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Designed by Alanna Messner-Scholl of Waverly Flower Co., the “Earth Dress” is a slender, floor-length gown that appears to grow from a demure pair of seed-embellished ballet flats. It seems fitting that a sustainable farmer-florist who once attended the Fashion Institute of Technology would conjure up this organic-looking garment using compost, soil, moss, roots, seeds, and vines. “I wanted it to be a concept piece with an organic, natural feeling,” Alanna said. Having designed botanical couture fashions for Slow Flowers Society’s past two American Flowers Week collections–both of which featured blooms, petals, and foliage straight from her cutting garden–Alanna wanted to highlight other aspects of flower-growing, so she turned to her potting shed. For 2026, she explores the lifecycle of a flower through botanical fashion. Her creativity helps us better understand what it means to grow and design. I know you’ll love our conversation as you learn about Alanna’s ideas and design process!

Slow Flowers Society created American Flowers Week in 2015 as a community-focused floral holiday that allows and encourages participation from everyone in the floral industry — from flower seed and bulb producers to growers; from designers to retailers; from cutting garden enthusiasts to artists. Now in its 12th year, the campaign continues to engage flower farmers, floral designers, farmer-florists, wholesalers, retailers, grocery stores, and flower lovers!

DESIGN + CONCEPT: Alanna Messner-Scholl, Waverly Flower Co. 
waverlyflowerco.com, @waverlyflowerco
PHOTOGRAPHY: Victoria Lin Photography
victorialinphotography.com, @victorialin.photography
MODEL, HAIR + MAKEUP: Amie Bantz, @amiebantz
STUDIO AND DESIGN ASSISTANCE: Morgan Feher, @morganbfeher
FOLIAGE AND SEEDLING SOURCE: Waverly Flower Co.
SOIL AND COMPOST SOURCE: Barnside Mulch and Compost
SEED SOURCE: Johnny’s Seeds, @johnnys_seeds
VENUE: Waverly Flower Co. Studio

Our first botanical couture look began with Susan McLeary’s iconic red-white-and-blue floral Afro, an impeccable floral headpiece became the branding for American Flowers Week in 2016 and inspired a decade of botanical couture looks that followed: Garments, ensembles, and accessories created by Slow Flowers members and farmer-florist teams across the U.S. Since 2016, we have celebrated an impressive lineup of more than 50 American Flowers Week botanical couture looks, designed by our members and featuring domestic flowers and foliage as the inspiration. These floral fashions hail from across the continent — Alaska and Hawaii; Maine and Florida; Missouri and South Dakota and beyond.

So today, we travel to Pennsylvania, to meet Alanna Messner-Scholl of Waverly Flower Co., and learn about her third botanical couture look for American Flowers Week. It’s great conversation and I’m happy to share it with you!

Download free social media badges, including those featuring The Earth Dress
Download flower-farming artwork by Amy Rice, whose work we licensed for this year’s campaign.

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Hot off the Press: Slow Flowers Journal – Summer 2026

And please enjoy our Summer 2026 issue of Slow Flowers Journal – out this week. You can read extended stories about our featured artists and botanical couture designers, as well as some fun features about what our members are doing around the world. The stories are mostly based in the U.S., but we have a very special article commissioned by Slow Flowers Society — a report by Dee Hall Goodwin of Mermaid City Flowers who traveled to London this past May to cover the first flower farm installed at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. You’ll find all this inspiration in our 42-page digital magazine – Click on the flipbook above to read and enjoy!

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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.

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 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.

Thank you to the Seattle 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 seattlegrowersmarket.com.

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Thank you for joining me today! 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; Dream Caper
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

Our 12^th annual American Flowers Week is coming right up – June 28^th through July 4^th. To showcase this year’s Botanical Couture collection, I’m welcoming return guest Françoise Weeks to the Slow Flowers Podcast. A longtime Slow Flowers Member, her name is synonymous with botanical couture. As an educator, she has taught thousands of students around the globe, as well as from her Portland, Oregon-based studio, and online. Slow Flowers asked Françoise to create a lily-inspired floral fashion for this year’s American Flowers Week collection, an idea originally proposed by Flowerbulb.eu, a Slow Flowers sponsor that that promotes lilies grown from European bulbs for U.S. gardeners, flower farmers, and florists. Françoise designed and created two alluring styles to highlight lily petals and blooms. In addition to discussing this project, Françoise shares some of the techniques and mechanics she has developed for botanical couture – and you might want to add them to your floral tool kit!

