Episode 259: Beth and Jason Syphers of Oregon’s Crowley House Farm, a flower-filled life and design business
August 24th, 2016
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Crowley House Flower Farm on display at the McMinnville (Oregon) Farmers’ Market
Beth and Jason Syphers
I’m so excited to share my recent interview with Beth and Jason Syphers of Crowley House Flower Farm in Rickreall, Oregon.
About 10 miles west of Salem, Oregon, the state’s capital, there is a charming turn-of-the-20th-century farmhouse where the gardens flourish, the fields are lush and colorful, and the activity inside co-owner Beth Syphers’ design studio is thoroughly inspiring.
I met Beth last year at the first Pacific Northwest Cut Flower Growers meet-up held at Our Table Cooperative outside Portland, and felt an immediate connection to her warmth, kindness, and support for Slow Flowers.
Jason joined her at our Portland meet-up this past April and I could tell he’s one of those super-essential spouses that creatives need in their lives.
When I asked them if I could visit their farm during an recent summer trip we had planned, I wasn’t surprised to be told YES.
I set aside a full day to drive about one hour south of Portland to Rickreall, where a curving country lane called Crowley Road led me to the driveway of a beautiful homestead.
The beautiful Crowley House
A charming porch scene (c) Beth Syphers
Beth and Jason greeted me and led me on a tour of their property, including a peek inside the converted garage-studio where Beth processes and designs flowers, and hosts her workshops. We walked through the fields and into the high tunnel to see what was in bloom, and eventually sat down at the kitchen table to record this interview. Jason’s voice can be heard at the top of the segment, but we soon lost him to a business phone call.
Wedding florals by Beth Syphers
A lovely arrangement from the Crowley House Flower Farm
Beth shares this introduction on the Crowley House Web Site: What started out as just a flower design hobby ten years ago, has grown over time into the family farm of today. The need to produce high quality blooms for my designs, and an ever changing parade of color, texture and fragrance; plus the appeal of the slower, simpler lifestyle for my family – the need to feel the soil on my hands and feet, to see the sun rise and set on our fields, and the smell of the country morning dew – has headed me down the path of flower farming and the amazing adventure that has become Crowley House.
The simple pleasure, or smile, that graces the face of our customers as they hold and smell a bouquet of our fresh flowers is one of the high points of our day. Crowley House is pleased to offer many garden heirloom roses, sweet peas, flowering vines, delicate woodland blooms and gorgeous berries in dozens of varieties, all of which represent just some of the flower varietals that we grow and which makes up the framework and style of our farm and design work. Nearly all of the flowers used in our designs are Crowley House grown, but occasionally we will use materials grown by other USA regional growers.
Crowley House offers a wide range of services from a simple bucket of flowers for the DIY creative folks, to full event styling and coordinating floral service – for weddings, corporate events, parties, memorials and various Family Events.
Lovely floral crown designed by Beth Syphers
Details of a Crowley House wedding
Thanks so much for joining us today. Be sure to follow Crowley House Flower Farm at these social places:
Crowley House Flower Farm & Studio on Facebook
Crowley House Flower Farm & Studio on Instagram
Sign up for Crowley House’s e-newsletter here
A woodland bride, with flowers by Crowley House’s Beth Syphers
You can tell we had a lot of fun together. Meeting Beth and Jason was a memorable highlight of my summer trip to Oregon!
I have some news about Lisa Waud’s new project, Detroit Flower Week, which is coming up October 11-15, 2016. Inspired by her amazing 2015 production, The Flower House, Lisa has dreamed up a fantastic week of lectures, workshops and other events featuring all local and American-grown flowers.
I invited her to give us the details and listen for info about how you can take advantage of a special Slow Flowers promo code for discounted day pass tickets — if you act before the end of August. Follow the ticket link here and use “Slowflowers” for a 15% off discount on day passes (must be purchased by end of day 8/31). Perhaps I’ll see you there! If you can’t make it, the Slow Flowers Podcast will bring you recordings of some of the voices gathered at Detroit Flower Week, so stay tuned.
Now, on to the story of Crowley House!
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Recently, a flower farmer in the Slow Flowers Community who is deaf asked me if we would ever consider producing transcripts of our episodes so she could read these conversations. It was a poignant reminder of how casually those of us who are in the hearing world take our senses for granted. So I am going to try to produce transcripts, which cost an estimated $50-$75 per episode to transcribe, edit and prepare for download. Your contributions will help make this possible and eventually, we’ll go back and transcribe the archives if we’re able to raise enough funds!
2016 American Flowers Week Sponsors
Thank you to our lead sponsor for 2016: Certified American Grown Flowers. The Certified American-Grown program and label provide a guarantee for designers and consumers on the source of their flowers. Take pride in your flowers and buy with confidence, ask for Certified American Grown Flowers. To learn more visit americangrownflowers.org.
More sponsor thanks goes to 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.
A big bouquet of thanks goes to Longfield Gardens… providing home gardeners with high quality flower bulbs and perennials. Their online store offers plants for every region and every season, from tulips and daffodils to dahlias, caladiums and amaryllis. Visit them at lfgardens.com.
And finally, thank you Arctic Alaska Peonies, a cooperative of 50 family farms in the heart of Alaska providing high quality, American Grown peony flowers during the months of July and August. Visit them today at arcticalaskapeonies.com
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 and Hannah Brenlan. Learn more about their work at shellandtree.com.
August 24th, 2016 at 5:26 am
Love my Wednesday Slow Flowers read & podcast!
August 25th, 2016 at 5:44 pm
Love going to Beth’s farm…it feels like a childhood dream come true. Her classes are a gem, cannot wait for her mother and daughter classes. Congrats on your media buzz Beth and Jason, and I hope many more will seek out your services. Such a highly valued experience in these digital times. To be able to do hands on activities that includes such a variety of yummy fragrances to cheer up our day. Experience life in its full dimension. Good luck with the future of your awesome homestead and what it has to offer.