Slow Flowers Podcast

Flower Grower Shanti Rade, Whipstone Farm & ASCFG's South & Central Director Can you believe we are saying good-bye to 2020 very soon?! It has been a year unlike no other and the Slow Flowers Podcast has been a channel for highlighting, sharing, encouraging and challenging all that our community has faced - from silver linings and pivots to resiliency and change. We are the Voice of the Slow Flowers Movement, focusing each week on the business of flower farming and floral design. One of my goals for 2020 was to feature voices of leadership from our strategic partner and Slow Flowers sponsor, the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers. We got lucky with timing and managed to schedule nearly all of those conversations this year, despite all the distractions. When I visited in 2017, Shanti led us on a tour of Whipstone Farm, including this pristine high tunnel where stock and ranunculus were blooming. Today, you will meet (or re-meet, since she is a past guest of this podcast), Shanti Rade of Whipstone Farm in Paulden, Arizona. Shanti represents ASCFG in the "South and Central" Region, comprised of eight states: Arizona, where she is based, as well as Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah. In February 2017, I visited my parents in Mesa, Arizona, and during that time, I gathered with a group of Slow Flowers members on a tour of Whipstone Farm. It was such a fabulous day-trip, taken with Morgan Anderson of The Flori.Culture and Anne Jensen of Anne E's Garden Fresh Flowers -- we drove up north, about 115 miles away from the metro area of Phoenix-Scottsdale, and arrived at the high desert food and flower farm operated by Cory and Shanti Rade. One of the high tunnels at Whipstone Farm You can hear the episode that Shanti and I recorded that day, as we sat inside the cozy and sunny high tunnel where her ranunculus grew. It's a great introduction to this experimental and creative flower grower who has developed a market for local flowers through trial and error, and excellent product. So this episode you'll hear today offers a great update. Shanti and I discussed what Whipstone Farm looks like today and all the changes that have taken place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As we touch on the highs and lows of 2020, what emerges is a year that Shanti and Cory can be proud of. Some of their markets and channels have changed; how they interact with the public and wholesale customers has changed; how their family lives have changed. And yet, the flowers and vegetable crops keep going; the seasons march on; there are CSA boxes filled with delicious, healthy food and vases for fresh, local and seasonal flowers. You will enjoy this conversation and, I believe, join Shanti and me as we marvel at how much each of us has been able to accomplish by just "figuring it out." A lovely gallery from Whipstone Farm's recent IG Feed Find and follow Whipstone Farm on Facebook Find and follow Whipstone Farm on Instagram You're Invited to join us on Friday, December 11th at the Slow Flowers Virtual Meet-Up for December. The meeting takes place via Zoom at 9 am Pacific/Noon Eastern -- click on the button below to join us! Marialuisa Kaprielian of Urban Succulents puts her own brilliant twist on floral design with sedums, echeverias, kalanchoes and more! You'll meet one another and hear from our special guest for DECEMBER: Marialuisa Kaprielian, owner of Urban Succulents, as we talk with her about growing & designing with Succulents! This monthly gathering is just one of the many benefits of your Slow Flowers Membership, giving you resources to share your story of creativity, sustainability and collaboration. Johnny's Selected Seeds has shared some fun items with us for giveaways and you might win a few packages from our favorite seed company if you join this Friday's Slow Flowers Member Virtual Meet-Up. And PS, there will be other giveaways as part of our monthly Zoom gathering. But you have to attend to have your name included in the random drawing for the goods! Click here to join the Virtual Meet-Up at 9 am Pacific/Noon Eastern on Friday, December 11th The Slow Flowers Podcast has been downloaded more than 667,000 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 the American cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious. I know you feel it, too. I value your support and invite you to show your thanks and with a donation to support my ongoing advocacy, education and outreach activities. You can find the donate button in the column to the right. Thank you to our Sponsors This podcast is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, nationwide online directory to florists, shops, and studios who design with American-grown flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the con

Jessica Galen (left) and Shannon Algiere (right) - two of the leaders at Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture I'm really excited for this week's episode - and happy to introduce you to my two guests, Shannon Algiere co-founder of the farm at Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture and currently the Farm Liaison manager, and Jessica Galen, Stone Barn's Communications Manager. I've invited them to give us a snapshot of the history and work of Stone Barns Center and then we'll preview the upcoming Young Farmers & Cooks Conference, a three-day, all-virtual event produced and hosted by Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture and Blue Hill at Stone Barns Restaurant on December 8-10. That's coming right up next week and you'll want to take advantage of the extremely affordable pricing to register. This is an important conference about sustainable farming and food systems, and yes, the subject of Floral and Fiber Agriculture has a role. Our fabulous Slow Flowers panel, clockwise from top left: Julius Tillery, Taij & VC Cotten, Julio Frietas and Aishah Lurry On Wednesday, December 9th (8:30 am Pacific/11:30 am Eastern), I'll be moderating a panel called The Regional Flower Economy: Flower Farming as a Viable and Profitable Facet of Agriculture, featuring a fantastic lineup of Slow Flowers members. They include Aishah Lurry, Patagonia Flower Farm, Julio Freitas, The Flower Hat, Taij Cotton and VC (Victoria) Edwards-Cotten, Perry-winkle Farm, and Julius Tillery, Black Cotton U.S.Whether you’re a farmer, cook, butcher, miller, preservationist, processor, or anyone else in the food (and floral) chain, this conference is for you. Here's a bit more about Jessica and Shannon ~ Jessica Galen is the communications director at Stone Barns Center. In this role she manages relationships with the media and partner organizations, and provides editorial support for programming for young farmers and other key audiences. She launched her career in branding and communications at a nonprofit consulting firm and an education reform organization. While in graduate school at NYU for a M.A. in Food Studies she worked in the cheese caves at Murray’s Cheese as well as for an organic produce farm and a raw farmstead cheesemaker. She served as the general manager at Lucy’s Whey, then the Upper East Side’s largest artisanal cheese shop, and as wholesale director at New York Shuk, a small-batch producer of Israeli and North African pantry items. Jessica published an article in the Graduate Journal of Food Studies based on her Master’s thesis entitled “Cheesemongers Over Fearmongers: Toward Data-Driven Cheese Recommendations for Pregnant Women” and was a contributor to the James Beard Award-winning “Oxford Companion to Cheese.” She is on the Advisory Board of Equity Advocates, which provides policy education, advocacy training, and coalition building services to improve healthy food access in urban communities. In addition to her Master’s degree, she has a B.A. From Harvard University in Yiddish and Latin American Studies. Shannon Algiere, a co-founder of the farm at Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture brings over 20 years of experience in holistic farm design, crops production, garden and greenhouse management and farm-based education. Alongside her husband Jack Algiere, Shannon has served many roles at Stone Barns Center in its development. Most recently as Farm Liaison Manager, Shannon partnered with the center’s farm and programs staff to oversee farmer training, internships and volunteer programming. She attended University of Rhode Island, was an outdoor educator at the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center, Greenhouse Manager at Meadowbrook Biodynamic Herb Farm and White Gate Farm, and a volunteer for the Costa Rican National Park Service. In 2017 Shannon started a floral design and horticultural services business, Potter & Prune, promoting sustainable models in the floral design industry by celebrating the elegance and ecology of connecting regional grower economies with event design. She has taught workshops on growing and marketing cut flowers at NOFA, SBC’s Young Farmer’s Conference, and Oregon State University Small Farms conference. She has also written articles and been interviewed for her work at the intersection of farming and health and wellness. Along with her husband Jack, Shannon is raising two boys and serves on the board of Hearthfire and Ayer’s Foundation. Find and follow Shannon on Instagram here Find and follow Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture on Instagram here I hope you're inspired to register and join the Young Farmers and Cooks Conference, taking place next week, December 8-10th. You can attend the conference for just $25 and you'll be wowed by the program offerings and speakers. UPDATE: We've just received a $10 off coupon code from Young Farmers and Cooks Conference! When you register, use: YFCCPROMO Click here

Candice Howard of Duchess Farms in South Brunswick, NJ How are you all doing, friends? It's already the week of Thanksgiving - can you believe it?! I am still racing to plant my five peony roots from Mountain Flower Farm and plant those last 100 hyacinth bulbs from Longfield Gardens, not to mention a few woody shrubs and perennials I purchased locally on a plant-buying trip last month. It WILL all happen this week - I promise! Speaking of Thanksgiving, despite this ridiculous year we've had, one with painful losses and disappointments, I do feel grateful. I'm grateful that our Slow Flowers community has remained connected through the year, thanks to technology. Our membership has just surpassed 800 -- an all-time record high, thanks to our operations & membership manager Karen Thornton's stewardship. Our listenership in this Podcast continues to grow -- more than 2,000 downloads each week. And our engagement is breaking all past records, thanks in large part to our amazing social media maven, Niesha Blancas. Ambitious projects continue to drive us forward, all with the goal of inspiring the floral industry and its consumers to embrace local, seasonal and sustainable flowers. One of the positive results of not being able to travel since March has been moving in-person Slow Flowers Member Meet-ups that took place wherever I landed for a conference, speaking engagement or magazine assignment to the virtual Zoom platform. We met weekly from late March through late May; and then switched to monthly beginning in June. We've held more than a dozen meet-ups this way, drawing hundreds of Slow Flowers members to check in for an hour, hear from a speaker or two, sometimes participate in breakout rooms, gain inspiration and win giveaway prizes. Today's guest, Candice Howard, of Duchess Farms in South Brunswick, New Jersey, has been a frequent participant in those Zoom calls. That's how I learned more about her, which led to a deeper conversation and my invitation that Candice share her story here on the Slow Flowers Podcast. Here's more about Candice and her flowers. I excerpted her bio from a recent newsletter: Candice and Tom Howard (left); flowers from Duchess Farms (right) People often ask me what I did before I became a floral designer and then a flower farmer. So I'll go back a few years to give you a brief history. I grew up in Millburn, New Jersey and graduated from Rutgers College with a Bachelor's degree in political science. Most of my career was in government and nonprofit administration/fundraising. I worked for the Governor's Office, the New Jersey Legislature and the County of Middlesex. I have also worked for a number of nonprofit organizations including Special Olympics New Jersey, Girls Incorporated and Women Helping Women. In 2013, I received my design certification from The FlowerSchool New York and spent the following seven years designing florals for weddings, which recently led to the decision that I really loved growing flowers. Any future designing I may do will be with my own fresh flowers. My husband Tom says that I am the farmer...which I am since I actually sow and harvest all of the flowers and everything in between. But he helps me with all the big stuff...like building that great high tunnel and replacing our old fence, both of which gave us greatly expanded growing capacity this year. Tom also installed an irrigation system throughout the beds. So yes, I am the farmer but Tom is the Director of Public Works here at Duchess Farms. We are currently in the process of applying for farmland preservation so that the seven acres we live on will be preserved as farmland in perpetuity. We expect to have that designation sometime this year. Find and follow Candice at these social places: Duchess Farms on Facebook Duchess Farms on Instagram Duchess Farms on YouTube As she discusses, Rutgers University's Beginning Farming program recently interviewed Candice about flower farming. Click on the link below to enjoy all of the challenges, victories and advice in that series. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csv2lqJnDsU We have lots of news, which you'll be able to read in the upcoming, December issue of the Slow Flowers Newsletter - out next week. If you aren't receiving it, you can find the subscribe link in today's show notes or in the footer at slowflowerssociety.com. Subscribe to the Slow Flowers monthly newsletter here! And of course, it's totally cliche, but we're jumping on the CyberWeekend bandwagon here at Slow Flowers. From this Friday, November 27th through Monday, November 30th, you can enjoy two promotional offers: 1. Cyber20 -- A 20% off promo code applied to any item on the Slow Flowers online shop. Right now, you can find all three of my books, plus American Flowers Week bouquet labels and our new etched Slow Flowers Society bookmark. And Karen promises that more items will be added to the Slow Flowe