American Flowers Week represents a unique intersection of passions – flower farmers and floral designers coming together to promote local, seasonal, and sustainable flowers. This truth is at the core of what distinguishes the Slow Flowers Movement from any other floral industry organization of initiative.
It underscores the shared values and celebrates the important, tandem paths of both professions, as well as the ones who call themselves farmer-florists.

This year, we are delighted to welcome Françoise Weeks, who has created two of American Flowers Week’sfour distinct looks, a collaboration with Sandra Laubenthal and Norman Peterkort, growers of superior Asiatic, oriental, and double lilies, and owners of Peterkort Roses.

Peterkort Roses supplied Françoise with hundreds of lily stems and accent flowers from their greenhouses outside Portland, Oregon. We’re calling the collection “Lily Luxe,” and when you see the way Françoise has reimagined lilies into wearable fashions – you’ll be as enchanted as I am.

Visit Americanflowersweek.com to download our free social media badges:
The Françoise Weeks-Peterkort looks

Flower-farm social media campaign by Amy Rice

And head’s up, today’s episode is the second of our three-part series, so join us on July 1st to meet Alanna Messner-Scholl of Waverly Flower Co., as we introduce her third consecutive botanical fashion created for American Flowers Week. Thanks for joining in and sharing the news about this special campaign!

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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.

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 Rooted Farmers. Rooted Farmers works exclusively with local growers to put the highest-quality specialty cut flowers in floral customers’ hands. When you partner with Rooted Farmers, you are investing in your community, and you can expect a commitment to excellence in return. Learn more at RootedFarmers.com.

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

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Thank you for joining me today! 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; Floating Whist
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 the runup to our American Flowers Week’s annual Botanical Couture collection, I’m welcoming Caitlin Mathes to the Slow Flowers Podcast. A longtime Slow Flowers Member based in New York’s Finger Lakes Region, Caitlin has been cultivating the Tagetes species, also known as the marigold, since 2019. Her passion led to establishing The Marigold Gardens as a singular flower farm, specializing in more than 40 marigold varieties. When planning this year’s American Flowers Week floral fashions, we asked Caitlin if she would like to create a marigold garment – and she joined in the fun, growing, designing, fabricating, and modeling her playful look. Join me as we learn more about Caitlin’s floral enterprise, her love affair with marigolds, and her charming, Medieval-inspired garment fashioned with a multitude of colorful and uniquely-formed varieties. You, too, will fall in love with marigolds because Caitlin’s passion is contagious!

American Flowers Week was founded by Slow Flowers in 2015 as the original domestic flower promotion campaign. Each year, from June 28-through July 4, Slow Flowers members and flower lovers everywhere are invited to showcase their flowers. Some folks post their blooms across social media as red-white-and-blue creations; others use the American Flowers Week bouquet labels to adorn market wraps or to decorate take-home arrangements from events and workshops. But since 2016, the centerpiece of American Flowers Week has been the botanical couture runway, floral fashions grown, designed, and produced by flower farmers, farmer-florists, and floral designers, as well as creative fashionistas who just love the idea of dressing a model in blooms.

This year, we have four distinct looks to share in our celebration, and today, we kick things off with a magical marigold design from Caitlin Mathes, owner of The Marigold Gardens.

The Marigold Gardens is an emerging flower farm with only one crop . . . MARIGOLDS! As Caitlin puts it: “The marigold has given me so much joy and inspiration that I felt the need to become a grower, steward, advocate, and cheerleader for this wonderful flower. It is high time marigolds had their praises sung and I look forward to growing The Marigold Gardens into a beautiful destination for all things marigold.”
She calls herself a marigold monger, which is just one role this maker, performer, librarian, and agrarian represents. It was so much fun speaking with Caitlin about her marigold passion, one that inspires her to create and share in all types of ways. Let’s welcome Caitlin to the Slow Flowers Podcast and get ready for a deep dive into the world of marigolds.

