I was lucky enough to receive an advanced copy of the book and I invited Kristen to record an episode to talk about it and share with you. He recently came over to my home and garden. We recorded an interview about the book, and then Kristen grabbed his Fiskars clippers and harvested floral and foliage ingredients from the Slow Flowers Cutting Garden ~ what a treat for me to see what elements drew his attention and what he created with garden roses, dahlias, echinacea and cotinus –it is spectacular and reflects his aesthetic beautifully.
Cover of “Flower Love” (left); “Dark Coral” arrangement (right)
Kristen has been named a top floral designer by Harper’s Bazaar. He and his floral designs have been featured in Vogue, O Magazine, WWD, Town and Country, Traditional Home, New York magazine, People, Martha Stewart Weddings, and The Knot; his work has been seen on Good Morning America and E! Network.
With stunning photography of forty-five arrangements, visual step-by-step instructions, and a unique, geometric approach to floral design, Kristen’s new book, “Flower Love,” is an empowering and joyful resource for anyone who wants to add fanciful floral whimsy to their everyday life.
2 floral arrangements from Kristen Griffith-VanderYacht’s new book, Flower Love; “Bumblebee” (left) and “Periwinkle” (right)
This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 850 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.
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 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 johnnysseeds.com.
News of the Week
Next week, we’ll resume our 10-year anniversary celebration of the award-winning Slow Flowers Podcast, featuring another past guest who originally appeared in year five. I can’t wait to share it with you!
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
Thank you for listening! Sending love, from my cutting garden to you! (c) Missy Palacol Photography
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!
Today is the 4th Encore Episode as our decade-long retrospective to highlight one episode from each year of the past decade and bring the best of the Slow Flowers Podcast to you. If you’re a longtime listener, you might recognize these flower folks; if you’re new to the Slow Flowers Podcast, I’m excited to introduce you to them for the first time.
Mary Coombs (right) and Dawn Clark (left) of A Garden Party LLC
Today, I’m happy to introduce you to Dawn Clark and Mary Coombs, horticulturists and floral designers, sisters and co-owners of A Garden Party LLC in Elmer, New Jersey. I visited Dawn and Mary at their studio in South New Jersey in the fall of 2016. We recorded this interview in the studio adjacent to Mary’s home and later visited the women’s new event space located just down the road — called A Milkhouse Party. Fast-forward seven years and both enterprises continue to thrive and provide gorgeous, seasonal floral design and events to customers in NJ, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.
Dawn Clark and Mary Coombs
Mary and Dawn first appeared on the Slow Flowers Podcast Episode 270, which you can find here. The show notes include an extensive bio about Mary and Dawn’s paths from studying horticulture, working in garden centers, and building their floral vision.
Bridal bouquet by A Garden Party LLC
I am thrilled that we’ve had a number of opportunities to feature their design work and creativity, including publishing seasonal wedding bouquets and a farm-to-table event photographed at A Milkhouse Party — in the pages of Slow Flowers Journal Volume One.
Thanks so much for joining me today! I’ll be hosting an IG Live conversation with Dawn and Mary today, August 16th, so check it out @slowflowerssociety — and you’ll find all of my Slow Flowers Podcast 10th anniversary Live Chats in the archives there.
Thank you to our Sponsors
This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 850 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.
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 toThe Gardener’s Workshop, which offers a full curriculum of online education for flower farmers and farmer-florists. Online education is more important this year than ever, and you’ll want to check out the course offerings at thegardenersworkshop.com.
Thank you to Details Flowers Software, a platform specifically designed to help florists and designers do more and earn more. With an elegant and easy-to-use system–Details is here to improve profitability, productivity, and organization for floral businesses of all shapes and sizes. Grow your bottom line through professional proposals and confident pricing with Details’ all-in-one platform. All friends of the Slow Flowers Podcast will receive a 7-day free trial of Details Flowers Software. Learn more at detailsflowers.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.
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
Thank you for listening! Sending love, from my cutting garden to you! (c) Missy Palacol Photography
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!
We’re continuing the 10-week celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Slow Flowers Podcast! I launched the first-ever podcast about flowers on July 23, 2013! This audio storytelling project resonates with so many listeners — people like you who love local, seasonal, and sustainable flowers and who are joining in the Slow Flowers Movement as members, supporters, and allies!
We invite you to help us celebrate by sharing your stories of how the Slow Flowers Podcast has been an inspiring companion to you over the years! Post or send us a video tagged #slowflowerspodcast and we may feature you in our Slow Flowers social media feed! Check out our IG stories on @SlowFlowersSociety, which we will run for the next 10 weeks — you could win one of two priceless prizes! We’ll select two winners among eligible entrants: 1 – win a featured guest spot on a future episode of the Slow Flowers Podcast; and 2 – win a chance to co-host an upcoming monthly Slow Flowers Member Meet-Up. We’ll post the details on social media for you to follow along and participate.
Today is the 2nd Encore Episode as our decade-long retrospective to highlight one episode from each year of the past decade and bring the best of the Slow Flowers Podcast to you. If you’re a longtime listener, you might recognize these flower folks; if you’re new to the Slow Flowers Podcast, I’m excited to introduce you to them for the first time.
Today, I’m happy to introduce you to Lisa Mason Ziegler, who first appeared in September 2014 in Episode 159 and who also has been a return guest and now, through her online educational platform The Gardener’s Workshop, Lisa is a Slow Flowers Podcast sponsor.
Lisa Ziegler
Here’s a bit more about Lisa:
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.
It all began in 1998 because Lisa wanted to work in her garden as her career. At first, she sold her cut flowers to local florists and Colonial Williamsburg. The business soon grew to include florist throughout the Hampton Roads region, supermarkets, farmers markets, a members-only on-farm market, and a bouquet drop-off subscription service.
