Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Podcast Index | RSS | More

Welcome to the final Slow Flowers Podcast Episode of 2017.

The Slow Flowers Community and listenership of this program have grown to be larger than ever, with more than 265,000 total downloads since launching in July 2013. That’s amazing news and I’m thrilled to share it with you.

Every single week this year; in fact, every single week for the past 230 weeks, it has been my privilege to feature the voices of our Slow Flowers community with you. Unlike any other internet radio show in existence, the Slow Flowers Podcast is tailored to you and your interests, making its “must-listen” programming a habit among flower farmers and floral designers alike.

In producing and hosting the Slow Flowers Podcast, I seek out pioneers and personalities, style-makers and influencers — as well as unsung or little known heroes — who together are changing the floral landscape, disrupting the status quo, and bringing flower sourcing and growing practices, not to mention eco-conscious design methods, to the center of the conversation.

And thanks for joining in. Whether you’ve just discovered this podcast or are a longtime fan, I encourage you to take advantage of the immense body of knowledge that can be found in the archives here. We’ve updated the “play” and “download” buttons at the show notes that accompany each episode, making it simpler than ever to listen.

Today we have a year-end listener giveaway, so listen to the end of this episode for details! We have two copies of floral activist and artist Mud Baron’s 2018 “Flowers on Your Head” calendar that he produced as a fundraiser for LA-based nonprofit 4 Women Ovary Where.

As I have done since the beginning of 2014, I would like to devote today to the Slow Flowers Highlights of this past year. Next week, on January 3th, I will present the much anticipated 2018 Slow Flowers’ Floral Insights and Industry Forecast with you.

Covering the Slow Flowers Community has put me in a lot of airplane seats this year. I’ve been able to meet with, interview and gather together with florists and flower farmers in thirteen states and one Canadian Province. That’s amazing and I thank friends and colleagues who hosted Slow Flowers workshops, potluck dinners, cocktail parties, events and meet-ups Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Iowa, Florida, Massachusetts, Montana, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, and Ontario, Canada, for amazing and inspiring experiences. And so far, 2018 promises to bring me more travel as I’ve already confirmed Slow Flowers appearances in Texas, Washington, D.C., Colorado, North Carolina, Iowa, Illinois, and of course, the Pacific Northwest, so get in touch if you’re interested in booking something in your community.

This #slowflowers hashtag is the floral industry’s most widely used brand intended to convey seasonal, local and sustainable floriculture — and I am humbled by the impact and reach of a term that originated with a tiny, 144-page book measuring 7-1/2 inches square — as it has exploded far beyond my imagination in the five years since.

Thank you for being a part of this movement and If you haven’t, I hope you’ll make the next step by investing in the continued relevance and success of this brand and join Slow Flowers as a member.  Follow this link to learn more about the benefits and values of joining the Slow Flowers Movement.

So, let’s get started with my month-by-month recap of 2017!

January brought Slow Flowers to Tampa, Florida, and the Gulf Coast, including a lecture for the garden club of Boca Grande, one of the most beautiful beach spots on the planet. I loved connecting with Slow Flowers members while in the state and took great pleasure in touring a few botanical gardens to admire the diversity of the region’s flora. Later in the month, travel brought me to the other corner of the U.S. — to Fairbanks, Alaska, where I spent a few days attending and speaking at the Alaska Peony Growers Association winter conference. Two geographic and climactic extremes and two equally vital regions for local flowers and passionate growers.

Something else took place in January, an event that foreshadowed a major new collaboration for me — Florists’ Review published my article about a year-long creative project by Kelly Shore of Petals by the Shore. Called “Four Seasons of Floral Design,” the 11-page spread documented Kelly’s creative partnership with Maryland flower farmers Leon and Carol Carrier of PlantMasters. It was exciting to write the piece for a major floral industry trade magazine — one read regularly by mainstream and conventional audiences. For Kelly and her collaborators, as well as for the Slow Flowers community, the story illuminated often unheard voices of domestic agriculture and sustainable design in floristry. You can read more about that story here.

I found it pretty remarkable to see seasonal and local flowers designed so artistically, portrayed against the backdrop of a flower farm. I want to acknowledge and thank Travis Rigby, Florists’ Review‘s owner and publisher, for adding my storyteller’s voice and point of view to the magazine’s pages.

That first article led to my stories appearing in subsequent months’ issues, each of which continued the Slow Flowers narrative. And then . . . Travis invited me to join Florists’ Review on a permanent basis as a contributing editor. After much dialogue and consideration, the new collaboration launched in August with a dedicated editorial section called the “Slow Flowers Journal.”

Since the first issue, I’m delighted to say that we’ve featured dozens of floral designers, farmer-florists, retail flower shops, makers and artists inside the magazine, under the Slow Flowers Journal banner, and with the mission and message presented as inspiring small business success stories.

