Debra Prinzing

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Archive for the ‘American Grown’ Category

Episode 763: Colleen McCoole Payne on collective flower selling through Kansas City Flower Farmers Wholesale Market

Wednesday, April 8th, 2026

Collective flower selling is on the rise and we continue to see numerous models across the continent and even abroad. The origin comes from traditional farmers’ markets and has since diversified to include cooperatives, co-marketing ventures and solo-run farmer-to-florist hubs. The structures reflect the desires and business objectives of their founders, and today you’ll hear from Colleen McCoole Payne, co-founder and chief administrator of the Kansas City Flower Farmers Wholesale Market. The KC Flower Farmers Wholesale Market is a mouthful, but was intentionally named to distinguish this venture in the local market. Colleen owns FarmStrong Flowers, a regenerative specialty cut flower farm in Bucyrus, Kansas. I recently spoke with her about the market model she and 21 fellow growers have developed, which she describes to florists as similar to shopping a farmers market and paying for the product from each farm that they buy from. The Market has a new lease and a new location, and as Colleen says, “it’s still a work in progress and we are evolving to make it work better!” 

Dahlias from FarmStrong Flowers
Dahlias from FarmStrong Flowers

More than 20 flower farmers in Kansas City, Missouri, and in Kansas City, Kansas, and beyond are part of the KC Flower Farmers Wholesale Market, now in its fourth year as a wholesale collective serving approximately 200 floral customers from operations on both side of the Missouri-Kansas state line. The woman behind this endeavor, Colleen McCoole Payne, a Kansas grower and owner of FarmStrong Flowers, joined me recently to record today’s interview.

Opening Day and Why Shop with Us?

The group has signed a lease to move into a permanent location, a cause for celebration after numerous temporary and pop-up sites in past seasons. Colleen and I dive right into discussing the unique model developed for this specific flower hub. And you’ll have thoughts, I’m sure – especially if you’re part of a collective or cooperative yourself.

Here’s a bit of the narrative, as was posted on the market’s Instagram account: “Every year we searched high and low for that perfect landing spot. So much gratitude goes out to the locations we placed our buckets in prior to finding our dream space. We truly were bootstrapping it those first three years.

We could not have come this far selling our locally-grown flowers wholesale without our fabulous buyers. So many of you have embraced our products and encouraged us to keep growing. We hope to become your one-stop shop for quality, locally-grown flowers. In other news, the market has open hours two days per week —  Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 AM to 1 PM. Also added: what they believe is the first-ever VIP buyer option for 24-hour self-serve access to “Shopping the Cooler” for local flowers and foliage.
The new venue also accommodates floral design work space and cooler space for rent.

Participating Flower Growers:

  • Bee & Co. 
  • C-Us-Bloom
  • Castle Hill Farm
  • FarmStrong Flowers
  • Fern’s Farmette
  • Julie Pal Peonies
  • Laura’s Flower Farm
  • Long Acre Farm
  • Mainstream Meadows
  • Morningstar Flower Farm
  • Nurturing with Nature 
  • Oskaloosa Flower Farm
  • Patina Meadows
  • Red Barn Blossoms
  • Ruthie Mae Blooms
  • Shelti Farms
  • Soul of Soil Farm
  • St. Clair Stems 
  • Triple S Homestead
  • Whistle Stop Peonies
  • Wild Thistle-Flowers
  • Wyld Heart Flower Farm 

Find and follow Kansas City Flower Farmers Wholesale Market on Instagram and Facebook
Find and follow FarmStrong Flowers on Instagram (as @laylasmarket) and Facebook


You’re Invited to Join Us: April 10th Member Meet-Up

April 10th Slow Flowers Member (Virtual) Meet-Up
Farmer-florist and educator Xenia D’Ambrosi of Sweet Earth Co.

And head’s up, our April Slow Flowers Member Meet-Up is right around the corner on Friday, April 10th at 9 am Pacific/Noon Eastern.