Download free social media badges
Flower-farming prints by Amy Rice
Caitlin Mathes’ Marigold Look

And head’s up, today’s episode is the first a three-part series, so join us on June 24th to learn from botanical artist and educator Françoise Weeks; followed by a conversation on July 1^st with Alanna Messner-Scholl of Waverly Flower Co., as both will discuss their American Flowers week floral fashions. I can’t wait to share those wonderful conversations – and you’ll be inspired!

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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.

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 the Seattle 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 seattlegrowersmarket.com.

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

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Thank you for joining me today! The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more than 1.5 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; Talens Bal
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

For the past decade, I have kept an important annual ritual. Before I turn the calendar page to the New Year, I take time at the end of December to reflect back on the one that’s coming to a close. This exercise has become our recurring Slow Flowers Society “Year in Review,” a habit that takes stock of the prior 12 months and considers how our many programs and efforts have supported the Slow Flowers Mission. You’re invited to join me as we review Slow Flowers Society in 2024 and discuss how it reflects our true priorities, passion, and purpose!

Twenty-twenty-five arrives in just a few days, so before we say good-bye to 2024, I want to reflect on this past year’s highlights. It’s an exercise that has become an important annual tradition and I have to say that it is always rewarding for me to pause and reflect on the achievements of the Slow Flowers Society and larger impact of the Slow Flowers Movement.

I believe our Year-in-Review can always be a predictor for the year to come. As Slow Flowers Society interacts with members, media, sponsors, and others in the floral industry, we gain important understanding and insights. For the Slow Flowers Team and me, we are so proud of what we achieved during 2024. We pay special attention to the values and benefits we deliver to you, our community, especially to our members who invest their resources in joining, participating, and engaging in programs both virtual and in-person.

You and your support are the reason why we continue to achieve our core goal — to inspire the floral industry and its consumers to embrace local, seasonal, and sustainable flowers. Whether it’s for personal or professional reasons, as this year comes to a close, I encourage you to take time to write your own Year-In-Review. I’ve learned that when we do so, a narrative emerges, one that can guide future decisions and priorities.

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Join us at the 2025 Slow Flowers WORLDWIDE Summit

Our commitment to featuring a diversity of subject matter experts and experienced voices continues in 2025. The first WORLDWIDE Slow Flowers Summit is scheduled for January 9-11, 2025. This virtual conference takes place entirely online over three days – making it accessible and affordable for attendees everywhere. The program format includes 15 floral education sessions, as well as bonus content from special guest presenters.

Click to read more about the Program and Schedule

Click to read about our Speakers

As you may know, the Slow Flowers Movement has been emulated around the world – and emerging groups are eager for access to the same innovation, information, and inclusive approaches enjoyed by our members, but specialized for their own markets. The Slow Flowers Worldwide Summit is designed to provide inspiration for flower farmers, floral designers, and flower lovers, wherever they are based.

Ticket sales continue at slowflowerssummit.com – through January 8^th. General admission is $279 US and Slow Flowers members receive $50 off for $229 . I hope to see you there!

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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 700 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, 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.

As we wrap up this year-in-review, I want to take a moment to thank all of our sponsors, including our lead Sponsor: Flowerbulb.eu.

Our Major Sponsors for 2024 also included:
Johnny’s Selected Seeds
Longfield Gardens
Red Twig Farms, and
Seattle Wholesale Growers Market

Our Channel Sponsors for 2024 included:
Rooted Farmers
CoolBot
and The Gardeners’ Workshop

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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.

---

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; Daymaze; Drone Birch; Erstwhile; Floating Whist; Jillian Bridges; Wingspan
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

American Flowers Week encourages flower farmers, floral designers, flower enthusiasts, and gardeners alike to promote their blooms across social media with the hashtag #americanflowersweek. The campaign debuted in 2015 as the original domestic flower promotion holiday. Our annual botanical couture collection is one of our most popular projects – and today, I’ll speak with all five creators and preview their floral fashions.