A footnote: I argued passionately to continue the Slow Flowers Journal name for this section. That’s because in January 2017, slowflowersjournal.com launched as an online magazine, designed to highlight and share this community’s members and their stories. Expanding to print has taken Slow Flowers Journal from a few thousand online readers to tens of thousands of print readers each month. That’s a big achievement for our brand!

Moving into 2018, these stories will continue — I’d love your input and ideas, so be sure to follow links at the show notes for more ways to engage and become involved. If you haven’t started reading the Slow Flowers Journal, I encourage you to contact Florists’ Review for a free sample copy or take advantage of the generous discounted subscription rate offered to my listeners. You can subscribe to Florists’ Review and read our bonus Slow Flowers Journal content at the special rate of $21 for 12 issues — 62 percent off the cover price! Click here or call 1-800-367-4708.

February was a busy month, personally, as my family and I finally ended our 18-month urban condo experiment and moved into a new home with a completely blank backyard – home to the new Slow Flowers Cutting Garden.

Over the remainder of 2017, I began building the cutting garden as a place to trial cut flowers and other botanicals, stage and produce DIY photo shoots, and create stories for gardening audiences and more. The support of sponsors who have shared everything from seeds (thanks Johnny’s Seeds) to bulbs (thanks Longfield Gardens) to my greater Garden Writers community, which supplied perennial and woody plants to trial, has been awesome. I promise that the garden’s evolution in the coming year will supply you with even more inspiration.

Also in February, we produced the Valentine’s Day LOOK BOOK, sharing it across PR Web, a news distribution service. The gallery of sustainable floral design ideas from Slow Flowers member farms and florists was picked up by online news sites, and posted to the web, at slowflowersjournal.com and in a public Flickr gallery. Stories like these help to put you in the news and if you’re a Slow Flowers member, you’ve received (and I hope read and taken advantage of) ongoing “calls” for submissions that allow you to participate in similar opportunities to be published. Currently, for example, we’re collecting your submissions for an upcoming American-grown wedding floral story ~ so if you’re not a part of these opportunities and you’d like to be ~ get in touch!

And I can’t end my February highlights without mentioning how gratifying it was to be an invited speaker at the third annual Pacific Northwest Cut Flower Growers meetup that month, held in Corvallis, Oregon. I shared the 2017 Floral Insights & Industry Forecast as part of my SLOW FLOWERS, AMERICAN STYLE presentation. I was thrilled to discuss what’s happening at all levels of the American-grown floral pipeline — from field to checkout counter, and to give the gathering of growers and farmer-florists insights into the opportunities they could can leverage for their businesses.

READ MORE…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Podcast Index | RSS | More

For the past two years, I’ve shared special Holiday Music episodes, which seems festive and fitting for this season when we all need a break from work and responsibilities.

In 2015, musician-songwriter-flower farmer Dennis Westphall of Jello Mold Farm in Mt. Vernon, Washington, was my guest for Episode 225.

And in 2016, Ellen Zachos, vocalist, author, former Broadway singer-dancer, and foraged cocktails expert, sang botanical broadway show tunes for us on Episode 276.

Today, I’m delighted to present the third annual Slow Flowers’ Holiday Music Special, with EarthShine, the duo featuring Scott Prinzing and Kristen Rickels Prinzing, my brother and sister-in-law, who are based in Billings, Montana.

Scott and Kris and I met up this past September at the Rocky Mountain Gardening Live Conference, produced by Dan and Andra Spurr at Chico Hot Springs in Pray, Montana. It was so much fun for me to spend an extended bit of time with Scott and Kris, and I planned ahead and asked them to record this podcast in anticipation of our holiday special.

Here’s a little more about this dynamic couple:

Kris is a songwriter and player of acoustic guitar and flute! She grew up spending every summer in the Beartooth Mountains of south central Montana and spent school years in Minnesota. She has roots connecting her to Montana that date back to her great uncle Kent Moats’ 1913 homestead. In the early 50’s, her then very young father purchased property in the mountains of southeastern Montana, and as a result Kris has spent every summer of her life at this special place. In 1990 she and Scott were married there, and a few years later they relocated to Montana permanently, joining Kris’s parents and other family. Montana’s wild and beautiful landscape is responsible for her intense passion for the environment, which has led her to professional, academic and volunteer work in conservation.
Kris has also nurtured a lifelong interest in music and the arts. During college, after several years of flute, voice, classical dance and some piano, Kris made an effort to pursue singing as a career. She recorded a demo tape and sang lead on some sessions for a local jazz producer. In 1990 Kris married Scott Prinzing, who is also a musician, though it was not until 1997 that they began to collaborate and pursue music together. In 1999 Kris began playing the guitar seriously, and soon after began to write songs.

