which Kris designed for us during the interview A bonus for our podcast listeners. In celebration of our Slow Flowers Podcasts 8th anniversary, we launched our new, live-stream video format -- calling it the Slow Flowers Show -- with the goal of sharing the faces and voices of our members, as well as tours of their farms, their shops and their studios -- and most of all, their flowers. Last Wednesday, August 18th, I hosted Kris on our video platform. You can find the replay of that conversation in today's show notes. You'll want to check it out because we included a 9-minute video tour that Kris recorded -- to introduce us to Bennett Botanical Gardens. For anyone who's interested in creating a wedding and event component to their farm or property, you'll be impressed by what Kris and her husband have developed! Two wedding bouquets, designed by Kris Bennett; left @westernweddingmagazine; right @donnailinphoto Thank you so much for joining me! Kris designed a beautiful arrangement during our video interview, and you can see her process during the video. Check out photos of the finished design, along with a gallery of other KRISanthemums designs. Find and follow Kris Bennett of KRISanthemums:KRISanthemums on FacebookKRISanthemums on InstagramKRISanthemums on Pinterest Thank you to our Sponsors This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 880 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers. Thank you to our lead sponsor for 2021, Farmgirl Flowers. Farmgirl Flowers delivers iconic burlap-wrapped bouquets and lush, abundant arrangements to customers across the U.S., supporting more than 20 U.S. flower farms by purchasing more than $9 million dollars of U.S.-grown fresh and seasonal flowers and foliage annually. Discover more at farmgirlflowers.com. Mayesh Wholesale Florist. Family-owned since 1978, Mayesh is the premier wedding and event supplier in the U.S. and we're thrilled to partner with Mayesh to promote local and domestic flowers, which they source from farms large and small around the U.S. Learn more at mayesh.com. The Gardener's Workshop, which offers a full curriculum of online education for flower farmers and farmer-florists. Online education is more important this year than ever, and you'll want to check out the course offerings at thegardenersworkshop.com Roadie, an on-demand delivery company offering affordable same-day and scheduled delivery. With a network of friendly, local drivers who handle each delivery with care, and one-on-one support from a designated account manager, Roadie guarantees a smooth and reliable delivery experience--from pickup to delivery. And with no contract commitment, you only pay for what you need, when you need it. Sign up for your first delivery at Roadie.com/slowflowers and use promo code slowflowers--that’s one word--to get five dollars off. Thanks so much for joining us today! The Slow Flowers Podcast has been downloaded more than 758,000 times by listeners like you. Thank you for listening, commenting and sharing – it means so much. As our movement gains more supporters and more passionate participants who believe in the importance of our domestic cut flower industry, the momentum is contagio

Today, I'm thrilled to introduce Françoise Weeks and Sid Anna Sherwood. In celebration of our Slow Flowers Podcasts 8th anniversary, we launched our new, live-stream video format -- calling it the Slow Flowers Show -- with the goal of sharing the faces and voices of our members, as well as tours of their farms, their shops and their studios -- and most of all, their flowers. In addition to finding the show notes for this episode at debraprinzing.com, you can watch the replay of our video interview, including some special floral design ideas and a show-and-tell of just-harvested blooms from our guests' studio and farm. https://youtu.be/cCWKeXOFEGk Listen or Watch the conversation Françoise Weeks is a past guest of the Slow Flowers Podcast on a few occasions. She is known for teaching botanical couture around the world. Today, we'll discuss one of her dreams -- to teach a workshop combined with students picking their own design ingredients at a flower farm and collecting woodland materials in a forest. Sid Anna Sherwood of Annie's Flower Farm in Sequim, Washington And thanks to the imagination of farmer-florist Sid Anna Sherwood, owner of Annie's Flower Farm in Sequim, Washington on the Olympic Peninsula, that dream will be a reality later this month. Long-time Slow Flowers member Sid Anna is a nature-inspired flower farmer and florist who creates beautiful and lush arrangements with the flowers she grows. Through Sweet Annie's Floral Design, she offers wedding florals, sells DIY wedding flowers and supplies hand-tied market bouquets to CSA customers and to local neighborhood grocery outlets. Sid Anna grows more than 300 varieties of cut flowers using organic and sustainable methods. Inspiring florist and floral educator Francoise Weeks (c) Jamie Bosworth photograph Françoise Weeks, a floral design icon, was born in Belgium and started her business in 1996. She has infused her work with a quintessential European reverence for flowers and nature. Combined with creativity and mechanical ingenuity, she has crystalized her singular style of Textural Woodlands and Botanical Haute Couture pieces, garnering a global following. Françoise Weeks, featured in Jennifer Jewell's beautiful book: The Earth in Her Hands Françoise’s studio is located in Portland, Oregon. Her innovation and love of teaching have brought her to many cities in the US in studios, at wholesalers, at garden clubs, Art in Bloom events and conferences, including at AIFD Symposium. She also taught in Mexico, Canada, England, Sweden, Iceland, France, China and Australia. In 2019 she was invited to participate at two international flower events in Belgium: Flower Time at city hall in Brussels and Fleuramour at the medieval castle in Alden Biesen. Her dynamic work has been published in national and international publications such as Nacre, Fusion Flowers, Modern Wedding Flowers, Huffington Post, Flutter and Millieu. Françoise teaches and offers online courses, including Zoom workshops. And she is the author of “The Herbal Recipe Keeper” published by Timber Press in 2018. The two women have teamed up to offer a Françoise Weeks Botanical Couture and Woodland Workshop, a four-day floral retreat taking place August 22-26 in the historic town of Port Townsend, Washington. Students will stay at the 416-acre Fort Worden in an restored residence, with meals and lodging, as well as all materials and instruction included in the workshop price. The beach of the Salish Sea is steps away and hiking trails are nearby. Françoise will cover botanical headpieces, purses and jewelry, as well as woodland design centerpieces. A model and a photographer will capture each student's work for use in their portfolio. Last week, we scheduled and recorded a 3-way call to visit and talk with both Francoise and Sid Anna. Both have some lovely show-and-tell to share, as they discuss their creative practices and inspire us with botanical couture and woodland designs, as well as just-picked seasonal flowers. Thank you so much for joining our conversation. As Sid Anna mentioned there are a few more spaces for students needing lodging and day students who might want to attend from close by. And I'm excited to see what happens when a flower farmer and floral designer collaborate. This approach is truly the heart of the Slow Flowers Movement and Sid Anna and Françoise are modeling a creative partnership that each of us should emulate. Bonus Content for You If you're looking for some inspiring summer reading material, I have a few things to share -- free to you -- and you can find the links below. Floral details at the Slow Flowers Summit (c) Jenny M. Diaz First up, you'll want to read "Flowering Filoli," just published in the Slow Flowers Journal online -- a room-by-room tour of the Slow Flowers Summit floral takeover at Filoli's historic house. With detailed photography by Missy Palacol and Jenny M. Diaz, you'll re

Today's guest: Kiara Hancock of K. Hancock Events In celebration of our Slow Flowers Podcast's 8th anniversary, we launched our new, live-stream video format -- calling it the Slow Flowers Show -- with the goal of sharing the faces and voices of our members, as well as tours of their farms, their shops and their studios -- and most of all, their flowers https://youtu.be/UytU9c7Yq9o Today, you're in for a real treat as we will meet Kiara Hancock of K. Hancock Events, who joined me last week to record this conversation. Kiara is based in Tacoma's University Place and she is a floral educator and wedding and event florist. Kiara Hancock on HBO's Full Bloom Season 2 If, like me, you have just binged on the floral series of the summer, HBO's Full Bloom, you already know Kiara, who was one of 10 budding floral artists who are put to the test each episode in both individual and team challenges. Floral experts Simon Lycett, Elizabeth Cronin and Maurice Harris serve as hosts and judges determining who gets cut and who remains in the running for the $100,000 grand prize. HBO Max released the series on June 10th. Kiara's Episode One winning floral arrangement Kiara Hancock (second from right) in Full Bloom - Season 2 I reached out to Kiara and asked her to share her story, her experience as a reality TV competitor, and to design for us on camera. She writes this on her website: "I'm a wife, mother to two awesome girls, a wedding designer, floral designer, and day-of coordinator. I believe that modern and romantic designs can coexist in harmony and I aim to bring weddings to life in a way that resonates JOY." Kiara' forte is incorporating passionate and confident designs that seamlessly integrate each couple's personalities, both as individuals and jointly. Kiara is a pro at the logistics portion of planning, thanks to her background as an administrative professional at some of the Northwest’s most successful companies. Her passion for events stems from not only wanting to make sure that each of her clients' wedding day runs smoothly and that she deliver something beautiful to the eye, while ensuring the couple feels heard, understood, and seen. Kiara is a huge advocate of authenticity and she encourages, supports and guides her clients to be true to who they are, fight for the things they want, dream big, and to trust their gut. She adds: "I will never get tired of seeing my designs become part of the tapestry of your wedding day...it does my heart serious good." If you haven't fallen in love with Kiara's favorite color palette -- yellow in all shades, I'd be surprised! We also welcome Kiara Hancock as a new member of the slow flowers society. She's one to follow, and we admire all that she's doing to nurture inclusion and representation through her Decency is not Difficult campaign to support ourcommoncause.com. More news . . . I know it's August and that our celebration of 2021 American Flowers Week has passed for this year (the dates were June 28-July 4th), but you'll want to check out the our new article that appears in Growing For Market's August issue. Thanks to editor and publisher Andrew Mefferd, who asked me to recap some of the amazing activities that our members produced for American Flowers Week. American-Flowers-Week-in-August-2021-Growing-for-Market-MagazineDownload Last month, we also jumped in and celebrated the 2021 Canadian Flowers Week (July 15-22), thanks to the support of creator Natasa Kajganic of the Toronto Flower Market who invited Becky Feasby of Prairie Girl Flowers and me to do an IG takeover. During the entire week, we virtually traveled across Canada, meeting florists and flower farmers in seven provinces for IG Live conversations about their floral enterprises. Click here to watch those interviews And thank you to each of our guests: Thank you to our Sponsors This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 880 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers. Special thanks to our lead sponsor for 2021, Farmgirl Flowers. Farmgirl Flowers delivers iconic burlap-wrapped bouquets and lush, abundant arrangements to customers across the U.S., supporting more than 20 U.S. flower farms by purchasing more than $9 million dollars of U.S.-grown fresh and seasonal flowers and foliage annually. Discover more at farmgirlflowers.com. More thanks goes to Red Twig Farms. Based in Johnstown, Ohio, Red Twig Farms is a family-owned farm specializing in peonies, daffodils, tulips and branches, a popular peony-bouquet-by-mail program and their Spread the Hope Campaign where customers purchase 10 tulip stems for essential workers and others in their community. Learn more at redtwigfarms.com. Association of Specialty Cut Flowe

In celebration of the Slow Flowers Show's 8th anniversary, we launched our new, live-stream video format on July 21st with the goal of sharing the faces and voices of our members, as well as tours of their farms, their shops and their studios -- and most of all, their flowers. The video edition of today's episode aired as the Slow Flowers Show on Wednesday, July 28th, simultaneously broadcast to both YouTube and Facebook Live. See the replay below: https://youtu.be/ENPWfen8H4c Deanna Kitchen on the Slow Flowers Show Today's guest is Deanna Kitchen, flower farmer based in Mt. Vernon, in the Skagit Valley north of Seattle, Washington, where so much great agriculture, especially floral agriculture, is rooted. Deanna and her family grow flowers, livestock and three sons at Twig & Vine Farm, a 10-acre micro-farm with just under 1/4-acres cultivated. As Deanna writes on the farm's website, "dahlias are the reigning queen here, but we also love to grow unique foliages, vines and whimsical bits like grasses and pods." Deanna Kitchen I visited Twig & Vine a few weeks ago to film a video farm tour with Deanna. For Podcast listeners, you'll hear our conversation today, as Deanna harvests stems and discusses some of her favorite field crops. As she shared her story, and the conversation naturally turned to her floral passion and mission: the Growing Kindness Project. Now an established nonprofit 501(c)3 organization, the motivation behind her endeavor is a campaign of kindness that becomes a ripple of goodwill reaching across the world. Deanna likes to quote the late Anne Frank: No one has ever become poor by giving. The Growing Kindness Project is working to support anyone who wants to share kindness by growing and giving flowers. It provides support, education, and resources to help participants grow and give flowers, whether they are experienced gardeners or have never planted a single seed; whether they tend to a pot of flowers on a city balcony or produce acres of blooms on a farm, Deanna and her team of Growing Kindness Ambassadors are motivated to help anyone grow kindness in their communities. (c) Ryleah Foehl Photograph Thanks for joining our conversation, originally recorded on July 22nd. It was a windy day and I apologize that we had a lot of related audio challenges. Deanna was a great host and I am so grateful she was able to set aside time for me to visit and capture a slice of her world, along with her story. Find and Follow Twig & Vine on Instagram Find and Follow The Growing Kindness Project on Instagram Thanks so much for joining us today! I know I mentioned early in the interview that Deanna and I were planning to sit down and talk more about Growing Kindness, but honestly, we were having such a great flow of conversation, that I didn't want to interrupt it! Thanks so much for joining us today! Keep an eye out soon for details about a special Growing Kindness Project event taking place in August, hosted by Holly Chapple at Hope Flower Farm in Leesburg, Virginia, along with Growing Kindness Project's ambassadors Sarah Daken and Tom Precht of Maryland-based Grateful Gardeners. As soon as we have those details, I'll share them in a future episode. You can also subscribe to updates at the Growing Kindness Project's website, growingkindnessproject.org. Hey, I have fabulous news to share with you today. We just learned that the Slow Flowers Podcast received the 2021 Media Awards Silver Medal of Achievement for a Podcast Series in the Broadcast Media category, presented by GardenComm: Garden Communicators International. This national award recognizes individuals and companies who achieve the highest levels of talent and professionalism in garden communications. The 2021 competition had more than 135 entries in 62 categories. Recipients of the Silver Medal represent the top winners in each competition category who will now compete for best of group in the areas of writing, photography, digital media, broadcast media, publishing, and trade. Thanks to all of you for listening and supporting the Slow Flowers Podcast, and now, the Slow Flowers Show, our video edition, which you can watch every Wednesday live-streamed on YouTube and Facebook Live. I'll share those links for you in today's podcast, as well. The Slow Flowers Podcast has been downloaded more than 750,000 times by listeners like you. Thank you for listening, commenting and sharing – it means so much. As our movement gains more supporters and more passionate participants who believe in the importance of our domestic cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious. I know you feel it, too. I value your support and invite you to show your thanks to support Slow Flowers' ongoing advocacy, education and outreach activities. You can find the donate button in the column to the right at debraprinzing.com Thank you to our Sponsors This episode is brought to you by Slowflowers.co

https://youtu.be/o9vPCvrSjjI Today's conversation was originally broadcast in late May by "Sustainability Champions," an investigative podcast series made for the environmental stewards of the world, produced and hosted by Daniel Hartz. The series defines Sustainability as "the avoidance of the depletion of natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance" and Champion as "one who supports or defends a cause." We can all get behind that, right? Host and founder of Sustainability Champions, Daniel Hartz is an American based in London. He started Sustainability Champions to showcase people around the world working hard to heal the planet through business innovations, community organizing and individual messages of optimism. Sustainability often makes financial sense and the future of the environment is bright.daniel hartz, sustainability champions I am so grateful he invited me to share the story of the Slow Flowers Movement on Sustainability Champions. In celebration of the Slow Flowers Show's 8th anniversary, we launched our new, live-stream video format with the goal of sharing the faces and voices of our members, as well as tours of their farms, their shops and their studios -- and most of all, their flowers. You can subscribe to our YouTube Channel here. Thanks so much for joining us today! A special thank you to friend and floral design educator Hitomi Gilliam for introducing Daniel and me. Hitomi is also a past guest of Sustainability Champions! You can listen to my past interview with Hitomi here. Subscribe to and follow Sustainability Champions here Follow Sustainability Champions on Facebook and follow Sustainability Champions on Instagram. Thank you to our Sponsors! This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 880 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers. Thank you to our lead sponsor for 2021, Farmgirl Flowers. Farmgirl Flowers delivers iconic burlap-wrapped bouquets and lush, abundant arrangements to customers across the U.S., supporting more than 20 U.S. flower farms by purchasing more than $9 million dollars of U.S.-grown fresh and seasonal flowers and foliage annually. Discover more at farmgirlflowers.com. Rooted Farmers. Rooted Farmers works exclusively with local growers to put the highest-quality specialty cut flowers in floral customers' hands. When you partner with Rooted Farmers, you are investing in your community, and you can expect a commitment to excellence in return. Learn more at RootedFarmers.com. Johnny's Selected Seeds, an employee-owned company that provides our industry the best flower, herb and vegetable seeds -- supplied to farms large and small and even backyard cutting gardens like mine. Find the full catalog of flower seeds and bulbs at johnnysseeds.com. Mayesh Wholesale Florist. Family-owned since 1978, Mayesh is the premier wedding and event supplier in the U.S. and we're thrilled to partner with Mayesh to promote local and domestic flowers, which they source from farms large and small around the U.S. Learn more at mayesh.com. (c) Mary Grace Long Photography Thanks so much for joining us today! The Slow Flowers Podcast has been downloaded nearly 750,000 times by listeners like you. Thank you for listening, commenting and sharing – it means so much. As our movement gains more supporters and more passionate participants who believe in the importance of our domestic cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious. I know you feel it, too. I value your support and invite you to show your thanks to support Slow Flowers' ongoing advocacy, education and outreach activities. You can find the donate button in the column to the right at debraprinzing.com I'm Debra Prinzing, host and producer of the Slow Flowers Podcast. Next week, you're invited to join me in putting more Slow Flowers on the table, one vase at a time. And If you like what you hear, please consider logging onto iTunes and posting a listener review. The content and opinions expressed here are either mine alone or those of my guests alone, independent of any podcast sponsor or other person, company or organization. The Slow Flowers Podcast is engineered and edited by Andrew Brenlan. Thank you so much to Andrew for helping me set up our new Video Podcast platform and teaching me the technology! I'll be relying more on his talents in the coming days. You can learn more about Andrew's work at soundbodymovement.com. Music Credits: Dance of Felt; Gaenaby Blue Dot Sessionshttp://www.sessions.blueLovelyby Tryad http://tryad.bandcamp.com/album/instrumentalshttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ In The Fieldaudionautix.com