Michelle Elston (left) and Jamie Rohda (right) Today, we return to a series I began earlier this year, featuring the regional directors of the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers. You'll hear from Michelle Elston of Roots Cut Flower Farm in Carlisle, Pennsylvania and Jamie Rohda of Harvest Home Flowers in Waverly, Nebraska. Grocery bouquets designed by Roots Cut Flower Farm Between them, these two flower farmers represent a significant percentage of ASCFG's membership! Jamie's region is North & Central U.S., representing Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, Ohio, Wisconsin and Wyoming - whew! Michelle is ASCFG's newly appointed Mid-Atlantic regional director, representing flower farmers in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. I invited both women to share about what's happening with flower farming in their regions, and to give us a snapshot of their respective flower farming ventures. As it turns out, they each have cultivated a successful, but different niche, so you'll learn from Michelle about selling to mass market grocery and you'll learn from Jamie about serving as a wholesale supplier to floral designers. Here's a bit more about each of these guests: Roots Cut Flower Farm is featured as a local family farm supported by local Pennsylvania grocery stores. Michelle Elston is founder and owner of Roots Cut Flower Farm. She has loved plants and flowers for as long as she can remember. After studying plant science in college, she and her husband, Mike, moved to Massachusetts. There, they bought a garden center and stayed for 9 years. But after the birth of their first child, they realized that the best place to raise their kids was close to family roots. So, they sold the garden center and moved back to Michelle's hometown of Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Time and space soon opened up for her to pursue her dream of farming. What started as a small garden has evolved into a 10-acre farm that produces enough flowers for more than 20,000 supermarket bouquets and 100 weddings/events annually. Now, 13 years later, she realizes she never imagined her seed of an idea would turn into such a thriving small business. Buckets and buckets of local, Pennsylvania-grown cut flowers gathered into thousands of bouquets at Roots Cut Flower Farm! Even with such growth, Michelle's flower philosophy has remained a simple one: to celebrate the natural beauty of every season in South Central Pennsylvania. Flowers are grown sustainably and selected based on their ability to thrive in the region. All of Roots' bouquets and arrangements are created using only what is grown on the farm. Rather than trendy, the results are timeless designs that are fresh, lush and unique. Here's more about Jamie: Beautiful Nebraska blooms at Harvest Home Flowers, grown by Jamie Rohda Harvest Home Flowers is a small, family owned flower farm located between Lincoln and Omaha Nebraska. Jamie and her husband Norman have farmed since 1994 and today their family-owned flower farm produces a wide variety of naturally grown, specialty cut flowers for local florists, designers and DIY brides. Harvest Home Flowers serves Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska's florists with fresh, seasonal and sustainable cut flowers Find and follow Jamie and Michelle at these social places: Harvest Home Flowers on Facebook Harvest Home Flowers on Instagram Roots Cut Flower Farm on Facebook Roots Cut Flower Farm on Instagram Thank you so much for joining today's episode with Jamie Rohda of Harvest Home Flowers and Michelle Elston of Roots Cut Flowers. The conversation filled me with gratitude for our beautiful and diverse Slow Flowers community of flower farmers and floral designers who come together to bring joy and inspiration to the marketplace of flower lovers. Lisianthus and dahlia details from Harvest Home Flowers I'm so glad that Jamie and Michelle helped us catch up with two ASCFG regions across the country. By the way, you can hear my earlier interviews at the links below:Val Schirmer of Three Toads Farm, ASCFG's Southeast regional director based in KentuckyErin McMullen of Rain Drop Farm, ASCFG's Northwest and West regional director based in Oregonand Janis Harris of Harris Flower Farm, ASCFG's Canadian director based in St. Thomas, Ontario We have to chase down a few more directors, and given the insanity of this COVID-distracted year, you'll probably hear those interviews in early 2021! The Slow Flowers Podcast has been downloaded more than 659,000 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 the American cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious. I know you feel it, too. I value your support and invite you to

Pilar Zuniga of Gorgeous and Green - all photography (c) Lauren Edith Anderson In 2013, during the first year of the Slow Flowers Podcast, I interviewed a young floral designer from the San Francisco East Bay who at the time was one of the only voices talking about sustainable design practices. I called her “Berkeley’s Eco-Floral Maven” and said this: “Pilar Zuniga is blazing a new trail and is the TRUE definition of a LOCAL FLORIST. She has a hometown, Main Street flower shop that goes the full distance to source from local flower farms in her own backyard.” Remember, this was in the early days of Instagram. When it came to visually exciting storytelling, at least online, individual bloggers still reigned. As early as 2008 when she launched Gorgeous and Green as an event floral business, and later as a local Berkeley retail floral and gift store (2010-2016), Zuniga used her blog to write about sustainability concerns, including chemical-free design techniques and mechanics. “I don’t use sprays, glues or floral foam at all,” she explains. Seasonal and sustainable floral design by Gorgeous and Green Today, Instagram is home to Pilar’s online presence, where followers are drawn to her vibrant aesthetic, often portrayed against a distinctive turquoise-teal wall, a color rarely found in flowers. The flowers and foliage she selects are locally grown, and when available, are organic or non-sprayed as well. Gorgeous and Green supports local growers and farms who are doing their best to continue to keep local crops available in the Bay Area. A floral palette as colorful as its designer I'm so pleased to welcome Pilar Zuniga as a return guest to the Slow Flowers Podcast. I really can't believe that seven years have transpired since early listeners of this show met her. You're in for a treat, but as a bonus, here is the link to her first appearance in Episode 116, from November 2013) and a link to the feature about Gorgeous and Green that I wrote for the November 2019 issue of Florists' Review. An early "green" service: Flowers delivered by bicycle a la Pedal Express Before we get started, here's a bit more about Pilar Zuniga, excerpted from her web site: A California Native, Pilar came to the Bay area to attend UC Berkeley. Her interests then and now include biology, art and culture. She is fond of painting, drawing, ceramics, sewing and embroidery, remaking old things, finding vintage goods, gardening and ballet. She is a feminist, a Latina and a colorful individual who loves dogs and smiles often. Her floral design is born out of a desire to be creative and to support a local movement of flower growers. Find and follow Gorgeous and Green at these social places: Gorgeous and Green on Facebook Gorgeous and Green on Instagram Gorgeous and Green on Pinterest Thank you so much for joining this lovely and uplifting conversation with a kindred spirit - one who is a role model for how to honor your mission and values through the way you build your business. You are in for a real treat next June, because Pilar is one of the featured presenters at the 2021 Slow Flowers Summit, taking place June 28-30, 2021 at Filoli, in Woodside, California. We will soon resume promotion and registration for the postponed 4th annual Slow Flowers Summit and I'm thrilled that our host venu, Filoli, has done everything right to accommodate a safe, socially-distanced experience. Pilar will present: BRANDING THE SUSTAINABLE FLORAL BUSINESS She will discuss building an enduring brand around sustainable design and using her studio and platform to advocate for beautiful sustainability, including chemical-free design techniques and mechanics. You'll learn more about how Pilar's personal values have shaped Gorgeous and Green's brand and mission in the marketplace. And, you'll be wowed as she demonstrates her signature floral style using all-local botanical elements. In our show notes, you'll find a link to more details about the Summit, and to sign up for notices as we roll out an expanded speaker lineup, COVID-safe policies and more. And a Podcast post-script. I'm recording the intro for today's episode on Sunday, November 8th. In the U.S., we have endured a long, drawn out and agonizing political season, and I'm so pleased with the result of the presidential ticket that prevailed. Joe Biden is our president-elect and Kamala Harris, our vice president-elect, the first woman, the first Black woman and the first person of Asian descent to be elected to this office. I am exhaling, and I've heard from so many of you who are doing the same. If you didn't support the Biden-Harris ticket, my wish for you is to have an open-mind, and to join me in a pledge to listen, speak my own truth, and show compassion for all humans. Slow Flowers is committed to sustainability in all its forms, including sustaining dignity, equity and inclusion for people like us and not like us.