Scott Prinzing sings and plays bass, mandolin and more. He was born in Connecticut, moving a number of times during his childhood, ending up in Portland, Oregon at age 11. Scott took up the acoustic guitar in 5th grade and then the bass guitar in 7th grade. He formed his first band in the 8th grade. At church, in school singing groups and in the bands he sang and played in, Scott developed a strong baritone voice. In 1982 and 1988 he played and sang on studio recordings with his band Glacier. Throughout high school and college, Scott played in a total of six different bands (some concurrently.) Over the years Scott has learned to play several other instruments competently but continues to concentrate on the bass guitar. During college Scott became involved peace and justice issues, multicultural student activities and political campaigns. Scott majored in Sociology/Cross-cultural Studies in the small private college where he began his education and had the opportunity to travel and study in Israel, the Philippines, Rome, Mexico and elsewhere. His interest in politics and social justice also gave new depth to his life-long interest in the environment.

After marrying Kris Rickels in 1990, Scott transferred to the University of Minnesota to complete his college education and there chose to major in American Indian Studies – another life-long interest. In 1997, Scott and Kris finally began to work on music together, culminating in the collaborative efforts that have created the music they now perform together.

In 2003, Scott and Kris formed the MusEco Media and Education Project, an educational non-profit. They perform all around Billings and elsewhere in Montana with their duo, EarthShine, and they have produced three CDs featuring some of the music you’ll hear today.

I wish you a wonderful holiday, happy Solstice, Merry Christmas and Seasons Greetings — please enjoy my musical gift to you! Here are more ways you can listen and follow Scott and Kris:

See more GREEN MAN and MuseEco Videos here.

MusEco Media and Education Project:  www.MusEco.org

Earthshine   www.EarthshineMontana.com

Green Man’s site  www.GreenManTV.org

Listen & Buy more of EarthShine’s Music:

SoundCloud 

CD Baby

Follow Earthshine on Facebook

Thanks so much for joining us today! The Slow Flowers Podcast has been downloaded more than 264,000 times by listeners like you. Thank you to each one of you for downloading, listening, commenting and sharing. It means so much.

Next week, during the final episode of 2017, I will share our Year in Review. The Slow Flowers Movement and you, the community, have achieved and accomplished so much goodness this year and it’s time to celebrate our successes. Please Join me on Wednesday, December 27th for this special tribute to 2017.

If you value the content you receive each week, I invite you to show your thanks and support the Slow Flowers Podcast with a donation — the button can be found on our home page in the right column. Your contributions will help make it possible to transcribe future episodes of the Podcast.

Thank you to family of sponsors:

And thank you to our lead sponsor for 2017: Certified American Grown Flowers. The Certified American-Grown program and label provide a guarantee for designers and consumers on the source of their flowers. Take pride in your flowers and buy with confidence, ask for Certified American Grown Flowers.  To learn more visit americangrownflowers.org.

Arctic Alaska Peonies, a cooperative of 50 family farms in the heart of Alaska providing high quality, American Grown peony flowers during the months of July and August. Visit them today at arcticalaskapeonies.com.

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. Find them at seattlewholesalegrowersmarket.com.

Longfield Gardens 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. Visit them at longfield-gardens.com.

Syndicate Sales, an American manufacturer of vases and accessories for the professional florist. Look for the American Flag Icon to find Syndicate’s USA-made products and join the Syndicate Stars loyalty program at syndicatesales.com.

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. Check them out at johnnysseeds.com.

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.

I’m Debra Prinzing, host and producer of the Slow Flowers Podcast. Next week, you’re invited to join me in putting more American grown flowers on the table, one vase at a time. And If you like what you hear, please consider logging onto Itunes and posting a listener review.
The content and opinions expressed here are either mine alone or those of my guests alone, independent of any podcast sponsor or other person, company or organization.

The Slow Flowers Podcast is engineered and edited by Andrew Brenlan. Learn more about his work at KineticTreeFitness.com.

Music Credits:

EarthShine:
(c) Season’s Greetings 2000

(c) Kubota Garden 2002

(c) Blooms of Clover 2007

(c) Whirling Earth 2014

(c) Jack in the Green 2015

Lovely, by Tryad

Media Contact:   Barry Bartlett, The Bartlett Group, 206.335.4694 or barry@bartlettgrouppr.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SEATTLE—”Floral Wars,” a new “friendly” competition between the Northwest’s most talented professional florists, joins the big line-up of feature attractions at the 2018 Northwest Flower & Garden Festival, February 7-11 at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle. The event is co-produced with Slow Flowers’ founder and creative director Debra Prinzing.

