Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Podcast Index | RSS | More

It’s engagement season and many of our wedding and event designers are busy at this time of year, consulting with prospective couples and pulling together concepts and proposals. For Slow Flowers designers, those who infuse their business values with sourcing and sustainable considerations, there’s an important added layer involved.

Today’s guest, Jessica Stewart, is well aware of the importance of educating clients about having a local and seasonal approach to designing their wedding flowers. We asked Jessica to unpack all the elements involved in running Bramble & Blossom, and to share her approach to communication during the sales process.

Jessica recently gave an incredibly detailed presentation for the January Slow Flowers Member (virtual) meetup and we recorded it to share it as today’s Podcast Episode. You’ll be treated to Jessica’s approach about how she designs for seasonality and sources from local flower farms to produce gorgeous, romantic, evocative weddings.

Jessica’s presentation includes details on how she prepares contracts + proposals; and how she sources and plans for weddings and installations. Her expertise is priceless and you’ll want to listen in.

Here’s a little bit more about Jessica Stewart of Brambles & Blossom, an Eco-Friendly Pittsburgh Wedding Florist

The tagline for Bramble & Blossom includes these guiding principles: Ethical. Sustainable. Anti-Racist. Inclusive. Accessible. Intentional. Stunning.

You’ll notice these characteristics in each Bramble & Blossom design, and in turn, realize how special and rare these qualities area. As Jessica writes on her website: “This seems like a #HumbleBrag at first glance. But the truth is, we wish there was more competition.”

She continues:

There’s a brief moment when each bloom has its peak. As a florist, that moment is what I love most about working with flowers. As a wedding florist, aligning that day with your wedding day is what I live for. That intentionality is the ethos of Bramble & Blossom. 

Our signature style centers on timing things just so. We select every shape, color, and texture in your arrangements to reflect the landscape and hues of the place where you’re getting married and the love story that you’ve shared with us. We exclusively source seasonal, American-grown flowers so that Mother Nature can wish you a happy anniversary each year as those varieties blossom. ​

Everything should feel connected. Because everything is. Your personalities, your love story, your flowers, your wedding day — they were all meant to be. Just like finding a wedding florist you connect with on a deeper, values-centered level was meant to be. 

Before we jump right into Jessica’s presentation, I want to pause and mention how much I appreciate this gifted woman and her support as a Slow Flowers member. As you’ll hear in our opening conversation, I first met Jessica and her former partner Justine Lacey when they owned Foxglove Floral Design Studio in Brooklyn. They women appeared on Episode 136 of the Slow Flowers Podcast – in April 2014, during the first year of this podcast. It is so encouraging to me to continue that conversation now, and to realize that one decade later Jessica remains committed to her sustainable values. Let’s welcome her back to the Slow Flowers Podcast.

Find and Follow Bramble & Blossom on Instagram

---

Thank you to our Sponsors

This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 750 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.

Thank you to Longfield Gardens, which provides home gardeners with high quality flower bulbs and perennials. Their online store offers plants for every region and every season, from tulips and daffodils to dahlias, caladiums and amaryllis. Check out the full catalog at Longfield Gardens at longfield-gardens.com.

Thank you to Rooted Farmers. Rooted Farmers works exclusively with local growers to put the highest-quality specialty cut flowers in floral customers’ hands. When you partner with Rooted Farmers, you are investing in your community, and you can expect a commitment to excellence in return. Learn more at RootedFarmers.com

Thank you to 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 johnnyseeds.com.

---

Thank you for joining me today! The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more than one million times by listeners like you. Thank you for listening, commenting and sharing – it means so much. As our movement gains more supporters and more passionate participants who believe in the importance of our domestic cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious. I know you feel it, too. If you’re new to our weekly Show and our long-running Podcast, check out all of our resources at SlowFlowersSociety.com

---

I’m Debra Prinzing, host and producer of the Slow Flowers Show & Podcast. The Slow Flowers Podcast is engineered and edited by Andrew Brenlan. 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. Next week, you’re invited to join me in putting more Slow Flowers on the table, one stem, one vase at a time. Thanks so much for joining us today and I’ll see you next week!

Music Credits:

Drone Pine; Gaena; Cast in Wicker
by Blue Dot Sessions
http://www.sessions.blue

Lovely
by Tryad 
http://tryad.bandcamp.com/album/instrumentals
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

In The Field
audionautix.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Podcast Index | RSS | More

PROMO CODE: Harmony Harvest has provided a promo code for our listeners and viewers. You can apply this to any retail or wholesale order SLOWMUMS

I’m welcoming Jessica Hall of Harmony Harvest Farm back to the Slow Flowers Podcast today with an update on her Weyers Cave, Virginia-based farm’s expanding collection of specialty, old-fashioned, heirloom, and hard-to-find chrysanthemums for growers and gardeners. The Mum Project, as it is called by Jessica and her partners, mom Chris Auville, and sister Stephanie Duncan, reflects the ambitious journey on which these women have embarked to educate themselves and the entire floral community about the exquisite qualities of chrysanthemums.

They have networked extensively with other chrysanthemum aficionados, from members of the national chrysanthemum society to growers of public garden collections. Their goal is to expand the Harmony Harvest list of “mother” plants from which they can take cuttings, propagate more plants, and offer high quality plug to growers. In the process, they also are advocating for other flower farmers to get in on the mum game, offering educational resources and events to elevate understanding about growing mums.

