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When she owned and operated Silver Lake Farms, Tara Kolla was one of Los Angeles’s pioneering urban flower growers.

She helped change legislation to approve backyard flower farming and was a popular vendor at Hollywood Farmers’ Market.

In 2016, Tara and her husband dramatically reimagined their lives and moved to the La Rochelle region of France. They bought a 18^th century stone millhouse and poured just as much love and care into its renovations as Tara had once devoted to growing flowers.

Earlier this month, I visited Mill on the Rock and today, I’m sharing a beautiful conversation to catch up listeners on the next chapter of Tara’s floral story.

Today’s episode is a very special one as we reconnect with former Los Angeles organic flower farmer Tara Kolla – consider this a new installment of our collection of “where are they now?” follow-up shows!

Fans of the Slow Flowers Movement first met Tara in 2012 in the pages of The 50 Mile Bouquet, the little book that launched so much awareness around local, seasonal, and sustainable flowers. I featured Tara in a chapter called “Flower Patch Politics,” profiling Silver Lake Farms, her urban, organic food and floral enterprise. Hers is an inspiring story of transitioning from a career in PR and Marketing in 2003 to become a farmer growing a diversified mix of flowers, organic greens, and vegetables. Tara’s story not only wowed our readers, but wowed her customers across the City of Angels. She became a passionate advocate who revived a 1940s-era “truck gardening” ordinance that neighbors insisted only permitted residential gardeners to sell the excess food they grew – NOT their flowers.

We captured Tara’s story with photography by David Perry, and I’ll share a PDF of the full chapter as a bonus in today’s show notes for you to download and read. In April 2014, Tara also appeared as a guest on the Slow Flowers Podcast, Episode 314.

By then, I was living in Seattle, so I managed to stay in touch with Tara long-distance. She visited us in Seattle once; I visited her in Los Angeles; IG was just taking off, so of course we followed one another – and then, to my surprise, in 2016, Tara posted that she was moving to France! I was enthralled by her story – seemingly ripped from the pages of Peter Mayle’s bestseller, A Year in Provence, about the renovations of an ancient edifice and a new life built around it.

If you followed Tara’s Silver Lake Farms account on IG, you also saw news of her transition to Mill on the Rock. Today, you’re in for a treat because I visited Tara when I was in France earlier this month – and we recorded a laughter-filled episode that continues her amazing tale.

Flowers are (of course) part of the story, and Tara’s upcoming event at Mill on the Rock, a retreat venue in France’s La Rochelle region, is at the heart of it. Learn more about the upcoming Flower Art Workshop, taking place at Mill on the Rock on September 28th.

The session includes lessons in hand-held bouquet-making, wreath creation and vase composition. Lunch and snacks are included, plus tips for growing your own as well as a flower foraging as you are invited to wander through Tara’s garden at Mill on the Rock. If you’re in Europe, it’s just a day’s trip to attend – and I encourage you to check it out!

Stay tuned for next week’s Episode 678 – you’ll want to watch and listen to Slow Flowers Visits France Part Two, and tour Les Singulieres, a French flower farm that Tara took me to. I can’t wait to share it with you!

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Thank you to our Sponsors

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

Thank you to our lead sponsor, Flowerbulb.eu and their U.S. lily bulb vendors. One of the most recognizable flowers in the world, the lily is a top-selling cut flower, offering long-lasting blooms, year-round availability, and a dazzling petal palette. Flowerbulb.eu has partnered with Slow Flowers to provide beautiful lily inspiration and farming resources to help growers and florists connect their customers with more lilies. Learn more at Flowerbulb.eu.

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

Thank you to Red Twig Farms. Based in New Albany, 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.

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

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

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Music Credits:

Drone Pine; Gaena; Le Marais
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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I’m delighted to introduce you to Katie Davis of Ponderosa & Thyme.

Katie and I first met in the spring of 2014 while attending a Little Flower School workshop at Schreiner’s Iris Gardens in Salem, Oregon. I was there to produce an article about the class for Country Gardens magazine and Katie, a hometown gal, was one of the many talented designers who attended.