Presented by American Grown Flowers, “Floral Wars” will be held each day from 3-4 p.m. on the North Hall Stage. It pits two top floral artists against each other as they create three arrangements—a bridal bouquet, a centerpiece and a “surprise” floral creation—all in an hour or less. It’s a test of the contestants’ grace under pressure as they showcase American-grown flowers, USA-made floral accessories and eco-design techniques.

“Garden enthusiasts yearn for more flowers in their lives and ‘Floral Wars’ delivers on a promise—to inspire and educate our audiences with great ideas for floral design. It’s a fun way for showgoers to learn how to choose, combine and arrange flowers from your own backyard,” said event host, Debra Prinzing, author of Slow Flowers and The 50 Mile Bouquet. 

ABOUT THE COMPETITION
During the hour-long event, floral pros will be given several surprise buckets of stems, and with clippers, vases and ribbons in hand, they’ll demonstrate their unique aesthetic styles and share tips and techniques with audience members. Heightening the drama, watch how they react to our “secret” ingredients and unexpected challenges. 

Adding to the fast-paced fun, Corona Tools and Johnny’s Selected Seeds will provide door prizes and giveaways for the audience during the hour-long event. Showgoers are encouraged to arrive early to take advantage of café seating and enjoy a meal, snack, and a beverage while learning from the floral artists. 

ABOUT THE NORTHWEST FLOWER & GARDEN FESTIVAL
Celebrating 30 years of inspiring all experience levels, The Northwest Flower & Garden Festival showcases 18 magnificent, idea-generating display gardens, demonstrations and displays focusing on small space and container gardening, more than 100 free “how-to” seminars by top experts, shopping for a cornucopia of quality products, artwork and regional food items in the bustling Marketplace, and much more. 

DATES & TICKETS
Festival dates and hours are Wednesday through Saturday (Feb. 7-10), 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Sunday (Feb. 11), 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Early Bird adult tickets now on sale online and over 60 retail locations (until February 6) – $19; regular adult (at the door) – $24; youth (13 to 17 years) – $7; and children 12 and under are FREE.  For more information, or to purchase tickets online, visit www.gardenshow.com.

“Floral Wars” contestants include:

Wednesday, Feb. 7:
Melissa Feveyear, Terra Bella Flowers (Seattle) and Jessica Gring, Odd Flowers Floral Design and the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market (Seattle)

Thursday, Feb. 8:
Gina Thresher, AIFD, From the Ground Up Floral (Kent) and Jon Robert Throne, AIFD, Countryside Floral & Garden (Issaquah)

Friday, Feb. 9:
Rizaniño “Riz” Reyes, RHR Horticulture (Seattle) and Mick Payment, Flowers for the People (Bellevue)

Saturday, Feb. 10:
Anne Bradfield, Floressence (Seattle) and Kelly Sullivan, Botanique (Seattle)

Sunday, Feb. 11:
Tobey Nelson, Tobey Nelson Events & Design (Langley) and Tammy Myers, First & Bloom (Issaquah)

Floral Wars is made possible by:

FLOWERS/FOLIAGE: Certified American Grown Flowers is the exclusive provider of flowers and foliage used in the competition. Certified American Grown program ensures consumers of the domestic origins of their flowers and foliage and stands for the high quality, farm fresh blooms.

VASES/MECHANICS: Syndicate Sales, an American manufacturer of vases and accessories for the professional florist.

RIBBONS: Offray Ribbons is the last U.S. manufacturer of woven satin ribbon for the floral and craft marketplace.

APRONS: Raw Material Design, a Seattle-based maker of aprons and other textile products.

About Debra Prinzing:

Debra Prinzing is a Seattle-based writer, speaker and leading advocate for American Grown Flowers. Through her many Slow Flowers-branded projects, she has convened a national conversation that stimulates consumers and professionals alike to make conscious choices about their floral purchases.

Debra is the producer of SlowFlowers.com, the online directory to American-grown farms, florists, shops and studios who supply domestic and local flowers.

Each Wednesday, approximately 2,500 listeners tune into Debra’s “Slow Flowers Podcast,” available for free downloads at her web site, debraprinzing.com, or on iTunes and via other podcast services.

She is the creator of American Flowers Week, launched during the July 4th week in 2015 with more than 5.0 million social media impressions in 2017.

Debra is a Florists’ Review Contributing Editor which produces the “Slow Flowers Journal” section. She is a 2016 inductee to the Garden Writers Association Hall of Fame and the author of 10 books, including Slow Flowers and The 50 Mile Bouquet.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Podcast Index | RSS | More

Today, you will hear from two guests: Sue Nevler, an incredibly active gardening friend from the Pacific Northwest and national public horticulture scene who will share about the Solstice Garden Gatherings on December 21st, and Stow, Massachusetts-based Barbara Rietscha of Stow Greenhouses, which has rebranded as Field & Vase in Boston — yet another flower farm branching into retail floristry. I’m so excited to share these interviews with you!