Sarah Reyes welcomed me to Wildflower and Fern in Oakland, California I'm so happy to introduce you to today's guest, Sarah Reyes of Oakland-based Wildflower and Fern. Sarah's passion for local flowers moves through both retail and wholesale channels. She calls herself a botanical liaison, a term that sums up the role she plays for both customers of her 240-square-foot retail flower shop, which opened in the fall of 2019 at Oakland's Rockridge Market Hall, and for fellow florists who turn to Sarah for her connections to unique, local and seasonal flowers sourced from farms and fields outside of San Francisco. On the road with Wildflower and Fern As I alluded, Wildflower & Fern's cooler and storage space serves a dual purpose. It allows Sarah and her team to process flowers and produce larger designs, and it allows wholesale customers to "shop" from the back-of-the-house -- giving even more people access to local, California-grown botanicals. I featured more of Sarah's story in a November 2019 issue of Slow Flowers Journal for Florists Review:Download the PDF here: 11_Slow Flowers Journal_Wildflower and Fern_Download We recognized Sarah for her four-year-streak attending the Slow Flowers Summit at our recent 2021 gathering (c) Missy Palacol Photography One more thing I want to mention about Sarah. She is a loyal and passionate supporter of Slow Flowers Society, and she holds the distinction of being the only person (other than staff and speakers) who has attended all four Slow Flowers Summit conferences! This year, Sarah brought her entire team of designers, which was an amazingly generous way to share her mission and passion with them. You can see photos of Sarah and the Wildflower & Fern shop in Oakland in today's show notes. I visited there on my drive to Filoli, where the Slow Flowers Summit took place -- and it was a delightful way to immerse myself in California-grown flowers and sustainable floral design. Thanks so much for joining us today as I introduced you to one of our Slow Flowers leaders who has created an important and influential hub for local flowers in San Francisco's East Bay Area. And thanks to Sarah and the entire team at Wildflower & Fern for welcoming me when I visited. And for bringing your energy, enthusiasm and local flowers to the Slow Flowers Summit! Wildflower & Fern was one of our meal sponsors - sharing even more support for the Slow Flowers mission. Today is a big day for the Slow Flowers Podcast! It is our eighth anniversary since starting this small but mighty program on July 23, 2013. Since launching, we have produced more than 400 consecutive weekly Slow Flowers Podcast episodes, and those episodes have been downloaded nearly 750,000 times by listeners like you. It's so fitting that Sarah Reyes of Wildflower & Fern joined me on today's program, because she embodies the mission and values of the Slow Flowers Movement. Sarah is our final audio-only guest. Today, we are launching our new Podcast platform, adding video programming to enhance the audio interviews and conversations you've listened to for eight years. You can find the link to watch and subscribe to Slow Flowers Podcast on YouTube and Facebook Live, beginning today and every Wednesday going forward. It is my goal to introduce you to the faces and voices, the farms, shops and studios -- and most of all, the flowers of our community. The audio of each episode will continue to land in your inbox in whatever way you've listened before, including iTunes, Spotify and at debraprinzing.com, and more. Thanks in advance for following me down the Vodcast path! I'm excited to see you there. Thank you to our Sponsors! This podcast is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 880 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers. And thank you to our lead sponsor for 2021, Farmgirl Flowers. Farmgirl Flowers delivers iconic burlap-wrapped bouquets and lush, abundant arrangements to customers across the U.S., supporting more than 20 U.S. flower farms by purchasing more than $9 million dollars of U.S.-grown fresh and seasonal flowers and foliage annually. Discover more at farmgirlflowers.com. For each Podcast episode this year, we thank three of our Podcast Sponsors. Rooted Farmers: Rooted Farmers works exclusively with local growers to put the highest-quality specialty cut flowers in floral customers' hands. When you partner with Rooted Farmers, you are investing in your community, and you can expect a commitment to excellence in return. Learn more at RootedFarmers.com. Johnny's Selected Seeds, an employee-owned company that provides our industry the best flower, herb and vegetable seeds -- supplied to farms large and small and even backyard cutting gardens like m

Kristine Albrecht of Santa Cruz Dahlias with 'KA's Khaleesi' Of course you've heard me talk about my road trip to California in late June for the 4th Slow Flowers Summit. A few days before the Summit took place, I was treated to a morning visit at Santa Cruz Dahlias, the micro- flower farm owned by award-winning dahlia breeder Kristine Albrecht, a Slow Flowers member. I'd been wanting to learn more about Kristine's work as a flower farmer whose curiosity about breeding has led to incredibly unique - new - named cultivars, a devoted following among cut flower farmers, and now, a new book, published in 2020: Dahlia Breeding for the Farmer-Florist and the Home Gardener, with Brion Sprinsock, Kristine's spouse, as co-author. I ordered my copy and asked Kristine if she would sit down with me when I was in the area late last month. She kindly invited me for a tour and I enjoyed a deeply informative lesson on her work and her passion. In the foreword to Dahlia Breeding, Kristine writes:"I am fortunate that I have the opportunity to talk and write to people about dahlias almost every day. While familiar with growing dahlias from tubers, many growers simply have no idea that unique varieties of dahlias can be generated from seed. The more I thought about that, the more I was inspired to write this short book and share my hybridizing knowledge." Jan Palia (left) and Kristine Albrecht (right) - met me in June and treated me to a beautiful morning She continues: "I'm not a typical dahlia hybridizer who breeds mainly show dahlias. I have as much interest in breeding varieties loved by florists and designers as I do in breeding dahlias for show. I don't have a scientific background: the advice in this book comes from practical experience at my farm. I currently grow on a quarter-acre suburban farm in the California Central Coast. I generate hundreds of dahlia blooms every week, and when they are not being cut for shows, I sell them to designers and florists. These floral designers give me wonderful feedback on what colors and forms are the most commercially viable. Their input helps me set my hybridizing goals." 'KA's Cloud' In 2014, after years of learning and experimentation, Kristine hand-crossed pollen parent Kenora Jubilee with seed parent Elma Elizabeth for a new variety called 'KA's Cloud'. She excitedly sent it off to the American Dahlia Society trial gardens across the U.S. and the blooms won the Derrill W. Hart and the Lynn B. Dudley medals, the two top awards in the country. A bucket of just-harvested Santa Cruz Dahlia blooms, including dahlia companion plants (c) Debra Prinzing Blue ribbons aside, she was hooked. And that experienced ignited what has become one woman's amazing journey with dahlias, one she generously shares with you today. I know you'll enjoy the rest of the story, as I introduce Kristine Albrecht in today's episode. 'KA's Bella Luna' - a delicious Kristine Albrecht introduction 'KA's Mocha Katie' A detail shot of the storage tub that Santa Cruz Dahlias uses for deliveries and transportation Follow Santa Cruz Dahlias on Instagram Thanks so much for joining us today as you learned more about dahlias specifically bred for floral design. Enjoy photos of my visit to Santa Cruz Dahlias and some of the gorgeous dahlia introductions that Kristine has bred! More about the Slow Flowers Podcast Interviewing Meg McGuire at Red Daisy Farm This podcast is a vehicle for storytelling and for sharing the stories of our Slow Flowers Members. Several years ago, I made the conscious decision to put a priority on featuring Slow Flowers members as Podcast guests. There may be an occasional episodes with a floral celebrity or book author, but the majority of our weekly guest slots are devoted to our members' stories. We strive for inclusion, representation and diversity among our guests. We also mix things up when it comes to geographical location and different facets in the floral industry. To be considered as a guest, please be sure you have gone back through our archives to familiarize yourself with our various themes and interesting angles. You can find the archives in the right column at debraprinzing.com, home of the Slow Flowers Podcast show notes. Then, put together a proposal email. Please share your name, business name and bio; a selection of 5-7 photos that illustrate you, your farm/shop/studio/enterprise; and your flowers. We use these images in our "Show Notes." Tell me the topics and themes you propose for the episode. What's new, exciting, timely and relevant to our audience? What is the "takeaway" that will resonate with listeners? Our ideal guest has a personal story to tell and is generous with information and inspiration to share with other floral professionals. We plan several months in advance, so start thinking about sharing

Today's guest is Felicia Alvarez of Menagerie Farm + Flower (c) Jill Carmel Photography June was a super-busy and invigorating month and I have lots to share with you! I'm recording the intro to today's episode on July 5th. Yesterday, my husband and I arrived back in Seattle after driving home from the SF Bay Area, my car filled with Slow Flowers Summit supplies; my heart filled with love for our amazing community of members, supporters, sponsors, partners -- and especially the small but mighty Slow Flowers team of creatives who work with me. Oh, and my mind spinning with ideas and inspiration from last week's Slow Flowers Summit, our fourth and best one to date. Our fabulous Slow Flowers Summit 2021 speaker lineup included (from left): Susan McLeary, Max Gill, founder Debra Prinzing, Pilar Zuniga (with her adorable daughter, Paloma), Jennifer Jewell, Abra Lee, Molly Oliver, Kelee Matsushita-Tseng, Emily Saeger and Lorene Edwards Forkner (c) Missy Palacol photography You'll hear much more in the coming weeks as I share recaps and resources from the Slow Flowers Summit 2021. Suffice it to say, the timing worked out wonderfully for an all-outdoor conference as we safely gathered at Filoli Historic House & Residence in Woodside, California. To arrive there, I departed Seattle on Wednesday, June 23rd, giving myself two days to make the drive south. It was a good time to be alone with my thoughts, and to schedule a few stops along the way. One stop was in Live Oak, California, located halfway between Chico and Sacramento. I was lured to Menagerie Flower + Farm, where Felicia Alvarez lives with her family in the beautiful Sacramento Valley. The farm raises field grown garden roses, specialty flowers, French prunes, assorted stone fruits, nuts and rice. Menagerie Farm + Flower's beautiful roses, including (left) Scarlett & Grace's arrangement (c) Kelly Marie Photography and (right) Felicia's montage of just-harvested garden roses If you followed our 50 States of Slow Flowers podcast series in 2019, you heard a short interview with Felicia when I featured California, but honestly, I knew that 15 minutes could never cover all that she could tell us about her diversified family farm and especially about her roses. Now, I had a very important reason to see Menagerie Farm + Flower in person! BLOOM Imprint, our book venture, is publishing Felicia's first book this fall. We are so excited about Growing Wonder, which the book is called. You'll hear all about this new project in our conversation -- and learn how you can pre-order your own copy. Here's a bit more about Felicia Alvarez before we get started: On her website, she writes: "I've been farming for over two decades and every day I fall in love with the simplicity & nostalgia of life on the farm. My mission is simple - to grow exceptional flowers & foods with distinctive quality. As a third generation farmer, my favorite memories as a child were tending to my grandmother's farm garden filled with fragrant garden roses. Her love of flowers made me an avid gardener and now accidental flower farmer. Today I farm French prunes, garden roses and specialty cut flowers with the help of my husband and two little sons in tow." Felicia Alvarez on "Growing Wonder" (c) Jill Carmichael Photography After more than a year of recording most of our episodes over Zoom, it was such a joy to sit at a picnic table next to Felicia's barn and record live and in person. The ambient farm sounds only help to underscore that feeling of immediacy. I hope you enjoy this conversation, so let's jump right in and get started! Pre-Order GROWING WONDER! Thanks so much for joining us today! What a lovely preview of Growing Wonder! You can pre-order your copy of Felicia's book via a link to BLOOM Imprint - we'll mail it to you in September after publication. In the meantime, there are a lot of resources available to you at Felicia's website -- check out links below and follow her on social media. Subscribe to Menagerie Farm + Flower's Newsletter here. Sign up for Menagerie Academy, Felicia's membership for rose lovers, gardeners and growers. There are three levels of membership, depending on your own needs and goals. Learn more about Felicia's one-on-one coaching sessions for your rose aspirations. Single sessions, packages and on-farm sessions available. Workshop details are here. Upcoming is an October 19th workshop at Menagerie Farm called "Elements of Rose Growing." Free Printable Resources and Educational Resources from Felicia, created for her students and coaching clients. We just wrapped up American Flowers Week, our 7th annual celebration, June 28th through July 4th. For all of you who participated, THANK YOU for sharing photos of your beautiful flowers, designs, farms and special activities. Our botanical couture collection was the most extens

Kelly Shore of Petals by the Shore & The Floral Source Today we welcome back wedding and event florist Kelly Shore, owner of Petals by the Shore, based in Damascus, Maryland. In celebration of our 7th annual domestic floral promotion, American Flowers Week, which runs June 28-July 4th, I invited Kelly to discuss two of her recent projects: First, the botanical couture ensemble Kelly created for this year's American Flowers Week collection, which features wax flowers, heathers, serrutia and other South African plants grown by her friends at Resendiz Brothers Protea Growers in San Diego County. One of Kelly's promotional graphics from 2020 in which she regularly featured curated boxes of domestic cut flowers and foliages from a number of growers And second, to update us on American Grown at Home, curated collections of wholesale flowers which she markets through The Floral Source, her sister business. Kelly Shore, teaching at Scenic Place Peonies in Homer, Alaska Kelly has spent the past several years educating herself about domestic flower sourcing. She began in her own backyard, motivated by a desire to support flower growers in her area, many of whom she originally purchased from through local farmers’ markets. As her involvement in the Slow Flowers movement grew, Kelly’s commitment and awareness expanded. She committed to only sourcing 100-percent American-grown ingredients for her designs. She reached out to flower farms around the country, introducing herself and asking how she could support them. For some, that meant directly selling their flowers to Petals by the Shore. For many, though, that meant suggesting that Kelly encourage conventional wholesale florists in her area to order more domestic product for their coolers. In response, Kelly began to invest in photography and graphic design to launch her “American Grown at Home” branding through a new channel of her business, called The Floral Source. She says: “The whole purpose of creating curated boxes was not to generate money for myself, but to empower the design community with the knowledge about what is grown by U.S. flower farmers. I told my florist friends: ‘If you’re not confident or you don’t know where to get flowers domestically, here’s how you can sample these farms without taking a huge risk.'” The Floral Source was originally designed to host retreats and farm tours for professional florists, with the goal of exciting her peers about domestic sourcing and demystifying the ordering process. The platform gave Kelly a way to highlight dozens of flower farms, their flowers and a seasonal approach to floral design. “I have often felt like my design community was intimidated about connecting directly with growers,” she explains. “And I know that it’s hard to break habits, because it’s easy to go to one place, buy the cheapest, and get the floral product you know and have relied on. But to break out of that mold and transition to sourcing domestically, you have to be willing to reach out to multiple growers.” I'm so happy to welcome Kelly Shore to the Slow Flowers Podcast. You'll also find all the details about The Floral Source and how you can subscribe to Kelly's curated collections of U.S.-grown blooms. A few days after we wrapped up the recording for this episode, Kelly announced a new offering for American Flowers Week -- a special American Grown at Home box of blooms This celebratory collection is for all flower lovers, not just designers, highlighting 22 farms in Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia - all members of the Old Dominion Flower Cooperative, a Slow Flowers Member group. The lush seasonal box of summer blooms and greenery will be a surprise box, curated by Kelly. It features a little bit of seasonal goodness harvested from all of the mid-Atlantaic botanicals grown by Old Dominion Flower Cooperative farms. Each $150 order includes a 5” Accent Decor metal vase that buyers can use when they participate in a virtual workshop with Kelly on July 1. Celebrate seasonality and our local and American growers and bring the joy of flowers into your home for American Flowers Week. The box will ship from the co-op on June 30 overnight to be delivered to you July 1.Check it out! And if you miss this offering due to your schedule -- no worries, there is a fantastic lineup offerings at The Floral Source, featuring domestic flower and foliage offerings all season long. This episode is coming to you on Wednesday, June 30th, right in the heart of American Flowers Week, our 7th annual celebration, June 28th through July 4th. Please help us celebrate! You can find all the free social media badges, logos, branding and other resources like a coloring map of all 50 USA-state flowers at americanflowersweek.com! Show your floral patriotism and post photos of your red, white and blue, or any other color of your seasonal and local floral harvest! Be sure to use the hashtag #americanflowersweek when you post! I'll be

Susan McLeary (c) e.e. berger In March 2017, I wrote a 10-page profile of Susan Mcleary for Florists' Review magazine's "Creativity" issue. It's this article that inspired me to invite Sue to be our Keynote speaker at the upcoming Slow Flowers Summit, taking place next week on June 28-30th in the San Francisco Bay Area at the amazing venue, Filoli Historic House & Garden. Sue's personal story of seeking, claiming and boldly nurturing her creative process and practice as an artist will inspire and embolden everyone who hears her at the Summit. Susan McLeary -- such an artist and inspiration! Susan is a floral designer, artist and instructor who creates unusual, boundary-pushing floral art including elaborate floral wearables, large-scale installations, and her signature succulent jewelry. Her soulful, seasonally-inspired creations have been described as exquisite living artwork. A passionate teacher, Susan offers private design instruction for new and professional florists in her studio, on her online class platform, and through destination workshops. Floral artist Susan Mcleary is a design influencer who advocates for foam-free practices in her large-scale botanical installations (c) Amanda Dumouchelle Susan’s work has been featured on the cover of Fusion Flowers Magazine twice, and in leading industry publications and websites including Martha Stewart Weddings, Florist's Review, My Modern Met, Refinery 29, SELF, Buzzfeed, Belle Armoire, Cosmopolitan, Ebony, and Grace Ormond Wedding Style. Susan is a member of Slow Flowers Society and Chapel Designers. Her first book, The Art of Wearable Flowers was released March 3, 2020. A few weeks ago, in anticipation of Sue's keynote presentation The Creative Journey, she and I met up over Zoom to record this special episode. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. As I mention in the interview, Sue has appeared as a co-guest on two past episodes of the Slow Flowers Podcast, but that was many years ago. Learn More Here:Susan McLeary on the Slow Flowers Podcast:Episode 217 (October 2015)Episode 220 (November 2015)Read my 2017 article, A Curious Creative (pdf)Here are the many ways to study with Sue McLeary:Online Courses (a la carte)The Essentials Toolkit (bundle)The Virtual Studio (membership-based), includes Live Sessions and new courses. Total of 60 courses in the library to date Susan McLeary (c) e.e. berger As Sue mentioned, she launched a new course yesterday, June 22nd, called The Floral Mentor: A transformative floral learning opportunity. Transform the 3 Key Areas of Your Floral Business in the Next 30 Days: The Heart - Cultivate your unique creative voice, overcome limiting beliefs, and cultivate a more purpose-driven floral business.The Art - Unlock the magic of the principles of design to create more advanced, artful and balanced work every time.The Business - Learn practical business, branding, and marketing skills to grow a more profitable and life-giving floral business. The Floral Mentor opened on June 22nd and is available for signup through June 30th. In this course, Sue and her cohort of friends and colleagues help you master the art, the heart, and the business of floral design. It's all about aligning your core values with your business, Sue explains. She writes: "Pull up a virtual chair in my personal studio to learn from me and some of my key mentors!" Sue introduces students her wonderful mentors who teach valuable lessons Sue has learned from each of them. Together, Sue and her mentors will help you create the art you’re truly capable of, build a fulfilling business you love, and join hands to move the floral industry forward together. I can get behind those aspirations! Maybe this course has your name on it, too. check it out! Next week is also our 7th annual American Flowers Week, June 28th through July 4th. Please help us celebrate! You can find all the free social media badges, logos, branding and other resources like a coloring map of all 50 USA-state flowers at americanflowersweek.com! Show your floral patriotism and post photos of your red, white and blue, or any other color of your seasonal and local floral harvest! Be sure to use the hashtag #americanflowersweek when you post! I'll be doing just the same, friends. Thank you to our Sponsors This podcast is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 880 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers. And thank you to our lead sponsor for 2021, Farmgirl Flowers. Farmgirl Flowers delivers iconic burlap-wrapped bouquets and lush, abundant arrangements to customers across the U.S., supporting more than 20 U.S. flower farms by purchasing more than $9 million dollars of U.S.-grown fresh and seasonal flowers and foliage annually, and providing competitive salaries and