Joy Proctor, Joy Proctor Design I'm so honored today to welcome Portland wedding designer Joy Proctor, owner of Joy Proctor Design. Joy is internationally-recognized and named a top wedding designer by Harper's Bazaar and Bride's Magazine. The first Say Their Names Memorial was installed in Portland, Oregon, where Joy is based (c) Jessica G. Mangia Photography Joy Proctor's activism has sparked a grassroots effort to honor the lives lost to racial injustice (c) Jessica G. Mangia Photography In June, Joy and a group of friends, artists, designers and craftspeople came together in a grassroots effort to create the first Say Their Names Memorial in Portland, Oregon. The photographic and floral tribute used art to honor hundreds of Black men, women and young people whose lives were taken unjustly by systemic racism and racial injustice. It was first installed on June 19th, also known as Juneteenth or Freedom Day, a holiday celebrating the emancipation of those who had been enslaved in the United States. Joy Proctor at the Kirkland, Wash., Say Their Names Memorial (c) Morgan Petroski Photography The “Say Their Name Memorial” has grown into a nationwide initiative and it has been put up in over 25 locations nationwide since then. Joy's aim is to use the memorial to facilitate conversation around systemic racism while honoring those whose lives have been taken by it. Say Their Names Memorial at Germany Park in Dallas, spearheaded by Bows & Arrows Flowers (c) N. Barrett Photography I also want to acknowledge the amazing work and passion of Dallas creatives Alicia and Adam Rico, fellow wedding designer friends and colleagues of Joy's, and Slow Flowers members who own Bows & Arrows Flowers. I first learned the Say Their Names Memorial project through their efforts in Dallas, Austin and other communities. Corporate Event Planner and Slow Flowers Operations, Membership and Events Manager Karen Thornton of Avenue 22 Events (c) Missy Palacol Photography You'll also meet a second guest, Karen Thornton of the Slow Flowers team, who was inspired to bring the Say Their Names Memorial to the Seattle Area. On October 20th, Karen and I finally met Joy, her sister Elise Proctor and their colleague Stacy Feder when they drove from Portland to Kirkland, outside Seattle, to spend a day lending their support to the local production. For this Podcast, I've invited Joy and Karen to speak about this project and share how they, as passionate and gifted wedding and corporate event professionals, respectively, are using beauty and art to raise awareness, change attitudes and protest injustice in their communities and beyond. A photo shoot for Flutter Magazine, designed by Joy Proctor (c) Jose Villa, with florals by Amy Osaba Events Before we get started, here's more about Joy Proctor: Since starting in the wedding business in 2007, Joy's reputation and projects have led to her current reputation as one of the most highly sought after creative directors in the world, known for producing original, inventive concepts. She has designed for many brands and publications in search of new, beautiful and innovative ideas. From concept to creation, Joy and her team produce visual campaigns, branded content and editorial features for elegant and discerning clientele. As a well regarded prop and photo stylist, Joy is known for the styling of details for photo and prestigious publications. Joy served as creative director and designer for "The Beauty of Rice," an editorial photo shoot in Thailand (c) D’arcy Benincosa With the aim of styling everything like it were a magazine feature, she takes photo design very seriously, creating a timeline, shot list and production plan to ensure the best shots. She provides props and backgrounds to perfectly capture the client's design in its best light. Joy's styling work appears on the cover of the first Style Me Pretty book, Style Me Pretty Weddings. She has designed and styled weddings and events in Madagascar, Italy, Provence, France, the resort town of telluride, the Cotswolds, Thailand and beyond. Joy planned and designed the 2019 wedding of Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas (c) Corbin Gurkin Find and follow Joy Proctor at these social places: Joy Proctor Design on Instagram Joy Proctor Design on Facebook Joy Proctor Design on Pinterest Thousands have witnessed the memorial tributes to lives lost to systemic racism across our country. What Joy's story reveals is the power of a single idea, and the potential of community grassroots action. Say Their Names Memorial web site Say Their Names Memorial on Instagram Karen Thornton of Avenue 22 Events at the Kirkland, Wash., Say Their Names Memorial (c) Morgan Petroski Photography Next up, I want to share a short interview with my dear friend and colleague Karen Thornton, owner of Seattle-based Avenue 22 Events. Karen has served as Slow Flowers' event manager since 2018 and in 2020, she

You can see Sarah's 50-foot-long floral V-O-T-E display at 329 North Cherry Strees (along Hwy 20) in Burlington, Washington (c) Sara Welch Photo Co. Before we jump into today's main segment, I want to recognize that Election Day in the U.S. is coming up in just six days on November 3rd. I've been wowed by the creative gestures of floral activism from our Slow Flowers members around the country. I've invited one of those members to share what she's doing in her community as a bonus interview. Let's jump right in and meet Sarah Wagstaff of SUOT Farm & Flowers In Burlington, Washington. This indeed has been a year in which I'm acutely aware that my business, career and personal acts need more meaning to reflect my values. I hope you find Sarah's floral VOTE message as encouraging as I do. Ellen Frost of Local Color Flowers in Baltimore, Maryland Okay, let's jump right into today's wonderful conversation with Ellen Frost of Local Color Flowers and Lisa Ziegler of The Gardener's Workshop. Both women are past guests of the Slow Flowers Podcast, so I've added links to their earlier appearances in today's show notes. And full disclosure, The Gardener's Workshop is a financial supporter of Slow Flowers and we consider its founder Lisa Ziegler an important partner in furthering our mission in the Slow Flowers Movement. When Lisa told me that she recruited Ellen to create an online business course to help florists learn her unique flower sourcing approach, I knew this was an important topic for the Slow Flowers Community. I've asked them to talk about their project today. The course is called "Growing Your Business with Local Flower Sourcing." And guess what?! We have another course giveaway today! Ellen is giving away a complimentary registration to her new online workshop. "Growing Your Business with Local Flower Sourcing," is a six-week course that begins January 4, 2021. Valued at $495, this is a generous giveaway! For listeners of this Podcast, be sure to make a comment in the show notes below -- and tell us one of your favorite ways to source locally-grown flowers. All comments posted by midnight Pacific on Sunday, November 8th will be entered into a random drawing for Ellen's course. Click on the link below to sign up for notifications when registration opens Nov. 16-20. I'm excited for the winner already! Click here to sign up for notifications about Ellen's course Here's a bit more about Ellen Frost: Ellen Frost loves flowers. Even more, she loves owning and operating a flower studio which exclusively sources local flowers. Ellen founded her company, Local Color Flowers, in 2008 as a part-time wedding floral business to provide Baltimore area couples a more sustainable flower option for their celebrations. Over the past 12 years, Ellen has grown Local Color Flowers into a thriving business adding floral design classes, corporate events, subscriptions, and retail as well as creative social and educational community events – all using 100% locally grown flowers. Ellen’s business is a vital contributor to Baltimore’s local economy and a vibrant community resource. Here is the outline for "Growing Your Business with Local Flower Sourcing"Class 1 -- Landscape of the Cut Flower IndustryClass 2 -- Why Local Flowers: Motivations, Definitions and GoalsClass 3 -- Building Relationships With Local GrowersClass 4 -- Logistics of Local FlowersClass 5 -- Differentiating, Marketing and Selling Local FlowersClass 6 -- Making Your Business An Indispensable Community Asset Local Color Flowers on Slow Flowers PodcastEpisode 163 (October 15, 2014) Find and follow Local Color Flowers at these social places:Local Color Flowers on FacebookLocal Color Flowers on Instagram Lisa Ziegler at The Gardener's Workshop Farm in Newport News, Virginia Here's a bit more about Lisa Ziegler: What began as a small cut-flower farm producing for local markets has grown into so much more. Lisa has become a leader in the cut-flower growing industry, author, accomplished speaker, teacher, and the owner of The Gardener’s Workshop. Lisa is the author of Cool Flowers in 2014 (St. Lynn’s Press) and Vegetables Love Flowers (Cool Springs Press 2018.) In 2018 Lisa began creating online courses to share her programs and knowledge. This style of teaching with its convenience, cost effectiveness, and lifetime unlimited access has proven to be another wonderful educational tool. In 2019, embracing technology even further and building an amazing in-house administration and support team has allowed Lisa to produce online courses for others. Lisa’s farm, known as The Gardener’s Workshop is still a small market flower farm (100% outdoor field grown), and an online garden shop. The online store sells the same seeds, tools, supplies, and seed starting equipment that Lisa uses as well as signed copies of her books. Lisa’s simple, in

Natasha McCrary of 1818 Farms (right), with Shea Cream from the farm's product line Today's guest, Natasha McCrary, and I first met when we started following one another on social media. Naming her business 1818 Farms was a brilliant move, because it's kind of unforgettable. And her IG feed is filled with lots of charming images of flora and fauna -- by fauna, I am specifically talking about the Olde English Babydoll Southdown sheep who reside at 1818 Farms in Mooresville, Alabama. These animals are so prominent at 1818 Farms, there's an illustration of one on the farm's branding and logo. Natasha will tell the story in much more detail, but here's a bit: Miniature Southdown sheep originated on the South Down hills of Sussex County, England in the 1700s. In 1986-91, after becoming almost extinct, 350 sheep with the original bloodlines were located and a registry was formed. The name Olde English Babydoll Southdown can only be used for sheep that have been accepted by the registry. Babydolls are outstanding pets that produce fleece that is in the class of cashmere, a hand spinner’s delight. They provide organic weeding and make excellent companion animals. Their gentle nature makes them a joy to own! Some of the sheep at 1818 Farms -- too cute for words!!! Natasha writes more about the sheep at 1818 Farms on her website: “The idea for this family project originated with my eight year old child, who fell in love with the Babydoll Southdown Sheep that he met at a petting farm we visited in October 2011. Owning a Babydoll was all he could talk about, so, thinking this would be fun and educational for our family to do together, I began researching where to buy a few lambs to raise as a family project on our land here in Mooresville. And then, as Gamble, my 8 year-old entrepreneur, began to plan what he was going to do with his sheep: sell the wool, sell the manure to garden shops, charge for photographs, and even stage a Nativity scene at the church if he could find a baby, I began to dream my own plans for a small profitable farm where we could teach our children to appreciate the land and animals and to be good conservationists. We also wanted to teach them the importance of being self-sustaining." The pavilion (left) and Natasha (right) Located on three acres in the northwest corner of the historic village of Mooresville, AL (pop. 58), 1818 Farms is named for the year Mooresville was incorporated, one year before Alabama became a state. Events of all types have been hosted in the garden, under the pavilions and in the adjacent Garden House. Pre-COVID, the events included Bloom Strolls, supper and garden club gatherings, and “Farm to Table” dinners hosted by some of the area’s top chefs all take place on our farm. The popular flower truck The Garden House has been home to a series of classes including: raised bed gardening, food preservation, seed starting, raising backyard chickens, wreath making and flower preparation and arranging. Natasha moved some of that education to the new 1818 Farms' You Tube channel during COVID and you'll hear us discuss that in our conversation. The flower fields at 1818 Farms 1818 Farms’ bath and beauty products have evolved as an important facet of the McCrary family's farm-based business. that really work. The farm's popular animals appear on the labels of products including Farrah Fawcett’s Bath Tea, Clover’s Lip Smack and Sweet Pea and her scented Shea Creme. In 2019, Natasha's hard work was recognized with 1818 Farms winning Amazon's United States Woman-Owned Small Business of the Year. I know you'll enjoy our conversation and be inspired by Natasha's tips and suggestions, especially for adding a non-perishable product line to create a revenue stream year-round. Natasha during flower harvest Find and follow 1818 Farms at these social places: 1818 Farms on Facebook 1818 Farms on Instagram 1818 Farms on YouTube Thanks so much for joining us today for another fun conversation. Hey, time is running out to participate in the 2021 Slow Flowers Member Survey. For sharing your time complete the survey, we'd like to send you an etched Slow Flowers Society botanical bookmark - and enter your name into the drawing for one free registration to the 2021 Slow Flowers Summit, valued at $599! But you must give us your name and contact information to receive the bookmark and enter the drawing -- if you choose to respond anonymously, we can't bestow our gifts! Click here to complete the Slow Flowers Member Survey Registration is open for my first online course, Slow Flowers Creative Workshop: Floral Storytelling. The course begins November 1st so check out links and take advantage of the $200 introductory promo code, meaning you can enjoy this course for just $97. It includes three modules, 11 lessons, six worksheets and three writing templates. I'm excited to see you in the course! And a shout-out to ou