We’re getting close to the end of 2017 and for many of you, that means reflecting on the meaning of one’s work, on the relevance and purpose that we seek to have, and on the relationships that define us.

This all came together for me Sunday evening at the latest Slow Flowers Meet-Up. Over the course of 2017, I’ve gathered with our Slow Flowers Community in towns and cities across North America, listening, learning, sharing, connecting in places as diverse and wonderful as Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Toronto, Ontario; Missoula, Montana; Guilford, Connecticut; Providence, Rhode Island, and yes, Seattle.

It was such a joy to have a hometown (for me) Meet-Up and I am so happy that 14 folks in Seattle’s Slow Flowers community joined the festivities — flower farmers whose blooms thrive in tiny urban lots or expansive rural acreage, food farmers who are diversifying in to cut flowers, floral designers who specialize in weddings, everyday deliveries or workshops, landscape designers exploring the floral industry and also wholesalers who represent the farmers and sell their bountiful harvest to local florists.

It was wonderful to watch the new relationships and connections take place over delicious food, clicking of glass, and laughter throughout. There was one moment when it all went into slow-motion, freeze-frame for me. I stood there in my kitchen and marveled at the goodwill being shared among new and old friends, people who have supported the Slow Flowers movement in their own work, aligning their brands with ours. It was special and truly overwhelming to see where this singular Slow Flowers idea has taken all of us.

Last week I recorded a short interview that I want to start today’s episode. It will, I hope, inspire you to take a step or make a gesture in your own community as we approach the Winter Solstice, the holiday season and the New Year around the corner.

Sue Nevler (seen above), calls herself a gardening advocate. In 2016, Sue created an event called Solstice Garden Gatherings — and I shared the idea on an episode of this podcast last December. Solstice Garden Gatherings has gained momentum and support across the world, and I’m so glad to see the idea of people who assemble with others in public and private gardens, or in a flower field, or on a farm. The objective is simple, but powerful. A gathering in support of peace, acceptance, understanding, and hope.

Beginning December 10th, this Sunday, there are several taking place in the Seattle area, including these:

Bellevue Botanical Garden (Garden D’Lights)
Bloedel Reserve
Dunn Gardens
Heronswood
Kruckeberg Garden
University of Washington Botanic Gardens ( CUH)
Days, dates, times and formats vary at all these, so check individual garden website’s for more details.

Please use the hash-tag #solsticegardengatherings if you attend or create a similar event in your community. She is eager to see this idea spread and will be encouraged by your posts.

Our main guest today is Barbara Rietscha of Field & Vase, a new venture of Stow Greenhouses, based in Stow, Massachusetts, in the Boston area.

Stow Greenhouses is owned and operated by the husband and wife team of Dave Buchholz and Barbara Rietscha. In addition to growing and arranging flowers, they are raising three sons.

Barbara runs the day-to-day operations of the business and oversees everything from first seeding to final arrangement. Born in PA, Barbara had a circuitous route to flower farming. After graduating from college with a chemistry degree, she moved to Central Africa to teach farmers how to raise fish. When she returned home, Barb learned how to program computers and then moved to the business side of things and got her M.B.A. After the birth of her 2nd son, she took some time off to raise 3 sons until she and Dave bought the farm in 2010.

Barbara uses flowers and herbs grown on her farm as well as things foraged from the property. Her style is organic and natural and she likes to bring the garden to the vase whether it is for a bride, home or office. Barbara is motivated to educate her customers about the local flower movement as well as support local farms and businesses. She enjoys being outdoors and skiing and her retirement plan is traveling across the country in an Air Stream.

By day Dave is an IT professional at a large bank but by night, he is a plumber, electrician, carpenter – a whatever-it-takes to keep the farm running. He is also the patient voice of reason to Barb’s unbridled enthusiasm. Dave was born with skis on his feet, enjoys all forms of cycling and coaches the high school ultimate frisbee team.

READ MORE…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Podcast Index | RSS | More

Last month I traveled to Portland for a wonderful day hosted by Mayesh Wholesale, one of a series of design workshops featuring their 2017 Design Star, Christy Hulsey.

Christy is the owner and creative director of Colonial House of Flowers in Statesboro, Georgia, outside Savannah, and she was selected by Mayesh to be this year’s design muse. In the past, as I understand it, the creative inspiration and instruction of each year’s Mayesh Design Star program has mostly been video-based. This year was incredibly ambitious, with Christy signing on for a coast-to-coast tour of workshops and events.

As you’ll hear in our conversation, recorded after the all-day, hands-on workshop that she and her team presented, Christy and I met in 2014 at the Chapel Designers New York Conference, where Holly Chapple graciously asked me to speak about Slow Flowers. Later, Christy’s Colonial House of Flowers joined Slowflowers.com, inspired at some level, to honor Christy’s grandmother’s love of gardening and designing with seasonal flowers.