You’ll meet farmer-florist Xenia D’Ambrosi of Sweet Earth Co. Xenia will share how she developed an online course, The Eco-Friendly Cutting Garden, to teach students how to plant a backyard flower garden that benefits the environment. The course evolved from a series of in-person , on-farm workshops, adapted to an online format to serve a wider population of cutting garden students. Xenia will discuss how she developed the course, the demographic of her students, and the ways this course reinforces her brand as a sustainable cut flower grower and designer. This meet-up is free to attend, but you must pre-register. Join us to discover new, creative ways to teach home gardeners and share your expertise with a new population of customers. The signup link can be found in the linktree bio on our @slowflowerssociety page on Instagram. Or, click below to RSVP:


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.

Royal Anthos Lily Bulbs

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 My Patio Tree: Expertly Grown Plants, Perfectly Designed to Elevate Your Garden. This 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 the Association of Specialty Cut Flowers. The ASCFG is a gathering place for specialty cut flower growers of all levels of experience. It is a hub of knowledge, where seasoned experts and budding enthusiasts come together to learn, share, and support one another. The ASCFG is dedicated to empowering its members with the knowledge and resources needed to thrive in the world of cut flower farming. From educational workshops and conferences to online resources and publications, they provide a wealth of information and support for all things related to growing exceptional cut flowers. Learn more about the ASCFG and how to be a part of it at www.ascfg.org!


Slow Flowers Podcast Logo with flowers, recorder and mic

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.


Debra in the Slow Flowers Cutting Garden
Thank you for listening! Sending love, from my cutting garden to you! (c) Missy Palacol Photography

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; Come On Over
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

Episode 762: Sarah Nayani of Grow Girl Seattle on teaching gardeners how to plan and plant their backyard cutting gardens

Wednesday, April 1st, 2026

After several years of farming in an urban space – including on the paved driveway, sidewalk strip, and backyard at her Seattle home – Sarah Nayani has carved out a niche teaching gardeners how to grow a bounty of cut flowers, herbs, and foliages in residential environments. The founder of Grow Girl Seattle, Sarah encourages workshop students to create a thriving home cutting garden by focusing on sustainable techniques and small space growing. She shares the rewards of connecting with the seasons’ rhythms and how flower-growing helps people appreciate the role of pollinators up close. My conversation with Sarah includes the numerous ways her business has transitioned to fit her lifestyle, how she focuses on the parts of farming and floristry that give her the most joy, and income-generating tips for the farmer-florist side hustle.

Sarah Nayani of Grow Girl Seattle
Sarah Nayani of Grow Girl Seattle

We have been focused on an inspiring theme here at the Slow Flowers Podcast! For the early weeks of 2026 we’ve been highlighting members who serve not only the professional floral market, but the home gardener in search of cut flowers, flower seedlings, education, and inspiration. Capturing the attention of this often-overlooked population is not hard these days. Home gardeners and flower lovers are avid followers of social media’s influential growers and designers. They are the principal buyers of books about cut flower gardening and about growing specific types of flowers, as well as the shoppers who eagerly line up to buy cutting garden plants at retail prices not always seen at garden centers.

Garden bouquet by Sarah Nayani
Garden bouquet by Sarah Nayani

Since the first of the year, we’ve highlighted the voices and stories of a number of people tapping into this major consumer shift. In March alone, we featured Growing Flower Seedlings for Profit, with Kate Skelton of Gratitude Flowers, Carol Wetzel of The Little Farm on Olga Road, and Fawn Rueckert of Sego Lily Flower Farm and Snuck Flowers; and The Beginner’s Cut Flower Garden,” with author Elizabeth Brown of Foxglove Farmhouse.

Our upcoming April 10th member meetup will feature Xenia D’Ambrosi of Sweet Earth Co., on how she has developed a course called “The Eco-Friendly Cutting Garden,” and you’ve all heard me promote the upcoming May 3rd Ultimate Cutting Garden Plant Sale, scheduled to take place in partnership with the Seattle Growers Market.

Scenes from a petite "driveway" cutting garden with volumes of blooms
Scenes from a petite “driveway” cutting garden with volumes of blooms

Today’s guest is situated at the convergence of all these topics, as well. I was delighted to recently sit down with Sarah Nayani of Grow Girl Seattle. She is an urban farmer-florist who teaches home gardeners, including members of local garden clubs and horticulture societies, all about starting flowers from seeds and planning their cutting gardens. Sarah enhances the workshop experience by offering her seedlings of hard-to-find, hard-to-grow, and uncommon cool and warm-season annuals. These revenue streams help fund her garden expenses and these events keep Sarah connected with her community.