To peruse the collection of mums – ranging from ‘Apricot Alexis’, with a blushy-salmon color and a cascade of curving petals, to ‘Vesuvio’, an ultra-weird creamy-ivory chrysanthemum that begs the question – “are you sure that’s a mum?”, there are more than 50 selections in the current inventory of plugs, or plant starts, offered at both retail and wholesale programs.

Let’s jump right in and join my conversation with Jessica. Because of the time of year, there isn’t much to see in terms of rows of colorful chrysanthemum plants, but Jessica did send us a small video she filmed inside one of the three chrysanthemum growing houses at Harmony Harvest. We’ll see that first and then move right into our conversation, recently recorded on January 11^th.

Thanks so much for joining me today! As you heard us discuss, in collaboration with the USDA and other agriculture authorities in states across the US, Harmony Harvest Farm is compliant with all required regulations, training, and inspections. I don’t know about you, but I’m inspired and because I don’t have a lot of cutting garden space, I’m looking at my front garden border with a new point of view, thinking about where I can perennialize some of the juicy chrysanthemums among my grasses, shrubs, roses and other permanent plantings!

PROMO CODE: Harmony Harvest has provided a promo code for our listeners and viewers. You can apply this to any retail or wholesale order SLOWMUMS

---

News of the Week

The New Year is off to a great start, and I love hearing from our listeners and viewers about how inspired they feel after learning from our guests. If I haven’t said it often enough, our programming is the “voice” of the Slow Flowers Movement and we love showcasing our members and their stories. As we think about the shifts, opportunities and changes in the floral landscape for 2024, I hope you took a moment to read the just-released Slow Flowers Floral Insights & Industry Forecast, our 10^th annual report. I’ll share the link in our show notes for you to check it out. And, we’re honored that the UK-based lifestyle publication House & Garden has picked up on the forecast, reporting on three of our seven insights and those influences on the gardening world for 2024.

---

Thank you to our Sponsors

This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 750 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.

Thank you to The Gardener’s Workshop, which offers a full curriculum of online education for flower farmers and farmer-florists. Online education is more important than ever, and you’ll want to check out the course offerings at thegardenersworkshop.com.

Thank you to Red Twig Farms. Based in Johnstown, Ohio, Red Twig Farms is a family-owned farm specializing in peonies, daffodils, tulips and branches, and a popular peony-bouquet-by-mail program. Learn more at redtwigfarms.com.

Thank you to the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market, a farmer-owned cooperative committed to providing the very best the Pacific Northwest has to offer in cut flowers, foliage and plants. The Growers Market’s mission is to foster a vibrant marketplace that sustains local flower farms and provides top-quality products and service to the local floral industry. Visit them at seattlewholesalegrowersmarket.com.

---

Thank you for joining me today! The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more than one million times by listeners like you. Thank you for listening, commenting and sharing – it means so much. As our movement gains more supporters and more passionate participants who believe in the importance of our domestic cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious. I know you feel it, too. If you’re new to our weekly Show and our long-running Podcast, check out all of our resources at SlowFlowersSociety.com.

---

I’m Debra Prinzing, host and producer of the Slow Flowers Show & Podcast. The Slow Flowers Podcast is engineered and edited by Andrew Brenlan. 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. Next week, you’re invited to join me in putting more Slow Flowers on the table, one stem, one vase at a time. Thanks so much for joining us today and I’ll see you next week!

Music Credits:

Drone Pine; Gaena; Bridgewalker; Turning on the Lights
by Blue Dot Sessions
http://www.sessions.blue

Lovely
by Tryad 
http://tryad.bandcamp.com/album/instrumentals
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

In The Field
audionautix.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Podcast Index | RSS | More

Today’s guest is longtime Slow Flowers member Toni Reale, owner and creator of Roadside Blooms in North Charleston, South Carolina. Let’s learn about how she takes risks to grow her diversified floral and plant enterprise – I’m certain that you’ll gain some tips for your business!The shop specializes in weddings, events and everyday deliveries using near 100 percent American- and locally-grown blooms.

Toni founded Roadside Blooms with a story to tell and a mission to share, believing that beauty and sustainability don’t just co-exist, they work in concert. With over 10 years of experience in the event-planning and floral-design industries, Toni’s many adventures led her to successful entrepreneurship of a values-based enterprise. She has a Master’s degree in geology and taught geology at the College of Charleston; she converted a 1971 British ice cream truck into a mobile flower shop (the original Roadside Blooms) and is a leader of Charleston’s “green and local” movement, Toni has served on various nonprofit boards, including the Charleston Green Fair, and she was recognized as one of Charlie magazine’s “50 Most Progressive” in Charleston in 2014.

Toni partnered with Laura Mewborn of Feast & Flora to create a beautiful botanical couture design for American Flowers Week 2019, collaborating with her friend Giovanni Richardson, a Sea Island Gullah Chieftess, who modeled the historically significant floral garment. I’ll share a link to their story in today’s show notes.  