A few years later, when Mayesh Wholesale Florist planned its Portland, Oregon-branch’s grand re-opening, Katie and I were invited to present design demonstrations at the party (above). It was such a thrill to share that experience with her — and it certainly gave me a new appreciation for Katie’s artistry and affinity for designing with color, texture and nature as her muse.

Ponderosa & Thyme joined Slow Flowers as a member in 2018 and I’ve been wanting to interview Katie and share her amazing story with you ever since. As I say in our conversation, it’s silly that Katie and I live in adjacent states and yet have waited this long to record this episode.

Let’s blame this lapse in part to our mutual busy travel schedules. Katie has been a nomadic floral design educator for the past several years and well, you know I’m always on the road myself.

To be fair, though, she is not a nomad, but an artist whose desire is to develop and lead experiences and opportunities centered around creativity, authenticity, and personal growth. Floristry is the artistic medium Katie uses to facilitate these experiences.

Katie is known for nurturing supportive and inspiring learning environments that are immersive, intimate, beautiful, and warm. She values environments where people can be truly present and connect honestly with themselves and others, in their pursuit of artistic expression and a sustainable life. 

Katie Davis is an internationally acclaimed florist based in Salem, Oregon, the heart of the Willamette Valley. Since founding Ponderosa & Thyme in 2011, Katie has become known for her textural designs inspired by nature. Her floral designs use the most luxurious and beautiful flowers available while incorporating locally foraged, unique, and sensory plants into each arrangement. The result is a visually breathtaking experience.

Katie’s design aesthetic could be best described as playful, romantic, herb-y, and fragrant. In addition to creating florals for intimate weddings, Katie and her team host incredible workshops worldwide for florists and other creatives to explore the art of floral design. Ponderosa & Thyme continues to offer wedding and event services, specializing in intimate and heartfelt experiences.

With a heart for education, Katie has been teaching floral design since 2014, serving clients across the globe. Flowers are a language of their own, and while teaching in English, Katie is able to cross cultures with her thoughtful and emotional approach. Just as comfortable teaching the basics as she is pushing experienced professionals to expand their creative boundaries, Katie loves to help people grow, discover, and connect.‍

The PONDEROSA WORKSHOP RETREATS have taken Katie to Italy, Scotland, France, Australia and New York. She has also been invited to teach in Korea, Mexico and across the U.S.

With the advent of 2020, the Ponderosa Classroom in Salem, Oregon, is gearing up for a full series of workshops, including one-day and two-day intensive sessions that focus on specific skills, techniques and designs to facilitate artistic expression in floral design.

In our conversation, you’ll hear Katie discuss her decision in 2018 to lease a brick and mortar location in her beautiful hometown.‍ I’m thrilled to share our chat with you.

Find and follow Ponderosa & Thyme at these social places:

Ponderosa & Thyme on Facebook

Ponderosa & Thyme on Instagram

Ponderosa & Thyme on Pinterest

Thank you so much for joining my conversation today with Katie Davis of Ponderosa & Thyme. My heart is filled with admiration and affection for Katie and I’m delighted you joined us.

Be sure to check out the Ponderosa Classroom Online, a new project that Katie created as a response to requests for affordably-priced, in-depth online education, monthly Floral Meditations to inspire your creativity, recipes for arrangements, Information and online discussions on relevant business and creative topics, Access to music playlists, Access to full length IG Live Video Replays from @ponderosa_and_thyme, high-quality content accessible 24/7, connection and community with like-hearted flower friends –– and more. Monthly memberships are just $9.99 USD per month, and annual memberships are only $99 USD per year — you can find more details here.

And today we are continuing our theme for 2019 – Fifty States of Slow Flowers – with Laura Bigbee-Fott of White’s Creek Flower Farm in White’s Creek, Tennessee.

Established on Earth Day in 2012, Whites Creek Flower Farm is an artisanal permaculture flower farm just outside of Nashville, Tennessee. Whites Creek is a historic rural area;

Laura’s flowers are lovingly grown and organically managed.

