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Today, I have two interviews and this is Part One. First up, a delightful mother-daughter design duo shares their story. Owner of Belle Pétale, a Seattle-based studio, Teresa Rao is an avid gardener and flower lover who in 2020 transitioned from a 16-year corporate training career to floristry. She has based her boutique design studio at home, where she can clip foliage and blooms from her garden while also parenting Priya, her eight-year-old daughter.

The studio name, Belle Pétale, comes from a childhood love of petals (Teresa and her sister were frequent flower girls for relatives’ weddings) and a passion for all things French. Teresa’s home interiors reflect her floral styling and a recent kitchen remodel was designed with her floral studio in mind. As it turns out, Teresa and Priya recently invited me to tea, so Priya and I could celebrate our shared birthday, February 28th. I asked them to design their signature floriography posies after tea. We had so much fun and I can’t wait for you to watch along.

Thank you so much for joining our conversation. And thank YOU to Teresa and Priya for sharing their mutual love of and talent for floriography! If you have a copy of Where We Bloom, the book we produced last year to showcase creative floral spaces owned by 37 Slow Flowers members, you saw Teresa in the pages, with photography by Missy Palacol.

In that chapter, she told me, “I want to make sure I’m supporting farmers who are growing domestic flowers. I always share where my bouquets are sourced and I use hashtags like #supportyourlocalflowerfarmers, drawing attention to the mission that my business is part of while educating my clients and the public about why it’s important.”

And now, with her new studio space at a neighboring property, Teresa will soon have a much-expanded Belle Petale cutting garden to help her keep things hyper-local. 

Here’s some timely news! Coming up this Friday, April 8th, at 9 am Pacific-Noon Eastern, you can join the Slow Flowers Member Virtual Meet-Up on Zoom! Enjoy a Greenhouse Tour with our special guests, Chet & Kristy Anderson of The Fresh Herb Co.

For more than two decades, The Fresh Herb Co. has produced Colorado-grown flowers, plants and herbs for the region’s Whole Foods floral departments. Based in Longmont, Colorado, the 15-acre farm grows gorgeous sunflowers, elegant lilies and peonies, bodacious hanging baskets and bowls of fresh herbs that delight market shoppers each weekend.

Chet and Kristy Anderson are featured in The 50 Mile Bouquet, written 10 years ago by Debra Prinzing and still in print. We’ll visit this gifted flower-farming couple for a virtual greenhouse tour narrated by Chet, and enjoy a peek at their prolific early-season crops, including lilies galore, hanging baskets and culinary herb planters. Come with your greenhouse growing and marketing questions!

Thank You to our Sponsors

This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 880 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, returning for 2022, 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 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.

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

Thank you to 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.

Thanks so much for joining us today! The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more than 834,000 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 and consider making a donation to sustain Slow Flowers’ ongoing advocacy, education and outreach activities. You can find the donate button in the column to the right at slowflowerspodcast.com.

I’m Debra Prinzing, host and producer of the Slow Flowers Show & Podcast. The Slow Flowers Podcast is engineered and edited by Andrew Brenlan. The content and opinions expressed here are either mine alone or those of my guests alone, independent of any podcast sponsor or other person, company or organization.  Next week, you’re invited to join me in putting more Slow Flowers on the table, one stem, one vase at a time. 

Music credits:
Entwined Oddity; Turning on the Lights; Gaena
by Blue Dot Sessions
http://www.sessions.blue

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

In The Field
audionautix.com

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It’s Spring, so it’s garden book season, of course. Last week, you met Teresa J. Speight, author of Black Flora. Today, it’s my pleasure to introduce you to Riz Reyes of RHR Horticulture, a longtime Slow Flowers member and friend who has authored his first book for young readers and their families.

GROW: A Family Guide to Plants and How to Grow Them, encourages children to discover 15 plants and fungi with life-changing powers and learn how to grow them at home.

Riz profiles 15 plants, beautifully illustrated by Sara Boccaccini Meadows, and in each section, readers will meet the often surprising plant relatives (for example, the tasty tomato is a cousin of deadly nightshade!). Interesting plant stories are accompanied with step-by-step instructions to grow and care for each one, whether you have a big backyard garden or a sunny windowsill.

Here’s a little bit more about Riz:

Rizaniño Reyes is a horticulturalist, speaker, and educator. Growing up in the Philippines, Riz spent his childhood on a fruit plantation managed by his father before moving to the Pacific Northwest at age seven. Upon arrival in the United States, he learned the names of the new and strange flowers and continued to nurture his love of horticulture—“the art and science of plants”—at the University of Washington. Of his work, he says he hopes to inspire more young people, “especially people of color, to be involved with interacting with nature and learning about the environment . . . If everyone did this, can you imagine what a beautiful world this could be?” 