During this time Lisa began giving programs to garden clubs, master gardeners, commercial growers, and other groups. What became apparent is that people were eager for her simplified organic gardening methods and her greatest gift is sharing them.
The next natural step came when Lisa self-published The Easy Cut-Flower Garden in 2011 (currently out-of-print) a 100-page guide on how-to grow and harvest a small home cutting garden. Her program travels began to spread from Texas to Oregon to New York City and she went on to become published with Cool Flowersin 2014 (St. Lynn’s Press) andVegetables Love Flowers (Cool Springs Press 2018.)
In 2018 Lisa began creating online courses to share her programs and teachings. This style of teaching with it’s convenience, cost effectiveness, and lifetime unlimited access has proven to be another wonderful teaching tool. In 2019, embracing this technology even further and building an amazing in-house support administration 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, instructive, and delightful gardening messages are reaching far beyond any expectation she ever had.
Learn how to grow an abundance of beautiful cut flowers for pleasure or profit. This handbook includes 40 cool-season and 20 warm-season flowers to grow and harvest. Lisa shares how she grows and harvests annual cut flowers and the varieties that have become her tried and true favorites. Learn when to plant cool-season and warm-season flowers in your garden and how garden size alone can help lead to the success or failure of your cutting garden. Get the streamlined steps on preparing, locating, and maintaining the garden. Lisa shares how she starts seeds including soil blocking, plug trays, and planting seeds in the garden. Learn why and how she selects the best starting method for a specific flower seed and her growing conditions. Over half of the book is designated to featured flowers or flower groups, including growing facts, firsthand experiences, tips for home gardeners and flower farmers, harvesting and conditioning steps, and favorite varieties.
I’ll be hosting Lisa on IG Live today, August 2nd, for a fun conversation, so check it out @slowflowerssociety — and you’ll find all of my Slow Flowers Podcast 10th anniversary Live Chats in the archives there.
News of the Week
We just dropped the August Slow Flowers Newsletter yesterday – you’ll want to check it out for all the news updates, inspiring content, and free resources we’ve packed up for you. There’s lots more details about a special Slow Flowers presentation in Seattle on Friday, September 29th with famed British Sustainable Floral Designer Shane Connolly who will give an illustrated lecture and design demonstration followed by a book-signing — this is his only West Coast appearance in North America in 2023 and the tickets are just $45.
This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 850 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.
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.
And 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, 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.
Our next sponsor thank you goes 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.
Our final sponsor thanks goes 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.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
Thank you for listening! Sending love, from my cutting garden to you! (c) Missy Palacol Photography
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!
If you’re a rose lover, you already know about Rose Story Farm in Carpinteria, California, a mecca for garden roses — all 40,000 plants that produce cut flowers to supply the national floral trade and event design world. Rose Story Farm thrives under the care of Danielle Dall’Armi Hahn, her husband Bill Hahn, her mother Patricia Dall’Armi, her sister Nina Dall’Armi, her business manager Patti Keck and so many other longtime farm staff members.
Introduction to The Color of Roses
She may not remember this, but I first met Dani in October 2007 when I had recently relocated to Ventura County and my Seattle friends Maryann and Charles Pember, who were vacationing in Santa Barbara, invited me to meet them at Rose Story Farm for one of its famous tours and luncheons in the display gardens. Writing about the visit was one of my very first blog posts!
So much has happened in the ensuing years, which she and I discuss in today’s episode, while I also turn the pages of The Color of Roses and we admire the lush and dreamy rose photography of Victoria Pearson — all 330 pages of it!
Let’s jump right in and meet Dani Hahn, catch up on all that she’s been doing, and learn why she wants to reclassify the term Garden Rose! What a lovely experience to talk roses with one of our living rose legends!
photography by Victoria Pearson
Thank you, Dani ~ I can’t wait to return to Rose Story Farm for another visit!
We will also share the public dates for visiting Rose Story Farm, just released. The first date is at the end of April so check it out if you’ll be in the Santa Barbara/Carpinteria area. To celebrate their 25th Anniversary RSF will be hosting a limited number of garden tours. Experience the splendor of this 15-acre farm featuring 30,000 rose plants in 200 varieties. Blooms rotate in six-week cycles so at any time during the season (mid-April to end of November), over 3⁄4 of the plants will be in bloom.
Fragrance from Field & Florist; jewelry from FLEUR Inc LLC
In News of the Week, our Member Meet-up of the month takes place this Friday, April 14th, 9 am PT/Noon ET. We have invited four guests, all Slow Flowers members who own successful retail flower shops and who have curated an unique product mix of gifts and other items that pair well with fresh, local flowers. You’ll hear from this panel who offer high-value collections to their floral customers. Meet:
This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 850 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.
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 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 goes to Rooted Farmers. Rooted Farmers works exclusively with local growers to put the highest-quality specialty cut flowers in floral customers’ hands. When you partner with Rooted Farmers, you are investing in your community, and you can expect a commitment to excellence in return. Learn more at RootedFarmers.com.
Thank you goes 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.
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
Thank you for listening! Sending love, from my cutting garden to you! (c) Missy Palacol Photography
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; He Has a Way; Turning on the Lights; Gaena by Blue Dot Sessions http://www.sessions.blue
Today’s guest is one such individual and I’m delighted to introduce you to Ingrid Carozzi of New York-based Tin Can Studios. Ingrid is the author of two books, Handpicked, a guide to custom flower arrangements; and just published last year, Flowers by Design – creating arrangements for your space.