I met today's guest, Talia Boone, when two other Slow Flowers members reached out to tell me about her and her new floral venture. As soon as I learned about Talia and her Los Angeles-based company Postal Petals, I thought -- "we need her to join Slow Flowers" because her mission is i100% alignment with ours. Thank you to Yoni Levenbach of Flowers Without Borders and Whit McClure of Whit Hazen, who separately connected me with Talia earlier this summer. Talia is a veteran marketing, communications and branding strategist whose background is in professional sports and entertainment. About three years ago, she formed INTER:SECT, a creative, tactical solutions agency that serves as a catalyst for pioneering ideas, collaboration and creative opportunities at the intersection of sports, business, technology, consciousness, culture and the arts, with the goal of promoting socially and culturally relevant conversations and collective action. Up until now, Talia's focus has been the intersection of sports, business, culture and social impact. And now, FLOWERS. Her new business, Postal Petals, has a social impact mission and I'm excited to share her story in our conversation today. Talia is a self-described floral enthusiast and DIY floral arranger. Since she's based in Los Angeles, she often shopped at the Los Angeles Flower Market during public hours, bringing home flowers to arrange and enjoy -- as part of her personal creativity and mental health practice. You'll hear how COVID is to blame for Talia's newest venture, provoked by the closure of the Los Angeles Flower Market and her search for farm-direct flowers to fill her flower fix.Postal Petals' origins began with that search. Launched online in September, here's how Postal Petals is described: Think of us as a farm-to-table produce box, but for fresh flowers! Postal Petals connects flower lovers directly to farms to receive fresh flowers at a competitive price point when compared to the retail marketplace. Each stem is handpicked and cut just hours before they are carefully packaged and shipped to you for delivery within 36 hours of harvest, ensuring quality and freshness. Once you open your Petal Box, you can build those beautiful loose blooms into stunning arrangements with a quick video tutorial or virtual hands-on workshop with one of our professional florists. Each Petal Box includes vibrant flowers sourced domestically from eco-friendly farms. From calla lilies to cheery sunflowers to picturesque peonies, there’s a new floral adventure inside every Postal Petals box. Follow #blackfloristfriday to meet designers who are part of Postal Petals' Black Florist Directory Follow Postal Petals at these social places: Postal Petals on Facebook Postal Petals on Instagram Postal Petals' #blackfloristfriday series on Instagram -- it's a wonderful addition to the floral community. Talia Boone, Postal Petals' founder and CEO Thanks so much for joining us today. There is so much inspiration packed into a conversation with Talia Boone! I jotted down one of her references, and it's worth restating here: If you want to go fast, to alone; if you want to go far, go together. That is the true message of Slow Flowers and for everyone who is part of our community! As I mentioned, you can read more about Talia in today's show notes. Today we also posted a feature story about Postal Petals in Slow Flowers Journal -- that's at slowflowersjournal.com. Earlier this week, we started a six-part editorial series called New Floral Marketing Models & Platforms, beginning with Amelia Ihlo of Rooted Farmers on Monday and Rachel Heath of Flora Fun Box yesterday. After today's feature on Postal Petals, the series continues for three more days as we profile: American Grown at Home, a project of Kelly Shore and Petals by the Shore; Zap Bloom, Sally Vander Wyst's new venture, and Tammy Meyers of LORABloom. I know this series will interest you because there's inspiration for flower farmers, florists and designers to consider diversification in their own enterprises. And, I am pretty sure this series will prompt others to reach out and let me know who they are and tell me about their new models! Okay, whew. Does October seem like the year's busiest month so far? I feel it and you might, too. Flowers are still blooming in my garden - so far! Our expected first-frost date won't come for another few weeks. One flower farmer recently told me that October 15th is his "frost date," whether the thermometer is down to freezing or not. He's ready for a break and I don't blame him. The zeitgeist of anticipation in our lives is undeniable, and some (maybe most) of it comes with a side order of anxiety. How do we move forward with so much uncertainty? Taking positive action is sometimes the best antidote to that feeling. The first Say Their Names Memorial in Portland, Orego

Stacy Brenner, co-founder of Broadturn Farm in Scarborough, Maine, a candidate for Maine State Senate's 30th District There is no denying that 2020 has been an insane year. I feel like the constant topics of conversation include resilience, reinvention, adaptation, innovation, not to mention pivoting or survival. UGH. There's also no denying that many of you, have, like me, been deeply moved by what's happening in our world -- from social and racial justice to saving the planet, as well as keeping ourselves safe from the ever-present threat of contracting COVID. It has been so encouraging to hear from guests throughout the past seven months, who have generously shared their personal stories around resilience -- flower farmers, florists and designers, and everyone touched by the wedding and events industry. The theme comes through in every episode and I'm grateful that the Slow Flowers Podcast has been a place to convene these conversations in a respectful and thoughtful environment. Broadturn Farm, Scarborough, Maine The year is not over, especially as those of us in the U.S. are entering the final weeks of what I believe to be a life-and-death election season. Against the backdrop of taking action to change our world for a better place, I'm delighted to introduce you today to Stacy Brenner, organic flower farmer, nurse midwife and candidate for Maine State Senate's 30th District. Stacy joined me last February 2019 to discuss the theme of social entrepreneurship, and you listen to that episode here. Here's more about Stacy, excerpted from her Stacy for Senate about page: Stacy Brenner is an organic farmer and small business owner who co-founded and now operates Broadturn Farm in Scarborough. She is a graduate of the University of Arizona, where she studied agriculture and plant sciences. Stacy holds two nursing degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. She spent her early working career as a nurse-midwife, tending to the births of hundreds of babies at Mercy Hospital in Portland. She is a board member of Maine Farmland Trust and Board Vice-President of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Organization (MOFGA). Raised in a working-class suburb in New Jersey, Stacy spent her childhood romanticizing country life. When she wasn’t watching reruns of “Little House on the Prairie,” Stacy would escape the suburban chem-lawns of her neighborhood to explore the wooded edges of the development with her brother. She always wanted to be a farmer. Like so many other folks from away, she was drawn to the state of Maine by its verdant landscapes, its supportive business climate, its thriving agricultural network and the amazing, hard-working people she met. John Bliss and Stacy Brenner of Broadturn Farm, with their daughters In 2002, Stacy, her five-year-old daughter Emma, and her husband, John Bliss, moved to Maine to become first-generation farmers. They entered the MOFGA farmer journeyperson program designed to support new entry growers, and taught themselves how to be farmers. In 2006, Stacy and John opened Broadturn Farm, which produces cut flowers and organic vegetables, hosts weddings, and runs a summer day camp focused on connecting youth with sustainable agriculture. Now employing 30 people at the height of the season, the farm is a thriving example of economic development on farmland protected with an agricultural easement funded in part by the Land for Maine’s Future program. I've been watching along on social media as Stacy's campaign for Maine State Senate has gained traction, with amazing endorsements from a diverse group of supporters, including the Sierra Club, Emily's List, Maine Conservation Voters, Maine Education Association, several unions, Emily's List, Equality Maine, Planned Parenthood and other groups. What follows is a fascinating discussion that to me, at its core, looks at the question: What can one person do to make the world a safer, more equitable, inclusive and healthy place for all? Stacy's path may not be your path, but I know you'll be inspired by the way she and John have chosen to operate Broadturn Farm with a mission-focused approach that reflects their values. Thanks so much for joining me today. I was struck by Stacy's comment: "What are you going to tell your kids when they ask: 'Where were you, Mom, when the planet was burning?' Do I say, 'I was watching Netflix and drinking wine?' I've gotta do something!" Stacy Brenner on the campaign trail (left) and as a farmer-florist (right) That hits home! Stacy’s strengths rest in her dedication to building meaningful relationships with people in her community. She understands that the first step in creating connection is by listening to the concerns of constituents. She promises that when elected, she will collaborate and engage with local community members to help build a strong, inclusive, prosperous Maine. Let's wish Stacy