Raised beds on the sidewalk strip at Grow Girl Seattle's residential property
Raised beds on the sidewalk strip at Grow Girl Seattle’s residential property

I joined the audience at Sarah’s fantastic recent workshop sponsored by the Northwest Horticultural Society and held at Seattle’s Dunn Gardens, an exquisite garden whose origins date to 1915 as one of the unique Olmsted-designed landscapes in the Pacific Northwest. Thank you to both organizations for permitting me to attend and use the Dunn Gardens classroom for our recording.

An urban field of flowers
An urban field of flowers

Thanks so much for joining me today. You’ll want to watch the replay video of this session under Episode 762 at slowflowerspodcast.com or on our YouTube channel. If you’re interested in learning more, register for future email notices about events and classes, including how to register for Sarah’s May 30th workshop at the University of Washington’s Center for Urban Horticulture called “Grow a Cut Flower Garden at Home.”

Find and follow Grow Girl Seattle on Instagram


Slow Flowers NEWS

2026 Ultimate Cutting Garden Plant Sale

And don’t forget to RSVP to attend our May 3rd event — the Ultimate Cutting Garden Plant Sale, produced in partnership with the Seattle Growers Market. This is a free event – just bring your wagon and boxes to transport your purchases.


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.

Royal Anthos Lily Bulbs

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 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.


Slow Flowers Podcast Logo with flowers, recorder and mic

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.


Debra in the Slow Flowers Cutting Garden
Thank you for listening! Sending love, from my cutting garden to you! (c) Missy Palacol Photography

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; Town Market
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

Episode 760: “The Beginner’s Cut Flower Garden,” with author Elizabeth Brown of Foxglove Farmhouse

Wednesday, March 18th, 2026

Foxglove Farmhouse is a small, regenerative flower garden in coastal Maine. If you follow the tidal York River from the sea, up along the winding salt marshes to the west side of town, there you will find owner Elizabeth Brown and her flowers. Her purpose is a simple one — to grow sustainable local flowers, and to encourage others to do the same. Elizabeth believes flowers have the power to heal, connect, and bring joy, especially when we need it most. Through her community-based Foxglove Garden Club for home gardeners, and through her role as Resident Gardener at Cliff House Maine, Elizabeth shares her belief that the best flowers are those grown with your own two hands. Join me today as Elizabeth and I discuss her story and her new book, “The Beginner’s Cut Flower Garden.”

Elizabeth Brown (c) Lindsay Fairchild
Elizabeth Brown (c) Lindsay Fairchild

Today’s interview is the final in our series of four conversations filmed in February at the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival in Seattle, where Slow Flowers has long been involved producing floral education and programming.

In her gorgeous new book, The Beginner’s Cut Flower Garden, certified therapeutic horticulturist and cut-flower expert Elizabeth Brown, reveals how growing your own show-stopping bouquet does not require abundant yard space, gardening expertise, or an overwhelming time commitment, just an eagerness to start. Introducing gardeners of all skill level to the vibrant world of floral gardening, The Beginner’s Cut Flower Garden offers step-by-step seasonal advice, easy-to-grow bloom profiles, flower arranging tips, floral crafting activities, and more. 

Flizabeth at her Foxglove Farmhouse garden
Flizabeth at her Foxglove Farmhouse garden (c) Lindsay Fairchild

Beyond just teaching how to nurture florals, Brown reminds why we should, inviting all to enjoy the healing, connection, and delight derived from a hand-grown bouquet. We featured Elizabeth, a longtime Slow Flowers member and owner of Foxglove Farmhouse, in the fall 2023 issue of Slow Flowers Journal, in a beautiful story about her role growing cut flowers and providing floral experiences at Cliff House, a coastal Maine resort. You can read that story here (see pages 25-29). It was no surprise to me that a book project soon followed after we featured Elizabeth. She had already been working with photographer Lindsay Fairchild and they shared some lovely images to illustrate that story, too.