Let me tell you why I asked Toni to be my guest today. We have been tracking the innovation in the floral retail space over the past years, and when I learned that Toni expanded Roadside Blooms to a larger store this past summer, I wanted to learn more. As you may have heard in our 2024 Slow Flowers Floral Insights & Industry Forecast, which I shared in last week’s episode, one of our key insights is called “Floral Literacy.” I shared about the exciting retail news that Slow Flowers members represent a countertrend in brick-and-mortar retail, including Roadside Blooms’ new retail floral spaces, and others’ new ventures, which are closely associated with values, community, and an unique approach to locally-sourced flowers.

So let’s jump in and meet Toni Reale of Roadside Blooms. Toni filmed a few short video clips to share the interior and exterior of her new shop and I’ve edited those into my recent interview with her. Thanks so much for joining us today – I am so inspired by the story that Toni Shared and she gave me a jolt of encouragement that I hope you felt, too. Her approach to a collaborative entrepreneurship is her “secret sauce” for success. We wish her continued success in the coming year!

Find and follow Roadside Blooms design studio on Instagram
Follow Roadside Blooms retail shop on Instagram
Follow Roadside Blooms retail shop on Facebook
Follow Roadside Blooms on TikTok

---

News of the Week!

The Slow Flowers Summit Early Bird Registration campaign has come to a close and we congratulate the folks who took advantage of the money-savings opportunity to grab early registration! Ticket sales continue through June – and if you’re already a Slow Flowers member, you’ll receive $100 off your registration, which is the equivalent of the Standard annual membership, so it basically pays for itself! In the coming weeks, we’ll be highlighting more of our speakers and more about some of the special experiences associated with joining our community in Banff, Alberta, Canada – June 23-25^th!

---

Thank you to our Sponsors!

This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 750 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.

Thank you to Longfield Gardens, which provides home gardeners with high quality flower bulbs and perennials. Their online store offers plants for every region and every season, from tulips and daffodils to dahlias, caladiums and amaryllis. Check out the full catalog at Longfield Gardens at longfield-gardens.com.

Thank you to 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 johnnyseeds.com.

Thank you to Mayesh Wholesale Florist. Family-owned since 1978, Mayesh is the premier wedding and event supplier in the U.S. and we’re thrilled to partner with Mayesh to promote local and domestic flowers, which they source from farms large and small around the U.S. Learn more at mayesh.com. It was nice to hear that Toni works with her local Charleston branch of Mayesh to source American grown flowers – that’s good news!

---

Thank you for joining me today! The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more than one million times by listeners like you. Thank you for listening, commenting and sharing – it means so much. As our movement gains more supporters and more passionate participants who believe in the importance of our domestic cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious. I know you feel it, too. If you’re new to our weekly Show and our long-running Podcast, check out all of our resources at SlowFlowersSociety.com

---

I’m Debra Prinzing, host and producer of the Slow Flowers Show & Podcast. The Slow Flowers Podcast is engineered and edited by Andrew Brenlan. 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. Next week, you’re invited to join me in putting more Slow Flowers on the table, one stem, one vase at a time. Thanks so much for joining us today and I’ll see you next week!

Music Credits:

Drone Pine; Waterbourne; Turning on the Lights; Gaena
by Blue Dot Sessions
http://www.sessions.blue

Lovely
by Tryad 
http://tryad.bandcamp.com/album/instrumentals
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

In The Field
audionautix.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Podcast Index | RSS | More

It’s 2024~ Welcome to a New Year! This is the 10^th year we’ve produced the Slow Flowers’ Floral Insights and Industry Forecast, which originated in 2015 as a series of media presentations that we also shared with members and listeners.

This episode is accompanied by two important, free resources. First, a video report that I recently recorded with Robin Avni, creative director of BLOOM Imprint, our Slow Flowers publishing venture. This is the video companion to today’s podcast. Click above to watch.

We have also produced a 38-page digital magazine-style report, filled with deeper analysis of each of our 2024 insights.

Here’s a bit more about Robin Avni. She is a creative veteran in the media and high-tech industries whose experience includes 15-plus years in the publishing industry and eight years at Microsoft in design and creative management. Robin has successfully managed innovative, award-winning design teams and high-profile projects and she has received numerous national design and photography editing awards for her own work.

Robin has produced more than 15 books, including seven titles created for the BLOOM Imprint catalog. In 2004, following Microsoft, she founded bricolage*, a consultancy specializing in creative strategy, content development, and trend analysis focused on the home and garden. She has worked with Fortune 500 companies, national advertising agencies and award-winning media properties, applying timely actionable insights to their businesses.

Let’s jump right in and embrace 2024 – we’re calling it The Year of Simplicity! I can’t wait for you to learn about each of the insights and the people who have influenced and inspired us to identify them.

---

News of the Week

The Slow Flowers Summit Early Bird Registration campaign has come to a close and we congratulate the folks who took advantage of the money-savings opportunity to grab early registration! Ticket sales continue through June – and if you’re already a Slow Flowers member, you’ll still receive $100 off your registration, which is the equivalent of the Standard annual membership, so it basically pays for itself! In the coming weeks, we’ll be highlighting more of our speakers and more about some of the special experiences associated with joining our community in Banff, Alberta, Canada – June 23-25^th!