I hope you enjoy our conversation, recorded a few weeks ago inside my cozy greenhouse. I’ve edited some of the whimsical, info-packed illustrations by Sara Boccaccini Meadows throughout this video.

Listen to my 2015 interview with Riz in Episode 215: Riz Reyes on Floriculture as the Gateway to Horticulture (Episode 214)

Find and follow Riz Reyes at these social places:
RHR Horticulture on Facebook
RHR Horticulture on Instagram
RHR Horticulture on YouTube

Thank you to our Sponsors

This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 880 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, returning for 2022, 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, which you just heard Carlee mention as a new addition to her studio.  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 Flowerfarm.com. FlowerFarm is a leading wholesale flower distributor that sources from carefully-selected flower farms to offer high-performing fresh flowers sent directly from the farm straight to you. You can shop by flower and by country of origin at flowerfarm.com. Find flowers and foliage from California, Florida, Oregon and Washington by using the “Origin” selection tool in your search. It’s smarter sourcing. Learn more at flowerfarm.com.

Thanks so much for joining us today! The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more than 830,000 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 Slow Flowers Society.com and consider making a donation to sustain Slow Flowers’ ongoing advocacy, education and outreach activities. You can find the donate button in the column to the right at debraprinzing.com

I’m Debra Prinzing, host and producer of the Slow Flowers Show & Podcast. The Slow Flowers Podcast is engineered and edited by Andrew Brenlan.

The content and opinions expressed here are either mine alone or those of my guests alone, independent of any podcast sponsor or other person, company or organization.  Next week, you’re invited to join me in putting more Slow Flowers on the table, one stem, one vase at a time. 

Music credits:
Turning on the Lights; Gaena
by Blue Dot Sessions
http://www.sessions.blue

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

In The Field; Solo Acoustic 5
audionautix.com

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I’m so excited this week to share the video from our March Slow Flowers member meet-up featuring author Teresa J. Speight as our special guest, along with many of our Slow Flowers members who appear in the pages of the new book Black Flora, just released by Bloom Imprint.

Black Flora is a book that is long overdue and it showcases the excellence and contributions of Black flower farmers and floral designers throughout the country.

This book recognizes the rich, beautiful, complex, and diverse narrative being told by African Americans in today’s floral marketplace. Based in the Washington, D.C., area, garden writer, podcaster and blogger Teri Speight interviewed 25 Black floral personalities to learn how they have rooted their lives in the floral world.

Black Flora’s pages are filled with more than 90 vivid photographs illustrating the talent and artistry of Black floral designers and creative directors coast to coast. There are stories and images from cutting gardens and flower farms, rural acreage to urban lots.  Each profile explores family legacy and professional influences, as women and men of varied backgrounds and generations share the journey that led to careers in wedding and event design, botanical art, horticultural therapy, cut flower farming, entrepreneurship and activism.

I’m so pleased to introduce you to this project, and for you to meet Teri as we discuss and introduce many of the creatives featured in Black Flora. Order your copy of Black Flora at bloomimprint.com or find it via any online bookseller! Or, ask you independent local bookseller to order it for you!

This book recognizes the rich, beautiful, complex, and diverse narrative being told by African Americans in today’s floral marketplace. Based in the Washington, D.C., area, garden writer, podcaster and blogger Teri Speight interviewed 25 Black floral personalities to learn how they have rooted their lives in the floral world.

Black Flora’s pages are filled with more than 90 vivid photographs illustrating the talent and artistry of Black floral designers and creative directors coast to coast. There are stories and images from cutting gardens and flower farms, rural acreage to urban lots.  Each profile explores family legacy and professional influences, as women and men of varied backgrounds and generations share the journey that led to careers in wedding and event design, botanical art, horticultural therapy, cut flower farming, entrepreneurship and activism.

I’m so pleased to introduce you to this project, and for you to meet Teri as we discuss and introduce many of the creatives featured in Black Flora. Order your copy of Black Flora at bloomimprint.com or find it via any online bookseller! Or, ask you independent local bookseller to order it for you!