Jamie Rogers and Carly Jenkins of Killing Frost Farm, with me (right) The conversation I recorded recently with today's featured guest began much earlier this year. I learned so much from flower farmer Jamie Rogers, one half of Killing Frost Farm, while pulling together a segment of a lecture about flower farm diversification. And much of what Jamie and I discussed when I called him back in February was in some ways prophetic. At the time, we could not have predicted the COVID-19 pandemic and what it would mean to the floral marketplace. Jamie and his partner Carly Jenkins founded Killing Frost Farm in Missoula, Montana, in 2012. Carly shared some of their story when I first interviewed her for the Slow Flowers Podcast, episode 296, aired in May 2017. I'll be sure to share a link to that episode, and to a subsequent appearance when she and I discussed the woodland-inspired lichen and moss gown for American Flowers Week 2018, episode 355. Jamie Rogers and Carly Jenkins of Killing Frost Farm Here's a bit of their background, which originally appeared on their website a few year's back: In 2012, Carly and Jamie bought a house on a single city lot in Missoula’s Westside neighborhood. The soil was rocky, ant-infested and barren. They tilled, weeded, and with a truckload of compost, began growing tomatoes, herbs and flowers. In 2014, the house next door went on the market, and after a bit of financial finagling, the couple made an offer. With more soil to work, their gardening ambitions grew, and before long, taking care of their plants was not only tough on schedules, but hard on the wallet. A financially savvy friend recommended Carly and Jamie find a way to form an LLC, sell some of what they grew and treat those mounting gardening expenses as a business expense. By the fall of that year, they grew their first batch of microgreens. A week after the ground was frozen, they delivered some to a neighborhood restaurant, and Killing Frost Farm was born. When I first posted that introduction to Jamie and Carly, back in 2017, I concluded: A lot has happened since then, including forming established relationships with local chefs and growing other types of produce for them. Carly and Jamie also upped the number of flower beds and sold edible flowers . . . before narrowing their focus to cut flowers for floral arrangements. As they wrote on their web site: “It has been a frightening, stress-inducing, humbling ride so far, but it’s allowed us to quit our old jobs and spend our days working in dirt, together.” Love this adorable illustration of Jamie and Carly, by Portland artist Ryan Bear (shared with his permission) @ryanbearart Today's episode will catch you up on what Jamie and Carly have been up to in the past few years. They moved to Potomoc, a town about a 30-minute drive east of Missoula, where Killing Frost now has 2-plus acres for its cut flower production. Carly and Jamie of Killing Frost Farm. As you'll hear in this conversation, the couple now focuses almost entirely on selling flowers wholesale through their weekly Market in Missoula, where florists can shop off the floor and pick up pre-orders. To grow, they began in earnest delivering flowers to customers (studio and retail florists) in Butte, Bozeman, Helena and often to other markets when supply allowed. They just wrapped up the 2020 season for running a Montana-grown delivery program, marketing Killing Frost's fresh flowers as well as crops grown by a number of other farms. Spearheaded by Jamie, the program will not stop just because dahlia season is over. As he discusses in our interview, there are plans to add dried flowers and holiday greenery to the product availability list moving forward through the end of the year. Jamie Rogers modeled Carly's red-white-and-blue floral bikini during American Flowers Week 2016! What a guy! I think you'll pick up on the fact that Jamie is personable, committed to excellent customer service, and a whole lot of fun. As he shares, the Killing Frost model is based on one originated by Ralph Thurston and Jeriann Sabin, founders and former owners of Bindweed Flower Farm. Our conversation is an honest one and I appreciate Jamie's transparency about the challenges of building a bucket truck route in a marketplace where customers have not had access to locally-grown flowers for decades. As he told me earlier: "We need them more than they need us. If you get that notion, Jamie said, you'll be rewarded, because remember: they have just been buying flowers from someone else for nine months of the year." Find and follow Killing Frost Farm on Instagram Thank you so much for joining me today! At the end of our interview, I had a big grin on my face -- Jamie has a way of lifting my spirits. I hope you pick up on his enthusiasm and passion for getting more Montana-grown flowers in to the hands of the state's florists on a regular basis. As he told me about his s

Hermon Black of HB Fiore, a floral designer based in Arlington, Virginia I'm so pleased today to welcome Hermon Black, a floral designer I first met when she attended the 2018 Slow Flowers Summit in Washington, D.C. Flowers on her Head! Hermon Black, photographed at the 2018 Slow Flowers Summit by Mud Baron Hermon is based in Arlington, Virginia, where she runs a design studio serving weddings and private clients. She tells a beautiful story of growing up in East Africa (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia) where her mother allowed her to cut and arrange flowers from their garden, and encouraged young Hermon in her floral design interest. Hermon, photographed at a Petals by the Shore design workshop at Wollam Gardens, in Jefferesonton, Virginia (c) Beth Caldwell Photography I love how her journey has brought Hermon full circle back to her childhood love of flowers. It's a story to which many of us can relate. Enjoy our conversation as we discuss how Hermon developed her design studio HB Fiori and how she has adapted her focus due to the challenges of 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic. A beautiful, late-summer arrangement by Hermon Black Follow HB Fiore on Instagram Enjoy this gallery of Hermon's seasonal arrangements. Her subscription floral program sources 100% locally-grown flowers from farms in Virginia and Maryland. Thank you so much for joining me today! I'm so encouraged by the conversations I record to share with listeners of the Slow Flowers Podcast. We are in complicated times, friends. And there is so much stress and pressure, uncertainty and worry facing each of us. I hope you find comfort in being part of our larger community of people who care about the planet, about equity for all, and about the importance of nurturing our creativity. NEW PODCAST Deborah Voll, flower lover and host of the "Calm the Chaos" Podcast, recently turned the tables on me -- and I was the one answering her questions. It was a fun experience to join Deborah, a life coach who specializes in helping women find purpose and passion after 50 (um, yes, that would be me!). Click on this link to hear our conversation -- and subscribe to future episodes, as Deborah hosts so many interesting women guests who are pursuing fulfillment in their "chapter two" careers. The Slow Flowers Podcast has been downloaded more than 643,000 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 the American cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious. I know you feel it, too. I value your support and invite you to show your thanks and with a donation to support my ongoing advocacy, education and outreach activities. You can find the donate button in the column to the right. Thank you to our sponsors This podcast is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, nationwide online directory to florists, shops, and studios who design with American-grown flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.And thank you to Florists' Review magazine. I'm delighted to serve as Contributing Editor for Slow Flowers Journal, found in the pages of Florists' Review. Read our stories at slowflowersjournal.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 syndicatesales.com. Rooted Farmers, which 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. (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: Daymaze; Gaenaby Blue Dot Sessionshttp://www.sessions.blueLovely by Tryad http://tryad.bandcamp.com/album/instrumentalshttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ In The Fieldaudionautix.com

As many of you know, I was very active in horticulture circles as a home, garden and landscaping writer for nearly 20 years, long before I became obsessed with flower farming and floral design. Over the past decade, I have been completely immersed in founding, developing and nurturing the Slow Flowers Movement, which has been the most professionally rewarding experience of my life. And yet, I continue to take side trips back into horticulture. I met today's guest, Lisa Fiore, CEO of Landscape Hub, on one of those excursions. We were introduced by a mutual friend, Clint Albin, a nursery industry marketing strategist, who, like me, has an extensive personal network of business contacts who become friends. Clint attended the 2018 Slow Flowers Summit in Washington, D.C., where he lives, and since then, he has been determined to find a way for us to collaborate as we once did when I was so deeply involved in the horticulture world. Landscape Hub is proving to be that reason for us to collaborate. Clint introduced me to Lisa Fiore and as I learned what she created with Landscape Hub, I started to understand that there is potential for Slow Flowers members, especially farms and growers, to take advantage of this plant-selling platform. Here's the deal: If you are already growing plants for the floral trade, you can potentially use your expertise to also grow plants for the nursery and landscape industry. We announced a pilot program between Slow Flowers and Landscape Hub and promoted it in our August Slow Flowers newsletter. I'm not sure how many people have even checked out the opportunity that I outlined -- to become a grower & wholesale supplier of potted plants through Landscape Hub. When you listen to my conversation with Lisa, I think it will begin to make sense. Hearing from the person who created a new selling platform for live plants (versus plants cut for the floral trade) may open up your own imagination to a new business channel. Before we jump into the conversation, here's a bit more about Lisa Fiore: Lisa Fiore is Founder & CEO of LandscapeHub, a B2B online marketplace she created and launched in July 2017. A fourth-generation nursery professional, Ms. Fiore realized there was an opportunity to digitize the entire procurement process for the green industry. Lisa was previously President of Fiore Landscape and Nursery Supply (FLNS), a century-old nursery company. During her sixteen-year tenure, she was responsible for identifying new business opportunities and in leading the company forward during the recession. FNLS significantly grew in revenue and expanded to multiple locations under her leadership. Lisa holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from University of Montana and a Master of Business Administration from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management. She currently serves on the board of directors for the National Association of Landscape Professionals, (NALP); is an advisor to the Women in Landscape Network, (WILN); a member of the Economic Club of Chicago; and a former board director for the Illinois Landscape Contractors Association, (ILCA). https://youtu.be/H8Ynz1jLLYc Thanks so much for joining me today for my conversation with Lisa. We know that now, more than ever, our members are seeking new customer channels during the COVID-19 pandemic. I believe that one of those perhaps overlooked or ignored opportunities is to use your farming skills to sell plants (including potted and bare root) into the nursery marketplace, to both trade and retail buyers. You know how to grow plants – there is no doubt! But have you explored selling plants? I know that some of our members are growing and marketing cutting garden annuals and perennials, vegetable starts, bulb packs and other horticultural products to their customers. Those customers may find you through a grocery store program, farmers’ market, on-farm or pop-up plant sales or through your own retail channel. As Lisa and I discussed LandscapeHub offers you a potential new channel to sell on this nationwide platform which supplies commercial nurseries and landscapers. LandscapeHub is expanding its online marketplace for the nursery and green industry growers -- and you're invited to participate. Stay tuned for an upcoming session when I will host Landscape Hub's team to discuss and demonstrate the platform. I'll announce a date next week. Before we wrap up, I want to invite you to join the Fire Relief for Flower Farms effort. During the past 10 days, I'm sure you've watched the horrifying images and read devastating reports about wildfires threatening farmland across the West. This is not the first climate crisis to affect the Slow Flowers community in the past few years -- season by season, it seems as if every farm is faced with one of them: floods, hailstorms, tornados, hurricanes and wild fires are on the rise seemingly everywhere. But I can't help but focus right now on