Ingrid Carozzi of Tin Can Studios Ingrid Carozzi (c) Dana Gallagher
One of New York’s most sought-after florists, Ingrid’s work has been covered in Vogue, the New York Times, Martha Stewart Weddings, The Knot, and more.
Books by Ingrid Carozzi
We are delighted that she is a Slow Flowers member, supporting this movement through her focus on sustainability in high-end wedding and event design.
Floral arrangement by Ingrid Carozzi for Slow Flowers Society (c) Ingrid Carozzi
Details of Ingrid’s spring installation at Tin Can Studios featuring watermelon mechanic (c) Ingrid Carozzi
We have a bonus today: In the second part of our interview, recorded on March 18th when I visited Ingrid’s new studio in Long Island City/Queens, New York, – Ingrid demonstrated one of her favorite sustainable design techniques! Watch that video clip above.
Thanks so much for joining us today. Be sure to follow the links to Tin Can Studios’ website to find more resources, including how to purchase Ingrid’s new book, “Flowers by Design.” You can also find the link to Tin Can Studios on Instagram where announcements regarding future workshops and classes appear.
This Week’s News
Our April Slow Flowers Newsletter just dropped. Is it in your in-box? You can subscribe here.
This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 850 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.
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 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, 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.
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.
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
Thank you for listening! Sending love, from my cutting garden to you! (c) Missy Palacol Photography
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!
Today, we have a real treat — a visit with floral artist and longtime Slow Flowers member, Susan McLeary. Susan’s new book, Flowers for All, will be released on February 7th and she joined me earlier this week to record a conversation about the book and what inspired Sue to produce it. We discuss her passion for continual experimentation with mechanics, ingredients, as she pushes the boundaries of ordinary botanicals.
Susan McLeary (c) EE Berger
The subtitle for Flowers for All is this: MODERN FLORAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR BEAUTY, JOY, AND MINDFULNESS EVERY DAY.
Forsythia “Bloom Room,” from Sue McLeary’s new book, Flowers for All (c) EE Berger photograph
From “Simply Strung,” a project in Flowers for All by Sue McLeary (c) EE Berger photograph
From “Trumpet Beads” a project by Sue McLeary in Flowers for All (c) EE Berger photography
From the belief that flowers should be enjoyed by everyone, renowned floral artist, Susan McLeary reveals the secrets to making striking, joyful floral displays using common ingredients – whether you get flowers at the grocery store, farmer’s market, or your own picking garden.
More projects from Flowers for All by Sue McLeary. (Left) Summer Still Life with edible materials; (Right) Floral Meditation with edible flowers and more (c) EE Berger
Here’s how to enter the drawings: As a thank you for pre-ordering Flowers For All by February 6th, Sue is offering an exclusive and completely free workshop just for you, plus you’ll be entered to win a handmade gift!Go to susanmcleary.com/flowers-for-all and follow the steps.
This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 850 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.
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 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, 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.
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.
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
Thank you for listening! Sending love, from my cutting garden to you! (c) Missy Palacol Photography
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.
With 2023 here, it’s fitting to say goodbye to 2022 as we review the year’s highlights. All I can say about 2022 is that after slogging through the pandemic in 2020 and its aftermath in 2021, this past year felt like a sprint, not a marathon. The year seemed to race by so quickly, week by week, month by month, and the march of time propelled our beautiful and inspiring Slow Flowers community through the year, as we sought fulfillment, prosperity and peace — and balance in all things, right?! We lived our values, communicated our message, and supported one another in our shared mission. But wow, as much as the word *slow* is at the heart of all we do here, 2022 was anything but *slow*.
Yet, the annual ritual to pause, review, evaluate, and celebrate – as well as learn from — the lessons and experiences from our past year are activities I wouldn’t miss – and I want to share with you!
One personally meaningful major milestone was the 10-year anniversary of the book that started us off on the Slow Flowers journey — The 50 Mile Bouquet. When it was published in 2012, The 50 Mile Bouquet was the first book to spotlight a major cultural shift and a transformation around how cut flowers are grown, designed and consumed, closely mirroring the culinary world’s locavore/slow food revolution.
“Brimming with Blooms” documents the origins of the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market in The 50 Mile Bouquet.
One decade ago the floral industry was just beginning to ask for changes, seeking alternatives to imported, mass-produced and chemical-laden flowers. The 50 Mile Bouquet introduced some of the innovative voices of the dynamic new Slow Flower Movement: the organic flower farmers, the sustainably-motivated floral designers . . . and the flower enthusiasts who were increasingly asking, ‘Where and how were my flowers grown, and who grew them?’
Melissa and Tutta Bella appeared in The 50 Mile Bouquet
The 50 Mile Bouquet included documentary-feature reporting and full color photography to bring readers into the farms and design studios of Slow Flowers practitioners. As the book that coined the phrase “Slow Flowers,” its relevance today is more important than ever, considering issues around climate change, supply chain limitations, and equity and inclusion in the floral marketplace.
Fast-forward, here we are wrapping up 2022, and the issues around flower sourcing are just as timely and more important than ever! From my original storytelling in the pages of The 50 Mile Bouquet, the Slow Flowers Movement emerged, with the launch of the Slow Flowers Society and so many meaningful conversations through the Slow Flowers Podcast interviews and our other programs, content, advocacy and outreach to floral professionals and flower lovers alike.
Let’s take a look at our Membership!
We know that joining Slow Flowers Society as a member takes a financial commitment, a modest one that I believe offers incredible value for anyone in the business of communicating their brand in alignment with slow, seasonal, local and sustainable.