I love what Teri wrote in her introduction to Black Flora:

Find and Follow Teresa J. Speight:
Cottage in the Court on Facebook
Cottage in the Court on Instagram
Cottage in the Court on Twitter

Sustainable Farming News

If you’re interested in learning more about sustainable flower farming practices on Slow Flowers member farms across North America, check out our recent story on the topic, published in the March issue of Johnny’s Advantage Newsletter. For the past several years, the Slow Flowers Society has surveyed our members on a wide array of topics. The insights gained have helped inform our annual Slow Flowers Floral Insights & Industry Forecast. For 2022, inspired by conversations with Johnny’s Selected Seeds’ flower experts, we asked survey-takers to share their preferred sustainable farming methods.

Curious about the specifics, I spoke with six of the respondents, who elaborated on their approaches to farming with sustainable methods. These six conversations included Stacey Chapman, of Westwind Flowers in Orange, Virginia; Becky Feasby, of Prairie Girl Flowers in Calgary, Alberta; David Brunton, of Right Field Farm in Millersville, Maryland; Susan Schultze, of Joy de Fleur Flower Farm in St. Paul, Minnesota; Jennifer McClendon, of JenniFlora Farm in Sebastopol, California; and Stacey Denton, of Flora Farm & Design Studio in Williams, Oregon. Each of these growers has a different story, with farm location, size, and scale and crop specialties varying widely. I learned so much from my conversations with each of these flower farmers, who are all very thoughtful about what they do on their land, as well as articulate about the “why” of what they practice.

Thank you to our Sponsors!

This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 880 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, returning for 2022, 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 Mayesh Wholesale Florist. Family-owned since 1978, Mayesh is the premier wedding and event supplier in the U.S. and we’re thrilled to partner with Mayesh to promote local and domestic flowers, which they source from farms large and small around the U.S. Learn more at mayesh.com.

Thank you to The Gardener’s Workshop, which offers a full curriculum of online education for flower farmers and farmer-florists. Online education is more important 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.

Thanks so much for joining us today! The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more than 828,000 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 Slow Flowers Society.com and consider making a donation to sustain Slow Flowers’ ongoing advocacy, education and outreach activities. You can find the donate button in the column to the right.

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:
Game Hens; Turning on the Lights; Gaena
by Blue Dot Sessions
http://www.sessions.blue

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

In The Field
audionautix.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Podcast Index | RSS | More

Today’s guests, Shannon and Judd Allen, are first-generation farmers who grow specialty cut flowers in Uniontown, Ohio, serving the Canton-Akron communities.

A few weeks ago, Shannon reached out via email to let us know that John Deere, the tractor company based in Moline, Illinois, filmed and produced several videos about their small farm and their flowers. The campaign is out now — perhaps you’ve watched it. It’s called “How to Make the Most of Your Land.” The series features everyday gardeners and growers who use John Deere’s USA-made tractors, mowers and other equipment.

What a sense of pride I felt in watching the video clips Shannon and Judd shared. Lately, I’ve been seeing the extended commercial on national TV, which features Bloom Hill Farm and several other passionate growers and gardeners.

I asked the Allens to join me for a conversation about Bloom Hill Farm, and to introduce their story to our Slow Flowers Community. Let’s jump right in and meet them, learn more about Bloom Hill Farm and how their goals and dreams for building a family-owned floral enterprise on their own terms. Oh, and you’ll want to listen for Shannon’s secret tip on social media tagging.

What an uplifting story that puts a big smile on my face! Congratulations to Shannon and Judd — what a fabulous way to put flower farming on the map!

Find and follow Bloom Hill Farm at these social places:
Bloom Hill Farm on Facebook and Instagram

Thank you to our Sponsors!

This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 880 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, returning for 2022, Farmgirl Flowers. Farmgirl Flowers delivers iconic burlap-wrapped bouquets and lush, abundant arrangements to customers across the U.S., supporting U.S. flower farms by purchasing more than $10 million dollars of U.S.-grown fresh and seasonal flowers and foliage annually. Discover more at farmgirlflowers.com.

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

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

Thank you to Johnny’s Selected Seeds, an employee-owned company that provides our industry the best flower, herb and vegetable seeds — supplied to farms large and small and even backyard cutting gardens like mine. Find the full catalog of flower seeds and bulbs at johnnysseeds.com.

We’ve got much more news to share about all of our Slow Flowers activities. Also in today’s show notes, you can find the link to our mid-March Slow Flowers Summit newsletter, which includes details about a post-Summit optional tour of New York’s flower district led by Molly Culver of Molly Oliver Flowers. And you’ll also find the link to our Spring BLOOM Imprint newsletter with all kinds of stories and events celebrating our floral lifestyle books and authors.