Happy American Flowers Week! The relevance and importance of local, seasonal, and sustainably-grown flowers continues to influence the professional floral marketplace, as well as consumers who want make mindful purchases and ensure that we support our flower farmers for generations to come.

Since 2015, Slow Flowers Society has designated a single week to our promotion – June 28^th to July 4^th, with the goal of elevating awareness and highlighting the many reasons to support local flowers — and those who grow and design with them.

Each of this year’s American Flowers Week botanical couture collection is unique to the location and season where it was produced and photographed, with design narratives that elevate and reimagine flowers and foliage as botanical couture. Today, I’m delighted to welcome the creators of our five floral fashions that showcase domestic flowers as wearable art.

You’ll meet Niesha Blancas of Fetching Social Media and Jenny Diaz of Jenny Diaz Design – both of whom are part of the Slow Flowers Creative Team and who regularly pour their love into this project. Both Niesha and Jenny have designed garments for three prior campaigns and they’re back with new floral fashions for 2024.

Linda Spradlin of In the Garden Flower Farm, based in Seven Mile, Ohio, has returned with her third botanical couture garment (she’s collaborated with Nan Matteson of Queen City Flower Farm in prior years). Thank you, Linda, for your constant enthusiasm for American Flowers Week!

And I’m thrilled that we can showcase the talents of two first-time creatives in the American Flowers Week collection – Alanna Messner-Scholl of Waverly Flower Co., located outside of Philadelphia, and Hannah Muller of The Wreath Room and Full Belly Farm, based in Guinda, California.

For anyone who’s thought about designing a botanical couture garment, this episode will serve as inspiration. You’ll love the narratives behind the fashions, and the conversation with all five of our creatives, not to mention the gorgeous garden-inspired floral ensembles they’ve produced for this celebration.ach look has a design narrative that elevates and reimagines flowers and foliage as botanical couture – and, it’s my desire that those who view them will gain a new appreciation for locally-grown flowers.

As I mentioned, American Flowers Week kicks off on Friday, June 28^th, continuing through July 4^th. Each day during this week of floral promotion, we will be posting stories, content, and resources to highlight locally-grown flowers. Please share your flowers, too, and use the hashtag #americanflowersweek so we can spot your posts. You can download free American Flowers Week social media badges for our entire botanical couture collection.

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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 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   

Our next sponsor thank you goes 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 https://www.redtwigfarms.com/

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

---

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

---

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; One Eight Four; The Big Ten
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

There’s HGTV and there’s the Food Network, but have you checked out the Bloom TV Network? Today, we’ll meet Monica Michelle, creator of the floral-centric streaming platform and Slow Flowers member Katie Lila, host and producer of the new series “Follow the Blooms,” which begins at the flower farm and ends with a beautiful installation for the public to enjoy.

Today, we’re getting a peek behind the scenes of Bloom TV Network’s exciting series called “Follow the Blooms,” which debuted on March 7^th with new episodes dropping every Thursday through April 25^th.

The host is Slow Flowers member Katie Lila, owner of Flowers for People in Spokane, Washington. A few years ago, after a career doing everything in the floral space, Katie started collaborating with creative teams to produce pop-up artistic floral installations in a Spokane gallery environment, inviting photographers and the public to be part of the experience.

And then she learned that Bloom TV network, the new online streaming platform for all things floral, had announced a call for creatives to submit their pilot concepts to be considered for the network’s programming lineup.

Katie saw the potential opportunity to turn her public floral installations into a show – and she teamed up with DittoFilm Media in her community to film three pilots that they submitted to Bloom TV. Like a fast-paced floral party with a race to the finish, Katie brings the viewer along for the ride as she comes up with a venue, brainstorms the design concept, seeks out flower farmers whose seasonal blooms will bring the concept to life, and then with a design team, a floral installation is brought to life. And the viewer “follows” the blooms from field to floral art piece.