2022, for some, was a challenging year, as flowers continued to be bought and sold in a marketplace that is often based on cheap and convenient. Against that backdrop, we are so grateful to welcome 75 new flower farmers and floral designers who joined Slow Flowers Society as members in 2022. One Hundred percent of our focus is to add value to your investment in this organization. Since launching Slow Flowers in 2013, all of our revenue from membership subscriptions and partner sponsorships are poured right back into building Slow Flowers Society into a relevant and significant presence in the floral marketplace. Our strength in numbers has earned Slow Flowers a place at the table in mainstream floral circles, in the media, in conversations about the future of floriculture and floristry. That is priceless!
In the past year, Slow Flowers Society has produced hundreds of hours of educational resources for you, from the weekly Slow Flowers Show and Podcast (and supporting blog posts) to our monthly Virtual Membership Meet-Ups, and info-packed monthly newsletters, to stories you read on slowflowersjournal.com and in our quarterly digital magazine Slow Flowers Journal, to the feature reports we produce with Johnny’s Selected Seeds for their newsletter – and more. It’s all about education, from growing and design advice to small business and marketing resources. When you add it all up, that’s incredible value for a small membership subscription.
In 2021, we hosted 10 Meet-Ups on a variety of topics important to our members, beginning with our January session when I co-presented our2022 Slow Flowers Insights and Industry Forecast with Bloom Imprint’s creative director Robin Avni and closing up the year recently with our December Meet-Up focusing on value-added flower farm product development with Natasha McCrary of 1818 Farms and Sarah Wagstaff of SUOT Farm & Flowers.
Thousands have watched the replay videos with close to 8,000 impressions our YouTube channel! This is evergreen educational content always available to you and you can find the YouTube link to search all of our 2022 videos from the homepage of SlowFlowersPodcast.com.
October was our membership appreciation month, with our focus to highlight members and their floral stories ~ all across the continent. During October, we brought weekly member conversations to IG Live and the Zoom Room, with even more opportunities to learn and hear from our members — people at the heart of the Slow Flowers Movement. The social media exposure was incredible, generating thousands of views and impressions. You met and heard from October 4th: On Farm Events with Chelsea Willis of @sweetdelilahfarm and Misty VanderWeele of @all_dahliad_up who shared how they stage on-farm events; we discussed retail floristry with Jill Redman of @forageflorals + Angela Turner of @belfiorefarm; Pam Parker of JP Parker Flowers led a tour of her retail flower shop and discussed being a farmer-florist, and wedding designer Jessica Stewart of @bramble_blossom_pgh shared her tips for keeping your studio sustainable.
We also produced a new Member Benefits Booklet with discounts and coupons from Slow Flowers Society and our sponsors. If you can’t find the link to the booklet, please reach out and we’ll be happy to share it with you. Speaking of reaching out, our membership services gained a boost this past September when Tonneli Gruetter joined us as community engagement and member manager. A flower farmer herself, Tonneli has jumped right in to connect with you, and enhance membership engagement — if you have a question or suggestion, she’s your front-line contact and you should feel free to reach out to her at membership@slowflowers.com.
In November, we surveyed the Slow Flowers community – an annual exercise that informs our planning and forecasting for the year to come. Here are some highlights:
We asked Members how they engage with Slow Flowers Society and about their participation in the long list of benefits and features for 2022; Our Members cited the original benefit of joining Slow FlowersSociety, dating back to the launch of slowflowers.com as an online directory in 2014.
Nearly 70% of you mentioned the value of your Slow Flowers directory business listing found at slowflowers.com. 43% of you use our Slow Flowers badges and logos on your businesses’ branding and communications. One-third of you value being featured in Slow Flowers’ social media posts as a popular feature.
When it comes to Member Benefits
Respondents ranked top member benefits as follows:
69% Business listing on Slowflowers.com
43% Used Slow Flowers badges and logo on business branding/communications
34% Featured in social media post @slowflowerssociety
28% Purchased discounted tickets for Slow Flowers events
20% Attended Slow Flowers virtual meet-ups
20% Collaborated with other Slow Flowers members for special projects
18% Interviewed as guest on Slow Flowers Podcast
12% Participated in American Flowers Week
11% Participate in Slow Flowers Facebook Community
Where do you fall on this list? Are you missing out on features and programs available to you as a Member?! Take a moment to align our services with your floral enterprise! In 2023, we will continue these features, so if you’re not participating, that means you’re missing out on all the benefits of your membership!
Relating to Member Value, I’m so encouraged with these numbers:
81 percent of you rate the value of your Slow Flowers membership as high value or very high value – up from 75% in 2021 and 82 percent of you are very satisfied or extremely satisfied with their Slow Flowers membership, up from 78 % in 2021
We asked members to share key ways in which they find value in their Slow Flowers member benefits. The top items:
80% of you say: I want to Align my business with the values of the Slow Flowers Movement and Show my support for the mission of the Slow Flowers Movement
70% of you say: I want to connect with like-minded floral professionals and Educate myself and/or my staff about the importance of Slow Flowers.
We chose two thank-you gifts for our name drawing of those of you who completed our survey – and congratulations to our winners! On December 14th, I drew the names and announced the winners during an IG Live with Niesha Blancas, our social media manager:
For 2022, eight creative Slow Flowers individuals and teams participated in designing and producing ourAmerican Flowers Week botanical couture collection! These stylish and artistic floral fashions engage viewers with flowers and nature in new ways. We marvel how each look in the American Flowers Week Collection is unique to the location and season where it was produced and photographed — elevating flowers and foliages as works of art.