She grows many unusual varieties, specializing in an English country garden aesthetic.

Her bouquets are elegant and imbued with a sense of whimsy. And they are raised with a profound respect for the ecosystem of which they are a part.

Find and follow Laura at White’s Creek Flower Farm at these social places:

White’s Creek Flower Farm on Facebook

White’s Creek Flower Farm on Instagram

White’s Creek Flower Farm on Twitter

Thank you so much for joining me today! The Slow Flowers Podcast has been downloaded more than 537,000 times by listeners like you. Thank you for listening, commenting and sharing – it means so much.

In fact, for the month of October 2019, which we just wrapped up, more than 13,700 episodes of the Slow Flowers Podcast were downloaded – an all-time record!

As our movement gains more supporters and more passionate participants who believe in the importance of the American cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious. I know you feel it, too. I value your support and invite you to show your thanks and with a donation to support my ongoing advocacy, education and outreach activities. You can find the donate button in the column to the right.

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

Florists’ Review magazine. I’m delighted to serve as Contributing Editor for Slow Flowers Journal, found in the pages of Florists’ Review. It’s the leading trade magazine in the floral industry and the only independent periodical for the retail, wholesale and supplier market. Take advantage of the special subscription offer for members of the Slow Flowers Community — the Buy One Gift One holiday promotion!

FarmersWeb. FarmersWeb software makes it simple for flower farms to streamline working with their buyers. By lessening the administrative load and increasing efficiency, FarmersWeb helps your farm save time, reduce errors, and work with more buyers overall. Learn more at www.farmersweb.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.

Arctic Alaska Peonies, a cooperative of family farms in the heart of Alaska working together to grow and distribute fresh, stunning, high-quality peony varieties during the months of July and August – and even September. Arctic Alaska Peonies operates three pack houses supplying peonies throughout the United States and Canada. Visit them today at arcticalaskapeonies.com.

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 soundbodymovement.com. 

Music Credits:
Home Home at Last; Betty Dear; Gaenaby 
Blue Dot Sessions
http://www.sessions.bluehttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

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

In The Field Music from:
audionautix.com

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Building community is the hallmark of the Slow Flowers Movement, but we are not the only ones who’ve discovered the strength of person-to-person connections.

Whether you love or hate it, even Facebook, through its leader Mark Zukerberg, last year declared it had revised its mission: “To give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together.”

Floral designer Kelly Perry and her husband Jesse Perry are co-founders of Team Flower and Philosophy Flowers and they are also floral community-builders. They live in Boone, North Carolina with their golden doodle named Buster. That’s where Kelly tends a little garden and  writes about what she sees there.

After launching Philosophy Flowers as a boutique floral design business for weddings and events in 2012, she and Jesse started Team Flower in 2014.

They describe Team Flower as:

“A Global Flower Community that Spans Generations, Experience Levels and Areas of Expertise, not to mention a Desire to Learn.

Team Flower offers a number of digital and in-person learning platforms for floral education and training.

While Kelly handles all of the content development and classes at Team Flower, Jesse handles all things tech.

He grew the Team Flower online presence to engage with participants in all 50 states and 98 countries.

Jesse’s most recent research and implementation project revolves around SEO tools for the Team Flower members.

Kelly and Jesse Perry, captured during a lighthearted moment at the Team Flower Conference.

Kelly wrote this on the Team Flower web site:

Kelly shares her insights and answers audience questions at the Team Flower Conference.

“Like you, I’ve enjoyed beauty for a long time.  My earliest recollection of creating a flower arrangement was in the sixth grade. We had an event called the “Friendship Etiquette Banquet” and the girls were to wear paper flower corsages.  I thought this needed an upgrade so I led the crew in creating silk flower corsages. Very fancy.

Another early flower memory was in seventh grade.  My science project was “What floral preservative will keep a carnation fresh the longest?”  The winner was Floralife, in case you were curious.