Here we are, less than two weeks until the fourth Slow Flowers Summit begins on Monday June 28th and continues through Wednesday June 30th. We launched the Slow Flowers Summit in 2017 in Seattle, intentionally scheduling it to take place during American Flowers Week as the core event during our annual domestic flower holiday week. And as the Slow Flowers Summit has expanded and improved, so has American Flowers Week, its original impetus. We've been celebrating already, as the buildup to American Flowers Week begins in June, leading up to that specific holiday week of June 28-July 4th. This year's special botanical couture promotion is a perfect one-dozen floral garments, created by flower growers, farmer-florists, designers, and members of the Slow Flowers community -- all with the motivation of elevating flowers and sharing their talents with the public. Tammy Myers, LORA Bloom (c) Missy Palacol Photography Today, I'm excited to introduce Tammy Myers of LORA Bloom. Seattle-based, LORA Bloom is an online E-commerce and marketing platform that provides an additional sales channel for florists, giving them a marketplace where customers can find custom, one-of-a-kind designer arrangements for local delivery. LORA Bloom’s florist partners are aligned with Tammy’s own values of supporting local flower farms and offering foam-free designs. Read our October 2020 article about LORA Bloom in Slow Flowers Journal. Listen to Tammy's first appearance on the Slow Flowers Podcast in Episode 201 (July 8, 2015), where you'll learn more about her evolution from a studio florist to her present role as creator of the LORA Bloom platform. Tammy's original concept board for her American Flowers Week 2021 submission And when I asked Tammy if she was up for designing a second American Flowers Week botanical couture look (she was a participating designer in 2019, as well), Tammy came up with a stunning project that included six of her LORA Bloom florists as collaborators. RBG-inspired Botanical Couture, at the University of Washington (c) Missy Palacol Photography Business in the front; Party in the back, with botanical surface design by Tammy Myers; dress by Riva Juarez A reimagined judicial robe, seen in sketches by garment designer and this project's model, Riva Juarez The result is what we are calling a Floral Tribute to RBG -- the late U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who Tammy considers a fashion icon and a female role model. Because Ginsburg died in 2020, the timing was significant to honor her now. Tammy's inspiration: RBG's collars, featured in Time Magazine (c) Elinor Carucci Creative botanical collars:Top row, from left: Lori Poliski, Flori and Anne Bradfield, Analog FloralMiddle row, from left: Maura Whalen, Casablanca Floral and Kristal Hancock, Sublime StemsBottom row, from left: Sophie Strongman, The Old Soul Flower Co. and Sharlet Driggs, Sharlet Floral Floral Palette: Domestic U.S.-grown botanicals from Washington, Oregon and CaliforniaCreative Concept/Creative Direction: Tammy Myers, LORA Bloom, lorabloom.com,@lorabloom.flowersModel: Riva Juarez, rivaladiva.com, @rivaladivaHair/Makeup: Riva JuarezPhotography: Missy Palacol, Missy Palacol Photography, missypalacol.com, @missy.palacolCollaborating Slow Flowers Society florists: Tammy Myers; Anne Bradfield, Analog Floral, @analog_floral; Maura Whalen, Casablanca Floral, @casablancafloral; Sharlet Driggs, Sharlet Floral, @sharletfloral; and Lori Poliski, Flori, @flori.flowersOther florists: Sophie Strongman, The Old Soul Flower Co., @theoldsoulflowerco and Kristal Hancock, Sublime Stems, @sublimestemsLocation: University of Washington Campus, Seattle, Washington Thanks so much for joining us today! I love something that Tammy shared with me when I interviewed her for the story that appears in Slow Flowers Journal Botanical Couture special edition: "In my research, I learned Ruth Bader Ginsburg had favorite pieces that communicated subtle messages of the Court's decisions. We know that flowers speak in similar ways."Tammy myers, lora bloom By the way, if you haven't yet seen the free, 72-page special edition of Slow Flowers Journal, released on June 1st, you can find the link here. You'll read all about the RBG Floral Tribute along with stories about the eleven other botanical couture looks created for American Flowers Week. Prepared to be wowed at all the beauty and talent in our collective community! Maybe it will trigger some ideas for you to get involved in 2022! Next week: Susan McLeary designing a fabulous floral 'fro (c) Amanda Dumouchelle photography Next week, you'll hear my interview with Susan McLeary, our keynote presenter at the upcoming Slow Flowers Summit. It is guaranteed to inspire you, as Sue is such an important influence, an incredible floral artist, and a boundary-pushing leader in our community. I can't wait to share our conversation wit

The Wedding Garden at Filoli Historic House & Garden (c) Gretchine Nievarez Over the past year, you've heard from many of the panelists and personalities scheduled to present at the upcoming Slow Flowers Summit, scheduled for June 28-30, which is right around the corner. And today, I'm bringing you straight to our Summit destination, Filoli Historic House & Garden based in Woodside, California, where we will gather for the first two days of the conference. Filoli's remarkable Georgian Revival architecture (c) Gretchine Nievarez I am so excited for the opportunity Summit attendees, speakers, sponsors and guests will enjoy as we immerse ourselves in the beauty and legacy of this Bay Area cultural institution. We will spend two full days experiencing the historic property, including Filoli's legendary landscape and cutting gardens, which you'll learn more about today. We also will have unprecedented access to design a 'floral takeover' in 'The House,' California’s most triumphant example of the Georgian Revival tradition and one of the finest remaining country estates of the early 20th century. From left, today's guests: Jim Salyards, Kate Nowell and Haley O'Connor of Filoli's Horticulture Staff For now, I'd love to introduce you to the horticulture team at Filoli, because they are the ones whose involvement in the Slow Flowers Summit will ensure a thoroughly immersive plant and floral experience. Today, join me in a conversation with Jim Salyards, Kate Nowell and Haley O'Connor. Jim Salyards is the director of horticulture, a 26-year veteran of Filoli! Kate Nowell is the horticulture production manager, with about one decade at Filoli, and Haley O'Connor is Filoli's new formal garden manager who joined about six months ago. Let's jump right in and take an audio (virtual) botanical tour with three talented plants people. Attendees of the Slow Flowers Summit will have full access to the beautiful grounds at Filoli Historic House & Garden during our workshops and immersive floral experiences Thank you so much for joining our conversation today! There are still a few spaces left to attend the Slow Flowers Summit and you can find all those details at slowflowerssummit.com. We are so excited to welcome our attendees to a safe, in-person, COVID-compliant and mostly outdoor setting at Filoli Historic House and Garden. The countdown begins! The Garden House at Filoli And by the way, if you're not attending the Summit, watch Slow Flowers Society on Facebook, Slow Flowers Society and Slow Flowers Summit on Instagram for live feeds coming to you from the Slow Flowers Summit, including a behind-the-scenes tour that I will lead on setup day, Sunday, June 28th. Click here to listen to Jennifer Jewell's interview with Debra Prinzing Something really fun happened this past week as I traded places at the microphone and answered questions posed to me rather than being the person asking those questions. Our good friend Jennifer Jewell, producer and host of Cultivating Place, an award-winning public radio program and podcast, invited me to join her to discuss all things Slow Flowers. I'll share the link to that episode in today's show notes. You've heard Jennifer here as a past guest and you may already subscribe to Cultivating Place. If not, please check out her amazing, inclusive and expansive weekly radio program about plants, people, place and other conversations about natural history and the human urge to garden. Jennifer is coming to the Slow Flowers Summit as our capstone speaker on day two -- and I'm so honored that she shared our story - your story - the story of Slow Flowers - on her terrific show. Our 2021 Botanical Couture Collection for American Flowers Week 2021 As you know, in the buildup to American Flowers Week, June 28-July 4, there is much to celebrate. This Friday, you're invited to join our Slow Flowers Member Virtual Meet-Up, June 11th at 9 am Pacific/Noon Eastern. The topic: Botanical Couture for American Flowers Week 2021 Collection. The guests? Several of the creatives responsible for this year's expansive and flourishing fashion collection! Get a peek at the behind the scenes and hear from the creatives -- Slow Flowers member farmers, designers and floral artists who rose to the open call for floral wearables. We have one-dozen looks in all this year -- a feat of talent, ingenuity and inventiveness! Can't wait for you to join us -- all the details and the link to log in are available in today's show notes. See you there! Click here to Join the Slow Flowers Member Meet-Up on Friday, June 11th (9 am Pacific/Noon Eastern) Thank you to our Sponsors This podcast is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 880 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms

Today, we continue our series to highlight the talented speaker lineup for the upcoming Slow Flowers Summit, taking place June 28th-30th at Filoli Historic House & Garden in Woodside, California, with an extended conversation I'm excited to share with you. Abra, pruning roses as a volunteer at the Georgia Governor's Mansion Please meet Abra Lee, horticulturist, author, speaker and founder of the media platform called Conquer the Soil. Based in Atlanta, Abra says she is a self-proclaimed horticulturist extraordinaire that is half country bumpkin, half bougie, occasionally extra, and inherently Southern. She writes: "The opportunities I’ve been fortunate to experience during my career in the garden industry have far surpassed my ancestors’ wildest dreams!" Abra, leading the horticulture program at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport Educated at Auburn University College of Agriculture in Auburn, Alabama with a B.S. in Horticulture and a distinguished Leadership in Public Horticulture Fellow from Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, Abra takes notes on plants + pop culture and shares her observations across her blog and social media. Count on Abra to bring her distinct perspective to horticulture, popular culture, fashion, celebrity, and the history of Black gardeners. Her impressive professional path began as a city arborist, which led to landscape management roles at two major international airports (in Atlanta, followed by Houston), and as a University of Georgia Extension Agent. Meet the women of the Negro Garden Clubs of Virginia, circa 1932, featured in Conquer the Soil's IG Feed Years of research into the history of Black American gardeners propelled Abra to collect her research into a new book, scheduled for publication in the fall of 2022. The forthcoming book is called Conquer the Soil - Black America and the Untold Stories of Our Country's Gardeners, Farmers, and GrowersConquer the Soil profiles 45 hidden figures of horticulture—the Black men and women whose accomplished careers in the plant world are little known or untold. Among them are Wormley Hughes, an enslaved African-American who was head gardener at Monticello and dug Jefferson’s grave; Annie Vann Reid, an ex-teacher turned entrepreneur in South Carolina who owned a five-acre greenhouse and nursery in the 1940s that sold millions of plants and seeds; and David August Williston, a graduate of Cornell University and the first African-American landscape architect, a student of Liberty Hyde Bailey, and the designer of the Tuskegee University campus. Abra's lively text will be enriched by illustrations of each individual, making this forthcoming book as beautiful as it is critically important.In Conquer the Soil, Abra Lee--a rising star in the plant world--gives these women and men the spotlight they deserve and enriches our collective understanding of the history of horticulture. A Conquer the Soil IG post -- picking up on news about "The Gardener," a forthcoming Batman villain As we discuss in today's epsiode, Abra has an infectous passion about the people she's discovered through her research. She has lectured extensively on African-Americans and Ornamental Horticulture, gathering her research of 600 years of history from pre-colonial Africa to today and the artistic contributions of Black gardeners, horticulturists, educators and landscape architects to the green profession. While continuing her research for her upcoming book on the subject, Abra has unearthed an incredible narrative of Black Americans in floristry. She will share these stories of people, their flowers and their entrepreneurism in a new talk for the Slow Flowers Summit audience. Sneak peek of Mrs. Blanche Hurston, one of the women you'll meet in Abra Lee's presentation at the Slow Flowers Summit (from Conquer the Soil's IG feed) Her presentation, The History of the Black American Florist, will inspire our attendees with her storytelling gifts as she brings their untold stories to life, giving voice to the important history about Black pioneers in horticulture, floriculture, landscape architecture and botany. Some of the fun Conquer the Soil merchandise that Abra will bring to our Book & Art Table at the Slow Flowers Summit; from left: Famed florist Lucille Caine orchid hat pop-art poster, Conquer the Soil tote, Music x Flowers tote (a historic florist said these words, but you'll have to hear about that from Abra!) Find and follow Abra Lee and Conquer the Soil at these social places: Conquer the Soil on Instagram Conquer the Soil on Facebook Slow Flowers Summit 2021 Our fabulous speaker lineup includes (top row), Susan McLeary, Emily Saeger, Molly Culver; (middle row), Kellee Matsushita-Tseng, Lorene Edwards Forkner, Max Gill; (bottom row), Abra Lee, Pilar Zuniga, Jennifer Jewell + our host, Slow Flowers Society's Debra Prinzing Thank you so much for joining ou

The Slow Flowers Summit is one month away -- it's really impossible to believe as I speak that sentence, especially after having to postpone the 2020 Summit, which would have been our fourth consecutive year holding a live, in-person gathering to celebrate Slow Flowers Society and American Flowers Week. Our fabulous speaker lineup includes (top row), Susan McLeary, Emily Saeger, Molly Culver; (middle row), Kellee Matsushita-Tseng, Lorene Edwards Forkner, Max Gill; (bottom row), Abra Lee, Pilar Zuniga, Jennifer Jewell + our host, Slow Flowers Society’s Debra Prinzing Alas, as each of you knows, little took place last year. However, as we entered 2021, with the availability of vaccinations and some incredibly creative event planning by Karen Thornton, our Summit event manager along with the leadership at Filoli Historic House & Garden, we now can joyously proclaim that the Slow Flowers Summit 2021 will take place on June 28-30th. You have met many of our speakers on past episodes of the Slow Flowers Podcast, but in the coming weeks you will hear from several others. Consider this an introduction and a preview of their presentations coming up. Today, I invited two of the three panelists who are part of Sustainable Farming x Floral Design - what I envisioned as a conversation about how sustainable farming practices influence design choices, aesthetics and style. Hear each presenter's personal journey through farming to floral design, and enjoy visual inspiration as each demonstrates a signature arrangement using all locally-grown seasonal flowers.​ The Slow Flowers Summit's Sustainable Farming x Floral Design Panel (from left): Emily Saeger, Kellee Matsushita-Tseng and Molly Culver Kellee Matsushita-Tseng will be moderating the panel, joined by Emily Saeger and Molly Culver. Today's episode features a conversation with Kellee and Emily. Molly was unable to join us but I have a bonus for you -- links to Molly's past appearances on the Slow Flowers Podcast:Episode 172: Brooklyn Grows Flowers! Meet Molly Oliver Culver of Molly Oliver FlowersEpisode 412: The Flowering of Brooklyn with Molly Oliver FlowersEpisode 451: From Grower to Designer to Consumer: How two floral models are changing and adapting, with Yvonne Ashton of Mayesh Wholesale Florist and Molly Culver of Molly Oliver Flowers First, I'll tell you a bit more about Kellee and Emily - and then we will jump right into the conversation: Kellee Matsushita-Tseng is a queer, fourth generation Japanese-Chinese farmer. They are an educator and instructor at CASFS (The Center For Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems) at UC Santa Cruz, training folks to grow a variety of fabulous fruits, flowers, and vegetables. They train growers in flower production, design, and sales for fresh markets and special events. They believe that cut flowers should be accessible to everyone, both for their cultural and spiritual significance, as well as for their beauty and sensory delight. Kellee is delighted to be part of creating a flower movement that is rooted in social and environmental justice. They are currently enamored by our native Matilija poppies, and excited to continue exploring design possibilities with other great natives.Follow KELLEE on Instagram @bravenewseed ​ Emily Saeger is a Filoli Horticulture Alumni and currently pursuing a Masters in Landscape Architecture at the University of Washington. She has eight years of horticultural experience blend production agriculture, landscape maintenance, garden and floral design. She has worked for several notable Bay Area farms including, Fifth Crow Farm, Bluma Farm and Hidden Villa.Prior to entering the Landscape Architecture program in the fall of 2020, Emily served as the Lead Horticulturist at Filoli, where she looked after the rose garden, cutting garden and orchard. Her design aesthetic is a blending of her work experience - foraged and cultivated, wild and formal - always designed with seasonality and senescence in mind. A strong believer in the healing powers of nature, through her gardens and floral design she hopes to facilitate this connection for all. Follow EMILY on Instagram @emilyadelias Thank you so much for joining our conversation today! There are still a few spaces left to attend the Slow Flowers Summit and you can find all those details at slowflowerssummit.com. We are so excited to welcome our attendees to a safe, in-person, COVID-compliant and mostly outdoor setting at Filoli Historic House and Garden. The countdown begins! A few announcements: https://youtu.be/qngPU5c3Iyw Two gorgeous peony arrangements featuring the floral art of Brandon Scott McLean If you missed last week's Slow Flowers Member Virtual Meet-Up with Beth Van Sandt of Scenic Place Peonies and Brandon Scott McLean of East Hill Floral -- two peony experts from Homer Alaska -- we have the playback video to share with you! Save the date for our next Slow Flowers Member Virtual Meet-Up on June 11th.