On June 29th, we invited the creatives who participated in our Botanical Couture collection to appear in the Slow Flowers Show and discuss their designs. And in conjunction with our American Flowers Week 2022 campaign, Slow Flowers Society and its publishing partner, BLOOM Imprint, released a special digital issue of Slow Flowers Journal, available for free download. The Summer 2022 edition featured our botanical couture collection and the stories of each designer, flower farmer and the floral ensembles designed with iconic American-grown botanicals. We already have five designers lined up to create looks for the 2023 American Flowers Week campaign so get ready to be wowed! And keep an eye out for more details on how to participate when we unveil our 2023 artwork next February.
In 2022, we produced an ambitious, fifth Slow Flowers Summit, as the 3-day gathering moved to lower Hudson Valley outside New York this past June. Since its inaugural conference in 2017, the Slow Flowers Summit has given attendees a chance to learn from artists, innovators, and thought leaders whose commitment to domestic flowers is at the heart of the Slow Flowers Movement. This past year gathered more than 125 progressive and sustainably-minded floral professionals from 25 states and two Canadian provinces.
Guests heard from seven inspiring presenters and enjoyed a farm tour, five design demonstrations, an interactive day of hands-on floral design, and a immersive maker-artisan experience. On Day One, attendees convened at The Red Barn at Maple Grove Farm in Bedford, New York, a private farm owned by local philanthropist George Bianco. On Days Two and Three, the Summit moved to nearby Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture and its Arts & Ecology Lab, which develops sustainable uses for all that a farm produces. Thank you to our partners, speakers, sponsors, and to all who attended this magical conference.
Here are a few Raves from our members:
“I wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed the Slow Flowers Summit. From the beautiful day of flowering at Red Barn at Maple Grove Farm to the inspiring presenters and classes, to the impeccable Stone Barns Center with its amazing grounds and delicious farm-to-table food, it was a tour de force to be sure! I know the Slow Flowers team put in countless hours to make the Summit a wonderful experience for all and it really was. I feel like I have found my tribe in my fellow Slow Flowers members! Your spark of an idea has become an incredible movement!”
“I learned so much from fantastic speakers and presenters. My favorite part was meeting and getting hands-on (experience) working on installations with those experts and the wider community of attendees. I’m feeling inspired and I’ve picked up some new tricks of the trade!”
“We are so inspired by all of the growers, artists, florists and ALL of the amazing people we met at the Slow Flowers Summit and we had a great time learning and connecting with other like-minded farmers and designers! Beyond excited to be part of the Slow Flowers Society and the Slow Flowers Movement!”
The ambitious programming continues for 2023, with an expanded list of speakers, topics, and experiences taking place over two days at Bellevue Botanical Garden in the Seattle area, June 26-27, 2023. You’ll be hearing much more about the 2023 Summit in the coming months, but save the date and we hope to see you there.
Slow Flowers communicates with our members through many channels, and we learned through this year’s Survey which of our methods are most used.
Ninety-five percent of members follow Slow Flowers Society on Instagram, while more than 40 percent engage with us via Facebook. The metrics for social media are easy to track, and they are impressive:
On @slowflowerssociety on Instagram, we have close to 41k followers, with an annual reach of 1.3 million. New in 2022 our social media manager Niesha Blancas launched reels on our @slowflowerssociety IG account, generating more than 165,000 views; clearly our most popular social media feature.
We also launched a member texting service and we use it judiciously, not over-spamming, but utilizing the channel to get useful and timely information at your fingertips. We know people can gain their flower farming and floral design news in many ways, through many channels, and we want to make it easy for our members to receive what they want, when they want it.
Our Slow Flowers monthly newsletternow reaches 3.6k subscribers, both members, followers, and fans who are interested in this Movement. We love producing the info-packed newsletter as it gives me a way to stop and reflect on all that has happened in any given month — chronicling everything from hosting our Slow Flowers podcast guests to featuring new promotional opportunities for members. The newsletter is a popular resource for our members – in fact, in the recent survey, more than two-thirds of you tell us you usually or always read it. You can always go back and read the archives from month to month; the archives are easy to find in the link at the bottom of slowflowers.com.
SLOW FLOWERS JOURNAL
Earlier, I mentioned the special botanical couture issue of Slow Flowers Journal, published last June, that issue served as the launch of our quarterly e-zine. The digital magazine is co-produced with BLOOM Imprint, and our goal is similar to our book publishing efforts: to support stories by and about Slow Flowers members. The subscription to Slow Flowers Journal is free to our members, as a member benefit. In 2022, we shared the issue widely, as an introductory promotion. In 2023, we will charge a market-rate subscription for nonmembers, either on a per-issue or annual basis.
Earlier this year, I’m proud to say that Slow Flowers Society and BLOOM Imprint received the GOLD Medal of Achievement for Slow Flowers Journal in the Trade: Special Projectcategory. The e-zine was published in June 2021 via Americanflowersweek.com and features the cover fashion and photography of Niesha Blancas of Fetching Social Media and model Jada Cruz.
BLOOM Imprint, our floral lifestyle book publishing arm, continued its ambitious publishing schedule for 2022, producing four titles, including:
Black Flora in February Growing Wonder in March Small Farm, Big Dreams in April and House + Flower in June.
Each of these books shared the beautiful message of a flower-centric life, and the expertise of authors and those featured in the pages.
These titles and our authors generated impressive attention in the media, and just to mention a few here: Veranda, Washington Post, Sunset Magazine, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Better Homes & Gardens, Architectural Digest, Flower Magazine, New York Times, House Beautiful, Cottage Journal, Apartment Therapy, Garden Design, Canadian House & Home, The American Gardener, Homes & Antiques, Cultivating Place on Public Radio, Central Texas Gardener on Public Television, Martha Stewart Online, Seattle Times and Cottages & Bungalows, among others. This type of attention underscores the significance and relevance of the books BLOOM Imprint has been producing — and we’re so proud of this work.