In fact, she mentions her grandmother’s influence often. When Christy joined the Design Star program, Mayesh posted a lovely Q&A with her for their blog. You’ll want to follow the link I share in the show notes to find that, but here are a few favorite excerpts:

In 2012, I assumed ownership of a little nearly 50-year-old landmark flower boutique that was in my family, called the Colonial House of Flowers. I believe the spirit of my grandmother’s creativity and ability to resourcefully create something sophisticated flutters through everything I do. In 2014, Amanda Currier, my sister, joined the Colonial House of Flowers team. Seasonally relevant flowers, branches, and fruit, are the true medium of my art. I’m ever thankful for my grandmother who always sent me into the garden, who brought me a found plant as a gift, and taught me to dig bulbs, grow cuttings, and stop at random roadside stands on family travels.  am really excited about the gaining momentum of American Grown Flowers. Slow flowers speak to me. I am excited the movement is finally coming to the Southeastern United States.

Last December, I interviewed Christy for an Americanflowersweek.com story about the 8-by-12-foot three -dimensional American flag that she and a team created using only domestic flowers. The project was commissioned by Certified American Grown and it was on display at the Wholesale Florist & Floral Supplier Association conference in Miami.

Christy has had a whirlwind year and you’ll love hearing more about the Mayesh Design Star experience, which is coming to a close next month. She has taught workshops all around the country, sharing her design philosophy with professional peers, aspiring designers and floral enthusiasts eager for inspiration. In conjunction, she has also taught a number of succulent design workshops at Pottery Barn stores located in Mayesh cities. And she’s filmed numerous design videos. You can see a few of those here:

As an added bonus, Mayesh CEO Patrick Dahlson sat down with me to record a conversation, which you’ll hear after the Christy interview. This was a rare chance for me to hear more about the Mayesh story and to ask Pat to weigh in on the Slow Flowers movement to promote a greater level of local and seasonal flowers in the conventional wholesale floral channels. I wasn’t disappointed and I’m so glad you can sit in on our give-and-take.

Here’s a bit more about Pat Dahlson:

As one of nine children, all who are shareholders in Mayesh Wholesale Florist, Patrick has been the CEO of the company since 1985.  A natural born leader, Patrick has been a member of Vistage – an international CEO leadership organization – for 21 years. He is past president of Child Share, which helps place foster children in homes; Past President WF&FSA; Board member Southern California Flower Growers Association; and Past President Oakmont Country Club. Passionate about flowers, leadership and mentoring, Pat is also an avid golfer who enjoys yoga and Pilates workouts along with traveling with his three daughters, Alison, Kirstin and Desiree.

I also want to give you a head’s up about a couple things on the calendar where you can meet Christy Hulsey and Pat Dahlson:

On December 4-6th, Christy will host a Master Class At Musgrove Plantation on St. Simon Island, Georgia, with Susan McLeary of Passionflower.

Susan has been a guest of the Slow Flowers Podcast twice in the past and she is a good friend to the Slow Flowers community.

This two-day design intensive looks fantastic and I encourage you to check out the details, which include intimate design instruction with Christy and Sue, a focus on  foam-free, wire-free cascade bouquets PLUS living jewelry such as wrist corsages, shoulder corsages and Sue’s famous “floral tattoo.

You’ll also be part of a styled photo shoot by Lindsey Nowak and a portfolio of your photos by Corbin Gurkin. Click here for more information and to register!

On March 7-9th, 2018, floral business coach Kelly Perry hosts the first Team Flower Conference in Orlando, which features, among other speakers, Pat Dahlson and Christy Hulsey.

The conference is designed to help you take your floral business to the next level, and includes a presentation by Kelly pricing, ordering and cultivating creativity.

Christy will share the story of how she transitioned a small-town flower shop in rural Georgia to a nationwide brand, and Pat will cover the latest sourcing news and tips for working with your salesperson on substitutions, and he’ll share his passion for teamwork success in the floral industry. Click here for more information and to register!

Wow, wish I could be part of both of those amazing events!

 

The Slow Flowers Podcast has been downloaded more than 255,000 times by listeners like you. Thank you to each one of you for downloading, listening, commenting and sharing. It means so much.

If you value the content you receive each week, I invite you to show your thanks and support the Slow Flowers Podcast with a donation — the button can be found on our home page in the right column. Your contributions will help make it possible to transcribe future episodes of the Podcast.

Thank you to family of sponsors:

Arctic Alaska Peonies, a cooperative of 50 family farms in the heart of Alaska providing high quality, American Grown peony flowers during the months of July and August. Visit them today at arcticalaskapeonies.com

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. Find them at seattlewholesalegrowersmarket.com

Longfield Gardens 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. Visit them at longfield-gardens.com.