You can also find the subscribe buttons for those newsletters here, so sign up!

Thanks so much for joining us today! The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more than 825,000 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 Slow Flowers Society.com and consider making a donation to sustain Slow Flowers’ ongoing advocacy, education and outreach activities. You can find the donate button in the column to the right at debraprinzing.com

I’m Debra Prinzing, host and producer of the Slow Flowers Show & Podcast. The Slow Flowers Podcast is engineered and edited by Andrew Brenlan. The content and opinions expressed here are either mine alone or those of my guests alone, independent of any podcast sponsor or other person, company or organization.  Next week, you’re invited to join me in putting more Slow Flowers on the table, one stem, one vase at a time. 

Music credits:
Long Await; Turning on the Lights; Gaena
by Blue Dot Sessions
http://www.sessions.blue

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

In The Field
audionautix.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Podcast Index | RSS | More

In mid-January, I was invited to a virtual launch of an ambitious, new, consumer-focused flower promotional brand called That Flower Feeling.

The invitation came from CalFlowers, the floral trade association most widely known for providing its members with the lowest FedEx shipping discounts and negotiated discounts through other ground and air channels across the U.S.

One of the association’s top goals is to promote the benefits of flowers to new generations of American consumers. Slow Flowers Society is a member of Cal Flowers and we’re grateful for CalFlowers sponsorship of the upcoming Slow Flowers Summit.

I was so impressed about the brand, That Flower Feeling, and the new campaign, Flowers: Self-Care Made Easy, that I wanted to share it with our Slow Flowers Community. The campaign is a cooperative effort to get more Americans enjoying more flowers, more often. My guest, Steve Dionne, executive director of Cal Flowers, believes that whether it’s from upscale florists, farmers markets or grocery stores — as long as people regularly bring home flowers, it’s a good thing. 

Let’s jump right in and meet Steve, hear about CalFlowers and how That Floral Feeling was created, and view some of the fun assets and content they’ve created — all available to you for your own marketing efforts.

Learn more about CalFlowers Here

Follow That Flower Feeling at these social places
YouTube
Facebook
Instagram
Pinterest

Request access to the campaign assets by emailing: info@thatflowerfeeling.org

Join the March Slow Flowers Member Meet-Up!

Coming up this Friday, March 11th at 9 am Pacific/Noon Eastern, you’re invited to join our March Slow Flowers Meet-Up. Our special guest is author Teresa J. Speight and many of the Creatives featured in the beautiful and significant new title, BLACK FLORA.

This event is open to guests, so share the link with anyone in flower farming and floral design who should know about Black Flora! We’ll discuss the book, meet several of the flower farmers and floral designers who participated, and preview the stunning cover floral art and some of the interior spreads.

We’re opening up this month’s Meet-Up to guests, but everyone needs to pre-register. I hope to see you there in the zoom room!

Thank you to our Sponsors

This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 880 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, returning for 2022, 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 Flowerfarm.com, a leading wholesale flower distributor that sources from carefully-selected flower farms to offer high-performing fresh flowers sent directly from the farm straight to you. You can shop by flower and by country of origin at flowerfarm.com. Find flowers and foliage from California, Florida, Oregon and Washington by using the “Origin” selection tool in your search. It’s smarter sourcing. Learn more at flowerfarm.com.

Thanks to 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 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.

Thanks so much for joining us today! The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more than 822,000 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 Slow Flowers Society.com and consider making a donation to sustain Slow Flowers’ ongoing advocacy, education and outreach activities. You can find the donate button in the column to the right at debraprinzing.com

I’m Debra Prinzing, host and producer of the Slow Flowers Show & Podcast. The Slow Flowers Podcast is engineered and edited by Andrew Brenlan. The content and opinions expressed here are either mine alone or those of my guests alone, independent of any podcast sponsor or other person, company or organization.  Next week, you’re invited to join me in putting more Slow Flowers on the table, one stem, one vase at a time. 

Music Credits:

A Palace of Cedar; Net and the Cradle; Turning on the Lights; Gaena
by Blue Dot Sessions
http://www.sessions.blue

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

In The Field
audionautix.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Podcast Index | RSS | More

I believe that springtime brings out the creativity in all of us and even though we’re still nearly a month from the start of Spring, our thoughts are turning to another bountiful season of growing and design.

That sentiment was abundantly clear last month at the 2022 Northwest Flower & Garden Festival here in Seattle. Last week, I introduced you to two Oregon farmer-florists, Bethany Little of Charles Little & Co., and Beth Syphers of Crowley House Farm.  Today, I have another inspiring Slow Flowers conversation to share, also recorded at the flower show.