For the past 2 years, Slow Flowers has partnered with the National Gardening Association and gardenresearch.com to include cut flower questions in their annual National Gardening Survey.
The 2022 survey expanded on the 2021 findings, revealing that consumer awareness, attitudes and behavior about domestic and local cut flowers has only continued to increase.
In the 2021 survey, 58 percent of respondents said it is very or somewhat important that the flowers they purchase are locally grown. In 2022, that number climbed to 65 percent — nearly 2/3rd of respondents prefer locally-grown flowers.
The attitudes about American-grown flower purchases is also trending up — from 57% of respondents in 2021 who said it’s very or somewhat important that the flowers they purchase are U.S. grown, to 61% preferring domestic flowers in 2022.
Slow Flowers will again participate in and sponsor the National Gardening Survey that is conducted this month, with results ready to share this coming April. I can’t wait to see the needle continue to move up on this positive trend, so stay tuned!
Slow Flowers Podcast Earlier I mentioned that 2022 was the 10-year anniversary of the publication of The 50 Mile Bouquet. During this year, 2023, we will celebrate the publication of the book Slow Flowers. Its publication in the spring of 2013 led to the launch of the Slow Flowers Podcast, with the first episode appearing on July 23, 2013.
Since that date, the Slow Flowers Podcast has defined this Movement. It was the first ever podcast about flowers, flower farming and floral design, and is an award-winning weekly program known as the “Voice of the Slow Flowers Movement.” Airing consistently, without fail, each week for more than 9 years, this important gift to the floral marketplace focuses on the business of flower farming and floral design through the Slow Flowers sustainability ethos.
Our lifetime downloads have now exceeded one million episodes, and in 2022 alone, due to a major distribution expansion that came along with changing our syndicate hosting platform, the Slow Flowers Podcast was downloaded more than 500,000 times.
On top of this, we have produced a full year of Video episodes, bringing you flower farm tours, studio tours, Q&As, design demonstrations, and a visual immersion into the podcast conversations. You can find the video episodes, which we post each week as the Slow Flowers Show on Youtube, FB Live, Linked in Live and IGTV. Our viewership continues to grow and further enhance how we share the Slow Flowers Movement with you.
The Slow Flowers movement aspires to change how consumers and professionals in the floral marketplace view their flower purchases. The movement involves every facet of the floral distribution pipeline — from breeders and growers to wholesalers, to florists, to consumers — as they ask for domestic, seasonal, and sustainably-grown flowers.
We value our members, partners, sponsors and others who pursuing similar values and goals.
In 2022, Slow Flowers Society sponsored the Black Girl Florists Conference and sessions at the Association of Specialty Cut Flowers Conference. We provided scholarships to BIPOC florists and flower farmers to attend the Slow Flowers Summit and others who pursued continuing education.
We provided educational presentations at CalFlowers’ FunNSun, and spoke about the Slow Flowers Movement at the FREESIA Summit, the Great Grow Along conference, the Madison Square Park Conservancy Lecture Series, the Hardy Plant Study Weekend, King County Library’s Literary Lions, GardenComm International, Northwest Flower & Garden Festival, and for numerous garden clubs around the country.
We contributed to and provided quotes for national and major market media, including stories that appeared in Cottage Journal, Veranda, Better Homes & Gardens, Business Traveler, The Oregonian, Society of American Florists, Johnny’s Advantage Newsletter, BizWoman Magazine, Mayesh Blog, and Avocado Magazine, and appeared on the Blooming Good Time Podcast and the Cut Flower Podcast.
All of these activities continue to elevate the idea and values of the Slow Flowers Movement; they are your ROI – your return on investment – for joining this organization; and these benefits ripple across the industry and inspire the consumer mindset about local and seasonal flowers. It isn’t a direct line but a multidimensional force that builds a network of support for you and your own floral enterprise each and every day.
As we wrap up this year-in-review, I want to take a moment to thank all of our sponsors, including our lead Sponsor: Farmgirl Flowers, who has generously returned as our 2023 Lead Sponsor.
Our Major Sponsors for 2022 included: Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers The Gardeners’ Workshop Johnny’s Selected Seeds Longfield Garden Red Twig Farms, Seattle Wholesale Growers Market and Flowerfarm.com
Our Channel Sponsors for 2022 included: CalFlowers CoolBot Details Flowers Software DoorDash Mayesh Wholesale Florists and Scenic Place Peonies
Coming up in 2023, you’re invited to join our Slow Flowers Member Virtual Meet-Up on Friday, January 13, 2023 — when we welcome Emily Ellen Anderson of Curious Lola, a Slow Flowers member and business coach for artists and creatives — she’ll help us with a New Year re-set and you won’t want to miss it!
In late January, Bloom Imprint’s Robin Avni and I will co-present our 2023 Slow Flowers Floral Insights and Industry Forecast in a webinar format, produced in conjunction with the publication of our winter 2023 issue of Slow Flowers Journal. We’ll announce that date soon.
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
Thank you for listening! Sending love, from my cutting garden to you! (c) Missy Palacol Photography
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:
Chymique; Game Hens; Gasland; Glass Beads; Lissa; Spindash; Yarrow and Root; Turning on the Lights; Gaena by Blue Dot Sessions http://www.sessions.blue
Photography, courtesy of Francoise Weeks (c) Theresa Bear
Today, I’m delighted to welcome artist, educator, friend, and Slow Flowers member, Françoise Weeks back to the Slow Flowers Podcast.