Fast-forward to June 2023 and Follow the Blooms was launched as a bonafide series in production for Bloom TV. Katie and her crew asked if they could film one of their eight episodes at the Slow Flowers Summit, which we held at Bellevue Botanic Garden. Of course, we said yes, and it was a whirlwind moment during the busy Summit – I’m glad we documented the experience because it was a bit of a blur. We’ve been anxiously awaiting the series release ever since.

The Summit episode includes a large, interactive “paint by flower” mural, the creation of which invited our attendees to participate. The film crew also visited the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market and JARN Co. Flowers, a member flower farm owned by Tracy Yang and Nick Songsangcharntara – we “followed” the blooms from both spots to the Summit where Katie’s installation became a reality.

When you see a sneak peek of the series, you’ll be swept up in Katie’s joyful approach to life. She’s determined to get everyone involved in her big schemes, including friends, family members, and strangers, and it all ends up in an explosion of blooms.

We’ll also learn more from Monica Michelle, CEO and founder of Bloom TV Network, and I’m delighted that she was able to join Katie for our conversation today.

Monica Michelle has an extensive background in marketing and entrepreneurship, and has spent her career implementing new ideas, and building online communities across multiple industries including the medical industry, food industry and now in the world of media. In 2021 she developed a new niche media model meant to elevate creators, serving as a launchpad for individuals interested in expanding their brands through the power of streaming TV. In January of 2022 she launched her first streaming tv network, building from the model to create “BloomTV,” where an array of floral focused content was housed for streaming, as well as broadcast to over 615k homes in the state of Colorado.

In 2023, Monica co-founded a sister network based on the same model called “Made TV” that is designed specifically for makers and artists of all kinds, with the mission of helping them to share their creations and crafts with a wider audience. She believes that connection is key, and that through innovative ideas that combine technology with education, people can all experience life in full bloom.

Monica will share her story of how the seed of an idea blossomed in to a digital platform for video content. Through her goal of “restoring Eden,” Monica’s mission is to help spark inspiration and beauty, connecting people to each other and to the planet through nature’s most beautiful creation – the Flower.

A few program notes, Bloom TV is a subscription-based platform with packages that start at $12 per month or $99 per year. However, right, now, you can sign up for a 30-day free trial and watch Follow the Blooms, along with countless hours of other great floral content, so check it out.

I was so happy to catch one of our Slow Flowers members, Spokane area farmer-florist Loreen McFaul of Daisies in May, featured in one of the episodes. Congratulations on being featured, Loreen! Loved seeing your blooms in that special episode about the Spokane Lilac Festival Parade.

And in another episode, Katie uses dried flowers grown by Beth Mort of Snapdragon Flower Farm – Beth is a past guest of this podcast, so it’s great to see her flowers play a role on Follow the Blooms!

On Wednesday, April 10^th, you’ll want to log onto Flowers for People on IG, to join a live conversation about the Slow Flowers Summit episode. Then on Thursday, April 11^th our episode will air! Can’t wait to see the full story of the Slow Flowers Summit on Follow the Blooms!

You also heard Monica mention a new call for creators who wish to participate in their upcoming Bloom TV Network Earth Day programming. The Earth Day campaign invites floral creatives to submit a video tutorial showcasing sustainable practices within the floral world. Submitted videos will enjoy a prominent spot on the Bloom TV platform from April 22^nd through May. Submission deadline is April 18^th or sooner – and you can find the details here. Who knows? You could become the next Katie Lila!

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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 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 the full catalog at Longfield Gardens at longfield-gardens.com.

Thank you to Rooted Farmers. Rooted Farmers works exclusively with local growers to put the highest-quality specialty cut flowers in floral customers’ hands. When you partner with Rooted Farmers, you are investing in your community, and you can expect a commitment to excellence in return. Learn more at RootedFarmers.com.

---

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

---

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; Floating Whist
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

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone – if you’re listening on February 14^th, it’s the day we released Episode 649. I hope you’ve had a great one.