Syndicate Sales, an American manufacturer of vases and accessories for the professional florist. Look for the American Flag Icon to find Syndicate’s USA-made products and join the Syndicate Stars loyalty program at syndicatesales.com.

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. Check them out at johnnysseeds.com.

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.

I’m Debra Prinzing, host and producer of the Slow Flowers Podcast. Next week, you’re invited to join me in putting more American grown flowers on the table, one vase at a time. And If you like what you hear, please consider logging onto Itunes and posting a listener review.

The content and opinions expressed here are either mine alone or those of my guests alone, independent of any podcast sponsor or other person, company or organization.

The Slow Flowers Podcast is engineered and edited by Andrew Brenlan. Learn more about his work at KineticTreeFitness.com.

Music Credits:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Podcast Index | RSS | More

Today we catch up with past guest of this Podcast, Kasey Cronquist of the Certified American Grown Program, which also produces the Field to Vase Dinner Tour, now in its third year.

Full disclosure, as you heard at the top of this show, Certified American Grown is a Slow Flowers sponsor and in the past I’ve participated as both an unpaid industry volunteer and a paid communications consultant on various projects . . . dating back to the initial launch of Certified American Grown in 2014.

The updates I asked Kasey to share with us today are timely and newsworthy and I hope will bring you up to speed on this emerging program for labeling millions of stems of flowers and foliage grown in the U.S.

And there’s some exciting news about a recent major award that the Field to Vase Dinner Tour just received. The Society of American Florists named the Field to Vase Dinner Tour “Marketer of the Year” for 2017.

Kasey and I sat down to record this interview when we were both in attendance at the October 8th Field to Vase Dinner Tour held at Hope Flower Farm in Waterford, Virginia, the farm owned by farmer-florist Holly Chapple and her husband Evan Chapple. It was a beautiful event and you can read more here about her farm, the beautiful decor and the historic barn where we all gathered at trestle tables underneath three magnificent floral chandeliers.

Here are links to past interviews I have conducted with Kasey:

Episode 107 (Septmeber 18, 2013)

Epsiode 151 (July 23, 2014)

Episode 203 (July 22, 2015)

Episode 255 (July 20, 2016)

Episode 291 (April 5, 2017)

Click here to learn more about the Certified American Grown labeling program — including details on how your flower farm can get involved.

Thanks so much for joining us today! As Kasey and I discuss, the final Field to Vase Dinner of 2017 takes place this weekend, on November 18th at Fern Trust in Seville, Florida.

And soon, the lineup of venues will be announced for 2018. You can sign up here to receive announcements and more details about next year’s tour.

The Slow Flowers Podcast has been downloaded more than 253,000 times by listeners like you. Thank you to each one of you for downloading, listening, commenting and sharing. It means so much.

If you value the content you receive each week, I invite you to show your thanks and support the Slow Flowers Podcast with a donation — the button can be found on our home page in the right column. Your contributions will help make it possible to transcribe future episodes of the Podcast.

 

Thank you to family of sponsors

Arctic Alaska Peonies, a cooperative of 50 family farms in the heart of Alaska providing high quality, American Grown peony flowers during the months of July and August. Visit them today at arcticalaskapeonies.com

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. Find them at seattlewholesalegrowersmarket.com

Longfield Gardens 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. Visit them at longfield-gardens.com.

Syndicate Sales, an American manufacturer of vases and accessories for the professional florist. Look for the American Flag Icon to find Syndicate’s USA-made products and join the Syndicate Stars loyalty program at syndicatesales.com.

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. Check them out at johnnysseeds.com.

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.

I’m Debra Prinzing, host and producer of the Slow Flowers Podcast. Next week, you’re invited to join me in putting more American grown flowers on the table, one vase at a time.

And If you like what you hear, please consider logging onto Itunes and posting a listener review.

The content and opinions expressed here are either mine alone or those of my guests alone, independent of any podcast sponsor or other person, company or organization.

The Slow Flowers Podcast is engineered and edited by Andrew Brenlan. Learn more about his work at KineticTreeFitness.com.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Podcast Index | RSS | More

As many of you know, my journalistic background includes working as a home and garden writer for the past two decades.

During that journey, I invested many years — the past 15 in fact — in the Garden Writers Association, including two years serving as its president. Many of my closest professional and personal friendships come from time spent serving on committees, as regional and national director and then, as an officer and member of GWA’s leadership.

And even though writing about flower farming and floral design has occupied my professional energy during the past nearly 10 years, I still consider myself a Garden Writer. After all, flowers are certainly an extension of the garden, right?

Today I am delighted to introduce two longtime professional friends who I originally met through GWA. They are Suzi McCoy and Katie Dubow of Garden Media Group.