---

One more item of note! If you missed the January Slow Flowers Newsletter that dropped a few days ago, click the link below to read it. This edition is filled with lots of floral goodness, free resources, news, and more.

---

Join us on Friday, January 12, 2024 — when we welcome Slow Flowers member Jessica Stewart of Pittsburgh-based Bramble & Blossom — We’re calling this session our “secrets of a sustainable wedding florist.” Jessica will share her philosophy around communication during the sales process, including describing how you design for seasonality by sourcing from local flower farms; how to make this clear in contracts + proposals; and how she sources and plans for weddings and installations. Her expertise is priceless and you’ll want to join us and bring your sustainable wedding questions! We hope to see you in the Zoom room!

---

Thank you to our Sponsors

Thank you to Store It Cold, creators of the revolutionary CoolBot, a popular solution for flower farmers, studio florists and farmer-florists.  Save $1000s when you build your own walk-in cooler with the CoolBot and an air conditioner.  Don’t have time to build your own?  They also have turnkey units available. Learn more at storeitcold.com.

Thank you to Red Twig Farms. Based in Johnstown, Ohio, Red Twig Farms is a family-owned farm specializing in peonies, daffodils, tulips and branches. Learn more at redtwigfarms.com.

Thank you to Seattle Wholesale Growers Market, a farmer-owned cooperative committed to providing the very best the Pacific Northwest has to offer in cut flowers, foliage and plants. The Growers Market’s mission is to foster a vibrant marketplace that sustains local flower farms and provides top-quality products and service to the local floral industry. Visit them at seattlewholesalegrowersmarket.com.

---

Best Wishes for a Prosperous and Peaceful New Year!

Let’s bring our best to 2024. It has the potential to be a challenging year in so many ways, and I believe staying mindful of your values, and focused on your personal mission are important ways to manage the uncertainty. Remember – we’re committed to simplicity and not chaos! I hope today’s forecast will inspire your intentions!

Thank you for joining me today! The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more than one million times by listeners like you. Thank you for listening, commenting and sharing – it means so much. As our movement gains more supporters and more passionate participants who believe in the importance of our domestic cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious. I know you feel it, too. If you’re new to our weekly Show and our long-running Podcast, check out all of our resources at SlowFlowersSociety.com

I’m Debra Prinzing, host and producer of the Slow Flowers Show & Podcast. The Slow Flowers Podcast is engineered and edited by Andrew Brenlan. 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. Next week, you’re invited to join me in putting more Slow Flowers on the table, one stem, one vase at a time. Thanks so much for joining us today and I’ll see you next week!

Music Credits:

Drone Pine; Horizon Liner; Turning on the Lights; Gaena
by Blue Dot Sessions
http://www.sessions.blue

Lovely
by Tryad 
http://tryad.bandcamp.com/album/instrumentals
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

In The Field
audionautix.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Podcast Index | RSS | More

---

---

News of the Week

Our commitment to featuring a diversity of subject matter experts and experienced voices, not to mention bringing the Slow Flowers Summit to an unforgettable location, will continue for 2024. And for the first time, we’re hosting an international Summit at Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity in Banff, Alberta, Canada. Please join us, June 23-25, 2024. Save $100 off your registration if you grab your seat by December 31, 2023. Slow Flowers Members always receive $100 off their registration, so you’ll save double if you are a member!

---

Thank you to our Sponsors

This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 750 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms.  It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.

Thank you to our lead sponsor for 2023, Farmgirl Flowers. Farmgirl Flowers delivers iconic burlap-wrapped bouquets and lush, abundant arrangements to customers across the U.S., supporting U.S. flower farms by purchasing more than $10 million dollars of U.S.-grown fresh and seasonal flowers and foliage annually. Discover more at farmgirlflowers.com.

Thank you, 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 johnnyseeds.com.

Thank you, Mayesh Wholesale Florist. Family-owned since 1978, Mayesh is the premier wedding and event supplier in the U.S. and we’re thrilled to partner with Mayesh to promote local and domestic flowers, which they source from farms large and small around the U.S. Learn more at mayesh.com.

Thank you, The Gardener’s Workshop, which offers a full curriculum of online education for flower farmers and farmer-florists. Online education is more important than ever, and you’ll want to check out the course offerings at thegardenersworkshop.com.

---

Coming Up in January

Next week, for our first episode of 2024 on Wednesday, January 3rd, I will be joined by BLOOM Imprint’s Robin Avni to co-present our 2024 Slow Flowers Floral Insights and Industry Forecast.

Join us for the first look at seven emerging themes in the floral design, flower farming, gardening, and sustainability lifestyle market. We will also release our 38-page report to share with you.

Coming up in 2024, you’re invited to join our Slow Flowers Member Virtual Meet-Up on Friday, January 12, 2024 — when we welcome Slow Flowers member Jessica Stewart of Pittsburgh-based Bramble & Blossom — We’re calling this session our “secrets of a sustainable wedding florist.” Jessica will share her approach to communication during the sales process about how you design for seasonality sourcing from local flower farms; how to make this clear in contracts + proposals; and how she sources and plans for weddings and installations. Her expertise is priceless and you’ll want to join us and bring your sustainable wedding questions!