Adam and Jennifer O‘Neal, flower farmers and designers who own PepperHarrow Farm in Winterset, Iowa, were here to speak and teach at the flower show. We sat down for a conversation on the final day of the five-day event, after a whirlwind 24 hours in which they competed head-to-head in a container design competition (listen closely to learn who won the prize ribbon), lectured on the main stage on the topic: “Big Flower Dreams: Flower Farming Tips for the Backyard Cutting Garden”; and demonstrated “DIY Market Bouquets: Easy Tips From the Pros.”

Join our fun, flower-filled conversation, recorded in the lobby of the Washington Convention Center — apologies for the background noise. Meet Jennifer and Adam, or shall I say, re-meet them as they’re past guests of the Slow Flowers Podcast. 

You’ll learn more about all of the exciting 2022 flower growing news and events taking place this coming season at PepperHarrow Farm, including the forthcoming publication of Small Farm, Big Dreams: Turn Your Flower-Growing Passion into a Successful Floral Enterprise — out in April.

Thank you so much for joining us today. We’ve added the replay video of today’s interview at the top of t his post, which is followed by bonus video from Jenn and Adam’s DIY Market Bouquet presentation.
You might learn a thing or two! And of course, you can pre-order Small Farm, Big Dreams at this link.

Find and follow PepperHarrow Farm at these social places:

PepperHarrow on Instagram and Facebook
PepperHarrow on YouTube and Pinterest

News of the Week

We just dropped the March 2022 Slow Flowers newsletter and if you missed it, you can find the link here. Highlights include the debut of our beautiful new 2022 American Flowers Week branding illustration and free social media badges; as well as details about our March 11, 2022 Member Meet-Up introducing the author and many of the creatives featured in the pages of Black Flora; plus a new Sustainable Sympathy Flowers survey you’ll want to complete because it will inform future content for our members. We’ve compiled all the floral news that’s important to know and I hope you find it useful.

Take our Sustainable Sympathy Flowers Survey

Above: Lori Poliski of Flori designed a sheaf bouquet, which she describes as a frequent choice for farewell flowers in the UK, symbolizing a sheaf of wheat. (c) Missy Palacol Photography  

Two Slow Flowers Society members in the Seattle, Washington, area, Lori Poliski of Flori and Tammy Myers of First and Bloom, are taking the lead to collect your input about sustainable sympathy/funeral/celebration of life/farewell flowers in the industry. 

They have prepared a short survey for Slow Flowers Members.  If you participate, you are eligible for a drawing to win a gift of the Oshun pouch and a block of Agrawool by Sideau.  Both mechanics are 100% compostable alternatives to floral foam. 

The survey results will be shared by Lori and Tammy in a Slow Flowers Podcast episode in April 2022. THANK You in advance for sharing your insights and experiences!

Thank you to our Sponsors

This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 880 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, returning for 2022, 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 goes to Store It Cold, creators of the revolutionary CoolBot system.  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 us today! The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more than 821,000 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 and consider making a donation to sustain Slow Flowers’ ongoing advocacy, education and outreach activities. You can find the donate button in the column to the right.

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:

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

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

In The Field
audionautix.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Podcast Index | RSS | More

February has been a month packed with flowers, from Valentine’s Day to our annual spring ritual here in Seattle — the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival.

Earlier this month, I hosting a number of out-of-town Slow Flowers Society members were here to speak and teach at the flower show, and it was so nice to see one another in person AND to celebrate locally-grown flowers and sustainable practices in growing and design.

My two guests today joined the Blooms & Bubbles workshop series at the flower show, produced by Slow Flowers Society. Bethany Little of Charles Little & Co., based in Eugene, Oregon, and Beth Syphers of Crowley House Farm in Rickreall (outside Salem, Oregon), taught on the first two days.

We had so much fun — Bethany led a romantic wreath-design class and Beth taught a flower crown workshop. The students loved it all!I’m so glad that Beth and Bethany had time to sit down and visit with me for a conversation we recorded to share with you today. We recorded at the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market in Seattle, a farmer-owned cooperative that is also a Slow Flowers Society sponsor and longtime partner. You’ll see the beautiful Northwest potted orchids in the background as the three of us discussed news from their flower farms.