Françoise was born in Belgium, and she has infused her work with a quintessential European reverence for flowers and nature. Combined with creativity and mechanical ingenuity, she has crystalized her singular style of Textural Woodlands and Botanical Haute Couture pieces, garnering a global following of students.
Françoise’s studio is located in Portland, Oregon. Her innovation and love of teaching have brought her to classrooms around the globe and here at home. Her dynamic work has been published in Fusion Flowers, Modern Wedding Flowers, Huffington Post, Flutter and many other publications.
Françoise’s generosity of knowledge and perspective in use of floral materials, structure and mechanics, in addition to the business of being a florist, unite to create rigorous and exciting learning opportunities for her students to explore all that nature has to offer.
I invited Françoise to join me in the virtual studio to talk about her newest online course, Foraged Design, which recently launched. The curriculum covers decor for the home, events, and everything in between. The inventive project includes eggplant, pear and artichoke arrangements, a vase arrangement, four botanical napkin rings, a wine bottle with a floral ribbon, and a framed woodland-inspired wallscape.
Eggplant, Pear, and Artichoke Arrangements: Showcasing the natural beauty of produce from the market, Françoise has created three designs to turn the edible into the incredible. You’ll find an eggplant blossoming with pieris, poppies, and tillandsia; an artichoke utilizing cornflowers, oregano, and acorns; and a pear harvesting blackberries, nicandra, and love-in-a-puff.
Vase Arrangement with a Twist: Learn the mechanics to cover an ordinary container by attaching paperbark maple to create an eye-catching arrangement that uses a variety of botanicals and textures such as hellebore, evergreen, and trumpet vine. You’ll also gain insight into flower deconstruction to find new ways of using materials.
Framed Woodland-Scape: Create a stunning foam-free woodland landscape within a frame of your choosing. Use a variety of textures and botanicals to create visual interest in a piece that you can display on your dinner table or even hang in your living room.
There will be an end-of-year sale for Françoise’s Foraged Design course but you need to be subscribed to gain access, so SUBSCRIBE today — If you’re following Françoise on IG, you’ll also catch more details @francoiseweeks – find the links in her profile menu.
And an update about Françoise’s forthcoming book, The Wonder of Woodlands, out in Spring 2024. She shares: “it will show people how they can gather nature’s treasures to create their own artful arrangements. The book is divided into chapters, each showcasing a common building block in her arrangements and suggesting a simple project. Since bark, logs and branches form the background of her designs, she begins there. That’s followed by chapters on moss, mushrooms, acorns, seedpods, lichens and ferns. My primary goal is to teach readers to see the artistry contained in any natural landscape. Like me, I want them to see with a new pair of eyes.”
Last Chance for $100-Off Slow Flowers Summit Registration (Expires 12/31/22)
Top row, from left: Julio Freitas, Amy Balsters and Lennie Larkin Middle row, from left: Gina Lett-Shrewsberry, Dee Hall, Tracy Yang and Valerie Chrisostomo Bottom row, from left: Becky Feasby, Amber Tamm, Sarah Reyes and Debra Prinzing
There’s still one week left to take advantage of the Early Bird Ticket pricing for our 2023 Slow Flowers Summit — the $100 off promotion expires at midnight Pacific Time on December 31st. Register now to take advantage of the lowest ticket prices available for our 6th annual Summit, June 26-27, 2023 at the Bellevue Botanical Garden outside Seattle.
We have invited more floral experts than ever before to join our Slow Flowers Summit 2023 speaker lineup! Our Summit theme is “Community and Collaboration,” emphasizing our interdependence and the amazing outcomes when flower farmers and floral designers come together for a better and more sustainable marketplace. You will gain inspiration for developing a deeper relationship with flowers in your own growing and design practice!
This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 850 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.
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 Details Flowers Software, a platform specifically designed to help florists and designers do more and earn more. With an elegant and easy-to-use system–Details is here to improve profitability, productivity, and organization for floral businesses of all shapes and sizes. Grow your bottom line through professional proposals and confident pricing with Details’ all-in-one platform. All friends of the Slow Flowers Podcast will receive a 7-day free trial of Details Flowers Software. Learn more at detailsflowers.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 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.
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, learn more and check out all our resources at SlowFlowersSociety.com
Thank you for listening! Sending love, from my cutting garden to you! (c) Missy Palacol Photography
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:
Don Germaine; Flattered; Turning on the Lights; Gaena by Blue Dot Sessions http://www.sessions.blue
When it was published in 2012, The 50 Mile Bouquet was the first book to spotlight a major cultural shift and a transformation around how cut flowers are grown, designed and consumed, closely mirroring the culinary world’s locavore/slow food revolution.
Diane Szukovathy and Dennis Westphall, photographed by Mary Grace Long (c) September 2012 at Jello Mold Farm in Mt. Vernon, Washington. (c) Mary Grace Long
One decade ago, the floral industry was just beginning to ask for changes, seeking alternatives to imported, mass-produced and chemical-laden flowers. The 50 Mile Bouquet introduced some of the innovative voices of the dynamic new Slow Flower Movement: the organic flower-farmers, the sustainably motivated floral designers . . . and the flower enthusiasts who were increasingly asking, ‘Where and how were my flowers grown, and who grew them?’
Jello Mold Farm, fields, and barn
Linda Blue captured Dennis performing at his own farm, Jello Mold, as a special feature of the Field to Vase Dinner Tour in September 2016.
The 50 Mile Bouquet’s documentary-feature reporting and photography took readers into the personal stories of Slow Flowers practitioners. Its relevance today is more important than ever, considering issues around climate change, supply-chain limitations, and equity in the marketplace.
Today’s guests involved me in their story, their flowers, and the renaissance of floral agriculture in the Pacific Northwest and beyond. I learned so much from them while interviewing and writing about the farms and design studios of Slow Flowers practitioners, even before I began to use the phrase, “slow flowers.”