Spring selection of blooms at Old Dominion Flower Cooperative I've documented the emergence and rise of regional wholesale flower hubs for more than a decade -- you've heard it all on the Slow Flowers Podcast! We have witnessed, encouraged and featured on the Slow Flowers Podcast numerous other regional efforts to bring flowers from the field to the florist and consumer in innovative ways -- from legal cooperatives to privately-held wholesaler operations; from casual meet-ups to marketing collectives. My deepest ties are with the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market, a farmer-owned cooperative whose origins date to 2010 when a group of growers came together at a regional ASCFG meeting held at Charles Little & Co. in Eugene, Oregon. Fortunately, I was there and witnessed those first, ambitious, optimistic conversations that yielded what we here in Seattle enjoy today. At the time, there were only two other models to which the founders of Seattle Wholesale Growers Market could look: Oregon Flower Growers Association, which has a long history in the Portland market, having been founded in the 1940s; and Fair Field Flowers, a small but mighty collective of Wisconsin and Illinois growers serving Madison and Milwaukie florists. Fair Field Flowers ceased operating as a collective on January 1, 2019, but many of the flower farmers who participated still grow and sell flowers; just independently. And now, we have a new example to highlight. Let's welcome two of the founders of Old Dominion Flower Cooperative, a Washington, D.C.-area local flower cooperative. Seasonal bouquets and growers' bunches My guests are Melissa Webster, founder, and Megan Wakefield, director of operations -- two growers who are part of this group that launched publicly at the end of January. Soon thereafter, Old Dominion joined Slow Flowers Society and reached out to introduce themselves. Here are some statistics from a few months ago -- I wouldn't be surprised if the numbers have grown in all categories: 22 farms within 90 miles of Great Falls, VA85+ years of combined cut flower production experience40+ acres under production 100% female Old Dominion Flower Cooperative is a community marketplace that brings together local growers, designers, and flower lovers by providing top-quality, seasonal, sustainable, diverse, and locally-grown cut flowers and foliages. They aim to make these floral products accessible to designers and the public, while also respecting the efforts of their local farming community. Old Dominion Flower Cooperative is a community-based hub for growers and florists in Northern Virginia, West Verginia, Maryland and the Distirict of Columbia Old Dominion Flower Cooperative started in the winter of 2020 with a series of conversations led by local flower growers and floral designers in the greater D.C.-area about how to fill a gap they saw in the local floral industry. They identified that a lot of fantastic flower growers in the area were having trouble breaking into the wholesale market and even more designers and flower shops that want to use local flowers but were having a hard time finding consistent sources of blooms. With an emphasis on education and high-quality floral product Old Dominion started a six-week training program for member farmers in March. Taught by their mentor Barbara Lamborne from Greenstone Fields and Laura Beth Resnick from Butterbee Farm, topics covered include harvesting, quality control, growing for designers, and conditioning. I'm excited to share this conversation with you today. Before we get started, let me tell you a little more about Megan Wakefield (left) and Melissa Webster (right) Melissa Webster is the owner of Old Soul Flower Company. She has been growing for her community for over eight years and is passionate about good stewardship of the land. Melissa received her M.A. from Georgian Court University where she studied food access; soon after she was the farm manager at Common Good City Farm in downtown Washington DC. Melissa spent time as the education director at National Farmers Union where she worked with farmers around the country. Melissa is a strong advocate for beginning and female producers. Melissa owned Ladybell Farms in West River MD, before moving to Great Falls, VA in 2019 with her husband (Ben) and three dogs (Riley, Brixton, and Bean). Megan Wakefield is the owner of Walking Wild Gardens, based in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. She started gardening with her grandmother when young and later owned a small herbal shop on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. She says her love of gardening, plants, tea, and herbs are all due to her grandmother's influence. In law school, Megan started getting interested in where her food came from. As a first-year lawyer, she started volunteering on a local farm on weekends. Soon, she was hooked and left her 9-5 legal job to work on farms.Today, Megan owns Walking Wild Gardens. She teaches gardening workshops, of

Niki and William (left); Niki Irving (right), photographed at Flourish Flower Farm Let's welcome Niki Irving of Flourish Flower Farm of Asheville, N.C., a longtime Slow Flowers member, a flower farmer, florist, educator and now, author. Just-picked North Carolina flowers, so beautiful! Photographed at Flourish Flower Farm. Niki and her husband William own a nine-acre specialty cut flower farm nestled in North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains. Niki farms more than 300 varieties of cut flowers and foliage and creates seasonally-inspired designs for weddings and special events. She sells her flowers wholesale both locally and nationally, motivated by a belief that flowers make the world a more beautiful, joyful place. Just released: "Growing Flowers," by Niki Irving Let's jump into the conversation and talk all about Niki's new book, "Growing Flowers." Niki (right) and a floral display at Flourish Flower Farm (left) Enjoy these photos of Niki, a talented farmer-florist, and read through the Table of Contents to help you see the range of comprehensive information Niki shares in her new book. Click here to order a signed copy from Niki Find and follow Flourish Flower Farm at these social places. Flourish Flower Farm on Facebook Flourish Flower Farm on Instagram A charming "Goody Box," available from Niki's website. Order details here. Thanks to the generous donation from Niki's publisher, we have two copies to give away to listeners. Here are the instructions: Post a photo of one or more flowers you are growing and be sure to use the hashtag #growingflowersFollow & tag @flourishflowerfarm, @slowflowerssociety and @mangopublishing. We'll gather up all of the posts on May 21st and announce the book recipients in our May 26th episode of Slow Flowers Podcast. Can't wait to see your photos! Camellia Faire's concept for the PHS Philadelphia Flower Show exhibit 2021 More of Maura's beautiful inspiration . . . Before we meet our featured guest, I want to share a short bonus conversation with Maura Feeney of Camellia Faire Floral Studio, based in Philadelphia. You may know this talented floral artist by her former studio name Maura Rose Events, now rebranded as Camellia Faire. Maura is a returning designer at this year's PHS Philadelphia Flower Show and Slow Flowers is supporting her installation. Currently, she is seeking Slow Flower member growers to provide blooming plants to use at their exhibit called Rooted + Gathered. Maura isn't asking for a donation -- she has a budget to purchase the plants, and you'll have promotional credit and receive photography from the exhibit. Check out details above and reach out to Maura at [email protected]. We've been talking all about floral books this week and so here's another chance to participate in an online contest and win a copy of my new book Where We Bloom. Details Flowers Software, one of our Resource section sponsors for the book is running a Where We Bloom Instagram Giveaway for the month of May. Details challenges you to share your creative studio space by posting a photo on IG with the hashtag #wherewebloomdetails. Three top winners will receive a copy of Where We Bloom along with a FREE subscription to Details software. Follow these rules to enter: Thank you to our Sponsors This podcast is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 880 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers. And thank you to our lead sponsor for 2021, Farmgirl Flowers. Farmgirl Flowers delivers iconic burlap-wrapped bouquets and lush, abundant arrangements to customers across the U.S., supporting more than 20 U.S. flower farms by purchasing more than $9 million dollars of U.S.-grown fresh and seasonal flowers and foliage annually, and providing competitive salaries and benefits to 240 team members based in Watsonville, California and Miami, Florida. Discover more at farmgirlflowers.com. For each Podcast episode this year, we thank three of our Major Sponsors. Thank you to Red Twig Farms, based in Johnstown, Ohio, a family-owned farm specializing in peonies, daffodils, tulips and branches, a popular peony-bouquet-by-mail program and their Spread the Hope Campaign where customers purchase 10 tulip stems for essential workers and others in their community. Learn more at redtwigfarms.com. Seattle Wholesale Growers Market, a farmer-owned cooperative committed to providing the very best the Pacific Northwest has to offer in cut flowers, foliage and plants. The Growers Market’s mission is to foster a vibrant marketplace that sustains local flower farms and provides top-quality products and service to the local floral industry. Visit them at seattlewholesalegrowersmarket.com. Our next sponsor thanks goes to Longfield Gardens,

Jennifer Jewell, author, radio host and garden advocate I'm delighted to welcome back return guest Jennifer Jewell to the Slow Flowers Podcast for our lovely, wide-ranging conversation about what defines a garden, where those gardens are, who are the gardeners who tend to them and how we are both emerging from 2020 with a much clearer understanding of the roles women play in making the earth a better, safer, more inclusive and accessible place for all. Jennifer Jewell, creator and host of "Cultivating Place: Conversations on the Natural World and the Human Impulse to Garden" Here's a bit more about Jennifer:She is a gardener, garden writer, and gardening educator and advocate. She is the host of the national award-winning, weekly public radio program and podcast Cultivating Place: Conversations on Natural History & the Human Impulse to Garden. Jennifer is particularly interested in the intersections between gardens, the native plant environments around them, and human culture. Her work has appeared in Gardens Illustrated and House & Garden, among others. She formerly served as the native plant garden curator for the Gateway Science Museum at California State University at Chico. Her book, The Earth in Her Hands, 75 Extraordinary Women Working in the World of Plants was published in 2020. A selection of my favorites from Jennifer's newest book, Under Western Skies: From Under Western Skies, "Silicon Valley and Nature Renurtured," featuring the gardens of Ronald Koo and Miwa Hayash's Los Altos garden, designed by Leslie Bennett of Pine House Edible Gardens (c) Caitlin Atkinson "Boise Valley," the garden of Mary Ann and Delos Newcomer (c) Caitlin Atkinson "Palouse Garden," designed by Suzanne St. Pierre and Scotty Thompson (c) Caitlin Atkinson Jennifer's newest book (produced with photographer Caitlin Atkinson) is Under Western Skies: Visionary Gardens from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Coast, available from Timber Press next week. Subscribe to Cultivating Place here Find and follow Jennifer Jewell at these social places: Cultivating Place on Facebook and Instagram Listen to our past episodes featuring Jennifer Jewell: Episode 397: On Natural History and the Human Impulse to Garden with Jennifer Jewell of Public Radio’s Cultivating Place Episode 443: Women at Work: Making a Living While Following Your Plant Passion, with author Jennifer Jewell and three of the 75 women profiled in her new book, “The Earth in Her Hands” Our fabulous speaker lineup includes (top row), Susan McLeary, Emily Saeger, Molly Culver; (middle row), Kellee Matsushita-Tseng, Lorene Edwards Forkner, Max Gill; (bottom row), Abra Lee, Pilar Zuniga, Jennifer Jewell + our host, Slow Flowers Society's Debra Prinzing And there is still time to register for the Slow Flowers Summit to join me, Jennifer Jewell, and a fabulous lineup of designers, floral artists, sustainable growers, writers, thinkers and doers, and kindred spirits in the progressive floral community. The Summit takes place June 28-30 in the SF Bay Area and we will have an all-open-air conference with covid-compliant precautions in place. Hope to see you there! The May Slow Flowers Newsletter just dropped this week and if you haven't found it in your in-box, here is the link. Two highlights include a link to our full report on the Cut Flower questions that Slow Flowers underwrote as part of the 2021 National Gardening Survey -- as you may recall, we featured this study recently in Episode 502. Grower Beth Van Sandt of Scenic Place Peonies and designer Brandon Scott McLean of East Hill Floral And you can find a preview and more details about our MAY Slow Flowers Member "Virtual" Meet-Up -- Meet two Slow Flowers members from Alaska's peony country! Grower Beth Van Sandt of Scenic Place Peonies and designer Brandon Scott McLean of East Hill Floral will share their knowledge and talents -- and introduce us to the upcoming Alaska peony season. Beth and Brandon will come to us LIVE from the greenhouse at East Hill Floral. Learn about the selection, cultivation and post-harvest "best practices" for peonies from Beth. Watch an inspired floral design demonstration from Brandon! *New date (this month only) Friday, May 21st - 9 am Pacific/Noon Eastern Join Us Here on Friday, May 21st (9 am Pacific/Noon Eastern Thank you to our Sponsors! This podcast is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 880 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers. And thank you to our lead sponsor for 2021, Farmgirl Flowers. Farmgirl Flowers delivers iconic burlap-wrapped bouquets and lush, abundant arrangements to customers across the U.S., supporting more than 20 U.S. flower farms by purchasing more than $9 million dollars of U.S.-gro

Jordan Wach (left), Hannah Brannan of Gather Flora (center), and Jessica Hole of Sonoma Flower Mart (right), photographed in 2020 on the Sonoma Flower Mart truck, preparing to deliver flowers pre-ordered on the Gather Flora platform Today, we have two guests who will bring us up to speed on some exciting floral news happening in and around the Bay Area. As many listeners may recall, there was considerable disruption in the floral marketplace last year with COVID and yet so many flower farmers and florists prevailed, pivoted and innovated as they figured out how to get local, seasonal and sustainably-grown blooms into the hands of consumers. Now, with 2021, the pressure comes not from a pandemic but from a vulnerable global supply chain, and here's where my first guest enters. Please meet Hannah Brannan, a software engineer and founder of Gather Flora, a web platform that connects farmers and florists to facilitate convenient and improved local flower sales. Hannah's love of flowers traces back to a childhood, playing barefoot in her grandmother’s magical garden in Texas. In 2014, Hannah moved to California, home to 80% of U.S. domestic floral production, where she rekindled her childhood enchantment in flowers. Hannah has spent the past several growing seasons embedded in Northern California's floral community. Last year, she ran the sales platform for the Sonoma Flower Mart (with 8 farms and 44 weekly active users) and volunteered on the Board of the Sacramento Valley Flower Collective, all while beta testing gatherflora.com . Hannah Brannan, founder of Gather Flora, loving on some code and software testing specs As Hannah recently wrote: The most inspiring, locally grown flowers that make it to flower shops today are produced by small and medium-sized, mission-driven, dedicated growers and brought to us by wildly dedicated local florists. However, the time, energy, and multiple rounds of back-and-forth communication aren’t always feasible for busy, hard-working florists. I learned that the sentiment of being overstretched resounded from farmers and florists alike and it was clear that there was a need to apply technology in a thoughtful way to alleviate these challenges. Ultimately, I found that I could best serve the community by merging flowers and software and the result is Gather Flora Carlos Pavon, on Team Gather Flora, helping to set up the flower stall for Day 1 Gather Flora at the San Francisco Flower Mart You'll hear about Hannah's path to flowers from software coding and engineering to volunteering in a flower shop and on flower farms. It all comes together in her newes chapter -- running the Gather Flora Flower Stall at the San Francisco Flower Mart. Studio Mondine's first order on Gather Flora to fundraise for the AAPI community (left); Setting up for Gather Flora's Day One at the SFFM 2021 (right) To finance the Flower Stall launch, Gather Flora created a Kickstarter Campaign to raise $13,500 needed funds. As of last week, the campaign had met and exceeded its goal at $15,588 and counting. You'll hear Hannah discuss more in our episode -- please join me in wishing this young collective endeavor a huge success. I think the main insight here is that while buying flowers online is very convenient, there are still times when florists want to use their senses and shop in person. Now Gather Flora has a hybrid way to connect farms and florists in the Bay Area. More resources from and about Gather Flora: CA-based florists and wholesalers sign up for pre-orders here. Gather Flora+ Max Gill Master's Workshop Scholarship Application hereIn 2021, we are looking to expand our network to 50 CA flower growers. If you are an interested, CA-based grower, please apply hereFor all non-CA-based growers (US and international) who are interested in receiving future updates about Gather Flora regional expansion click here.Follow: @gatherflora (IG) and Gather Flora (Facebook) Bonus Guest: Elise Schultheis The Flower Wagon When Hannah and I began planning this episode, I suggested we bring in a second guest -- a Slow Flowers member who uses the Gather Flora platform. And I'm delighted to introduce you to Elise Schultheis of The Flower Wagon. We recorded this episode on Earth Day, April 22nd, which was also the date Elise debuted her new, sustainably-minded business in the Bay area. How fun is that!? Elise's business emerged from her love of flowers and her entrepreneurial spirit, formed while also completing an MBA with a focus on Sustainability and Social Impact. The Flower Wagon, also named "Flora" is a 1963 Volkswagen Single Cab fueled by flower power. After several months of tuning her up and converting her into a flower shop on wheels, Flora is now filled with fresh blooms and is on a mission to celebrate the San Francisco Bay Area’s sustainable, locally-grown flowers and the people who grow them. Follow The Flower Wagon on Instagram! A Post-Script

Since Slow Flowers Society's roots were established in 2013, there is a perennial question I've been asked over and over: How Do We Know if Consumers Care about Local Flowers?I strongly believe having a statistically-accurate snapshot of people's attitudes is one important way the Slow Flowers Movement can demonstrate and help move the needle on this subject. Yet, I’m aware of only two surveys that ever asked consumers about their attitudes toward domestic and local cut flowers -- one in 2013 conducted by the California Grown Association and one in 2019 conducted for the Washington Flowers Project in my region. Clearly, we need research metrics to measure and document how awareness and attitudes are changing around one of the most important topics of the Slow Flowers Movement. Read more background on past Consumer surveys here At the beginning of 2021, Slow Flowers Society began to collaborate with and invested in the well-respected National Gardening Survey, which has been conducted annually since 1973. Now, for the first time, the National Gardening Survey has established benchmarks around consumer attitudes on domestic and locally-grown cut flowers. The findings are so encouraging and we now have a statistically accurate tool to use to track changes and shifts in future years. Dave Whitinger (left) and Paul Cohen (right), our guests today I'm so pleased today to welcome the two men responsible for the 2021 National Gardening Survey, David Whitinger, National Gardening Association executive director, and Paul Cohen, research director and a professor in the Department of Business Administration at Carleton University and principal of Paul Cohen & Associates. Dave and Paul will explain more about the National Gardening Survey, which is the comprehensive market research report that leaders in the lawn and garden industry count on each year to track consumer shifts and help them make strategic marketing decisions. The Survey provides in-depth and up-to-date marketing information on industry trends, household participation, consumer profiles and retail sales. Nearly 2,500 U.S. households respond each year to an array of questions about their behavior and spending power in the lawn and garden space. Companies in the gardening industry financially support the research and sales of this year's 361-page report provide revenue for the National Gardening Association. Click to read the 2021 Press Release about the National Gardening Survey Download our graphics inspired by survey findings. You are welcome to use them in your own conversations with customers, newsletter articles, blog posts and social media. It's my goal that the Slow Flowers membership will join me and encourage discussion about consumer behavior and attitudes! Social media graphics for IG: Let's dive right so you can hear the "big reveal" as we hear how survey respondents answered the two Slow Flowers questions: How important is it that the flowers you purchase are American-grown? and How important is it that the flowers you purchase are locally-grown?Thank you so much for joining me today as we geeked out on the research and contemplated what consumers think about your cut flowers. I'm eager to hear what you think! Do the rankings of 57% preference for domestic flowers and 58% preference for locally-grown flowers resonate with you experience as a flower farmer or floral designer? Please let me know your thoughts! We are already beginning to plan for additional questions to pose in the 2022 National Gardening Survey, so please reach out if you have suggestions and/or if you're interested in sponsoring this endeavor as a Slow Flowers partner. Let's leverage the power of research and use this well-regarded study to validate our values and beliefs around the importance of local and domestic cut flowers. Thanks to Ellen Frost of Local Color Flowers and Lisa Ziegler of The Gardener's Workshop for helping me present a bonus Slow Flowers Meet-Up last week. Ellen shared her timely preview of her upcoming online course, "Growing Your Business With Local Flower Sourcing." Registration for Ellen's course continues through Friday, April 22nd so check out the link I've shared and join me in congratulating floral designer Teresa Rao of Belle Petale for winning our giveaway of one complimentary registration to Ellen's course. Please join me TOMORROW, April 22nd, on Earth Day, for an interactive IG Live Q&A on Sustainable Floral Design with Tobey Nelson and Becky Feasby. The event takes place at noon Pacific/3 pm Eastern. You're invited to join us at @slowflowerssociety on Instagram! Hope to see you there! JOIN ME AT THE WHERE WE BLOOM BOOK LAUNCH! You're invited to join the Virtual Book Launch & Happy Hour on Tuesday, April 27th at 4 pm Pacific/7 pm Eastern to celebrate the publication of BLOOM Imprint's first title, Where We Bloom! The Zoom Party w