Shortly after my science project I started a cake decorating business called “Kelly’s Cakes.”  I made cakes for everyday occasions and weddings all through middle and high school and occasionally in college until I “retired” after my own wedding.  During this time, I was interested in a fashion career so I created dresses for special occasions in my high school home economics class, and I worked at a boutique bridal store.

In college I studied Fashion, Interior Design, Event Planning and Entrepreneurship until the economy collapse in 2007.  I decided to shift course just a little bit and added education to my degree.  The first lesson I taught in my education class was called “The Elements and Principles of Design.”  I practically floated out of that class and remember thinking, “If I could find a way to just teach that lesson for the rest of my life, I would be SO happy.”  It combined everything I loved — fashion, interiors, business, event design, art and education.

After student teaching and our wedding I started a job as a corporate event planner.  After about two years of that I felt like it was important to make a change, but I didn’t know what that would look like.  I had never even thought about a career in flowers before, but realized rather quickly this was it!”

See a recent video that Kelly and Jesse posted in the free content section of Team Flower:

There’s so much more, and I know you’ll enjoy our conversation, recorded long-distance over Skype last week.

We touch on their stories and what led them to create Team Flower, as well as what it’s like to run a business together as a couple.

It’s not surprising that there is an aligned spirit and common thread between Team Flower and Slow Flowers.

The next Team Flower Conference is scheduled for March 4-6, 2019 in Waco, Texas — and the program and registration details will be announced later this summer.

Follow the links below to learn more, including free content available to visitors to Team Flower, as well as details on workshops, online learning and upcoming live events.

Here’s how to connect with Team Flower, Kelly and Jesse:

Find Team Flower’s extensive video content — FREE to watch!

Read Team Flowers articles

Listen to Team Flowers Podcast

Find Team Flower on Facebook

Follow Team Flower on Instagram

See Team Flower on Pinterest

Thanks so much for joining us today! The Slow Flowers Podcast has been downloaded 319,000 times by listeners like you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for listening, commenting, liking and sharing! It means so much.

As the Slow Flowers Movement gains more supporters and more passionate participants who believe in the importance of the American cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious. I know you feel it, too.

I value your support and invite you to show your thanks and with a donation to support my ongoing advocacy, education and outreach activities. You can find the donate button in the right column.

This past week has been overwhelming for me, but in a very good way.

On the occasion of the fourth anniversary of Slowflowers.com, I announced the launch of our new, upgraded Slowflowers.com – version 2.0 on May 16th. Of course, there were a few bugs to work out and I’m sure we’ll find more because that’s what happens when a non-tech gal like me endeavors to live in the tech world! I covet your support and beg for your patience as the new version settles into a new level for Slow Flowers. Please come over to the site and check it out!

Another piece of news to share today is our winner of the Slow Flowers Summit Dream Designer Package — that was our May ticket promotion.

The names of all of you who registered for the Slow Flowers Summit were added to a drawing for an invitation to join me on Sunday evening, July 1st at an exclusive gathering with Laura Dowling, author and former White House Florist.

Our winner is Gloria Collins of GBC Style — Congratulations, Gloria! I am excited you’ll join me at this private event to benefit the AIFD Foundation. It will be unforgettable

And if you’ve been thinking about attending the Slow Flowers Summit, grab your ticket now — it’s just five weeks away! The Summit promises to be a fantastic day of networking, inspiration and personal growth. I can’t wait to see you there!

The Slow Flowers Podcast has been downloaded 319,000 times by listeners like you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for listening, commenting, liking and sharing! It means so much.

Thank you to our 2018 sponsors who have supported Slow Flowers and all of our programs.

Florists’ Review magazine. I’m delighted to serve as Contributing Editor for Slow Flowers Journal, found in the pages of Florists’ Review. It’s the leading trade magazine in the floral industry and the only independent periodical for the retail, wholesale and supplier market.

Arctic Alaska Peonies, a cooperative of passionate family farms in the heart of Alaska providing bigger, better 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.

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.

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.

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 soundbodymovement.com.