Buckets of just-picked lilacs at Jello Mold Farm (c) Missy Palacol Photography
Jello Mold Farm and the distant views of Skagit Valley (Washington) (c) Missy Palacol Photography
Let’s jump right in and meet Diane Szukovathy and Dennis Westphall, co-founders of Jello Mold Farm, in Mt. Vernon, Washington, and part of the group that established the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market in 2011. I’m so grateful to Diane and Dennis for their support and friendship over the past 12 years since we met. They are both past guests of the Slow Flowers Podcast and I consider them sustainability leaders and pioneers of the Slow Flowers Movement.
WATCH Seattle Wholesale Growers Market: Farm to Florist Video Series (Lilacs)
Farm to Florist: Lilacs, filmed and edited by Alayna Erhart for Seattle Wholesale Growers Market; produced by Slow Flowers Society
Top row, from left: Julio Freitas, Amy Balsters and Lennie Larkin Middle row, from left: Gina Lett-Shrewsberry, Dee Hall, Tracy Yang and Valerie Chrisostomo Bottom row, from left: Becky Feasby, Amber Tamm, Sarah Reyes and Debra Prinzing
And head’s up– next week, on December 1st, we will open the early bird registration for the 2023 Slow Flowers Summit! We are extending a $100 discount to members of the Slow Flowers Society and the general public who preregister for the Summit – through December 31st. You’ll want to take advantage of this offer to lock in your registration and take advantage of end-of-year savings. You’ll be hearing much more about this wonderful event, taking place over two days — June 26-27, 2023, returning to the Seattle Area where it all began in 2017. Can’t wait to share the full program, speaker lineup and special features with you.
This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 850 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.
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 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.
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 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.
Gratitude for YOU
With gratitude for you xoxo
We’re airing this episode on Wednesday, November 23rd, the day prior to American Thanksgiving. I want to share my thanks with you and my gratitude for your ongoing support of this show. The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more than 900,000 times by listeners like you. Thank you for listening, commenting and sharing – it means so much. As our movement gains more supporters and more passionate participants who believe in the importance of our domestic cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious. I know you feel it, too.
If you’re new to our weekly Show and our long-running Podcast, check out all of our resources at SlowFlowersSociety.com
Thank you for listening! Sending love, from my cutting garden to you! (c) Missy Palacol Photography
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.
I’m so thrilled today to share my recent conversation with Dee Hall. Dee is the owner and creative energy who operates a specialty cut flower and urban micro farm in Norfolk, Virginia, named Mermaid City Flowers.
All photography (c) Sarah Bartley of Lumiere Creative Co.
She is featured in Black Flora by Teresa J. Speight, published by BLOOM Imprint earlier this year. Dee is quoted in the opening lines of the book, saying,
“I wanted people to know my business is rooted in joy. I wanted to take something I love and share it. Flowers are beautiful but also serve such a practical environmental function. I feel lucky to be a steward of the garden.”
Dee Hall, Mermaid City Flowers
Dee follows sustainable, regenerative growing practices and has a special interest in native perennials. Her floral enterprise grows blooms for local customers, mostly sold through CSA subscribers and as everyday arrangements for local delivery.
Dee is collaborative and community-minded, having founded two important floral groups, The Tidewater Flower Collective, an organization providing continuing farming education, farm visits, and efforts to connect consumers with the source of their flowers, and Black Flower Farmers, an online virtual community of Black specialty cut flower farmers, found on Instagram and through the website blackflowerfarmers.com.
Lucky for me, Dee traveled from Virginia to Washington State last month to attend and design the flowers for a friend’s wedding here). She had time to swing by the Slow Flowers Cutting Garden on her way out of town, so we enjoyed lunch together inside my greenhouse, followed by a conversation we recorded for you. I so admire the leadership, gifts and talents that Dee brings to our Slow Flowers community, and I hope you get to know her!
We’ve lots of fun announcements and opportunities to share this week:
First, the Slow Flowers Annual Member Survey opened on November 1st and continues through December 2nd — and we’d love for you to take a few moments to answer our questions. Your name will be entered into a drawing for 2 great thank you gifts: (1) complimentary premium level membership for one year, valued at $249; and (1) complimentary 2023 Slow Flowers Summit registration, valued at approximately $750. Those dates are June 25-26, 2023 and they will be held in Seattle. As I mentioned, to be included in the drawing, you must complete the survey by December 2nd and share your name and contact information with us.
Next, hot off the press, have you seen our newest edition of Slow Flowers Journal? The digital quarterly is gorgeous and packed with inspiring and informative stories, essays, floral design, and creative resources. Slow Flowers Journal is a GardenComm gold award-winning publication and the subscription is free for Slow Flowers Members.
We’re sharing free access only to the Fall 2022 issue and you can find the link below. Starting in 2023, nonmembers will be asked to subscribe, so check it out and enjoy!
This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 850 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.
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 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 the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers. Formed in 1988, ASCFG was created to educate, unite, and support commercial cut flower growers. It mission is to help growers produce high-quality floral material, and to foster and promote the local availability of that product. Learn more at ascfg.org.
Thanks so much for joining us today! The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more than 900,000 times by listeners like you. Thank you for listening, commenting and sharing – it means so much. As our movement gains more supporters and more passionate participants who believe in the importance of our domestic cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious. I know you feel it, too. If you’re new to our weekly Show and our long-running Podcast, check out all of our resources at SlowFlowersSociety.com.
Thank you for listening! Sending love, from my cutting garden to you! (c) Missy Palacol Photography
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.