---

Thanks so much for joining me today. The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more than one million times by listeners like you. Thank you for listening, commenting and sharing – it means so much. As our movement gains more supporters and more passionate participants who believe in the importance of our domestic cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious. I know you feel it, too. If you’re new to our weekly Show and our long-running Podcast, check out all of our resources at SlowFlowersSociety.com.

---

I’m Debra Prinzing, host and producer of the Slow Flowers Show & Podcast. The Slow Flowers Podcast is engineered and edited by Andrew Brenlan. 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.  Next week, you’re invited to join me in putting more Slow Flowers on the table, one stem, one vase at a time.

---

Music credits:

Drone Pine; Long and Low Cloud; Long Await; Perspiration; Shift of Currents; Silver Lanyard; Turning on the Lights; Gaena
by Blue Dot Sessions
http://www.sessions.blue

Lovely
by Tryad 
http://tryad.bandcamp.com/album/instrumentals
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

In The Field
audionautix.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Podcast Index | RSS | More

If you’re a regular listener, you’ve heard the announcement about our first ever international Slow Flowers Summit heading to Banff, Alberta, Canada in June 2024.

Not only are we super excited about bringing our seventh annual Slow Flowers Summit to Canada, we’re also proud to announce that all of our speakers are Canadian-based Slow Flowers members, designers and flower farmers, and Canadian sustainability experts.

One of our speakers is longtime Slow Flowers member Jaime Reeves, a Toronto-based floral designer who five years ago co-founded The Local Flower Collective. A wedding and event florist, Jaime owns Leaf & Bloom, a design studio that specializes in weddings and events. At the time of the founding of The Local Flower Collective, she partnered with her studio-mate Carrie Fisher of Roadside Florist.

Carrie is no longer involved with the project, but so many others are! Today, you’ll meet Jaimie and enjoy a preview of a panel presentation at the Slow Flowers Summit. The panel will cover collective and cooperative flower selling and features Jaimie along with Lorna Jackson and Carrie Scott of Island Flower Growers in Victoria, B.C.

A few weeks ago, I accelerated plans to bring on Jaimie as a Slow Flowers Podcast guest when Open Food Network Canada reached out to share news of their documentary series featuring a film about The Local Flower Collective. I wanted to learn more about OFN’s new series, “Women Leading Change,” and its first film in the series, about The Local Flower Collective.

Women Leading Change includes video profiles celebrating the role that women entrepreneurs and grassroots organizers are playing in building sustainable food and farming systems in communities across Canada. From rural farmers’ markets, to urban buying clubs and coops, the series explores how digital technologies are supporting the formation of regional distribution hubs that help farmers and consumers connect in new ways. Funding for this project was provided by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada through the AgriCommunication Program.

The first episode of Women Leading Change focuses on The Local Flower Collective, a specialty cut flower hub that supports ecological flower growers and high-end floral designers into a thriving short-chain distribution network. The film introduces The Collective and six of its flower farms. OFN will release four additional videos in this series and you can find out more details about that in our show notes as well.

Let’s jump right in and hear all about it. We’ll first meet David Thomas, executive director of Open Food Network Canada, a non-profit and social purpose organization dedicated to food and farming system change. We’ll also hear from filmmaker Craig Conoley of CELLebrate, who produced the video series before we watch the five-minute film (if you’re a podcast listener, you will hear the film audio).

The second half of this show is devoted to my conversation with Jaimie Reeves as we discuss The Local Flower Collective. I know you’ll love this episode as much as I do!

A bit more about Jaimie Reeves:

Leaf & Bloom is based in Toronto and specializes in natural floral design for weddings and events. Jaimie Reeves’ deep appreciation for nature and its seasons are prevalent in all her designs. Carefully choosing colours and hand-picking textures and foliage to compliment and reflect nature’s inherent beauty. With a focus on using locally grown blooms paired with untamed foraged elements, her compositions have a natural and effortless-looking style.

Jaimie grew up working in a family-owned garden centre where she began her career as a florist. With over 14 years of experience as a floral designer, she continues to learn and grow her craft. She strives to make every design unique while maintaining an uncomplicated aesthetic.

Follow Leaf & Bloom on Instagram and Pinterest

Follow The Local Flower Collective on Instagram and Pinterest

---

News of the Week:

Are you coming to Banff for the 2024 Slow Flowers Summit?! You’ll enjoy meeting Jaimie Reeves in person and hear her panel presentation with Lorna and Carrie, as they discuss their journeys, the decisions that led to their format, and the benefits that collective flower hubs bring to the floral communities they serve. There’s still time to reserve your discounted ticket and take advantage of Early Bird Registration rate! You’ll save $100 off your Slow Flowers Summit registration, now through December 31^st. I can’t wait to see you in Banff, Alberta, Canada – June 23-25, 2024.

---

Thank you to our Sponsors

This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 750 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.

Thank you to our lead sponsor, Farmgirl Flowers. Farmgirl Flowers delivers iconic burlap-wrapped bouquets and lush, abundant arrangements to customers across the U.S., supporting U.S. flower farms by purchasing more than $10 million dollars of U.S.-grown fresh and seasonal flowers and foliage annually. Discover more at farmgirlflowers.com.