Here’s a little background of Bethany Little:
With her husband Charles Little, Bethany is co-owner since 1998 of Charles Little & Co. She has a background in floral design and is the farm’s sales & shipping manager, as well as a wreath maker extraordinaire. Charles founded the farm in 1986, establishing it on 35 acres of nutrient rich soil along the Coast Fork of the Willamette River. Located at the foot of Mt.Pisgah in Eugene Oregon, their crops consist of foliage of all kinds; ornamental herbs, grasses and grains, unique sticks, pods and berries. A sizable part of the farm includes popular annual and perennial flowers such as larkspur, snapdragons, sunflowers, peonies, calla lilies, lavender. And considerable acreage is devoted to woody shrubs and trees such as Viburnum, Ilex, Spirea, Weigela, Hydrangea, Cotinus, Lilac, Snowberry, Cornus, Eucalyptus, Specialty Conifers, Ornamental Cherries and Almonds.
Charles Little & Co. relies on the principles of regenerative agriculture. Over the years plants have become naturalized and now require very little weeding or pest control. All crops produced on the farm are in-season and field-grown without the use of hoop houses or green houses. Charles Little & Co.’s range of unique, high-quality floral materials distinguish us from many other growers.

Here’s a little background of Beth Syphers:
Beth and her husband Jason have two children and they live at Crowley House Flower Farm outside McMinnville, Oregon. What started out as just a flower design hobby ten years ago, has grown over time into the family farm of today. The need to produce high quality blooms for Beth’s floral designs, plus the appeal of the slower, simpler lifestyle for their family – the need to feel the soil on their hands and feet, to see the sun rise and set over their fields, has led them down the path of flower farming and the amazing adventure that has become Crowley House.
Beth is the co-author of the forthcoming book, Furrow & Flour, with her sister Sarah Kuenzi, which Bloom Imprint will publish this coming fall.

Listen to Bethany Little – Episode 349 (March 16, 2018)
Listen to Charles Little – Episode 207 (August 18, 2015)
Follow Charles Little & Co. on Facebook, Instagram & YouTube

Listen to Beth and Jason Syphers – Episode 259 (August 24, 2016)
Follow Crowley House Farm on Facebook, Instagram & YouTube
Listen: A Blooming Good Time Podcast with Beth Syphers, Rilley Syphers and Emma Dixon

Thank you so much for joining us today. There is plenty of bonus material in today’s show notes, including the video of our interview, as well as clips from both women’s design workshops at the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival.

Thank you to our Sponsors

This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 880 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, returning for 2022, 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.

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

Thanks to The 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. 

Last week we sent the February issue of the Slow Flowers Summit newsletter — it’s packed with details:

• Lodging options
• Sponsors thanks
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Private FB group for attendees

If you’re a member of Slow Flowers Society, take advantage of $50 off your registration as a Member Benefit!

We have three incredible flower-filled days planned and we can’t wait for you to join us June 26-28, 2022 in New York! Find more details at the link below. I hope to see you there!

Thanks so much for joining us today! The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more than 819,000 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 Slow Flowers Society.com and consider making a donation to sustain Slow Flowers’ ongoing advocacy, education and outreach activities. You can find the donate button in the column to the right.

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

Music Credits:

Darn That Weasel; Turning on the Lights; Gaena
by Blue Dot Sessions
http://www.sessions.blue

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

In The Field
audionautix.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Podcast Index | RSS | More

First of all, I hope you had a happy Valentine’s Day! Today, we are in for a real treat. So many of our members – flower farmers and floral designers alike – are devoted to changing the dialogue around flower sourcing. During what is one of the biggest floral holidays of the year, it has not been unusual to read media reports about flower shortages or all the negatives around flowers in general. The chocolate and jewelry folks wouldn’t have it any other way — just discourage people to buy flowers, right? 

Well there is another message and you’ll hear it today. It’s good news – and you already know it! Local Flowers Come to the Rescue for Valentine’s Day, with a new approach to help Cupid get flowers to gals and pals. 

One of our members is doing something incredible and I can’t wait to introduce you to Jaclyn Rutigliano of Hometown Flower Co. Based on Long Island, Hometown Flower Co. partnered with the Empire State Building to present “Local is Beautiful” – a Valentine’s Day Floral Installation and Pop-Up Shop celebrating New York and New Jersey-grown flowers. 

Visitors to the Empire State Building’s 86^th floor Observatory Deck from last Thursday, February 10^th through Monday, February 14^th were greeted with an eye-catching floral installation designed 100-percent foam free and exclusively with fresh flowers sourced directly from New York and New Jersey growers.