The Wild Mother Creative Studio, based in Oklahoma City; from left, Callie Palmer (seated, left); Lauren Palmer (standing) and Leah Palmer (seated, right) | All photography (c) Rachel Maucieri @maucierivisualsco Today, I have a very special episode for you and I'm thrilled to share it! Please meet the three siblings who together are called The Wild Mother: Leah Palmer, Lauren Palmer and Callie Palmer. They are based in Oklahoma City and call their enterprise a Creative Studio, which encompasses their tagline "More than Just Flowers." The Creative Studio is multidisciplinary and collaborative across other art forms, most often expressed to the public through floral design Here's a bit of an introduction, adapted from their website's "About" page: The Wild Mother Creative Studio is owned by Afro-Indigenous sisters and floral artists Lauren Palmer and Leah Palmer, located in the heart of Arts district, Downtown, OKC. Their love and honor of culture, storytelling, and their affinity for natural elements and color theory lend themselves to producing their “Floral Stories.” It’s an added bonus that they get to work alongside their younger sister, Callie. The Wild Mother's offerings include full service wedding and event floral, curbside carryout floral for large-scale events, and holiday floral offering. The Wild Mother women and their studio space, based in the Oklahoma City Arts District The Wild Mother has positioned their entire business as a legacy project—using flowers and floral art installations to heal their lineage forwards and backwards; to send honor to their ancestors whose experiences in America were tragic; and to build a world for their future descendants that is more beautiful, more equitable, and more just. I first learned about The Wild Mother from Susan McLeary who encouraged me to attend a free webinar hosted by the studio at the beginning of this year. Called "More than Just Flowers," the webinar was outlined as: A Panel Discussion for Creatives on Building Affirming, Equitable and Just Brands. Moderated by Leah and Lauren, with help from Callie, the session covered meaningful representation in the wedding & creative industry; a discussion of exploitation versus appreciation; goals for building an anti-racist brand and considerations for BIPOC clients. A number of floral community voices participated, including Sue McLeary and Kristin Griffith-VanderYacht, who you've met here on the Slow Flowers Podcast. Other panelists included a number of people from related disciplines such as event planning, marketing and branding and fine art curation. It was a powerful gathering with honest and open dialogue designed to inspire and challenge attendees who want to be intentional and inclusive with the way they shows up in the world. Watch Video Replay of "More than Just Flowers" Webinar Next, The Wild Mother launched The Lay of the Land, an online course for creatives interested in digging deeper in the topic of building an affirming, equitable and just brand. Register for The Lay of the Land - an Online Course from The Wild Mother Creative Studio I'm eager for you to meet Leah, Lauren and Callie. One of the reasons I asked them to join me today was to introduce their upcoming project called Send Flowers to Greenwood. This is an ambitious series of floral installations that will commemorate the Greenwood Massacre of 1921. Oklahomans and the rest of country are only now beginning to acknowledge what took place 100 years ago in Tulsa, when the vibrant, successful Black-owned Greenwood District, known as "Black Wall Street," was destroyed and many of the people who lived there lost their homes, businesses, and lives due to an attack by Klan members and others who wanted to eliminate the existence of brown and black people in their city. Taking place at the end of May, The Wild Mother's #SendFlowersToGreenwood will be both a virtual and physical outpouring of love, light, and life for Greenwood Tulsa and the descendants of victims of the Greenwood Massacre of 1921. Click here to learn how you can support and participate in #sendflowerstogreenwood Wow. Just wow. I'm so pleased we had this conversation today and I thank you for joining us. There are so many small and large ways to get involved and support The Wild Mother and Send Flowers to Greenwood you can find those details in our show notes. The Wild Mother encourages all of us to post images of flowers on social media from May 10 through June 7 and dedicate that post with the hashtag #sendflowerstogreenwood. I love this pure gesture of respect and humanity and I am eager to participate. I hope you will, too. Find and follow The Wild Mother at these social places:The Wild Mother on Instagram The Wild Mother on Facebook Join me for a BONUS Slow Flowers Event on April 16th A couple of other Slow Flowers opportunities are coming right up. On Friday, April 16th, we h

Here's the COVER with the book jacket flap fully opened to reveal Cynthia Zamaria's charming floral studio. (c) Robin Stubbert Welcome to a very special episode of the Slow Flowers Podcast -- Episode 500 -- in our weekly podcast series about Slow Flowers and the people who grow and design with them. Since we launched this special program in July 2013, I have regularly featured the voices of influencers, stylemakers, pioneers and heroes in the Slow Flowers Movement -- and today we celebrate an impressive milestone with Episode 500! Meet Cynthia Zamaria, looking so content in her creative space, featured in Where We Bloom (c) Robin Stubbert It's been a busy and exciting week here at the Slow Flowers Society! In January, I introduced you to creative director Robin Avni, my partner and co-founder of BLOOM Imprint, the book publishing branch of Slow Flowers Society. You can listen to our conversation from January's Episode 490 here, in which we discuss the goal of telling stories by and about Slow Flowers members through the medium of books! BLOOM Imprint's first title is at the printer right now and we can't wait to tell you all about it. Where We Bloom is an information and idea-packed volume filled with 37 intimate and inspiring floral studios, workshops, storefronts and growing spaces like greenhouses and barns -- all home to creative floral enterprises of Slow Flowers members. You may have seen the cover art because I've shared a few sneak peeks across social media and in Slow Flowers' newsletter, but today I'm excited to introduce you to the woman responsible for the delightfully engaging space featured as our cover destination to illustrate the concept of Where We Bloom. Please meet Cynthia Zamaria, Toronto-based designer, flower grower and stylist whose studio is called Cynthia Zamaria House & Flower. Cynthia will share a bit about her journey with flowers and the three of us will discuss the central themes of Where We Bloom, about which I write in the introduction: The importance of devoting space to the pursuit of one's artThe way environments can inspire individual expression and reflect one's aesthetic styleThe ways one's studio or workshop can inspire the senses. There is also the intangible feeling of security and comfort that creative individuals may feel when they can escape to a destination where their ideas flourish and, yes, blossom!Debra Prinzing, where we bloom Let me tell you a bit more about Robin and Cynthia:Based in Gig Harbor, Washington, Robin Avni is a creative veteran in the media + high-tech industries. Her experience includes more than 15 years in the publishing industry and eight years at Microsoft in design and creative management. She has successfully managed innovative, award-winning design teams and high-profile projects as well as received numerous national design awards and photo editing honors for her own work. Robin has produced 10 books, including collaborating with Debra on the Slow Flowers Journal. Robin Avni, co-founder and creative director of BLOOM Imprint In 2004, following Microsoft, she founded bricolage*, a consultancy specializing in creative strategy, content development, and trend analysis for home + garden. She has worked with Fortune 500 companies, national advertising agencies and award-winning media properties, applying timely actionable insights to their businesses. ​ Robin received a BA in journalism from Indiana University, Bloomington and a Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellowship at the University of Michigan; she holds a Master of Communication in Digital Media from the University of Washington. Find and follow Robin Avnia & BLOOM Imprint at these social places Robin Avni on Instagram BLOOM Imprint on Instagram Cynthia Zamaria (c) Lisa MacIntosh Based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Cynthia Zamaria is an interior and floral designer known for character-filled spaces and carefree flower displays. With an infectious creative spirit and a belief that we all need more beautiful in our lives, Cynthia shares inspiration as an interior and floral editorial stylist, content contributor, writer and workshop teacher. Her work is regularly featured in leading lifestyle media. ​ An advocate of the Slow Flower Movement, Cynthia sustainably grows small-batch speciality blooms and designs unfussy seasonal arrangements. This soulful aesthetic spills into Cynthia's interiors which are true-to-the-space, trendless mash-ups of scale, texture and colour.​ Cynthia and her husband Graham Loughton share a passion for saving forgotten houses and have restored a range of period properties. A former public relations executive, Cynthia now devotes her time to family and creative projects from her home base in Toronto. Find and follow Cynthia Zamaria at these social places: Cynthia Zamaria on Facebook Cynthia Zamaria on Instagram Cynthia Zamaria on Pinterest Sneak peek to more inside pages: "Modern Homestead

Floral and Plant retail entrepreneur Katherine Raz of The Fernseed (left) and a peek at the shop's Stem Bar (c) Devon Michelle Photography (right) I'm excited about today's guest, not only because her enterprise is located right in my backyard, in Tacoma, Washington. Please meet Katherine Raz of The Fernseed. The Fernseed is a modern plant shop and floral studio with two storefront locations in Tacoma. Grab N Go Stem Bar at The Fernseed (c) Devon Michelle Photography This boutique is home to lush, verdant, uncommon plants for home interiors and floral bouquets and vase arrangements for the home and gift-giving. I love how clearly Katherine states The Fernseed's services: Beautiful Houseplants, Handmade Pots, Local Flowers and Daily Delivery. Katherine launched The Fernseed in 2018 as an online store that sold unique handmade designs for potting and displaying houseplants, and she opened the first brick-and-mortar location in April, 2019. Inside The Fernseed (c) Devon Michelle Photography She'll share how The Fernseed was forced to close for nearly three months during the COVID-19 pandemic, during which Katherine and her team launched nationwide shipping, local delivery, and several new products offerings, including plant grams and plant-along-at-home kits. The Fernseed's floral designer Oriana Di Fede In September, 2020, The Fernseed opened a second storefront location on Tacoma’s historic South Tacoma Way. The shop now offers a floral stem bar and floral arrangements for grab-and-go pickup, and local delivery, 60% of which are sourced from small flower farms in Washington, Idaho, California, Oregon, and British Columbia. Between them, Katherine and her all-female team own and care for more than 400 houseplants -- in their personal collections! Engaging customers with plants (c) Devon Michelle Photography . . . . and with flowers! (c) Devon Michelle Photography I'm so inspired and encouraged by the entrepreneurial story Katherine has shared about diversification, changing course and taking risks! I know you'll love learning about Katherine's journey as she has evolved and expanded organically, sustaining her business against the challenges of a global pandemic and emerging stronger. Here's how to find and follow The Fernseed:Fernseed on FacebookFernseed on InstagramFernseed on Pinterest Dating back to the launch of the Slow Flowers Podcast, in July 2013, we have recorded a rich history of conversations with amazing people in the world of plants, flowers and design. We feel so proud of each one of our guests, many of whom can say their very first podcast appearance happened here! And when other accolades come their way, we take pride in those achievements, too. So this week, I want to give a shout-out to two of our past Slow Flowers Podcast guests who are distinguished recipients of the 2021 Great American Gardeners Award from The American Horticultural Society, announced earlier this month. Perla Sophia Curbelo, of Puerto Rico's AgroChic As a past Great American Gardener Award recipient, I know how special it is to receive this achievement and recognition! Huge congratulations to Perla Sofia Curbelo-Santiago of AgroChic, Garden Podcaster and Radio Show Host, San Juan, P.R. for receiving the B.Y. MORRISON COMMUNICATION AWARD – which recognizes effective and inspirational communication—through print, radio, television, and/or online media—that advances public interest and participation in horticulture. Hear our August 2018 interview with Perla in episode 364. Lisa Waud (c) ee berger photograph And Major Props to floral installation artist and creator of the famed Flower House Detroit, Lisa Waud, recipient of the FRANCES JONES POETKER AWARD – which recognizes significant contributions to floral design in publications, on the platform, and to the public. Lisa is currently working with Slow Flowers on membership projects and she has appeared on the Slow Flowers Podcast on a number of occasions. Episode 181 (February 2015)Episode 334 (January 2018)Episode 411 (July 2019)You heard them here first and now they're receiving accolades from the top horticultural association! Picture me here with a big smile on my face -- so happy for you both, Perla and Lisa! Thank you to our Sponsors! This podcast is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 850 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers. And thank you to our lead sponsor for 2021, Farmgirl Flowers. Farmgirl Flowers delivers iconic burlap-wrapped bouquets and lush, abundant arrangements to customers across the U.S., supporting more than 20 U.S. flower farms by purchasing more than $9 million dollars of U.S.-grown fresh and seasonal flowers and foliage annually, and providing competitive salaries and benefits to 240 team members based in W

Hanna Rose Muller of Full Belly Floral (c) Sarah Ching Photograph Today's guest have been on my wish list to interview ever since we met in person at a Slow Flowers gathering in 2018, hosted by Scott Paris of High Hand Nursery, past guest of this podcast. Please meet Dru Rivers, co-founder of Full Belly Farm, one of the first certified organic farms in California, and her daughter Hannah Rose Muller, who created their sister venture Full Belly Floral. They are based in Guinda, in Northern California's Capay Valley. Full Belly is committed to fostering sustainability on all levels, from fertility in their soil and care for the environment, to stable employment for farm workers. Striving to be good stewards of their farm, the folks at Full Belly Farm want this and future generations to be nourished by the healthy and vibrant food they produce. Dru Rivers, the matriarch of Full Belly Farm (c) Hannah Rose Muller Photograph Full Belly Farm has been growing a wide variety of certified organic flowers for over 30 years. The farm sells flowers at multiple farmers markets, to wholesale distributers, and through their CSA. Hannah Muller began Full Belly Floral in the hopes that local and seasonal flowers could help brighten the days of those individuals who are celebrating a special occasion. Growing flowers against the stunning backdrop of Northern California's Capay Valley (c) Emily Merrill Photograph Here's a little bit more about Hannah: She writes on Full Belly Floral's website: that her love for flowers started at a very young age, continuing: When I was little, my mother would spend hours picking buckets filled with flowers to arrange for countless orders and farmers markets. While she worked, her hands a blur of clippers and blooms, I napped in the back of trucks and in boxes, exhausted from my days of exploring. The Flower Harvest at Full Belly Farm As I got older, I began to share in my mother’s enthusiasm for arranging flowers at various community events and farmers markets. To this day, there is no one I have more fun designing with than her. In the past three years, I have grown my love for flowers into a branch of Full Belly Farm that offers local and sustainably grown and arranged flowers for weddings and events. My passion for designing, and my intent to continue the important practice of using locally sourced flowers has led me back to the fields of Full Belly Farm, and to the one place I have ever truly felt at home. Nothing makes me feel more fulfilled than working with flowers, and helping to bring my client’s vision to life. CSA bouquets featuring Full Belly Farm's dinosaur kale and seasonal tulips This is such a lovely conversation with two women spanning the history of Full Belly Farm. I know you'll enjoy meeting them! Find and follow Dru and Hannah at these social places: Full Belly Farm on Facebook and Instagram Hannah Rose Muller/Full Belly Floral on Instagram @farmerhands At the Full Belly Floral design studio (c) Emily Merrill Photograph That was fun, right?! What a great conversation -- so inspiring to think about the many ways that flower farming and floral design brings added value to a food-growing operation. Did you hear Dru mention that flowers are Full Belly Farm's number-two crop?! And the flower CSA subscriptions tripled in 2020! You can't argue with that news! Our fabulous speaker lineup includes (top row), Susan McLeary, Emily Saeger, Molly Culver; (middle row), Kellee Matsushita-Tseng, Lorene Edwards Forkner, Max Gill; (bottom row), Abra Lee, Pilar Zuniga, Jennifer Jewell + our host, Slow Flowers Society's Debra Prinzing You might have heard me mention to Dru and Hannah how I'm looking forward to seeing them this June at the Slow Flowers Summit, which takes place at Filoli Historic House and Garden in Woodside, California, just south of San Francisco. Yes, folks, we are 100% committed to hosting a safe, covid-compliant, all-outdoor conference on June 28-30, 2021 - and you are invited to join us! We are working closely with the administration and horticulture staff at Filoli to ensure a successful Summit for all. It will require some adjustments, but we're ready for them! Our sessions will move to an outside venue with monitors for the powerpoint presentations and carefully served, individually-portioned meals to ensure everything is safe for all. The grounds at Filoli are stunning and the weather will be perfect, so we can gather, socially-distanced, and learn, connect, share ideas and experience community. If you're interested in joining us, please check out the links that I'll have in today's show notes. And check out the Slow Flowers Summit "news" page, with two new speaker profiles of Abra Lee and Max Gill, interviewed by contributor Myriah Towner. I am so ready for this year's Summit! It has been great connecting with everyone over Zoom and online this past year, but nothing can repla