Tonneli (left) and Kim (right) at Salty Acres Farm, Coupeville, Washingon In early 2019, I reconnected with Kim Gruetter of Salty Acres Farm at a Washington Flowers Project florists' gathering. She reminded me that we'd had a few email exchanges back when I first launched Slow Flowers in 2014, and introduced me to her daughter Tonneli Gruetter. Together, with their spouses, Kim and Tonneli own Salty Ares Farm in the town of Coupeville, Washington, on Whidbey Island. Kim's husband and Tonneli's father Paul Gruetter and Tonneli's husband John Loughman, are definitely part of the diverse family-owned farm and little guy Sauvie is the youngest human living on the family farm. Tonneli (left) and Kim (right), photographed on our visit to their fields at Greenbank Farm We had a great conversation about what they both were doing and I learned it was not just flowers! Kim told me about the "salt" of Salty Acres, which is one of their signature agricultural products along with edible flowers. Tonneli, who calls herself a millenial, fascinated me with her story of working in the sales, marketing and branding in the tech industry, a fabulous skill set that she brings to Salty Acres. A few months later, Travis Rigby of Florists' Review asked me if had any suggestions for a new digital marketing position he had created. Did I know anyone who might be a good fit for the job? For some amazing reason, Tonneli popped into my memory and I introduced the two of them. For the past year, Tonneli has collaborated with Florists' Review on all sorts of projects, including the magazine's social media, which you can't miss if you follow them on Instagram. Tonneli's enthusiasm has spilled over into the floral community and to many, she is the face of Florists' Review on its IG stories, events and sponsorships. Salty Acres Farm operates at two locations on Whidbey Island. Left: at Greenbank Farm, a community-owned agriculture and tourism destination; right, at a historic farmstead in Coupeville. When I knew I was going to have a minication getaway on Whidbey Island in late August, I invited myself to Salty Acres Farm. The farm is located on historic Penn Cove, outside the historic Coupeville. Here's a bit more of their story, from the "about" page on Salty Acres' website: Originally brought to the island by the Navy, Tonneli and John thought their farming roots were somewhere in the past when the opportunity of a lifetime appeared: a new start at a historic farm on Penn Cove. It didn't take long before the magic of the place got to them, and their thoughts of Whidbey as just another Navy posting faded. The honor stand on Penn Cove Road, designed and fabricated from an old pony cart by Paul Gruetter Around this same time Kim and Paul were facing another story all too common for farmers. Rising property costs and rapid urbanization were forcing farmers (themselves included) away from Oregon's Willamette Valley where they had farmed for generations. Seeing this shift Tonneli and John urged her parents to visit Whidbey Island. "Imagine a place where you can farm and the community supports you," Tonneli urged her parents. For Paul, who learned to farm from his father who had immigrated to Oregon's Sauvie’s Island to work the land, moving roots wasn't. Upon arriving on Penn Cove it only took a single sunrise over the water to convince them, this was home and a new agricultural collective calling for the whole family. "Salty," the vintage Japanese fire truck that shows up at farmers' markets and other pop-up events. Kim and Tonneli also offer Salty as a fully staffed mobile flower cart experience. Customers book the truck to wow their event guests with fresh bouquets, floral confetti, & individually sized sea salt party favors. Booking includes use of PA system, spot lights, and sirens. (c) Tonneli Gruetter photograph Today, Salty Acres, specializes in locally-grown flowers, small batch sea salt, foraged ocean greens, & specialty produce. From June to October customers can shop at their permanent farm stand on Penn Cover Road, at pop-up sales around the Coupeville area, and at their community greenhouse on the historic Greenbank Farm campus. With COVID this year, the women have had to adapt some of their offerings, especially on-farm events, workshops and their regular stall at the Coupeville Farmers' Market. But the requests continue and they are currently reimagining what 2021 may look like. Keep an eye out for announcements by following Salty Acres on social media. Salty Acres Farm, tricked out for a private event. The farm's agritourism offerings include salt making classes, flower farm tours, floral design workshop and cider making parties (pre-COVID, of course - and to be resumed as state guidelines allow) (c) Tonneli Gruetter photograph Find and follow Salty Acres here: Salty Acres on Faceb

Floral artist and designer Kat Claar (c) Tell the Bees Photography (left); a paper-and-floral-sculpture (right) Several months ago, Kathleen "Kat" Claar of From Blossoms reached out to reconnect. We originally met in March 2019 at the Philadelphia Flower & Garden Show when I shared a meal with a few Slow Flowers members and other locally-focused flower farmers and designers. Kat wanted to share how she was coping with Pennsylvania's then stay-at-home order, which imposed constraints on her floral work. Instead of feeling limited, though, Kat began to film video tutorials which she says allowed her "to succinctly and effectively share her creative process." Well, I watched those sweet videos and was hooked on Kat's highly personal style combining floral design with custom-cut paper shapes that result in contemporary abstract works of art. As she told me, "I would love for more people to consider and notice a daffodil in a new way through my work, but I also think it would be applicable as a project that people could do themselves with something as easily-accessible as a colored piece of paper and a couple stems of flowers from their yard." https://www.instagram.com/tv/CEc8gpxj4O_/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Kat says this recent video is her highest production with puppets, silk flowers and shapes "My goal is to draw attention to seasonal flowers, ones that are available to anyone really, and to help people see those flowers in new ways by playing with our perception of them." In addition to her own studio art practice, Kat is a wedding and event designer for a Philadelphia-based shop called Vault and Vine. We discuss how she balances the two sides of her floral career and how the commercial design work blends with a fine art practice. Kat's gold-metal award for floral design entry "Seeing Flowers" at the 2019 Philadelphia Flower Show really wowed me (pictured below with images (c) Love Me Do Photography). I spent several days at the show and every time I walked past her display I stopped in my tracks, got out my camera and photographed the piece. There are definitely elements - albeit more detailed - of her paper cutout technique. Above: Kat's floral entry at the 2020 Philadelphia Flower & Garden Show, featuring plexiglass shapes by Roxana Azar (c) Tell the Bees Photography. https://www.instagram.com/tv/CAxcyDegJ_2/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link A kids' video with "Beedy" the puppet Thanks so much for joining me today for my conversation with Kat Claar. I hope you take a moment to respond to those creative sparks or lightening bolts when they hit you! Find and follow Kat at From Blossoms on Instagram See the full video collection on Kat's IGTV feed here. September 2nd in my #slowflowerscuttinggarden It's the beginning of a new month and like me, you're probably turning attention to September and beyond. The days here in Seattle are still quite warm, but I can feel the chill of autumn in the morning air and I have mixed feelings about it. I normally love autumn. With COVID limiting our indoor gatherings, we've been so reliant on time outdoors. What comes with the changing of the seasons? Some friends of mine just invested in an infrared heater for their deck, to extend their outdoor time as long as they can. I'm seriously ready to order head-to-toe rain gear from REI, to make sure I can be quasi-comfortable when I want to continue gardening during our typically wet season. We're all adept by now at online everything, and my top wardrobe has expanded while I continue to basically wear the same black yoga pants that you'll never see on a Zoom call. This is an endless season of change. I sincerely hope the Slow Flowers Podcast has been a source of companionship and encouragement to you -- from a distance, as always. This show has been downloaded more than 637,000 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 the American cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious. I know you feel it, too. I value your support and invite you to show your thanks and with a donation to support my ongoing advocacy, education and outreach activities. You can find the donate button in the column to the right. Thank you to our sponsors This podcast is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, nationwide online directory to florists, shops, and studios who design with American-grown flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.And thank you to Florists' Review magazine. I'm delighted to serve as Contributing Editor for Slow Flowers Journal, found in the pages of Florists' Review. Read our stories at slowflowersjournal.com. More thanks goes to Longfield Gardens, which provides ho

Niesha Blancas of Fetching Social, the talent and passion behind Slow Flowers' social media Whether we like it or not, establishing a social media presence is an essential business requirement. In any visually-driven marketplace, but especially in the floral world, we need to create Instagram and Facebook accounts that we want our brand, mission and values to be associated with. I launched the first Slow Flowers business page on Facebook in 2013 when my book of that title was released. And I believe that I started the Slow Flowers Instagram account, called @myslowflowers, in 2015 (prior to that I had a personal account @dkprinzing -- and it took Dani Hahn of Rose Story Farm to inform me that having a second account on Instagram was allowed!). Debra and Niesha, photographed at the 2018 Slow Flowers Summit in Washington, D.C. I muddled along for a few years posting a hodge-podge of images -- all pretty, but there was no strategy. After meeting and working with today's guest, things changed. As I discuss with her in this episode, she was definitely a game-changer, our secret sauce. Please meet Niesha Blancas of Fetching Social, the social media strategist and manager whose talents and creativity have magnified the message of Slow Flowers on Instagram and Facebook. Niesha, on location at the Slow Flowers Summit in St. Paul, Minnesota (c) Missy Palacol Photography Niesha and I first worked together as consultants to the Field to Vase Dinner Tour, a project I helped launch with Certified American Grown. We met up at a number of beautiful flower farms around the U.S. where I often hosted the VIP and media guests and Niesha managed the social media for each dinner. Not long after I ended that contract in 2017, Niesha left her gig and started Fetching Social. I didn't hesitate for a moment. I asked her to support Slow Flowers with a social media strategy. Niesha has been a vital member of the small but mighty Slow Flowers team and other than Andrew Brenlan, our podcast editor, Niesha been with me the longest. She basically acts as Slow Flowers Society's freestanding social media department -- and I'm so grateful for her talents. Niesha manages all of Slow Flowers' visual social media -- on Instagram, Facebook and for our events, like the Slow Flowers Summit Here's a bit more about Niesha Blancas:With a personality as colorful as her creativity, Niesha loves to think outside the box for new and exciting ways to showcase her clients' stories. After graduating from Fresno State with a double major in Public Relations and Fashion Merchandising, Niesha has dipped her toes in various waters, many in which happen to be social-worthy: food, flowers, wine, travel, fashion, and events. And more about Fetching Social:Why settle for anything less than fetching? Fetching Social is your business’s ally. We understand that social media can be overwhelming and time-consuming, especially while you’re running your own company. Let us do what we do best so you can get back to business. If you want to compare bucket list adventures, debate the existence of unicorns, or talk one-on-one with Niesha for her branding advice, DM her on Instagram or email her at [email protected]. Last summer, Niesha was a featured presenter at the 2019 Slow Flowers Summit in St. Paul. She presented on Social Media and I've got a bonus for you. You can watch Niesha's presentation -- VISUAL STORYTELLING FOR SOCIAL MEDIA - part of a 3-speaker panel with Kalisa Jenne-Fraser and Missy Palacol, below. https://vimeo.com/360674033 Find and follow Fetching Social: Check out Fetching Social's JumpStarter Package Download Fetching Social's JumpStarter Package below: JumpStartersDownload Fetching Social on Instagram Fetching Social on Facebook Niesha is a vital member of the Slow Flowers Community Thanks so much for joining me today for my conversation with Niesha Blancas of Fetching Social. I hope you consider reaching out to Niesha to talk about your own social media needs. She has an extensive menu of services suitable for any budget or wish list you might have. I can honestly say that Niesha's expertise, professionalism and passion for the Slow Flowers Community is worth every penny -- she is priceless and influences so much of what I undertake! Coming up in just two weeks is the second annual Sustainable Flowers Workshop, led by Slow Flowers member Becky Feasby of Prairie Girl Flowers in Calgary, Alberta. I was so looking forward to being there in person with Becky, the other instructors and the attendees Not to be deterred, Becky is proceeding with the workshop, September 8 & 9, which will be held in Calgary at the Rosemont Community Hall. She'll be joined by fellow Canadian, floral designer, artist, photographer and author Christin Geall of Cultivated by Christin. Tobey Nelson and I will join virtually via Zoom. Not quite the same thing, but since Tobey and I cannot cross the U.S.-C