Thank you to the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market, a farmer-owned cooperative committed to providing the very best the Pacific Northwest has to offer in cut flowers, foliage and plants. The Growers Market’s mission is to foster a vibrant marketplace that sustains local flower farms and provides top-quality products and service to the local floral industry. Visit them at Swgmc.coop.

Thank you to Longfield Gardens, which provides home gardeners with high quality flower bulbs and perennials. Their online store offers plants for every region and every season, from tulips and daffodils to dahlias, caladiums and amaryllis. Check out the full catalog at Longfield Gardens at longfield-gardens.com.

Thank you to Rooted Farmers. Rooted Farmers works exclusively with local growers to put the highest-quality specialty cut flowers in floral customers’ hands. When you partner with Rooted Farmers, you are investing in your community, and you can expect a commitment to excellence in return. Learn more at RootedFarmers.com

---

I love all this floral goodness and I am so happy you joined me today! The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more than one million times by listeners like you. Thank you for listening, commenting and sharing – it means so much. As our movement gains more supporters and more passionate participants who believe in the importance of our domestic cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious. I know you feel it, too. If you’re new to our weekly Show and our long-running Podcast, check out all of our resources at SlowFlowersSociety.com

---

I’m Debra Prinzing, host and producer of the Slow Flowers Show & Podcast. The Slow Flowers Podcast is engineered and edited by Andrew Brenlan. 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. Next week, you’re invited to join me in putting more Slow Flowers on the table, one stem, one vase at a time. Thanks so much for joining us today and I’ll see you next week!

---

Music credits:

Cabsha; Drone Pine; Turning on the Lights; Gaena
by Blue Dot Sessions
http://www.sessions.blue

Lovely
by Tryad 
http://tryad.bandcamp.com/album/instrumentals
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

In The Field
audionautix.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Podcast Index | RSS | More

Today’s episode is like a floral runway show for growers and designers alike and you’ll be wowed by the new flower seed introductions for 2024, revealed by Hillary Alger and Joy Longfellow of Johnny’s Selected Seeds.

We are so happy to have had such a long relationship with Johnny’s Seeds as a content partner and sponsor of the Slow Flowers movement. And at this time of year, gardeners and flower farmers alike anticipate the arrival of Johnny’s new catalog of seeds – seeds for backyard cutting gardens like mine and for larger acreage of our flower farmers who grow in rows, high tunnels, and greenhouses.

We invited Joy and Hillary, Johnny’s Seeds’ floral experts, to introduce new flower seed varieties for 2024! Hillary and Joy recently shared new blooms for farms and gardens in a Johnny’s webinar. During last week’s Slow Flowers Meet-Up for members, they took us behind the scenes to hear more about the dazzling, colorful selection of floral varieties and mixes available for 2024.

We recorded the session to share with you on video and audio, so you’ll want to get out your pens and paper to take notes. Learn why their favorite standouts are worth considering as we discuss growing cut flowers from seeds.

Hillary Alger has over 12 years of experience on Johnny’s Seeds’ research team. She is currently the Product Manager for flowers and herbs. Joy Longfellow is the Flower Team Technician at Johnny’s, managing every aspect of Johnny’s flower trialing program.

Links and more resources:
Johnny’s November New Flower Seeds webinar/A PDF of the slide presentation are here.

Tech Sheet for Snapdragon Production
https://www.johnnyseeds.com/growers-library/flowers/snapdragon/snapdragon-production.html

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/johnnys_seeds/

Hillary Alger
https://www.instagram.com/hillaryalger/

Joy Longfellow
https://www.instagram.com/joyatjohnnys/

---

Meet You in Banff!

Are you coming to Banff for the 2024 Slow Flowers Summit?! There’s not much time left to reserve your discounted ticket and take advantage of Early Bird Registration rate! You’ll save $100 off your Slow Flowers Summit registration, now through December 31^st.  I can’t wait to see you in Banff, Alberta, Canada – June 23-25, 2024.

---

Thank you to our Sponsors

This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 750 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.

Thank you to our lead sponsor, Farmgirl Flowers. Farmgirl Flowers delivers iconic burlap-wrapped bouquets and lush, abundant arrangements to customers across the U.S., supporting U.S. flower farms by purchasing more than $10 million dollars of U.S.-grown fresh and seasonal flowers and foliage annually. Discover more at farmgirlflowers.com.

Thank you to CalFlowers, the leading floral trade association in California, providing valuable transportation and other benefits to flower growers and the entire floral supply chain in California and 48 other states. The Association is a leader in bringing fresh cut flowers to the U.S. market and in promoting the benefits of flowers to new generations of American consumers. Learn more at cafgs.org.

Thank you goes to Store It Cold, creators of the revolutionary CoolBot, a popular solution for flower farmers, studio florists and farmer-florists.  Save $1000s when you build your own walk-in cooler with the CoolBot and an air conditioner. Don’t have time to build your own?  They also have turnkey units available. Learn more at storeitcold.com.   

Thank you goes to Red Twig Farms. Based in Johnstown, Ohio, Red Twig Farms is a family-owned farm specializing in peonies, daffodils, tulips and branches, a popular peony-bouquet-by-mail program and their Spread the Hope Campaign where customers purchase 10 tulip stems for essential workers and others in their community. Learn more at redtwigfarms.com.