We joined Jaclyn last week while she was putting the finishing details on her pop-up to record a visit and learn more about how this promotion came together. By way of quick background, Jaclyn and her husband and partner Marc Iervolino founded Hometown Flower Co. in 2019 as a Long Island-based sustainable floral design studio and pop-up flower truck. A third-generation floral design, Jaclyn is a past guest of the Slow Flowers Podcast and she and Marc are featured in Where We Bloom, a book I wrote in 2021.

Thanks so much for joining us today to get in the Local is Beautiful Valentine’s Day spirit with Jaclyn. I will share the Floral Facts and talking points that Jaclyn developed for the media, lifestyle influencers, visitors to the Empire State Building and flower customers – Slow Flowers provided support for the collateral material that Hometown Flower Co. shared and we’re so excited to help them get the word out.

WHY LOCAL FLOWERS?

The majority of the floral industry’s flowers are harvested by workers marginally compensated, around 60% of whom are women. They are then bred for long distance air travel (hence, no more natural floral fragrances) which comes with a massive carbon footprint from long distance air travel. Most stems are already covered in chemical pesticides but then get topped off with a warm welcome at the border with a spraying of Roundup upon entry into the U.S. Nothing says “stop and smell the roses” like a good whiff of Roundup at your nostrils! Flowers then get trucked to various wholesalers who have purchased from a global marketplace, where they then remain until a florist purchases. Once at a florist, they remain again until use for a special event or for a customer order- who then desires a product that will last at least one week. Hometown Flower Co. believes there is a better alternative: source directly from local growers, providing the freshest possible flowers within just a couple of days from when they were cut.

Some Takeaway Floral Facts:

• Did you know, every year Colombia exports ~30 million roses to the U.S. for Valentine’s Day? That’s a long way to travel! Between the carbon footprint & the pesticides sprayed at the border, we think there’s a better alternative: local flowers.
• 74% of consumers don’t know where their flowers come from. Currently the U.S. imports ~80% of flowers sold and 200,132 TONS of flowers land in Miami each year. During the weeks of Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day, 80,000-130,000 boxes of flowers arrive daily, equaling seven daily flights, six days per week. 
• What can you do if you live in a region that does not have easily accessible locally-grown flowers? Look for florists and farmers who ship nationwide at SlowFlowers.com, TheFlowry.com, or check for Certified American Grown labeling for your grocery store blooms.
• Floral Foam = Plastic. Did you know, the “green stuff” used by many florists to keep designs hydrated is actually a single-use plastic? This outdated and unnecessary design hack ends up in our landfills and is filling up our waterways with microplastics. Help the floral industry ditch the foam: order your flowers sans floral foam.
• There are flower farmers currently located in all 50 states. 58% of respondents to a recent survey said they want to support locally-grown flowers. Here’s what consumers can do:

• Request locally-grown flowers from your florist
• Find sustainable farmers & florists at SlowFlowers.com
• Look for the Certified American Grown sticker on packaging

Find and follow Hometown Flower Collective at these social places:

Find HFC on Facebook

Discover HFC on Instagram

See more pretty from HFC on Pinterest

Join our February Member Meet-Up

This Friday is our February Slow Flowers Member Meet-Up and you’ll want to sign up to join us at 9 am Pacific/Noon Eastern on February 18th. The link to preregister can be found below or in our Instagram Linktree profile for @slowflowerssociety.

I’m so excited about this month’s topic — our focus is on winter flower crops and designing from the garden in winter. This session is inspired by the fantastic conference I attended and spoke at in Southern Flower Symposium in Charleston, S.C., produced by Jim Martin of Compost in my Shoe and fellow members of Low Country Flower Growers in August 2018. Cuts of Color’s Rita Anders was a keynote presenter, speaking on the topic: “Optimizing Cut Flower Production in our Southern Climate” — and it was an incredible session that enhanced people’s understanding of how they could extend the seasons and grow during the winter months!

We’ve invited Rita to give us a peek into her winter growing practices in Weimar, Texas, and asked Jim to share a floral design demo and talk about winter growing in Charleston. His winter floral designs from South Carolina have been blowing my mind, especially because so much of what he designs with is cut from his own garden. You will love this session! We’ll see you there!

Thank you to our Sponsors

This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 880 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, returning for 2022, 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.

More thanks goes to:

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

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.

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.

Thanks so much for joining us today! The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more than 815,000 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 Slow Flowers Society.com and consider making a donation to sustain Slow Flowers’ ongoing advocacy, education and outreach activities. You can find the donate button in the column to the right here at slowflowerspodcast.com.