A quick note for you garden-lovers! We are giving away five virtual tickets to the Great Grow Along, a new, three-day, virtual gardening festival taking place this weekend, March 19-21 - online, of course. The Great Grow Along features more than 40 sessions across six topic tracks and YOU might win a free ticket to attend. The first five listeners who post a comment below will receive the complimentary registration, valued at $29.95. Be sure to tell us what's growing in your garden in the comment section. If you miss out on this giveaway, the folks at the Great Grow Along have also shared a $5 off promo code for all of our listeners to join in: that code is: SlowFlowersDiscount. Several past guests of the Slow Flowers Podcast are in the lineup -- and you'll want to grab their presentations, including Lorene Edwards Forkner, Sue Goetz, Kelly Norris and Allison and Sean McManus. And our friend Teri Speight of Cottage in the Court, author of a forthcoming book for BLOOM Imprint, will also be presenting. Sounds like the perfect way to celebrate a new season! Meet today's guest: Jill Brooke Jill Brooke of Flower Power Daily I'm so happy to welcome Jill Brooke to the Slow Flowers Podcast today. She is the creator and editorial director of Flower Power Daily, an online news site for all things flowers. Jill and I were introduced to one another about a year ago through our mutual friends at Fleurs de Villes, the floral fashion exhibition that was staged at the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival in 2020. We've chatted by phone a few times and I appreciate it when Jill sends me newsy emails about how flowers are showing up in our world. Jill has a journalist's uncanny ability to identify and unearth (pun intended) the floral angle to any news topic of the day. If it's a trending hashtag, on any subject, Flower Power Daily will elevate the conversation through flowers. A few examples to illustrate my point: In the performing arts, she wrote about the Barcelona Opera Playing to Flowering Plants Instead of People; in fashion, Flower Power Daily recently covered the new Kenzo and Vans shoe collaboration featuring floral prints. In politics, sports, wellness and mental health, food and wine, and beyond-- Flower Power Daily interprets every subject through a floral lens. It's a way to view the world that I wholeheartedly endorse! We all want flowers to be universally important, and the stories covered by Flower Power Daily underscore this truth -- that humans need flowers. Here's a bit more about Jill Brooke: She has been a CNN correspondent, an Editor in chief at Travel Savvy, Avenue and Show Circuit, a columnist for the New York Post, Ad Week and Metropolitan Home, and her work has appeared in the New York Times, and many women’s magazines. With all this professional experience, Jill says nothing has ever felt as right as Flower Power Daily, which she established in February 2019. Jill gathered seasoned professionals who share the same passion for flowers and respect nature’s gifts and insights to help curate the stories, videos and images you can find each day at Flower Power Daily. You can visit Flower Power Daily's website, subscribe to its newsletter and follow more flower posts on Instagram -- and I'll share those links in today's show notes. As Jill says: If you look at life through the prism of flowers- you will be happier. She believes that flowers are here for a reason and teach great life lessons. Flowers comfort and congratulate; they express sentiments without many words. No matter what is going on in your life – flowers are here for you. Thanks so much for joining me today. Talking with Jill is entirely invigorating -- her energy level is bound to boost anyone else's metabolism, too. And it's all because of flowers. Flower Power Daily recognized Slow Flowers last summer with a story titled 'Five Americans Making History in the Flower World." Subscribe to Flower Power Daily's weekly newsletter Follow Flower Power Daily on Instagram Click on the link below to read more about the just announced nominations for "Aspire Design and Home magazine's 'Best Dressed Rooms in TV and Film Awards.'" Jill is quoted in the press announcement, saying "Because we are spending so much time indoors, we're all talking about what TV shows to watch and ways to redecorate. People are appreciating and focused on design more than ever, so it's a perfect marriage and perfect timing" for an awards program honoring the fabulous interiors of TV shows and films. The awards will be announced on April 22nd. ASPIRE Awards Nominations & Judges (PDF)Download Jennifer Jewell, creator and host of "Cultivating Place: Conversations on the Natural World and the Human Impulse to Garden" This week, I want tell you about Jennifer Jewell, creator and host of "Cultivating Place," a public radio pro

Victoria and Taij Cotten at Perry-winkle Farm Cathy Jones captured an iPhone photo of that "meeting" between Taij and Victoria Cotten and me at the ASCFG conference in September 2018 (I just found this photo on her IG feed!) In 2018, at the most recent Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers' national conference in Raleigh, North Carolina, I met a young couple named Taij and Victoria Cotten. It was serendipity that placed us together at the banquet table, the night of ASCFG's 30th Birthday Celebration, in fact. I learned that Taij and Victoria were invited to the conference by their mentor, Cathy Jones, who joined them at that table. I learned a little bit about their unique co-farming experience, and that's what you'll hear more about in today's conversation. Cathy Jones and Mike Perry of Perry-winkle Farm This is a story of two couples, one farm, and one special friendship between the generations. Cathy Jones and her husband Mike Perry founded Perry-winkle Farm thirty-plus years ago on land in Chatham County, outside of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Their farm products include vegetables, herbs, cut flowers, and fresh eggs from pastured hens, which they sell at three regional farmers' markets: Fearrington Village (seasonally) and 2 Carrboro Farmers markets (Wednesday-seasonally and Saturday- year round). More photos from Perry-winkle Farm: Cathy Jones with her flowers and Mike Perry with his world-famous chicken eggs As first-generation farmers, they began the process of converting over-worked dairy crop land into a sustainable vegetable operation with little more than a few hand tools, a walk-behind tiller and subscriptions to Organic Gardening and New Farm magazines. They sought advice from other local growers and started attending conferences and workshops to broaden their “education”. A few years later, Perry-winkle Farm became one of the first farms in Chatham County to be "Certified Organic". One of the mobile Chicken Houses at Perry-winkle Farm Over the years they have trained and benefited from the help of many employees. Working with motivated “learners” remains one of the most positive aspects of the farm’s activities. And when it comes to selling their beautiful, field-grown cut flowers, Perry-winkle creates mixed bouquets for farmers’ market sales. What Cathy, Mike, Victoria and Taij they really love is using their design skills to fashion arrangements for weddings, parties, and other special events. They also offer “custom or farmer’s choice” buckets of their flowers. Click here to read more about Perry-winkle Farm in an article from NC State Extension's Debbie Roos More scenes from Perry-winkle Farm: Mike and Cathy with Taij and Victoria (left); the Cotten kids, Carleigh and Titus (right) A gallery of the beautiful harvest from Perry-winkle Farm Here's more about Taij and Victoria Cotten: After responding to a Craigslist ad for Valentine’s Day in 2017 at Preston Flower Shop, Taij and Victoria were hooked on flowers. They quit their jobs and traveled North Carolina's Piedmont farming region, talking with any farmer that had time or space for them. They quickly realized they wanted to farm. Now farming alongside their mentors/farm-ily Michael Perry and Cathy Jones of Perry-winkle farm, the couple helps sustainably farm 4 acres in Northern Chatham County, specializing in seasonal vegetables, specialty cut flowers and pasture laying hens. Taij and Victoria reside in Chatham County, NC with their two adorable, flower-loving children: Carleigh (6) and Titus (1) At the Farmers' Market with Perry-winkle Farm You may recall that Taij and Victoria were featured panelists on the flower farming panel as part of last December's Young Farmers & Cooks Conference hosted by Stone Barns Center for Sustainable Agriculture, which I moderated -- and later shared as a Slow Flowers Podcast episode 484 on December 16th. They shared part of their story then, but we were pressed for time to include all the panelists, so I promised to circle back and devote an entire episode to Perry-winkle Farm. It is inspiring to learn how a new generation of flower farmers is being nurtured and supported! Thanks for sharing your story, Cathy, Mike, Taij and Victoria! Thanks so much for joining me today. I am inspired by the story of Mike and Cathy, Taij and Victoria, and I can't wait to see more from this amazing farm-ily, a potential model for other established farms in need of young talent and enthusiasm. Find and Follow these flower farmers:Perry-winkle Farm on FacebookPerry-winkle Farm on InstagramThe Cottens on Instagram This Friday, we are hosting the March Slow Flowers Member (virtual) Meet Up -- and all Slow Flowers Society members are invited to log in via Zoom for a fantastic session! You'll meet three Slow Flowers members who will share all about Dye Plants and Natural Pigments from Botanical Ingredients. Learn how you can grow dy

Lindsey Cummins of Dancing Flower Farm on Lopez Island, Washington -- showing off her first early spring bouquet of the year! Last month, I was treated to a lovely *workcation* opportunity to join two friends at a home they rented to work remotely through the covid pandemic. They promised me my own bedroom and bathroom, a dining table with a view of sea, mountains and islands, an friendly golden retriever named Rocky (who seemed in constant need of a human beach-walking companion, lots of good conversation with adults and a dip in the hot tub each night. How could I refuse? I got my negative test and took a ferry to Lopez Island for four days. The restful view I enjoyed from my workcation spot on Lopez Island. And yes, it was a workcation, but I enjoyed lots of R&R at the same time. I also made a point of visiting today's guest, Lindsey Cummins of Dancing Flower Farm, the only Slow Flowers member on Lopez Island. I couldn't pass up the chance to visit her homestead and learn more about how she and her young family are putting down roots while also growing flowers. It was especially gratifying to do something I used to do all the time, pre-covid: conduct in-person interviews of flower farmers and floral designers whenever and wherever I traveled. I will never again take that privilege for granted. Lindsey, with her son Ira, at Dancing Flower Farm My fresh-air conversation with Lindsey, which you'll hear today, was only the third in-person episode I've recorded in 12 months. Wow. We are living in a world of Zoom and FaceTime, and while I'm grateful for the technology, I have to say that sitting on a picnic bench, sipping tea, chatting with Lindsey and appreciating her first early-spring arrangement on the table, well, that was a treat. Even when the skies opened and we were pummeled with an unexpected hailstorm -- hey, it was all part of the experience, which you'll hear midway through our conversation. Lindsey has a potting and prep bench built onto the back of a vintage 1950s bus Lindsey is the owner, grower and florist of Dancing Flower Farm, a micro specialty cut flower farm on Lopez Island in the Pacific Northwest. She writes: I am deeply inspired by nature’s seasons. I grew up being outside all of the time helping my mom in her vegetable garden, playing in her herb garden and being encouraged to explore. Those early years definitely made an impact on how I live my life now and how my floral designs continue to develop. I recently came across notes my mom had helped me write outlining my first business adventure at 8 years old, growing flowers to sell to our neighbors in my little red wagon. I grew Cosmos, Sweet Peas and Zinnias that year. It only took me twenty years to realize that that was my calling in life, though cooking, baking and landscaping helped me get to where I am today and are skills I value greatly! The new greenhouse at Dancing Flower Farm I start each design as a tiny seed, corm, bulb or tuber, caring and tending them using naturally organic practices till they produce beautiful blooms. I am passionate about designing with only seasonal flowers and foliage that I grow or forage. Growing flowers gives me a sense of purpose, adding beauty to the world and seeing how they bring joy to people makes me happy. I feel every step of the growing process helps me design naturally abundant arrangements, letting the flowers elegantly move to form romantic pieces, from bouquets to installations. No occasion is too small for local flowers! As well as offering fresh flowers I grow everlasting flowers that dry beautifully for creating special lasting pieces: flower crowns, hair combs, wreaths and bridal flowers, keeping color around all season long naturally. If you have an event that is happening during the winter when fresh flowers are not available I encourage you to ask about local dried flower options! Lindsey told me that she's hoping to offer personal flower packages for Island elopements this season, as well as continuing to design for intimate wedding ceremonies. It was a lovely chat and I'm not sure when I'll get to do that again -- either take a ferry boat to an island OR visit a flower farmer or florist in person. I'm eagerly awaiting both of those special experiences. Find and follow Dancing Flower Farm on Instagram The BIG NEWS of this week is that over at BLOOM Imprint, our publishing branch of Slow Flowers, we have just opened up the online shop for pre-orders of Where We Bloom, the first book in our 2021 catalog! This book's subtitle says it all: Intimate, Inventive, and Artistic Floral Spaces. You're invited to join me and step inside the places where flowers come to life as Where We Bloom showcases the beautiful plant- and flower-filled settings of 37 Slow Flowers designers, farmer-florists, and growers. Each environment reflects the personality and aesthetic style of its owner, offering great ideas to inspire the design

Growers' bunches from Amelia Ihlo of Reverie Flowers and Rooted Farmers Today, we have two great guests involved in Rooted Farmers. You first met Amelia Ihlo, founder of this innovative platform for selling flowers, a little more than a year ago when Rooted Farmers launched. What a year to launch, right? As the resilience of flower farmers large and small was tested in 2020, it was surprisingly a good year for launching the new Rooted Farmers platform. Here's the "buyer view" showing varieties and availability on Rootedfarmers.com New ways to showcase floral inventory for wholesale or retail sales - on Rootedfarmers.com Recently, when I had a chance to see a full demo of all the new features that have been built into the inventory and sales tools that Rooted Farmers offers, I asked Amelia if she would share an update with Podcast listeners. At the same time, I suggested we invite a customer, aka a user of the platform, to share the farmer point of view. Amelia immediately recommended our second guest - Haley Billipp of Eddy Farm in Newington Connecticut. It was serendipity because ever since meeting Haley a few years ago at a gathering of Connecticut flower farmers and florists, I've wanted to learn more about Eddy Farm and her involvement in the new Connecticut Cut Flower Collective. Intuitive pricing prompts are one of the newest features on Rootedfarmers.com Here's a bit more about both women: Amelia Ihlo, founder of Rooted Farmers Amelia Ihlo is the owner of Reverie Flowers, a Slow Flowers member farm based in Etna, New Hampshire. Reverie grows specialty cut flowers, forages for abundant native species, and is wholly committed to sustainable practices in every decision that we make. In 2019, Amelia began shaping the idea for Rooted Farmers and you can hear the story in Episode 438 from January 2020. Slow Flowers endorses the Rooted Farmers platform and we are happy to announce that for 2021, Amelia is extending the free membership credit to Slow Flowers members. Use the promo code SLOWFLOWERS2021 when you sign up. We will have these details and some screen shots of how the platform works in today's show notes, as well. The Billipp family at Eddy Farm (c) Jim Billipp Owned by Andy and Haley Billipp, Eddy Farm is a 60 acre, fourth generation family owned and operated farm in central Connecticut, just minutes from Hartford. Haley and Andy grow a mix of vegetables and cut flowers, and sell produce and cut flowers through their roadside farm stand. Eddy Farm offers event floral design and on farm floral design workshops, as well as selling crops to restaurants and floral designers. Left: Harvesting lisianthus at Eddy Farm (c) Tiny Human Photography; a floral installation by Eddy Farm (c) Haley Billipp Andy and Haley have known each other since they were tiny, as their mothers and fathers were good friends. They met up in Boulder when they both moved there after college. They soon moved together to a little house on the Colorado plain and began hunting and growing all the food they ate. They learned to preserve and butcher and grow, and when Lucy offered them a place at the farm in Connecticut, they knew it was the next logical step for the kind of land based life they wanted to live, and here they are! They now farm and raise two young children at this very special place. There is a rich history behind this modern-day agricultural enterprise --Read more of their story here. How sellers manage their customer offerings on Rootedfarmers.com Thanks so much for joining me today as Amelia, Haley and I discussed new ways for growers to sell more flowers -- both at the wholesale and retail levels. It's an exciting time and I wanted to remind you that I published a story about Rooted Farmers as part of a six-part Slow Flowers Journal series that ran last fall called: "New Floral Marketing Models and Platforms." I'll share a link to that article for you to check it out and learn even more. More announcements before we wrap up: First if you listened to last week's interview with Shawn Michael Foley and Gina Thresher of Fleurvana, you may recall that we have a book giveaway for the first 10 listeners who register for a Free ticket to attend this online conference taking place March 5-7. You'll hear from more than 20 fabulous presenters and presentations, including the course Robin Avni and I are co-presenting: The Journey From Blog to Book. The first 10 listeners who register for a Free Ticket to attend Fleurvana will receive a signed copy of Shawn Michael Foley’s new book, I Just Want To Design: The Designer’s Survival Guide to Falling in Love with Your Business. We will run the promotion through this Sunday, February 28th, and announce the winners on March 3rd, right before the next Fleurvana Virtual Summit begins. Register for your FREE ticket to Fleurvana: Regeneration Also in our show notes, you can find the replay video link for the February 18th Web

My conversation with today's guests is helping me to turn my gaze to spring 2021, with a new version of the Fleurvana Online Summit, a multi-day online floral conference that Shawn Michael Foley and Gina Thresher debuted in August of 2020. I'll tell you more about them before we jump to the full episode, but first, the headlines: This is the third Fleurvana conference and the theme is "Regeneration and Sustainability," entirely fitting for a new year and a new season of growth. Fleurvana is dedicated to producing easy-to-obtain education in floral design, business, marketing and other creative topics. Launched with a mission to help fellow florists and designers during the COVID-19 Global Pandemic in 2020, Fleurvana continues to share a virtual beacon of hope for this profession. And moving into 2021, the series continues with a goal of regeneration, rebuilding and sharing inspiration with others -- connected through a mutual love of flowers. With more than 20 presentations from leaders in the floral industry and related fields, the upcoming Fleurvana takes place online, March 5-7. Read on to learn how you can sign up for a FREE registration ticket and enter our book giveaway! Shawn Michael Foley (left) and Gina Thresher (right) Here's a bit more about Shawn and Gina:Shawn Michael Foley is a floral artist, life coach, photographer, and transformational author who helps designers and creatives navigate through their career and personal roadblocks. Shawn has been in the floral industry for over fourteen years, and his floral art is internationally recognized and published. He has worked heavily in the wedding and event industry and has designed and worked on hundreds of weddings.Shawn is an accredited member of AIFD and PFCI. He is well known for his Human Form Project, an anthology showcasing unique and sensual floral designs enhancing the natural beauty of the human body. He was also selected as one of the 2016 Mayesh Design Stars. He has presented, showcased and taught on both national and international platforms to the design community including State Associations, The Philadelphia International Flower Show, AIFD National Symposium and his own high-level workshops. By fusing his floral design background and his Reiki Master Teacher training, Shawn created his coaching platform the Artistic Journey, which guides creative minds to re-fall in love with their art and their business. He now lives in Fort Worth, TX, where his design and coaching practice is based. Shawn is joined by Gina Thresher of From the Ground Up Floral. She's a returning guest of this Podcast, and a Slow Flowers member who is accredited by AIFD and EMC, European Masters Certification. Gina co-created Fleurvana with Shawn and has collaborated on the development and curriculum of the conference series, as well as presented at each of them. The Journey from Blog to Book: with Debra Prinzing (left) and Robin Avni (right) I credit Gina for inviting me to join Fleurvana as an instructor and Regeneration will be my third appearance in this unique educational format. As I mentioned, I'm super excited for you to join the course Robin Avni and I are co-presenting: The Journey From Blog to Book. BLOOM Imprint is the floral book publishing arm of Slow Flowers! The course is designed for every creative person we’ve met who dreams of sharing their art, craftsmanship and aesthetic in a book. As a tangible “artifact,” there is amazing social validation that comes with having a book about your work. A book can narrate your story, teach your concepts and document your work. We believe successful books are driven by a Passion that answers the following: What are you compelled to share? What do you have to offer that will make the world a better place? What is your unique point of view? This course will introduce you to the basic checklist to guide you through our book development idea process and cover our Visual & Verbal Storytelling philosophy at BLOOM Imprint. Click here to grab your free ticket to Fleurvana. The first 10 listeners to sign up will receive Shawn's new book! The first 10 listeners who register for a Free Ticket to attend Fleurvana will receive a signed copy of Shawn Michael Foley's new book, I Just Want To Design: The Designer's Survival Guide to Falling in Love with Your Business. We will run that promotion through Sunday, February 28th and announce the winners on March 3rd, right before the next Fleurvana Virtual Summit begins. And as Shawn and Gina discussed, you can attend Fleurvana LIVE for free if you register via the course ticket link in my show notes. Those free sessions are open only for a small window each day of the conference, so if you think you want to enjoy at your leisure, you can purchase the VIP bundle for a modest amount. That gives you all-access to the 20+ presentations but an invitation to an exclusive Q&A roundtable with instructors each day, March 5-7. I hop