Today’s guest, Jennifer Reed of Jennifer Designs based in Mullica Hill, New Jersey, regularly conjures up amazing botanical displays at the Philadelphia Flower Show, the largest indoor garden show in the country. Today, she’s joining me to preview America in Bloom, her most ambitious exhibit ever.

The Philly Show draws gardeners and flower lovers eager for an early dose of springtime. She’s calling the large floral display a botanical road trip of a lifetime, as it celebrates flowers blooming across the U.S. – and in the exhibit’s description, Jennifer writes: “There’s nothing better than hitting the open road and experiencing the beauty of our nation’s public gardens, arboreta, and natural landscapes along the way!”

Another reason I invited Jennifer to chat with me for this episode is to share her advice to aspiring botanical couture designers thinking about submitting a floral fashion to be part of Slow Flowers’ American Flowers Week campaign later this year. We will review the two floral fashions Jennifer designed for the 2021 and 2023 campaigns – including seeing photos of her work and hearing her secret tips for success.

Thanks so much for joining me today! Here are links to the feature stories we included in past issues of Slow Flowers Journal about Jennifer’s two Botanical Couture looks – including Summer 2021 with Tulip Time, and last summer’s cover look – Jennifer’s dreamy and romantic peony gown.

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Happy Valentine’s Day

Slow Flowers has enjoyed some fun news coverage, including with INC. Magazine and The Weather Channel. We’re thrilled that the press is paying attention to the importance of local and seasonal flowers for gifting bouquets and arrangements.

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It’s also the beginning of flower & garden show season, with today’s opening of the 2024 Northwest Flower & Garden Festival in Seattle. If you attend, please come and say hello at the Main Stage, where Slow Flowers is hosting Blooms & Bubbles, the daily DIY flower and plant workshops! We’re excited to meet and great our members, seven of whom are teaching and speaking at the show.

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One more item of note – if you’re a newsletter subscriber, you’ve already seen the announcement that the February Slow Flowers member virtual meet-up will take place on February 23^rd, postponed due to Valentine’s Day. Save the date for next Friday’s session with Lennie Larkin of b-side farm and author of Flower Farming for Profit – we’ll hear her insights on pricing and profitability for flower growers – Preregistration is required – bring your questions and I hope to see you there!

---

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.

And thank you to Rooted Farmers. Rooted Farmers works exclusively with local growers to put the highest-quality specialty cut flowers in floral customers’ hands. When you partner with Rooted Farmers, you are investing in your community, and you can expect a commitment to excellence in return. Learn more at RootedFarmers.com.

Thank you to Johnny’s Selected Seeds, an employee-owned company that provides our industry the best flower, herb and vegetable seeds — supplied to farms large and small and even backyard cutting gardens like mine. Find the full catalog of flower seeds and bulbs at johnnyseeds.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 for joining me today! The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more than one million times by listeners like you. Thank you for listening, commenting and sharing – it means so much. As our movement gains more supporters and more passionate participants who believe in the importance of our domestic cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious. I know you feel it, too. If you’re new to our weekly Show and our long-running Podcast, check out all of our resources at SlowFlowersSociety.com

---

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; Less Jaunty; Great Great Lengths
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 guest is longtime Slow Flowers member Toni Reale, owner and creator of Roadside Blooms in North Charleston, South Carolina. Let’s learn about how she takes risks to grow her diversified floral and plant enterprise – I’m certain that you’ll gain some tips for your business!The shop specializes in weddings, events and everyday deliveries using near 100 percent American- and locally-grown blooms.

Toni founded Roadside Blooms with a story to tell and a mission to share, believing that beauty and sustainability don’t just co-exist, they work in concert. With over 10 years of experience in the event-planning and floral-design industries, Toni’s many adventures led her to successful entrepreneurship of a values-based enterprise. She has a Master’s degree in geology and taught geology at the College of Charleston; she converted a 1971 British ice cream truck into a mobile flower shop (the original Roadside Blooms) and is a leader of Charleston’s “green and local” movement, Toni has served on various nonprofit boards, including the Charleston Green Fair, and she was recognized as one of Charlie magazine’s “50 Most Progressive” in Charleston in 2014.