I’m Debra Prinzing, host and producer of the Slow Flowers Show & Podcast. Next week, you’re invited to join me in putting more Slow Flowers on the table, one stem, one vase at a time. 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. You can learn more about Andrew’s work at soundbodymovement.com. 

Music Credits:

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

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

In The Field
audionautix.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Podcast Index | RSS | More

Today, we’re sharing more insight about one of the themes of the 2022 Slow Flowers Floral Insights & Industry Forecast, released last month. 

Our second insight is Plant Your Own Bouquet and today’s guest, Jen Healy, is one of the people who helped me realize this important shift in the marketplace.

When Jen first joined the Slow Flowers Society with her business J&B Garden Center, we jumped on the phone so I could get to know her better. That was very early in 2021 and I learned that J&B is an independent, family-owned retail garden and home decor destination in Albany, located about 70 miles south of Portland near Corvallis. 

Jen and I discussed the important intersection between gardening and cut flower growing, and how she’s integrated the two world through the business she and her husband Brent Pockrus started in 2019. 

Today, we’ll meet Jen, talk about the floral program at J&B — and as a bonus, Jen will share her observations from last month’s Dallas Home & Gift Market. We’ll discuss five key trends that she noticed there — lifestyle and decor themes and concepts you will want to know all about for your floral enterprise.

Click below to download a PDF of our presentation deck with all of Jen’s scouting slides.

Thanks so much for joining us today to meet Jen Healy and learn from a true trendspotter who’s bringing her passion for cut flowers into the retail environment.

Find and follow J&B Garden Center:
On Facebook

On Instagram

As I mentioned in last week’s episode, Slow Flowers is moving into Valentine’s Day by producing five days of floral design workshops for the 2022 Northwest Flower & Garden Festival, which begins today, February 9th and continues through Sunday February 13th.

Be sure to follow our IG stories at slowflowerssociety.com each day, to see our design instructors — all Slow Flowers members. They include Bethany Little of Charles Little & Co., who is teaching romantic wreath design today; Bethany Syphers of Crowley House Farm, who will teach a flower crown workshop on Thursday; Kiara Hancock of K. Hancock Events, who will be teaching a centerpiece workshop on Friday; mom-and-daughter team Kim Gruetter and Tonnelli Gruetter of Salty Acres Farm, who will teach the tiny bouquet workshop on Saturday and Tobey Nelson of Tobey Nelson Events & Design’s botanical jewelry workshop on Sunday.

I’m super excited to get a jump start on spring and the NW Flower & Garden Show is definitely the way to do it here in Seattle. Oh, and I can’t overlook shout-outs to our members and Bloom Imprint authors who are also speaking at the show: Jennifer and Adam O’Neal of PepperHarrow Farm are speaking three times, including about their new book Small Farm, Big Dreams, and competing head-to-head on the Container Wars stage (I’ll try and grab footage of that match up!), and Julie Beeler of Bloom & Dye, who will teach Colors from the Dye Garden.

So what are you waiting for? If you’re in the Seattle area and you want a pair of tickets, I’ll be giving away two sets of tickets to the first two Members who comment in today’s show notes at slowflowerspodcast.com or who send us a DM at slowflowerssociety on IG.

Thank you to our Sponsors

This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 880 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, returning for 2022, 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 atfarmgirlflowers.com.

Our next sponsor thanks goes to Store It Cold, creators of the revolutionary CoolBot, which you just heard Carlee mention as a new addition to her studio.  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   

Our next sponsor thanks goes to Flowerfarm.com, a leading wholesale flower distributor that sources from carefully-selected flower farms to offer high-performing fresh flowers sent directly from the farm straight to you. You can shop by flower and by country of origin at flowerfarm.com — and find flowers and foliage from California, Florida, Oregon and Washington by using the “Origin” selection tool in your search. Learn more at flowerfarm.com.

Our final sponsor thanks goes to 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 813,000 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 Slow Flowers Society.com and consider making a donation to sustain Slow Flowers’ ongoing advocacy, education and outreach activities. You can find the donate button in the column to the right at debraprinzing.com

I’m Debra Prinzing, host and producer of the Slow Flowers Show & Podcast. Next week, you’re invited to join me in putting more Slow Flowers on the table, one stem, one vase at a time. 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. You can learn more about Andrew’s work at soundbodymovement.com. 

Music Credits:

For We Shall Know Speed;
Turning on the Lights;
Gaena
by Blue Dot Sessions
http://www.sessions.blue

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

In The Field
audionautix.com