---

I love all this floral goodness and I am so happy you joined me today! The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more than one million times by listeners like you. Thank you for listening, commenting and sharing – it means so much. As our movement gains more supporters and more passionate participants who believe in the importance of our domestic cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious. I know you feel it, too. If you’re new to our weekly Show and our long-running Podcast, check out all of our resources at SlowFlowersSociety.com

---

I’m Debra Prinzing, host and producer of the Slow Flowers Show & Podcast. The Slow Flowers Podcast is engineered and edited by Andrew Brenlan. 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. Next week, you’re invited to join me in putting more Slow Flowers on the table, one stem, one vase at a time. Thanks so much for joining us today and I’ll see you next week!

---

Music credits:

Vienna Beat; Drone Pine; Turning on the Lights; Gaena
by Blue Dot Sessions
http://www.sessions.blue

Lovely
by Tryad 
http://tryad.bandcamp.com/album/instrumentals
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

In The Field
audionautix.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Podcast Index | RSS | More

This week we’re learning about how one grower has managed her first five flower farming years. Kristen Rubin of Sweetwater Stem Co., in Gig Harbor, Washington, will share how she found sales channels for her blooms at a time when local farmers’ markets were closed due to the Pandemic. Kristen and her husband Allan bought what she describes as a vintage, 8-acre farm in 2019, previously home to highland cattle, when she relocated to her home state of Washington after living in Anchorage, Alaska for a brief period. They chose the name Sweetwater Stem Co. to honor Kristen’s family legacy. Her great grandfather arrived in Idaho at the turn of the century as a pioneer and founded the town of Sweetwater. ​

The new farm’s location in Gig Harbor’s Ray Nash Valley became the idyllic spot to put into practice their philosophy of sustainable organic farming.  ​They use minimal till practices and broad-fork their beds to maintain healthy soil biome. Beneficial insects are released during the growing season to guard against pests and non-chemical methods are used to sustain plant health. They use fish fertilizer and brew compost tea to foliar feed by spraying plants weekly to help create an ideal environment for healthy plants and to attract pollinators to their safe haven.

​Sweetwater Stem Co. grows a variety of flowers and foliage throughout the year, including old-fashioned favorites like zinnias, lisianthus, snapdragons and dahlias, as well as early spring bulb crops like tulips and ranunculus. 

In the second half of our conversation, Kristen will share the news of the Gig Harbor Flower Farmers Guild, a cohort of several are growers formed about one year ago to operate a weekly direct-to-consumer flower market and a specialty wholesale-to-florists hub. Still in the development stage, the guild has talent, creativity, and a vision to bring more local flowers to their community – and you’ll be inspired by their plans.

Follow Sweetwater Stem Co. on Instagram and Facebook
Follow Gig Harbor Flower Farmers Guild on Instagram

---

News of the Week

Our Slow Flowers December newsletter dropped last week and you can find the link in today’s show notes. It’s packed with great content, resources, stories, and flowers.

---

Remember to grab your ticket to the 2024 Slow Flowers Summit – there’s just three weeks left to take advantage of Early Bird Registration rate! You’ll save $100 Off your Slow Flowers Summit registration, now through December 31^st.  We can’t wait to see you in Banff, Alberta, Canada – June 23-25, 2024.

---

And this Friday is the final Slow Flowers Member Meet-Up for the year – Friday, December 8^th at 9 am Pacific/Noon Eastern. Our meet-up guests – Hillary Alger and Joy Longfellow of Johnny’s Seeds – will share a preview of the dazzling new flower seed introductions for 2024 – and we might even have some seed giveaways! Preregistration is Required. Click the link below to sign up!

---

Thank you to our Sponsors

This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 750 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.

Thank you to our lead sponsor, Farmgirl Flowers. Farmgirl Flowers delivers iconic burlap-wrapped bouquets and lush, abundant arrangements to customers across the U.S., supporting U.S. flower farms by purchasing more than $10 million dollars of U.S.-grown fresh and seasonal flowers and foliage annually. Discover more at farmgirlflowers.com.

Thank you to 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.

Thank you to Mayesh Wholesale Florist. Family-owned since 1978, Mayesh is the premier wedding and event supplier in the U.S. and we’re thrilled to partner with Mayesh to promote local and domestic flowers, which they source from farms large and small around the U.S. Learn more at mayesh.com.

Thank you to The Gardener’s Workshop, which offers a full curriculum of online education for flower farmers and farmer-florists. Online education is more important than ever, and you’ll want to check out the course offerings at thegardenersworkshop.com.

---

I love all this floral goodness and I am so happy you joined me today! The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more than one million times by listeners like you. Thank you for listening, commenting and sharing – it means so much. As our movement gains more supporters and more passionate participants who believe in the importance of our domestic cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious. I know you feel it, too. If you’re new to our weekly Show and our long-running Podcast, check out all of our resources at SlowFlowersSociety.com

---

I’m Debra Prinzing, host and producer of the Slow Flowers Show & Podcast. The Slow Flowers Podcast is engineered and edited by Andrew Brenlan. 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. Next week, you’re invited to join me in putting more Slow Flowers on the table, one stem, one vase at a time. Thanks so much for joining us today and I’ll see you next week!