GIVEAWAY Details Below -- Share a Comment and Your Name Will Be Added to the Drawing for The First-Time Gardener: Growing Plants and Flowers I don't know about you, but I've got spring gardening on my mind! The hellebores are already blooming; the daffodil bulbs are pushing out of the soil an inch or so. I can even see the tiniest bump of my peonies' deep maroon tips at the crown of each plant. So, sure we're still 39 days until spring arrives, but who's going to let the calendar hold us back, right? https://youtu.be/7ZQgWZtt2bY A major spring ritual for me has always been participation in local and national garden and flower festivals. Sadly, this year, the closest thing to an indoor spring garden show is going to be over Zoom. Gain inspiration from the replay video of our February 5th Slow Flowers Member Virtual Meet-up, featuring two of our members who are major hellebore experts. Thank you to Pam Youngsman of Poppy Starts Inc. and Riz Reyes of RHR Horticulture for a fantastic presentation. They share volumes about what to grow, how to grow, how and when to harvest and how to design with hellebores. Sean McManus and Allison McManus of Spoken Garden Another perennial ritual of spring is the arrival of a new crop of gardening books. Here at Slow Flowers Podcast, we know we have as many gardener-florists as farmer-florists who listen and learn. And today, I'm happy to welcome first-time authors, Sean and Allison McManus of Spoken Garden. This talented husband-wife duo are busy behind the microphone and camera, teaching ornamental gardening to beginning and curious home gardeners. They have spent the past year writing The First-Time Gardener: Growing Plants and Flowers The book will be released in March and one lucky listener will win a copy for their bookshelf! Listen to the end of the episode to hear how to add your name to our random drawing and giveaway. Sean and Allison are the gardening pros behind the popular website, YouTube channel and podcast Spoken Garden. They offer clear, fact-based information, presented in a friendly and accessible way. With step-by-step instructions and full-color illustrations, new gardeners will learn how to select, plant and tend for outdoor plants, the best techniques, how to mulch correctly, pruning do’s and don’ts, tips for effective, eco-friendly gardening, and much more. Peek inside the pages of their new book: Here's a little bit more about Sean and Allison: Sean has a Master's in Environmental Horticulture from Washington State University and possesses several other horticulture, landscaping, or gardening-related certificates. Sean has over 8 years of experience in Industrial Garden Maintenance and 12+ years operating a private landscape and consulting company. With over two decades in the field, he dreams to fulfill his lifelong passion for educating others about horticulture and gardening. Allison has a Master's in Teaching and is a National Board certified middle school science educator. Through trial and error over the past 10+ years, she has successfully maintained several vegetable gardens and beds full of flowers. She loves attracting all kinds of pollinators and is proud of the fact that their yard is a Certified Wildlife Habitat. She has a passion for photography, animals, writing, traveling, creating content, and lifelong learning. You can learn more from this talented duo by subscribing to the Spoken Garden Podcast. and watch their Daily Garden Content on Spoken Garden's YouTube Channel. Sign up for Sean and Allison's 30-day Garden Bootcamp. Find Spoken Garden on Facebook Follow Spoken Garden on Instagram I know you'll enjoy their story and be inspired to add to your ornamental garden this spring. Thanks so much for joining me today as Sean and Allison McManus shared their encouragement for beginning gardeners, and actually anyone who wants to develop a more enriching and fulfilling ornamental garden! If you want to be added to the giveaway drawing for their new book, The First-Time Gardener: Growing Plants and Flowers , be sure to post a comment in the show notes below -- please share what did you wish you knew when you were a beginning gardener? Coming up on Thursday, February 18th at 2 pm Eastern, Slow Flowers is teaming up with Johnny's Selected Seeds to produce a free webinar for flower farmers, farmer-florists and floral designers interested in knowing more about our Floral Insights and Industry Forecast for 2021. I'll be joining Johnny's flower team, Hillary Alger and Joy Longfellow, as we dive into current and upcoming themes in the floral marketplace. We will review four of the top Insights from the Slow Flowers 2021 Forecast and hear more from Hillary, who will share findings from Johnny's recent survey of flower seed customers -- commercial cut flower farmers. We'll share a nice back-and-forth discussion and as a bonus, Hillary plans to share an update about se

Kelly Marie Thompson of Fleur Inc., shown here on a farm in Tuscany, scouting her upcoming Italy workshop If you want to walk through a case study of a boutique retail florist and special events florist, today's guest is here to share! I'm so pleased to welcome Kelly Marie Thompson, owner of Fleur Inc., based in Chicago. Fleur Inc is a diversified lifestyle boutique and special event design studio. Wedding flowers by Fleur Inc. Kelly formed the enterprise 19 years ago when she was just 22 years old and has based Fleur Inc. on the value of delivering extraordinary experiences, and offering a curated collection of home goods, fine jewelry, floral, and custom design. Fleur Inc.'s Chicago Storefront Kelly Marie shares this message on Fleur Inc.'s web site: "Simply stated, we can't imagine our lives without nature. Flowers and foliage are our language; they are the way we emote, and the way we evoke the senses. Our mission is to collaboratively work with our clients in order to craft an experience that stirs the heart, creates a mood & tells a story. With imagination and technique, we weave every petal, frond and vine into the next chapter, committed to creating extraordinary experiences." An upcoming Valentine's Day image (left); Kelly Marie Thompson of Fleur Inc. (right) Fleur Inc. is a member of the Slow Flowers Society and has been featured in many online blogs and print magazines including Martha Stewart Weddings, Vogue, Town and Country, Better Homes & Gardens, The Knot and was named one of the top 63 floral designers by Martha Stewart. An uncommon wedding palette featuring dark, jewel tones by Fleur Inc. Find and follow Fleur Inc. at these social places:Fleur Inc. on Instagram Fleur Inc. on Twitter https://youtu.be/AP5hUlrD3wg Check out Kelly Marie's online course (see intro video above), "The Art of Growing an Extraordinary Floral Business," which debuted about one year ago. She has compiled all of her experiences and lessons learned over the past nearly 20 years in retail and event floral design into a six-part online course. Click here for more details. Learn more about Kelly's coaching practice through Be Sage Consulting. Maybe this is just the resource you need with the new year -- and how wonderful to learn from a fellow Slow Flowers practioner! Find more details about A Tuscan Gathering ~ Flowering with Kelly Marie Thompson, upcoming, June 5-9, 2022. Before we wrap, I have a couple important announcements: All about Hellebores! The topic of our February Slow Flowers (Virtual) Member Meet-Up! You're invited to join me this Friday, February 5th at our February Slow Flowers Member Meetup -- virtually. We typically meet on the 2nd Friday of each month, but due to the overlap with Valentine's weekend, we're going to gather one week early. I'm over the moon with our topic for February, which is all about the cultivation of hellebores as cut flowers and floral design with hellebores. Our guests are both expert plantspeople and Slow Flowers members. You'll meet Pam Youngsman of PoppyStarts Inc., a plant broker who has spent her entire career connecting garden centers with uncommon perennials, and who now supplies flower farms with those plants; and Riz Reyes, past guest of this podcast, who owns RHR Horticulture. Riz grows hundreds of hellebores in the landscapes he designs and frequently incorporates hellebores into his floral design. Follow this Zoom link to join us on Friday, February 5th at 9 am Pacific/Noon Eastern. If you miss the session, no worries! We will record it for replay viewing. Next up, Robin Avni, my partner in BLOOM Imprint, and I are getting ready for a new course for all you aspiring floral book authors! We are joining the Fleurvana Virtual Summit March 5-7, focusing on Sustainability and Regeneration, with The Journey from Blog to Book. The course is designed for every creative person we’ve met dreams of sharing their art, craftsmanship and aesthetic in a book. As a tangible “artifact,” there is amazing social validation that comes with having a book about your work. A book can narrate your story, teach your concepts and document your work. We believe successful books are driven by a Passion that answers the following: What are you compelled to share? What do you have to offer that will make the world a better place? What is your unique point of view? Thank you to our Sponsors And thank you to our lead sponsor for 2021, Farmgirl Flowers. Farmgirl Flowers delivers iconic burlap-wrapped bouquets and lush, abundant arrangements to customers across the U.S., supporting more than 20 U.S. flower farms by purchasing more than $9 million dollars of U.S.-grown fresh and seasonal flowers and foliage annually, and providing competitive salaries and benefits to 240 team members based in Watsonville, California and Miami, Florida. Discover more at farmgirlflowers.com. For each Podcast episode this year, we

It's a very exciting day for Slow Flowers and this episode is devoted to some BIG NEWS. I'm thrilled to tell you all about it! I've invited Robin Avni, past guest of this podcast, to join me as together we tell you all about our new collaboration -- the formation of a boutique book publishing project called BLOOM Imprint. Debra Prinzing (left) and Robin Avni (right) BLOOM Imprint emerges from our 15-year professional relationship and friendship. A decade ago, Robin and I collaborated with a talented group of women on a multi-year content and lifestyle consulting project, "Real Women, Real Life." During that time, we also teamed up to give a presentation on The Female Gardener: Mommy to Maven for the Independent Garden Center Show and co-authored white papers and trend reports about female consumers. Fast-forward to 2019-2020, when Robin and I produced Slow Flowers Journal - Volume One, a compendium of the "best of" editorial stories and imagery featured in the "Slow Flowers Journal" section of Florists' Review magazine. That's where I previously served as contributing editor and Robin served as managing editor of books, producing 10 book titles related to the floral industry. We're announcing the launch of BLOOM Imprint today, with me serving as editorial director and Robin serving as creative director. This venture is committed to developing books that express visual and verbal storytelling in equal measures. By pairing my love of the written word and editorial narrative and Robin's visually strong creative direction talent, we are pretty jazzed about what we have in store for sharing the people, places, flowers and art of our Slow Flowers Community through a new lineup of books. Read our Press Announcement Here: BLOOM-Announcement-1_27_21Download Where We Bloom: Our first title We believe that "setting" is an important facet to making art -- and nothing could be truer for floral designers and floral artists. This book profiles the people, art and creative work spaces of designers and makers. The subtitle is: Thirty-Six Intimate, Inventive and Artistic Studio Spaces Where Floral Passions Find a Place to Blossom Step inside the personal environments where flowers come to life. "Where We Bloom" showcases beautiful plant- and flower-filled settings of Slow Flowers designers, farmer-florists and growers. Each setting reflects the personality and aesthetic style of its owner, offering great ideas to inspire the design, decor, organization, and of course, functionality of your creative space. Publication Date: April 2021Pre-ordering information will be shared soon! Between us, Robin and I have produced and published more than 20 lifestyle, design, architecture, floral and gardening titles. We formed BLOOM Imprint as a boutique publishing company with the mission of identifying creative entrepreneurial book ideas and growing them -- from the seed of an initial concept to a finished product. As we publish new authors and consult with aspiring ones, we believe that producing a book is ultimately one of the most affordable marketing endeavors available to creatives. From our "Who We Are" page on BLOOMImprint.com -- learn about our backgrounds and experiences, and read what people say about working with us! Let me tell you a little more about Robin Avni and then we'll jump right in and get started:A creative veteran in the media + high-tech industries, Robin's experience includes 15+ years in the publishing industry and eight years at Microsoft in design and creative management. She has successfully managed innovative, award-winning design teams and high-profile projects as well as receiving numerous national design and photography editing awards for her own work. Robin has produced 10 books, including collaborating with Debra on the Slow Flowers Journal. In 2004, following Microsoft, she founded bricolage*, a consultancy specializing in creative strategy, content development, and arts advocacy. She has worked with Fortune 500 companies, national advertising agencies and award-winning media properties, applying timely actionable insights to their businesses. ​Robin received a BA in journalism from Indiana University, Bloomington and a Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellowship at the University of Michigan; she holds a Master of Communication in Digital Media from the University of Washington. Listen to my December 2018 Slow Flowers Podcast Episode with Robin -- a segment called "How creatives can be authentic in a digital age." Anticipation! Here are our first five books in the BLOOM Imprint catalog, with titles from Debra Prinzing, Felicia Alvarez, Holly Heider Chapple, Teresa J. Speight and Cynthia Zamaria! Thanks so much for joining Robin Avni and me as we shared a conversation about BLOOM Imprint. Follow BLOOM Imprint at these social places: BLOOM Imprint on Instagram BLOOM Imprint on Facebook BLOOM Impri

Fawn Rueckert at her Farmers' Market stall I have a fabulous and informative conversation for you today, with Fawn Rueckert of Sego Lily Flower Farm, based in Utah's Salt Lake Valley. The emerging Utah flower farming community gathered at Poppin' Blossoms on September 7th. I'm so glad I met everyone! Fawn is seen second from the right. I first met Fawn in person in September 2019 when I was in Salt Lake City for the annual GardenComm conference. I skipped out one day and rented a car to drive about 30 minutes south of the city to join a gathering of Utah flower growers. Laura Pittard of Poppin' Blossoms hosted the lovely luncheon and tour of her beautiful cut flower fields and you'll want to go back and listen to Episode 418 that we recorded prior to the event. There, I met Fawn and learned about her urban micro farm and focus on retail sales of her flowers through a CSA subscription and farmers' market outlets. Students of last summer's popular cutting garden series take home bountiful buckets of flowers like this one Fawn has been on my wish list to interview. She is vice president of the burgeoning Utah Cut Flower Farm Association and you'll hear an update about that amazing collection of inter-mountain west flower growers. As it turns out, at that same gathering in September 2019, I met Heather Griffiths of Wasatch Blooms, a colleague of Fawns through the Utah Cut Flower Farm Association. You can hear my interview with Heather in Episode 428 which aired in November 2019, along with an interview with Slow Flowers member Ali Harrison of Florage Utah. Sego Lily Flower Farm, fenced to keep out the family dog! There's a lot going on in this part of the country, an area that Fawn points out is only recently embracing local flower agriculture and sustainable design. Making the most of a suburban backyard and a "Sister Farm" at the neighbor's Fawn shares a lovely "about" essay on her website for Sego Lily Flower Farm, which talks about her childhood wonder of the plant world, and her gardening family roots. She picks up the narrative after moving from Southern California to Utah with her young family, writing:"We were finally able to purchase our first home, a duplex on a tiny unfinished lot. As we dove head first into landscaping, my childhood dreams were coming true, I finally had my own bit of earth to tend and plant. Only it wasn't enough, I needed more, so in 2013 we moved to a smaller home on a larger lot. Now with 4 sons in tow, we began designing and building my dream potager, complete with a cutting garden. It didn't take long to realize that it would be a lot more fun to share the bounty of our garden than keep it to ourselves, and we established Sego Lily Flower Farm in 2017. We focus on growing cut flower varieties that are unique, that wouldn't survive the rigors of shipping, are most beautiful when grown locally and grow them in a way that is safe for our family and yours."Sego Lily Flower Farm is situated in Salt Lake valley on Fawn's 1/3-acre suburban lot. We focus on sustainable growing practices, feeding the soil with organic material, and avoid the excessive use of herbicides and pesticides. I'm excited for you to hear the rest of the story, including how Fawn is branching out into education and workshops. You will find photos of this talented farmer-florist and links to her social places in our show notes at debraprinzing.com for Episode 489. Let's get started. Find and follow Fawn at these social places: Sego Lily Flower Farm on Facebook Sego Lily Flower Farm on Instagram Each student has his or her own row at Snuck Farm, where Fawn teaches the "Backyard Cut Flower Garden Course" Fawn's Backyard Cut Flower Garden Course at Snuck Farm If you live in any of the inter-mountain states, Nevada, Idaho, Colorado and Wyoming check out the Utah Cut Flower Farm Association. As Fawn mentioned, there are people and resources for the entire region. I want to direct you to a few cool video resources that we posted for Slow Flowers members this past week. https://vimeo.com/501331299 First, you can find the concluding post in our eight-part weekly series about all the insights and themes from our 2021 Slow Flowers member survey -- on Slow Flowers Journal.com. Karen Thornton and Niesha Blancas joined me for a lively recap Q&A discussing some of the survey's findings that reveal much more about YOU, our members. We also share many of the comments and questions that members wrote in response to two open-ended questions: What are the key ways in which you have found value in the Slow Flowers member benefits? and Do you have any other comments, questions, or concerns you'd like to share with Slow Flowers? We recorded our Zoom conversation on January 14th and you'll want to watch. Karen and Niesha added so much to that session, but truly, Edd and Rami, Niesha's