Floral experiences at Cliff House Maine with Elizabeth Brown of Foxglove Farmhouse
Floral experiences at Cliff House Maine with Elizabeth Brown of Foxglove Farmhouse (c) Lindsay Fairchild

Here’s a bit more about Elizabeth:

She is a certified therapeutic horticulturist and Maine Master Gardener Volunteer. After growing and gifting hundreds of blooms to essential workers in her community during the pandemic, Elizabeth created Foxglove Farmhouse, a quarter-acre cut flower garden in her backyard. This garden’s mix of annual and perennial blooms are cultivated without chemicals and pesticides, providing sustainable local flowers to florists and markets. Elizabeth regularly gives workshops on cut flower garden design, floral arrangements, and seed sowing and created the Foxglove Garden Club, a year-long virtual subscription-based garden education program for beginner gardeners. Brown also works as the Resident Gardener of Cliff House Maine. In 2023, she released a curated 100% organic cut flower seed line, highlighted in the Boston Globe and Down East Magazine’s seasonal gift coverage. 

Table of Contents by Season
Table of Contents by Season
flowers for cutting
Flowers for Cutting
Favorite Harvest Tools
Favorite Harvest Tools

I’m delighted that we were able to sit down and record an episode for our special event, Slow Flowers Podcast LIVE. Thanks to everyone who attended – it was our best-attended session and we loved the interaction with friends and peers in the audience.

Find and follow Foxglove Farmhouse on Instagram


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.

Royal Anthos Lily Bulbs

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 My Patio TreeExpertly Grown Plants, Perfectly Designed to Elevate Your Garden. This 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 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.


Slow Flowers Podcast Logo with flowers, recorder and mic

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.


Debra in the Slow Flowers Cutting Garden
Thank you for listening! Sending love, from my cutting garden to you! (c) Missy Palacol Photography

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; Tripoli
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

Episode 759: “Beautiful Roses,” with author Janice Cox of Natural Beauty at Home

Wednesday, March 11th, 2026

Everyone loves roses, and Janice Cox proves why in her new book, “Beautiful Roses: A Guide and Workbook for Growing, Using, and Enjoying America’s Favorite Flower.” The book covers rose growing but also the endless ways you can integrate roses into cooking, crafting, and wellness. A nationally recognized expert in natural beauty, DIY skincare, and gardening for health and wellness, Janice is author of five books, and she has created a series of hands-on workbooks focused on growing, using, and enjoying herbs and flowers. A longtime Slow Flowers member, she shares her newest book with us today – combining the beauty, fragrance and creativity that roses, rose gardening, and cultivation can bring to your life and your floral enterprise.

Janice Cox, author of Beautiful Roses
Janice Cox, author of Beautiful Roses

Today’s interview is the third in our series of four conversations filmed in February at the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival in Seattle, where Slow Flowers has long been involved producing floral education and programming.

Cooking with Roses
Cooking with Roses

I’m so happy that we can learn from Janice Cox, Oregon-based author and expert on the natural use of so many beloved plants. She calls herself “the original DIY-er,” meaning that long before DIY was even a term, Janice turned to plants, nature, and the garden to make what other people purchase in plastic bottles or jars, as well as to cook with and make functional, everyday items.

Natural Beauty with Roses
Natural Beauty with Roses

I love how she has created a meaningful, plant-filled and flower-filled life and career. In our conversation, you’ll learn not only volumes about America’s favorite flower, the rose, but also (surprisingly) about Luffas. The common thread is that both the rose and the luffa plant can be grown and harvested for many uses. And sprinkled throughout this episode are delightful plant facts – stories of history, symbolism, and tradition – along with practical tips for preserving their blooms, petals, stems, and fruit.

Crafting with Roses
Crafting with Roses

Find and follow Janice Cox at these social places:
Instagram and Facebook
Order “Roses” and Janice’s other books here


Join us at the Slow Flowers Member Meet-Up

Slow Flowers Member Meet-Up for March 13

In news of the week, there’s still time to sign up and attend our March Slow Flowers Member Meet-Up – coming up this Friday, March 13th at 9 am Pacific/Noon Eastern. The topic is one that’s particularly appealing to both growers and farmer-florists, but also to home gardeners. We’ve invited three of our members to share their experience, advice, and tips in a session called Growing Flower Seedlings for Profit. You’ll learn from Kate Skelton, Fawn Reuckert, and Carol Wetzel as they discuss how you can translate your expertise into a revenue stream when you grow and sell cutting garden plants to flower lovers and fellow growers. And florists will be encouraged to get in on the act and offer locally-grown cut flowers as an add-on for workshops and special events! Pre-registration is required for this Zoom meeting. Click the signup link below, or find a link in our Instagram linktree bio for Slowflowerssociety. 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 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.