---

Music credits:

These Times (alternate take); Drone Pine; Turning on the Lights; Gaena
by Blue Dot Sessions
http://www.sessions.blue

Lovely
by Tryad 
http://tryad.bandcamp.com/album/instrumentals
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

In The Field
audionautix.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Podcast Index | RSS | More

The Slow Flowers Podcast is grateful to the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market for its longtime support — and today’s episode underscores our relationship. From its beginnings in 2010, when a group of local flower farmers hatched up the idea of starting a wholesale hub for local flowers here in Seattle, my storytelling has been intertwined with their stories. My guests today are part of that narrative. Please join me on a visit to Field to Heart owned by Danielle (Dee) Swan and Valiant Poole.

When I first me this couple, they were based in Snohomish, an agricultural county located about 30 minutes north of Seattle. Both have an extensive background in the arts, horticulture, fine gardening, and organic landscape maintenance. They apply this experience and passion to providing sustainably grown, chemical free, high-quality flowers to florists in the Pacific Northwest.

In 2018, Dee and Valiant relocated Field to Heart to Curtis, Washington, to a new home and acreage located west of Centralia. The area is known as the center point, about 90 miles in either direction between Seattle and Portland, which has allowed Field to Heart to also supply Portland area florists who shop at the Oregon Flower Growers Association, also a Slow Flowers member, located at the Portland Flower Market.

Earlier this month, I had a trip to the Washington coast planned with a friend, and in looking at the map for my return to Seattle, I realized that we were due west of Field to Heart. I have always loved the botanicals that Dee and Valiant grow and I basically invited myself to visit them on my drive home. When she emailed me back, Dee wrote: “We’d love to show you around Field to Heart! We should be here all day on Saturday making wreaths…being farmers it’s hard to get away even in the off season.” 

I brought my camera and started filming the minute I arrived. You’ll see inside the high tunnels, the low tunnels, and spent time as I chat with Dee and Valiant on their porch. In preparation for their winter wreath and garland production, the porch is converted into an outside studio filled with greenery and other design elements. It’s also the location of the wreathing workshops they host during December.

I also wanted to mention that you can find Dee’s handmade pottery mugs and vases on the Field to Heart website and at the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market. I love her sentiments: “We often wonder if we are farmers with the eyes of an artist or artists with a farmers’ touch. We are educated in both and strive to create our lives around both disciplines, whether it be plant identification to painting, music to ‘garden-nerding’ or ceramics to soil health.  It’s all intertwined.”

Follow Field to Heart on Instagram and Facebook

---

This Week’s News

Here in the U.S., we’ve just finished a nice, long, four-day Thanksgiving weekend, followed on Monday, November 27^th by Cyber Monday. While Slow Flowers isn’t jumping on that bandwagon this year, we do want to remind you that there’s still time to grab your ticket to the 2024 Slow Flowers Summit and  take advantage of Early Bird Registration rate! You’ll save $100 off your Slow Flowers Summit registration, now through December 31^st.  I can’t wait to see you in Banff, Alberta, Canada – June 23-25, 2024.

---

Thank you to our Sponsors

This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 750 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.

Thank you to our lead sponsor, Farmgirl Flowers. Farmgirl Flowers delivers iconic burlap-wrapped bouquets and lush, abundant arrangements to customers across the U.S., supporting U.S. flower farms by purchasing more than $10 million dollars of U.S.-grown fresh and seasonal flowers and foliage annually. Discover more at farmgirlflowers.com.

Thank you to Seattle Wholesale Growers Market, a farmer-owned cooperative committed to providing the very best the Pacific Northwest has to offer in cut flowers, foliage and plants. The Growers Market’s mission is to foster a vibrant marketplace that sustains local flower farms and provides top-quality products and service to the local floral industry. Visit them at seattlewholesalegrowersmarket.com.

Thank you to Longfield Gardens, which provides home gardeners with high quality flower bulbs and perennials. Their online store offers plants for every region and every season, from tulips and daffodils to dahlias, caladiums and amaryllis. Check out the full catalog at Longfield Gardens at longfield-gardens.com.

Thank you to Rooted Farmers. Rooted Farmers works exclusively with local growers to put the highest-quality specialty cut flowers in floral customers’ hands. When you partner with Rooted Farmers, you are investing in your community, and you can expect a commitment to excellence in return. Learn more at RootedFarmers.com.

---

I love all this floral goodness and I am so happy you joined me today! The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more than one million times by listeners like you. Thank you for listening, commenting and sharing – it means so much. As our movement gains more supporters and more passionate participants who believe in the importance of our domestic cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious. I know you feel it, too. If you’re new to our weekly Show and our long-running Podcast, check out all of our resources at SlowFlowersSociety.com

---

I’m Debra Prinzing, host and producer of the Slow Flowers Show & Podcast. The Slow Flowers Podcast is engineered and edited by Andrew Brenlan. 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. Next week, you’re invited to join me in putting more Slow Flowers on the table, one stem, one vase at a time. Thanks so much for joining us today and I’ll see you next week!

Music credits:

Dippler; Drone Pine; Turning on the Lights; Gaena
by Blue Dot Sessions
http://www.sessions.blue

Lovely
by Tryad 
http://tryad.bandcamp.com/album/instrumentals
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

In The Field
audionautix.com