Hello friends! It's 2021 and I couldn't be happier to welcome you to our fun conversation today! Anyone who's been part of the Slow Flowers Community knows how deeply we value professional contacts that develop into friendships. And today, you will meet two women who are Slow Flowers members, and now, both my neighbors and friends. I live in a little suburb of Seattle called Des Moines, Washington, which is just south of the metropolis! Our first guest is Cindi Schriock, owner of CMS Floral Design, here in Des Moines. And our second guest is Gina Thresher of From the Ground up Floral, located in Kent, Washington, the much larger community just east of us. Cindy Schriock of CMS Floral Design (left) and with one of her signature urn designs (right) Both women have home-based studios, and as it turns out, I learned that both started their floral journeys about 12 years ago. Cindi will explain how she organically built CMS Floral Design while working full-time in a corporate job. And Gina will share a somewhat similar path, beginning when she designed the flowers for her own wedding and growing her studio while raising her two young children. A CMS Floral Design bridal bouquet I feel so much affection for both of these women. Earlier this year, after the death of my father, I was so pleased to see that friends who wanted to send their sympathies ordered floral arrangements for me by look at slowflowers.com to find my local florists. Both Cindi and Gina delivered heartfelt, stunning arrangements that my family, especially including my mother, and I really enjoyed. One of Seattle Elegant Sofreh designs for a ceremony at the Edmonds (WA) Yacht Club, designed by Cindy Schriock In addition to CMS Floral Design's focus on flowers for corporate clients and everyday orders, Cindi owns Seattle Elegant Sofreh, a specialty design service for Persian wedding ceremonies. The Sofreh is a cultural tradition that is created in addition to the wedding flowers, incorporating several features and ingredients that are symbolic and meaningful. Gina Thresher, AIFD, EMC, of From the Ground Up Floral (left) and one of her exuberant bouquets, which was selected as one of the Top Ten TROPICAL NOUVEAU designs, sponsored by Neotropical Hawaii Gina started From the Ground Up, transitioning to a full-service floral design practice after studying invertebrate biology. As you'll hear in our conversation, her business formation began with her own wedding flowers, which she designed. She explains, "I was that DIY crazy bride, the one that doesn’t really notice she’s spending a fortune to ruin her nails and causing her family to panic when she doesn’t have the boutonnieres done at 3 a.m. the morning of the wedding." Gina's use of color, texture, composition is expressed in these two bouquets Hooked, Gina took classes and pursued floral certifications at the national and international level, including AIFD (American Institute of Floral Designers) and EMC (European Master Certification). She teaches in person and virtual design courses, lectures and is active on social media, primarily as the PNW chapter president for AIFD. More Resources and Links:Follow Cindy Schriock at these social places: CMS Floral Design on Facebook and Instagram Follow Gina at these social places: From the Ground Up Floral on Facebook and InstagramFollow this link for more details about Gina's upcoming online course: Florist's Business Bunch Step by step tutorials. Play, pause, and implement. Or watch at your own pace anytime.Templates galore. Trello boards for you to copy to get you started.Lifetime access to the bundle (even when it's no longer for sale)Mix of content. From pdfs to video. Many styles of learning are supported.Get the power of a Client manager, Graphic designer, and Project manager in one bundle! Click here for more details on the Spring Fleurvana Virtual Summit: Sustainability & Regeneration, March 5-7, 2021 Connecting with more of you - either in person or virtually thanks to technology -- is one of my ongoing goals. I encourage you to take advantage of our monthly Slow Flowers' member virtual meet-ups. The January session took place last week. Here is the replay video, in case you missed it! Our theme was "Floral Wellness," and I want to thank Rachel Johnson of Simply Grounded, who introduced us to Sogetsu Ikebana and demonstrated three incredible designs for us to learn from. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3KR9yzupjY&feature=youtu.be This Friday, January 15th at 9 am Pacific/Noon eastern, you are invited to join our free webinar focusing on how to create Botanical Couture fashions for the upcoming American Flowers Week 2021 campaign. If you have ever been interested in participating as a creator of a floral fashion, this session is for you! As of the date of this recording, ten past botanical couture creators are confirmed to present, and we will hear how each conceptualiz

The Pursuit of Nature This Forecast began seven years ago in 2014 when I began documenting shifts and changes in the Slow Flowers Movement. I recently described the origins of this important exercise in my new online course, Taking Stock and Looking Ahead [P.S. follow this link to learn how you can take this free course as my gift to you.] Here's how I remember it:In 2014, when I launched slowflowers.com as an online directory of American flowers and the growers and florists who supplied them, I worked with two talented public relations friends to get the word out to the media. While planning a visit to meet with lifestyle and garden magazine editors in New York, one of the PR experts urged me to create a Power Point slide deck that included an overview of floral trends I associated with the emerging Slow Flowers movement. In creating that deck, which became my first forecast for 2015 (see above), I learned a few important lessons. I share this in the context of the social media term "impostor syndrome," because it's no surprise -- we all feel that sometimes. When Lola and Marla encouraged me to write a trend forecast, at first I thought: Who am I to forecast trends? Isn't that a role only for the experts? Their response: You have a point of view and it's based on hundreds of interviews that you conduct for articles and for your Podcast over the course of each year. See what bubbles up from those topics and themes that excites you about the year to come. I realized that since I was the one who conducted those interviews and wrote those articles, I was viewing trends through my own lens and filter -- the Slow Flowers perspective. When I shared that Power Point deck with editors and had positive responses (as in, they took it seriously during our meetings), I later decided to post the 10 insights on my blog and record a Slow Flowers Podcast episode about it. You can go back and listen to episode 174 from December 31, 2014 The Power Point deck I shared with editors became a blog post and, as I mentioned, the Podcast show notes. Then I shared it with Slow Flowers members in my monthly newsletter. And then a few floral trade publications picked it up. As a result, I became an "Accidental Forecaster", and that has elevated Slow Flowers' unique and relevant viewpoint in the floral marketplace. I've learned some valuable lessons. We're no longer waiting for Martha Stewart or Oprah or Chip and Joanna to tell us what's on trend. Each of us can speak with an authentic voice about our observations, key cultural shifts and new creative directions in the floral space. In the end, the forecast is a tool; a roadmap that helps me and others consider what is around the bend or across the horizon. It sparks conversation and sometimes, to be honest, it sparks controversy. The Pursuit of Nature So let's get started! I have 10 insights to share with you for the year to come. I'm calling our 2021 Report: "In Pursuit of Nature," and you can understand why, right? As we enter 2021, at least in the short term, not much will feel different from the past nine months. And if there is anything we've learned since mid-March 2020, it's the essential and irreplaceable role of flowers and plants for our survival. And that's why my outlook is deeply connected to humankind's pursuit of nature -- and how floral entrepreneurs like you can and should tap into and enhance that pursuit through your efforts. I learned about the term "Biophilia" in October 2019 when I interviewed Tom Precht and Sarah Daken of Grateful Gardeners. Tom is a big advocate of Biophilia and he opened my eyes to its relevance as we make personal and business decisions that impact our planet's survival. He discussed the definition when I interviewed him, but here it is again, according to Merriam Webster: Biophilia: "a hypothetical human tendency to interact or be closely associated with other forms of life in nature" All you have to do is read the headlines of 2020 to see a collective shift toward nature, plants, the environment - and yes, flowers. A recent article in the Washington Post caught my attention. The headline reads: "The isolation of the pandemic caused her to form a new and intense relationship to nature. She was hardly alone. The benefits of being outdoors for your physical and mental well-being are well documented, but in this coronavirus era, they may be immeasurable." A Forbes headline reads: "Nature Is Good For Your Mental Health, Sometimes" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJVNObTbneE&feature=youtu.be The University of Washington shared this research: "Dose of nature at home could help mental health, well-being during COVID-19" The report stated: “Studies have proven that even the smallest bit of nature — a single tree, a small patch of flowers, a house plant — can generate health benefits,” said Kat

Welcome to the final episode of the Slow Flowers Podcast for 2020. As I have done since the beginning of 2014, I'm turning the spotlight on our year of Slow Flowers. Next week, on January 6th, I'll bring you the annual report for our 2021 Slow Flowers' Floral Insights and Industry Forecast. Last year at this time, we celebrated a successful 2019 with more members, more participation and more Slow Flowers blooming in the marketplace. Speaking for myself, there was a definite feeling of anticipation in the air, as we turned the calendar to a new year and a new decade. We felt optimism and creative inspiration. We wanted to celebrate and embrace a progressive climate for local, seasonal and sustainable flowers in agriculture and design . . . and could see on the horizon a floral climate where Slow Flowers increasingly took center stage. The year kicked off with some exciting opportunities to connect with members, including speaking twice in Oregon -- first, for the PNW Cut Flower Growers Meet-Up in Corvallis, and next at the Good Earth Home, Garden & Living Show in Eugene. In late February, I returned to the fabulous Northwest Flower & Garden Festival to produce the floral stage for the third year in a row. I welcomed six Slow Flowers Members to teach sold-out, hands-on floral design workshops called "Blooms & Bubbles." We welcome the beautiful Fleurs de Villes floral couture installation with eight of the fashions created by Slow Flowers members who showcased their talents. Slow Flowers sponsored Melissa Feveyear of Terra Bella Flowers, for an all-domestic floral gown -- Here's my interview with Melissa in which we discuss her studio, art practice and floral fashion! Also at the flower festival, I joined a panel presentation moderated by fellow podcaster Jennifer Jewell, author of the new book: The Earth in Her Hands, profiles of 75 extraordinary women working in the world of plants, as one of those profiled (PS you can hear that full conversation moderated by Jennifer on Episode 443). 2020 Trend Summit speakers, from left: Susan McLeary, Hitomi Gilliam, Francoise Weeks, Holly Chapple, Debra Prinzing, Leatrice Eiseman and Gregor Lersch (c) Collin Gilliam A few weeks later in mid-March, the reality of the Covid-19 Pandemic began to sink in. I was in Vancouver, B.C., at Hitomi Gilliam's Trend Summit, and at the time, I had no idea it would be my last in-person opportunity to speak to a floral audience. Here we are, nine months into it and we've all accepted the new norms required to fight the pandemic, keep ourselves and others safe from infection, and use our energy and resources to hang onto our livelihoods. In response, we found ways to stay connected this year. I sought and invited you to share your personal "Stories of Reslience" for our Slow Flowers Podcast and Virtual Member Meet-Ups. Learning how you personally tackled and creatively addressed such huge challenges has been a major source of inspiration to me and other. And similarly, our definition of thriving has greatly changed. Month by month, we forged ahead. We forged ahead through the Pandemic, through a racial justice awakening, through the increasing threat of Climate Change. We looked in the mirror and asked ourselves: "Are we doing enough to walk the talk?" "Are we communicating our values through our actions?" We also found and nurtured community in new ways. We spent more time at home than ever before. We re-evaluated what's truly important. And in doing so, I believe we have gotten stronger. In late October, I gathered with Karen Thornton, our operations/membership and events manager at either end of a huge conference table and we were joined via Zoom by Niesha Blancas, our social media manager and Becky Feasby, our new Slow Flowers Canada associate, for our 2021 planning retreat. We started the day discussing the Year in Review. You know, that exercise was so affirming. It was so valuable to not only itemize the accomplishments I felt were important, but to hear from my colleagues about the highlights that excited them. And we came up with a pretty amazing list. It is essential to stop and take stock in the year that's coming to a close. This year it's especially important! I'd like to walk you through our list and invite you to join me in celebrating what the entire Slow Flowers Community has accomplished together: SLOW FLOWERS SUMMIT Our original panel of speakers includes, (clockwise from top, left): Susan Mcleary, Kellee Matsushita-Tseng, Molly Culver, Lorene Edwards Forkner, Debra Prinzing, Jennifer Jewell, Pilar Zuniga and Emily Saeger Last week, I sent out an email to our registrants, members and followers with a Slow Flowers Summit update -- you can find it here. Top items of note: The Slow Flowers Summit 2021 is moving forward with confidence! We know for certain that the management at Filoli Historic House & Garden are taking

It’s that time again, Welcome to our annual Slow Flowers Holiday Music Special! Remy Brault, vocalist, songwriter and owner of Labellum in Bozeman, Montana I'm so happy today to bring you an audio gift of music. Please enjoy my conversation with Bozeman, Montana-based Remy Brault, who with her husband and partner Fred Brault own the contemporary floral boutique Labellum Flowers. The couple originally met through music and formed a singer-songwriting duo called Nest of Seven when they lived and worked in Los Angeles. Nest of Seven's album cover I'll chat with Remy about how music has influenced her path, how she has taken a long hiaitus away from music, and how she's finding her way back to music. We'll hear three songs from Remy and Fred's album, "In the Valley of the Red Sparrow," and more! Enjoy meeting and hearing from this multi-talented creative! And if you missed my conversation with Remy earlier this year, have a listen here (Episode 459). Labellum's home page -- reflecting the shop's many flowers, boutique products and designs Thank you, Remy, for sharing your musical influences and your floral journey -- I wish you a creatively fulfilling 2021! By the way, I continue to be on the lookout for musical guests to feature each December, so if you're a Slow Flowers member with a song to share (or even an album!), please reach out and let me know! Here is a list of our past Holiday Music Episodes! 2019: Carolyn Kulb of Folk Art Flowers 2018: Nathan Leach and Eva Leach of Nathan and Eva 2017: Scott and Kristen Prinzing of EarthShine 2016: Ellen Zachos of Backyard Forager 2015: Dennis Westphall of Jello Mold Farm Next week, on Wednesday, December 30th, the final episode of 2020, I'll share our 2020 Year in Review with you. On the horizon, the first episode of the New Year, Wednesday, January 6th, will feature our 2021 Slow Flowers Floral Insights and Industry Forecast. I'm so excited to share both of these reports with you as we say goodbye to 2020 and eagerly anticipate 2021. The Slow Flowers Podcast has been downloaded more than 670,000 times by listeners like you. Thank you for listening, commenting and sharing – it means so much. As our movement gains more supporters and more passionate participants who believe in the importance of our domestic cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious. I know you feel it, too. 2020 has been a challenging year for all of us and we have continued to deliver fresh, original content to you through the Slow Flowers Podcast, week in and week out -- since 2013! If every listener contributes just $2, the funds will add up quickly to cover our out-of-pocket costs to record, edit, host and promote the Slow Flowers Podcast. Would you consider making a year-end donation? Not counting all of the time invested in developing the topics, guests and content, we spend more than $10k annually to bring you this award-winning internet radio program. Your financial support can ensure we continue into 2021. I value your support and invite you to show your thanks to support Slow Flowers' ongoing advocacy, education and outreach activities. You can find the donate button in the column in the right column! Thank you to our Sponsors This podcast is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.Longfield Gardens, which provides home gardeners with high quality flower bulbs and perennials. Their online store offers plants for every region and every season, from tulips and daffodils to dahlias, caladiums and amaryllis. Check out the full catalog at Longfield Gardens at longfield-gardens.com. Rooted Farmers works exclusively with local growers to put the highest-quality specialty cut flowers in floral customers' hands. When you partner with Rooted Farmers, you are investing in your community, and you can expect a commitment to excellence in return. Learn more at RootedFarmers.com. Syndicate Sales, an American manufacturer of vases and accessories for the professional florist. Look for the American Flag Icon to find Syndicate’s USA-made products and join the Syndicate Stars loyalty program at shop.syndicatesales.com. (c) Missy Palacol Photography I'm Debra Prinzing, host and producer of the Slow Flowers Podcast. Next week, you're invited to join me in putting more American grown flowers on the table, one vase at a time. And If you like what you hear, please consider logging onto iTunes and posting a listener review. The content and opinions expressed here are either mine alone or those of my guests alone, independent of any podcast sponsor or other person, company or organization. The Slow Flowers Podcast is engineered and edited by Andrew Brenlan. Learn more about his work at soundbodymovement.com. Music Credits

The Regional Flower Economy panelists, clockwise from top left: Julius Tillery of Black Cotton US, Taij Cotten & VC (Victoria) Edwards-Cotten of Perry-winkle Farm, Julio Freitas of The Flower Hat and Aishah Lurry of Patagonia Flower Farm Two weeks ago, you heard from Shannon Algiere and Jessica Galen as we discussed the 2020 Young Farmers & Cooks Conference, held last week as a virtual event attracting more than one thousand attendees. Shannon and Jessica shared the story of Stone Barn Center for Food & Agriculture and gave us a preview of the conference. I want to thank Shannon, a Slow Flowers member, Stone Barns Center's resident flower growing expert, farm liaison manager and co-director of the Arts & Ecology Lab for inviting me to gather together and moderate a flower-focused panel -- and I'd like to share the audio of that presentation with you today episode. You'll hear from four Slow Flowers members each of whom discussed her or his unique approach to agricultural entrepreneurship. They include Aishah Lurry, Patagonia Flower Farm, Julio Freitas, The Flower Hat, Taij Cotten and VC (Victoria) Edwards-Cotten, Perry-winkle Farm, and Julius Tillery, Black Cotton U.S.As I said at the beginning of our panel, clearly, I am not a YOUNG FARMER, but through my passion for the Slow Flowers Movement I hope to shine a light on several of our members: flower farming pioneers you'll meet today. VC and Taij with flowers and little Titus in a baby pack Taij & Victoria (VC) Cotten, of Perry-winkle Farm in Pittsboro, North Carolina After responding to a Craigslist ad for Valentine’s Day in 2017 at Preston Flower Shop, Taij and Victoria were hooked on flowers. They quit their jobs and traveled North Carolina's Piedmont farming region, talking with any farmer that had time for them. They quickly realized they wanted to farm. Above left: Michael Perry and Cathy Jones with Taij & VC Cotten; the Cotten children above right Now farming alongside their mentors and "farm-ily," Michael Perry and Cathy Jones of Perry-winkle Farm, the young couple helps sustainably farm 4 acres in Northern Chatham County, North Carolina, specializing in seasonal vegetables, specialty cut flowers and pasture laying hens. Perry-winkle farm attends 3 regional farmers' markets: Fearrington Village (a seasonal market) and 2 Carrboro Farmers markets (one seasonal and one year round). Taij and Victoria reside in Chatham County, NC with their two adorable, flower-loving children: Carleigh (6) and Titus (1) I first met Taij and Victoria at the 2018 Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers annual conference in Raleigh, when destiny made sure we were seated together at the same banquet table. I've been following their adventures on social media ever since and am delighted to welcome them today. Find and follow Perry-winkle Farm and Taij & Victoria Perry-winkle Farm on Facebook Perry-winkle Farm on Instagram Taij & Victoria on Instagram Julius Tillery of Black Cotton U.S. Julius Tillery, founder and CEO of Black Cotton U.S. Julius is the NC State Coordinator for the Black Family Land Trust. He is a 5th Generation life-long row crop commodities producer (cotton, soybeans, peanuts) from Northeastern, North Carolina. He has worked as an advocate and resource provider in the North Carolina agriculture and environmental sectors since 2009. Julius has also worked at Rural Advancement Foundation international and The Conservation Fund. He currently serves on the Southern Administrative Council for SARE (that's the Sustainable Agriculture, Research and Education Council) and the North Carolina Forestry Advisory Council. Black Cotton U.S. branding and product selection Julius is a rural economic development advocate and is also known for his entrepreneurial business role as Founder of BlackCotton U.S. You can find Julius anywhere between his farm working on producing crops, on another farmer’s farm helping consult with new enterprise development, or any meeting that is focused on improving the lives of farmers and farming communities across the USA. Julius is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in Economics and minor in Entrepreneurship in 2008. Find and follow Black Cotton U.S. Follow Black Cotton U.S. on Facebook Follow Black Cotton U.S. on Instagram Aishah Lurry of Patagonia Flower Farm Aishah Lurry, founder and CEO of Patagonia Flower Farms based in Patagonia, Arizona. She is an artistic florist who combines her love for water-wise and organic farming techniques to produce affordable, healthy, and fresh-cut flowers. Aishah Lurry designing with flowers she grows in the high desert area of Arizona As a gardener who began her flower farming career in 2017, Aishah started her micro-farm on her home’s property after getting tired of driving 20miles out of town to buy overpriced and imported flowers that she didn’t like. By merging her expertise a