Toni partnered with Laura Mewborn of Feast & Flora to create a beautiful botanical couture design for American Flowers Week 2019, collaborating with her friend Giovanni Richardson, a Sea Island Gullah Chieftess, who modeled the historically significant floral garment. I’ll share a link to their story in today’s show notes.  

Let me tell you why I asked Toni to be my guest today. We have been tracking the innovation in the floral retail space over the past years, and when I learned that Toni expanded Roadside Blooms to a larger store this past summer, I wanted to learn more. As you may have heard in our 2024 Slow Flowers Floral Insights & Industry Forecast, which I shared in last week’s episode, one of our key insights is called “Floral Literacy.” I shared about the exciting retail news that Slow Flowers members represent a countertrend in brick-and-mortar retail, including Roadside Blooms’ new retail floral spaces, and others’ new ventures, which are closely associated with values, community, and an unique approach to locally-sourced flowers.

So let’s jump in and meet Toni Reale of Roadside Blooms. Toni filmed a few short video clips to share the interior and exterior of her new shop and I’ve edited those into my recent interview with her. Thanks so much for joining us today – I am so inspired by the story that Toni Shared and she gave me a jolt of encouragement that I hope you felt, too. Her approach to a collaborative entrepreneurship is her “secret sauce” for success. We wish her continued success in the coming year!

Find and follow Roadside Blooms design studio on Instagram
Follow Roadside Blooms retail shop on Instagram
Follow Roadside Blooms retail shop on Facebook
Follow Roadside Blooms on TikTok

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News of the Week!

The Slow Flowers Summit Early Bird Registration campaign has come to a close and we congratulate the folks who took advantage of the money-savings opportunity to grab early registration! Ticket sales continue through June – and if you’re already a Slow Flowers member, you’ll receive $100 off your registration, which is the equivalent of the Standard annual membership, so it basically pays for itself! In the coming weeks, we’ll be highlighting more of our speakers and more about some of the special experiences associated with joining our community in Banff, Alberta, Canada – June 23-25^th!

---

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

Thank you to 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 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. It was nice to hear that Toni works with her local Charleston branch of Mayesh to source American grown flowers – that’s good news!

---

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

---

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; Waterbourne; 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

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News of the Week

Our commitment to featuring a diversity of subject matter experts and experienced voices, not to mention bringing the Slow Flowers Summit to an unforgettable location, will continue for 2024. And for the first time, we’re hosting an international Summit at Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity in Banff, Alberta, Canada. Please join us, June 23-25, 2024. Save $100 off your registration if you grab your seat by December 31, 2023. Slow Flowers Members always receive $100 off their registration, so you’ll save double if you are a member!

---

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 for 2023, 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, 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, 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, The Gardener’s Workshop, which offers a full curriculum of online education for flower farmers and farmer-florists. Online education is more important than ever, and you’ll want to check out the course offerings at thegardenersworkshop.com.

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Coming Up in January

Next week, for our first episode of 2024 on Wednesday, January 3rd, I will be joined by BLOOM Imprint’s Robin Avni to co-present our 2024 Slow Flowers Floral Insights and Industry Forecast.

Join us for the first look at seven emerging themes in the floral design, flower farming, gardening, and sustainability lifestyle market. We will also release our 38-page report to share with you.

Coming up in 2024, you’re invited to join our Slow Flowers Member Virtual Meet-Up on Friday, January 12, 2024 — when we welcome Slow Flowers member Jessica Stewart of Pittsburgh-based Bramble & Blossom — We’re calling this session our “secrets of a sustainable wedding florist.” Jessica will share her approach to communication during the sales process about how you design for seasonality sourcing from local flower farms; how to make this clear in contracts + proposals; and how she sources and plans for weddings and installations. Her expertise is priceless and you’ll want to join us and bring your sustainable wedding questions!

---

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

---

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:

Drone Pine; Long and Low Cloud; Long Await; Perspiration; Shift of Currents; Silver Lanyard; 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