Please help me welcome today's guest, Olivia Rivas of Papillon. We first met when I was invited to spend a few days touring the Sonoma County local flower scene as a guest of North Bay Flower Collective in the spring of 2016. That trip yielded a series of Slow Flowers Podcast episodes, but I wasn't able to record an interview with Olivia. On the other hand, I do recall our memorable car ride and great conversation as she shuttled me from one venue to another on that visit. Later, when Olivia was in Seattle to attend a workshop with Ariella Chezar, we enjoyed another melding of the floral minds over a meal. I am very much inspired by Olivia's personal journey, recently featured in my Q&A with her that you can read in the August issue of Florists' Review. You can read that story here: PapillonDownload Like many of us, pursuing a life of and vocation immersed in flowers became Olivia's second career. I know you'll find her story inspiring, as she was determined to educate herself as a designer and to find her own place in the profession. We've been corresponding and chatting quite a bit recently, and I was also interested in Olivia's decision-making process around running a business during the COVID-19 pandemic -- so I've asked her to share about those choices. You'll find lots to which you can relate, as these are topics we are all living out in real time. Here's how you can find and follow Olivia Rivas of Papillon: Olivia Rivas on Facebook Papillon on Instagram Thanks so much for joining me today for my conversation with Olivia Rivas of Papillon. I want you to read a few comments she shared in our Florists' Review article because they are so relatable and timely: Q: How have you adapted to stay-in-place orders?A: This has been the most insane, extreme and confounding year I've ever encountered - in life and in business. The quarantine and shelter-in-place orders have been important and necessary, but it's also been heartbreaking. I've had to lay off all of my employees and we closed the store for half of March and all of April. We had a very strong Mother's Day and now I've started to come back to life, although with only one employee - me. With the new challenges of social distancing, wearing masks and trying to maintain no contact, I decided to move everything online. The process of getting everything I sell -- soap, jewelry, plants, vases, stationary, and now masks -- loaded onto my website has been time consuming and tedious, but I truly believe that this is the world now. A florist can still be unique, based on what you offer and how you present it, and I decided that if I'm going to survive this, I have to have a specific curated shopping experience ready. Q: Advice for others who want to adopt the Slow Flowers mission? A: I can’t say enough about the importance of using local flowers in our shop. We live in a world where you can buy tulips anytime, but I believe using flowers out of season takes away that "specialness." I also encourage people to use less harmful materials when conducting their flower business. It may take a little more time at first, but the results will make you personally healthier and help you do a small part for our future. I urge people to visit the @nofloralfoam page on Instagram for more information and for how-to instruction on no foam mechanics. Coming up this weekend, beginning on Sunday, August 23 and continuing through Wednesday, August 26th, I'm participating as an instructor in an online conference called the Fleurvana Virtual Summit. Founded by Shawn Michael Foley and Gina Thresher, Fleurvana offers great content for anyone who wants to enhance their floral career! Now through Saturday August 22nd, you can get a free ticket to attend the LIVE sessions. You can watch 30 presentations tailored to you -- Elevate your floral career and business! I'll be presenting on "Creative Vocabulary to Enhance Your Brand," and three other Slow Flowers Members are also presenting, including Gina Thresher of From the Ground Up Floral, Tonneli Gruetter of Salty Acres Farm and Jim Martin of Compost in My Tea. If you miss out on grabbing a ticket to the LIVE sessions, you can register after the fact for an affordable VIP pass to watch the presentations at your own pace. The Slow Flowers Podcast has been downloaded more than 634,000 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 the American cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious. I know you feel it, too. I value your support and invite you to show your thanks and with a donation to support my ongoing advocacy, education and outreach activities. You can find the donate button in the column to the right. Thank you to our Sponsors This podcast is brought to you

Left: Leslie Bennett in her Pine House Edible Gardens-designed Oakland backyard(c) Rachel Weill Today's special guest returns to the Slow Flowers Podcast after her 2017 appearance. Leslie Bennett is an award-winning garden creator whose Pine House Edible Gardens designs and installs beautiful, productive edible landscapes that provide bountiful harvests of organic fruits, vegetables, cutting flowers and herbs — and that create space for more beauty, peace and connection in clients' lives. Pine House also maintain gardens, harvests and processes garden-grown food, and teaches clients the skills to do it themselves. Edibles and cut flowers (citrus, blueberries, fig, protea, poppies) flourish in anAlameda front yard (c) Caitlin Atkinson As a Black woman owned business and multi-racial, queer inclusive, majority female team, Pine House Edible Gardens stands for more than just healthy food and beautiful landscapes, and this is one reason I invited Leslie back to the show -- to discuss her firm's commitment to making gardens accessible to all through its equity pricing program and the Black Sanctuary Gardens project. As Leslie writes on the company's web site: "We believe an edible garden can be a transformative space to grow and practice the better ways and world we want for ourselves and for our communities." https://vimeo.com/253924278 The 2017 Slow Flowers Summit presentation features (from left): Chantal Aida Gordon, Leslie Bennett, Riz Reyes and Nicole Cordier The speaker lineup at our first Slow Flowers Summit, including Leslie Bennett (far right) In 2017, Leslie joined the first Slow Flowers Summit in Seattle as a speaker on the topic of inclusion and representation in floriculture and horticulture. She is definitely a mentor of mine as I strive to make the Slow Flowers community an inclusive, supportive and accessible place for Black flower farmers and Black floral professionals. The first Black Sanctuary Garden project, created for a community leader in East Oakland (c) Rachel Weill Slow Flowers has had the privilege of sharing our resources to support anti-racist programs and to support new members through our Professional Development Fund for Black Farmers and Florists. One of the programs we were moved to support financially is the Black Sanctuary Gardens program that Leslie began a few years ago through Pine House Edible Gardens. I wanted you to learn more about this program because I believe it is a model that anyone who wants their creative enterprise to be guided by values- and mission-. As I watch how Leslie uses her talents and resources to support her beliefs, it inspires me to want to do the same with Slow Flowers. A front garden landscaped with edible plants in Atherton, Calif. (c) David Fenton Thanks so much for joining my conversations with Leslie -- our most recent one and the replay of Episode 302. One thing Leslie said that struck me so powerfully and it needs to be restated: This is not charity. This is giving back what has been taken. Land, generational wealth, historic and systemic racism. Operating very humbly will take us forward. The 2020 campaign page . . . with donations soon reaching the $30k goal! The current Go Fund Me Campaign for Black Sanctuary Gardens is close to reaching its 2020 campaign goal of $30,000, but the fundraising continues because this will be an ongoing design/installation series. You can read more about Black Sanctuary Gardens at Pine House Edible Gardens' web site, but I'd like to highlight a few details. Leslie writes: "Inspired in part by Alice Walker’s naming of the garden as a site for black women’s spirituality, creativity and artistic work, landscape designer Leslie Bennett and her team work to design, install and care for a series of low to no-cost Black Sanctuary Gardens for Black women and Black communities. Visual curation and photographic documentation of the women and communities in their garden spaces is a secondary, integral part of the project as we create imagery that more accurately and inclusively reflects the relationship of Black women and communities with their gardens." An entry garden in Los Altos, Calif., features low-water, edible and native California plantings (c) Caitlin Atkinson Edible garden in Hillsborough, Calif. (c) David Fenton The primary goal of Black Sanctuary Gardens is to create garden spaces for Black women to rest and be restored. This space is so needed, given the racism and sexism that Black women experience as part of daily American life. A further goal is to define, uphold and celebrate Black community spaces, amidst gentrification and displacement of historically Black communities in Oakland. Black Sanctuary Gardens is an exciting opportunity to develop gardens that are reflective of our brilliant Black community and supportive of our specific cultural experiences, while offering real sanctuary for Black people to commune, converse, collaborate, heal, rest, and