Based outside Philadelphia, Garden Media Group was one of the very first marketing and communications firms to position itself in the “green” category. For many years, Garden Media Group has released an annual Garden Trends Report, which has become a must-have reference for writers, practitioners and companies in the gardening industry.

I love reading this report and to be honest, it has served as a template for my much younger Slow Flowers Floral Insights and Industry Forecast, which I started compiling annually four years ago.

Suzie and Katie agreed to talk with me about the Garden Trends Report for 2018 and share their graphics. Click the link to download your own PDF copy of the report.

Here are a few slides of the “trends” we discuss on today’s episode:

Find Garden Media Group on Facebook

Follow Garden Media Group on Twitter

See Garden Media Group on Pinterest

Watch Garden Media Group on Instagram

READ MORE…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Podcast Index | RSS | More

We all have our flower crushes and those we admire from afar, never expecting to actually meet. So the chance to not only meet and spend time with Robbie Honey, world floral traveler, proud son of Zimbabwe, curious accidental botanist and amazing designer . . . well, it was a certainly a highlight of 2017!

Robbie and I met at Holly Chapple’s Flowerstock, the two-day design and creativity fest held for the second year at Hope Flower Farm, the historic compound she owns with husband Evan Chapple – in Waterford, Virginia, not to far from the nation’s capitol.

Holly and Robbie have collaborated on many occasions as instructors, but this was my first experience seeing Robbie up close and personal. Prior to this, my knowledge of him has been mostly by watching his Instagram feed.

Robbie is the creative director at the design company bearing his name Robbie Honey, based in London.

Robbie Honey has been immersed in botanical pursuits since he was a young boy roaming the wild grasslands of Zimbabwe. These adventures developed his already keen visual and olfactory senses and instilled in him a lifelong fascination with flowers and their scents.

By the age of seventeen, he was studying horticulture and went on to work in the floriculture trade in Holland and Kenya. Honing his creative sensibilities further, he studied interior design and photography at art school in Cape Town. Moving to London he trained with floral designer Ming Veevers Carter and gained a thorough grounding in event floristry. Incidentally, we posted a story about Ming’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show’s Gold Medal design for New Covent Garden Flower Market earlier this year. Check it out here.

Setting out on his own at twenty-five, Hermès was his first fashion client, followed by Dior and Armani, establishing Robbie Honey as an in-demand florist within the fashion industry.

With this rare combination of expertise: in botany, floristry and the visual arts, he started lecturing around the world on floristry and writing for the Wall Street Journal.

Robbie Honey’s first range of scented candles is inspired by individual white flowers, the scents of which have long beguiled him.

It was a delight to not only learn more about what inspires and motivates this talented human as an artist, but a joy to watch him design with American-grown flowers, including many grown at Hope Farm and donated by others, including Harmony Harvest Farm, both Slowflowers.com members — as well as to play with branches and blooms that Robbie foraged with fellow instructors Ariella Chezar and Holly herself.

READ MORE…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Podcast Index | RSS | More

Whenever I travel, even for pleasure, I’m likely to add three things to my itinerary:

First, I visit Slow Flowers’ members to see their places of business — flower farms, floral studios and retail florists locations.

Next, I team up with one or more of those generous folks to schedule a Slow Flowers meet-up.

And third, I turn on the digital recorder to interview at least one of these folks for a Slow Flowers Podcast episode.

Yes, I do travel quite a bit, the “non-slowness” of which is a bit ironic, as my friends and family have pointed out.

But I’m so passionate about getting out “on-location,” so to speak, to capture your stories.

Sharing the stories of American flowers and the people who grow and design with them is at the heart of the Slow Flowers mission.

Last month, you benefitted from my interviews in Montana. This month, it’s Connecticut and Virginia. Next month, it will be Massachusetts and Arizona. And then, maybe I’ll stay home for the holidays!

So enough of that. Let me introduce you to Michael Russo, a farmer-florist and gifted artist who co-owns Trout Lily Farm in Guilford, Connecticut. He and his husband, Raymond Lennox, who works in the health care industry when he’s not co-farming, purchased Trout Lily about 13 years ago. The farm is located on picturesque Lake Quonnipaug in North Guilford, where Michael and Raymond grow and sell organic edibles and seasonal cut flowers for the table, weddings and events.

I’ve been wanting to visit Trout Lily Farm ever since I first met Michael in the fall of 2014 at a floral design workshop I taught in Rhode Island at the wonderful estate home and garden called Blithewold Mansion.

My friend Ellen Hoverkamp of My Neighbor’s Garden, an botanical artist and photographer who is a previous guest of this podcast, came from her home in New Haven, Connecticut and brought Michael along. I was so enchanted with their long friendship dating back to high school and college, as artists and former public school art teachers, both of whom both took early retirements to pursue new creative ventures.

READ MORE…