Episode 787: Floral journalist Jill Brooke on her new book, “The Genius of Flowers”
September 23rd, 2026
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In The Genius of Flowers, award-winning journalist and flower historian Jill Brooke reveals a truth that resonates: flowers are not passive, fragile objects. They don’t suffer in silence—they are master strategists, adapting, collaborating, and thriving through ice ages, climate shifts, and constant change. Blending science, history, and personal growth, this eye-opening book explores the meaning of flowers, the symbolism of flowers, and how nature’s intelligence can guide us toward resilience, happiness, and success.
Jill is an award-winning journalist, former CNN correspondent, and founder of Flower Power Daily, an online platform celebrating the beauty and meaning of flowers. A columnist for Florists’ Review magazine and recipient of the American Institute of Floral Designers’ Merit Award, she brings decades of storytelling experience to the world of flowers. Through her work, she explores the intersection of flowers, culture, wellness, and human connection. We recently recorded a conversation about The Genius of Flowers, as Jill introduces her new book to the Slow Flowers Community.
Jill Brooke describes herself as a flower historian. She is a gardener; she lives on a flower farm from the 1790s; and she documents the stories of flowers through the lens of a journalist. For every major news story or world event, Jill identifies the flower “angle,” the connection between the flower world and the rest of the universe.
In her introduction to “The Genius of Flowers,” she writes: “People often dismiss flowers because they fade. But that’s precisely their genius. Their beauty if fleeting by design – a reminder to pay attention now, not later. They bloom to teach presence, not permanence. If they lasted forever, we’d stop noticing.”
She concludes . . . “One should never mistake a flower’s softness for weakness. Flowers have their own way of knowing, one deeply attuned to the rhythms of the Earth, the turning of the seasons, and survival. The power of the flower has toppled empires, crowned monarchs, and mended hearts, and it has been history’s most impressive peacemaker – a task very much needed in these times.”
In my conversation with Jill, we discuss the many ways flowers can float into and intersect with our lives. Her book is a curation of chapters meant to inspire, and to offer ways to access the power of flowers in your own life.
Order The Genius of Flowers
Follow Jill Brooke on Instagram and Facebook
NEWS: Slow Flowers Summit 2017 — Meet our Speakers
Bottom Row, from left: Jacqueline Pham, Kristine Albrecht, Jennifer McClendon, and Jim Salyards
We’re thrilled to announce our speaker lineup for the 2027 Slow Flowers Summit! In developing our program, we have invited inspiring presenters for the 10th annual conference, live and in-person, June 20-22, 2027 at Filoli Historic House and Garden in Woodside, California.
This is a reunion of sorts because we’re welcoming author and landscape designer Leslie Bennett, owner of Pine House Edible Gardens to the stage – she is also the founder of the Black Sanctuary Gardens project in Oakland and the Bay Area – and Leslie was a speaker at our first Slow Flowers Summit in 2017! In addition to sharing the story of Black Sanctuary Gardens and the ways you can incorporate your mission and values into your floral enterprise, Leslie will be joined in a second presentation by her team members as they speak about and demonstrate the idea of creating a “Landscape for Your Vase” – a topic that will appeal to gardeners, growers, and florists.
We’ve made a commitment to a Slow Flowers California celebration, and our speakers represent member flower farmers, farmer-florists and designers from the Golden State. Others include floral designers Melissa Olson of Penflora Designs, Nichole Skalski of California Sister Floral Design, Jennifer McClendon of JenniFlora, and Jacqueline Pham of Phamily Peony Gardens. We’ll also learn from expert dahlia grower and breeder Kristine Albrecht of Santa Cruz Dahlias, and farmer-florist and dried floral expert Hannah Muller of Full Belly Farm.
In addition, we’re planning a number of incredible immersive experiences to get your hands on locally-grown botanicals as you expand your design skills and creativity. Also, the horticulture and floral design team at Filoli will be involved as our guides and instructors as we engage with nature and its beauty throughout the grounds of this historic destination.
You can read all about our speakers at slowflowerssummit.com, and keep an eye out for more details when we open Early Bird ticket sales on November 1st. I can’t wait for you to join the celebration.
Thank you to our Sponsors
This show is brought to you by slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to 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.
And thank you to our lead sponsor, My Patio Tree: Expertly Grown Plants, Perfectly Designed to Elevate Your Garden. Their second-generation family tree farm has curated the best-performing, cutting-edge, multi-zone varieties to enhance your garden, patio or special event. Every tree purchased supports Plant With Purpose, a nonprofit organization that restores hope by reversing global poverty and environmental damage. Learn more at mypatiotree.com.
Thank you to Johnny’s Selected Seeds, an employee-owned company that provides our industry the best flower, herb and vegetable seeds — supplied to farms large and small and even backyard cutting gardens like mine. Find the full catalog of flower seeds and bulbs at johnnyseeds.com.
Thank you to Charles Little & Company for supplying our industry with some of the most beautiful and sustainably-grown design ingredients, available nationwide through their website at charleslittleandcompany.com. Based in Eugene, Oregon, the farmers at Charles Little & Company have been growing and drying flowers since 1986. New products and dried flower collections are added to their website at the first of each month. Check it out at charleslittleandcompany.com.
The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more than 1.6 million times by listeners like you. Thank you for listening, commenting and sharing – it means so much. As our movement gains more supporters and more passionate participants who believe in the importance of our domestic cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious. I know you feel it, too. If you’re new to our weekly Show and our long-running Podcast, check out all of our resources at SlowFlowersSociety.com.
I’m Debra Prinzing, host and producer of the Slow Flowers Show & Podcast. The Slow Flowers Podcast is engineered and edited by Andrew Brenlan. The content and opinions expressed here are either mine alone or those of my guests alone, independent of any podcast sponsor or other person, company or organization. Next week, you’re invited to join me in putting more Slow Flowers on the table, one stem, one vase at a time. Thanks so much for joining us today and I’ll see you next week!
Music credits:
Drone Pine; Gaena; Cast in Wicker
by Blue Dot Sessions
http://www.sessions.blue
Lovely
by Tryad
http://tryad.bandcamp.com/album/instrumentals
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
In The Field
audionautix.com