Aishah Lurry grows cut flowers in Arizona's high desert town of Patagonia, just 25 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. All portrait and farm photography (c) Kayla Lewis-Simpson @kaylalewphotography Way back in February B.C. -- and by that I mean February, Before COVID -- a Phoenix Home & Garden Magazine editor named Carly Scholl reached out to request an interview. She sent an email and wrote: I'm working on a story for our upcoming April issue about local flower farms, and my research consequently led me to you and your "slow flowers" movement. Your information and research has certainly informed my article so far, but I would love to do a short interview with you about this slow flowers concept to further educate our readers. Aishah Lurry, with her brand-new delivery van. The van represents a growth opportunity that allows Patagonia Flower Farm to serve more markets including Tucson, about 60 miles away. Carly and I had a wonderful conversation -- her interest in locally-grown flowers was so encouraging! And in April, she published a four page feature about three fabulous flower farmers in Arizona, including today's guest, Aishah Lurry of Patagonia Flower Farm. It's a great article titled "How the Slow Flowers Movement is Making Arizona Bloom," with the subhead: "Three local flower farms are cultivating communities around eco-conscious blossoms." You'll be inspired by its focus on the importance of local and sustainable flowers and by the stories of all three farmers profiled, including Anne Jensen of Anne E's Garden Fresh in Phoenix, also a Slow Flowers member, and Shanti Rade of Whipstone Farm in Paulden, a past guest of this podcast. Read the full article here: "How the Slow Flowers Movement is Making Arizona Bloom" Read the companion piece: "A Q&A With Debra Prinzing" Lisianthus!!! The article did another important thing as it revealed the state's geographic diversity when it comes to growing flowers. As Aishah and I discuss, Arizona's flower farmers have much in common, but the state's growing zones vary widely. Patagonia is located in USDA Zone 8a with average minimum temperatures of 10 to 15 degree; you'll hear Aishah discuss what this means for her long growing season, despite low precipitation and high daytime temperatures during some times of the year. Aishah and her husband Sebastian Here's a bit more about Aishah, adapted from the Patagonia Flower Farm web site: Aishah says flowers are one of the greatest passions in her life. After years of feeling frustrated about having to drive miles out of town for overpriced bouquets filled with imported flowers that died quickly, she decided to start her own micro-farm, Patagonia Flower Farm in 2017. Now her neighbors enjoy the beauty of fresh flowers that last days while keeping their carbon footprint small. Gardening has been a personal joy of Aishah's for more than 20 years. She has taught several classes about sprouts, micro-greens, and propagation and today serves with Borderlands Restoration Network to further its native species and public education programs.Aishah shares her horticultural knowledge and gardening expertise to help customers enjoy the natural beauty and elegance that fresh, local flowers offer. She considers her flowers a local, affordable, and well-deserved luxury. Each flower in Aishah's hand-picked bouquets are lovingly grown to ensure health, vibrancy, and longevity of the ingredients. Patagonia Flower Farm 's organic and sustainable practices keep the Earth and bees happy and healthy. Find and follow Patagonia Flower Farm at these social places:Patagonia Flower Farm on FacebookPatatonia Flower Farm on Instagram More about Aishah's Hydroponic Tulip Production Growing trays for hydroponic tulips Inside Aishah's cooler during her winter production of tulips under light Look how clean and tidy these bulbs are! Aishah sources the bulb trays from Leo Burbee Bulb Co. in Ohio Lisianthus with companion flowers -- all field-grown at Patagonia Flower Farm Thanks so much for joining my conversation with Aishah Lurry. I'm encouraged by her focus on community and collaboration -- a model we've seen happen with success across the Slow Flowers Movement -- and definitely among the new Arizona Cut Flower Growers group. Watch for details about the future of this collective. And if you're in the Tucson area, reach out to Aishah to join her CSA customer list. This was a great episode and I learned so much about the personal drive to grow flowers in challenging conditions. Best of luck with those dahlias, Aishah! Now, more than ever, your Slow Flowers Membership gives you an important story to share with your community and your customers. Our monthly Slow Flowers Meet-Ups continue Friday, August 14th (9 am PT/Noon ET) and you're invited to join us - virtually - via Zoom. The COVID-19 pandem

Natasha Harper-Madison, from floral entrepreneur to elected council member in Austin, Texas (all photos courtesy Natasha Harper-Madison) Today's guest is Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison, representing the city of Austin's District 1. She may not seem like a typical Slow Flowers Podcast guest, but I know you'll find our conversation inspiring, uplifting and a call to action. Natasha is a former floral entrepreneur and very early Slow Flowers member; I've been watching her path to public service on social media over the past few years and I just decided to reach out and ask her to share her amazing story. Natasha now represents Austin's District 1, the community where she grew up As you will hear in the conversation that we recently recorded over Zoom, Natasha and I originally met when she joined Slow Flowers through her Austin-based wedding and event business Eco-Chic Flowers and Events, later rebranded as The Floral Engagement. Natasha was a sustainability pioneer and early adopter in the commitment to sourcing locally-grown flowers and to avoiding the use of any floral foam in her designs. You'll hear us talk about her friendship with Mickey Blake, inventor of Floral Soil, a company here in Washington that had once developed a plant-based foam alternative to single-use plastic options on the marketplace. Mickey was a past guest of the Slow Flowers Podcast back in 2014, when we were huge supporters of her effort. Sadly that project is no longer operating, but I just wanted to mention it because it's another thread that previously connected Natasha and me with a shared mission for sustainability. The Harper-Madison family, including Natasha, her husband Tom Madison, and their "bigs" and "littles" Inviting an elected official to be a guest on the Slow Flowers Podcast isn't typical, but I am so grateful to learn from a "friend of Slow Flowers," a former florist, who is now on the front lines of governing and addressing social and racial justice issues in a major U.S. city. Here's a bit more about Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison. She represents Austin’s District 1, the part of town where she was born and raised. Her upbringing endowed her with an intimate knowledge of her community’s strengths and its unique struggles. The lessons she learned as a successful small business owner on the Eastside led her down a path towards advocacy. She served as president of the East 12th Street Merchants Association and also founded East Austin Advocates, a nonprofit dedicated to connecting under-represented residents with the resources they need to succeed. Her community-level activism sparked Council Member Harper-Madison’s interest in seeking public office, a goal she achieved with her first campaign for City Council in 2018. She is the chair of the Health and Human Services Committee and sits on the Housing and Planning Committee, Judicial Committee, and Regional Affordability Committee. As Natasha explains, the decision to run for public office was a family decision In between championing the interests of her constituents, Council Member Harper-Madison is the proud wife of an Austin firefighter, the mother of four children, and a thriving breast cancer survivor. Thanks so much for joining my conversation with Natasha Harper-Madison of Austin's District 1. I was very struck by a few of her statements: "This gig is not for folks who need instant gratification." and "Sacrifice is not synonymous with suffering." I so admire Natasha for her willingness to, as she says: "sow the seeds of heirloom plants today -- plants she may never personally see come to fruit or bloom." I feel so moved to have had this conversation with a former colleague who's taken a path of great personal sacrifice to address the inequities in her community -- and I believe there is a ripple effect of Natasha's actions and leadership, not to mention her ambitious vision to improve her community's lives. That ripple effect may inspire you to take action about something you believe is hurting your community. This conversation reminds me that we all can do better. Thank you, again, Natasha! Follow the Council Member on Facebook Follow the Council Member on Twitter Thank you to our sponsors This podcast is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, nationwide online directory to florists, shops, and studios who design with American-grown flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.And thank you to Florists' Review magazine. I'm delighted to serve as Contributing Editor for Slow Flowers Journal, found in the pages of Florists' Review. Read our stories at slowflowersjournal.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

Replay Episode with Leah Penniman of Soul Fire Farm and author of “Farming While Black.” Today, we are celebrating the 7th Anniversary of the Slow Flowers Podcast. I want to take a moment and marvel at the significance and what this means to me -- the significance of sharing so many wonderful conversations with listeners over the years, since launching this little project on July 23, 2103. The timing of this podcast's debut was just a few months after the publication of the book Slow Flowers: Four Seasons of Locally Grown Bouquets from the Garden, Meadow and Farm, when I introduced the first-ever podcast for the floral marketplace. I began to invite guests to share their voices, ideas and inspiration. From domestic flower farmers to designers taking a seasonal and sustainable approach to their floral art, I've have pursued unique programming for you. For 362 consecutive weeks, this has been the podcast you can rely on to bring you stories of American flowers and the people who grow and design with them. This podcast actually pre-dates the launch in May 2014 of Slowflowers.com, the free, nationwide online directory to florists, shops, and studios who design with American-grown flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. Slowflowers.com began with about 250 members across the U.S. and it has evolved into the Slow Flowers Society with 750 sustaining members across North America, members who, like you, care about making a conscious choice for buying and sending flowers. (c) Mary Grace Long So we have a lot to celebrate and a lot to be grateful for. We've shared conversations on topics important to progressive, sustainably-minded floral entrepreneurs and I'm excited to continue the strong momentum as this show is more popular than ever. Episodes have been downloaded by listeners like you more than 625,000 times over the past seven years, and we currently enjoy 10k to 12k monthly downloads. So while metrics aren't everything, they are one important indicator of the relevance of our content. I want to pause and thank all of our current Slow Flowers Podcast sponsors, just to remind you that their contributions sustain the production and distribution of this show. Thank you to:Association of Specialty Cut Flower GrowersLongfield GardensRooted FarmersSyndicate SalesJohnny's Selected SeedsMayesh Wholesale FloristThe Gardener's WorkshopFlorists' Review Meet Leah Penniman, Soul Fire Farm We are in a season of challenge and change, and I want to bring you what I believe is a very special and timely replay episode from our archives. It has always been my goal to produce a fresh new episode every week, and but for a few exceptions, I've been able to do so. But with the heightened awareness about the fight against systemic racism and Slow Flowers' stated commitment to support Black flower farmers and florists, we want to turn the focus on their voices, including revisiting past interviews you may have missed. In the coming months, we want to shine a light on Black pioneers and leaders in the Slow Flowers Community, members and friends. We have several new guests booked for the coming months, but today, I want to re-introduce you to Leah Penniman. Pollinator flowers at Soul Fire Farm I am so incredibly excited to rebroadcast my January 23, 2019, conversation with Leah as we discussed her new book, "Farming While Black, Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land," published October 2018 by Chelsea Green Publishing. Leah Penniman is a Black Kreyol educator, farmer, author, and food justice activist from Soul Fire Farm in Grafton, New York. She co-founded Soul Fire Farm in 2011 with the mission to end racism in the food system and reclaim an ancestral connection to land. As co-Executive Director, Leah is part of a team that facilitates powerful food sovereignty programs – including farmer trainings for Black and Brown people, a subsidized farm food distribution program for people living under food apartheid, and domestic and international organizing toward equity in the food system. Soul Fire Farm - a life-giving hub for education, advocacy and activism Leah holds an MA in Science Education and BA in Environmental Science and International Development from Clark University. She has been farming since 1996 and teaching since 2002. The work of Leah and Soul Fire Farm has been recognized by the Soros Racial Justice Fellowship, Fulbright Program, Omega Sustainability Leadership Award, Presidential Award for Science Teaching, NYS Health Emerging Innovator Awards, and Andrew Goodman Foundation, among others. All proceeds from the sale of Farming While Black will be used to support Black Farmers. Soul Fire Farm is a Black, indigenous, and people of color-centered community farm committed to ending racism and injustice in the food system. Soul Fire Farm raises and distributes life-giving food as a means to end food apartheid. With deep reverence for the la