Royal Anthos Lily Bulbs

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 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 Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers. The ASCFG is a gathering place for specialty cut flower growers of all levels of experience. It is a hub of knowledge, where seasoned experts and budding enthusiasts come together to learn, share, and support one another. The ASCFG is dedicated to empowering its members with the knowledge and resources needed to thrive in the world of cut flower farming. From educational workshops and conferences to online resources and publications, they provide a wealth of information and support for all things related to growing exceptional cut flowers. Learn more about the ASCFG and how to be a part of it at www.ascfg.org!


Slow Flowers Podcast Logo with flowers, recorder and mic

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.


Debra in the Slow Flowers Cutting Garden
Thank you for listening! Sending love, from my cutting garden to you! (c) Missy Palacol Photography

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; Rose Ornamental
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

Episode 758: “Modern Floriography: Flowers, Gardens, and Gifts Inspired by the Language of Flowers,” with author Teresa Sabankaya

Tuesday, March 3rd, 2026

Teresa Sabankaya believes that today’s technology gives us endless ways to communicate, yet we are often left searching for words when faced with a declaration of love, the loss of someone dear, or the marking of a pivotal moment. For centuries, people have turned to the language of flowers to express their most heartfelt emotions. In Teresa’s new book, “Modern Floriography,” she honors this enduring tradition while inviting readers to discover fresh, creative forms of expression. Teresa recently joined our Slow Flowers Podcast LIVE series, held at the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival in Seattle where she spoke, taught, signed books, and met hundreds of fans. A longtime Slow Flowers member and pioneer of the slow flowers movement, Teresa shared generously with our live audience and with all of you today.

Today’s interview is the second in our series of four conversations filmed in February at the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival in Seattle, where Slow Flowers has long been involved producing floral education and programming.

The Posy Book and its author Teresa Sabankaya

I’m thrilled that Teresa Sabankaya brought her message of the language of flowers to this year’s festival, including at the Blooms & Bubbles workshop. Before we dive into the interview, here’s a bit more about Teresa:

Teresa’s floral career began in 1999 when she became a farmer-florist who designed flowers that she herself grew – a practice not widely known among consumers. She added retail floristry with Bonny Doon Garden Co. in Santa Cruz, California, in 2003.

Modern Floriography by Teresa Sabankaya
Modern Floriography by Teresa Sabankaya

One of the most innovative floral designers in the SF and Monterey Bay areas, Teresa has exhibited her floral art at museums and flower show, including Bouquets to Art at the De Young Museum in Golden Gate Park, the Monterey Museum of Art, and at Filoli Mansion and Gardens, where she teaches floral design regularly.

She was a speaker at our first Slow Flowers Summit in 2017 and is a past guest of the Slow Flowers Podcast. Her first book, The Posy Book, was published in 2019.

She was featured in Michael Pollen’s PBS documentary, The Botany of Desire and Amy Stewart profiled Teresa in her 2007 book, Flower Confidential. And so much more.

I know you’ll enjoy today’s wide-ranging conversation that begins with designing posy gardens and illustrating those gardens for her new book, and ends with my asking Teresa to reflect on the arc of her incredible career and journey through flowers.

Interior pages from Modern Floriography (1)
Interior pages from Modern Floriography (2)
Interior pages from Modern Floriography (3)

Also, we have a giveaway copy of Modern Floriography, so if you’d like to add your name to the drawing, please comment here and share the meaning of your favorite flower. Or, comment on our IG account about this episode, @slowflowerssociety. We will draw the name of one lucky winner on Monday, March 9th at midnight Pacific Time.


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.

Royal Anthos Lily Bulbs

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.


Slow Flowers Podcast Logo with flowers, recorder and mic

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.


Debra in the Slow Flowers Cutting Garden
Thank you for listening! Sending love, from my cutting garden to you!
(c) Missy Palacol Photography

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; Game Hens
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

Episode 757: Briana Selstad Bosch of Blossom and Branch Farm on her new book, “The Regenerative Gardener’s Handbook.”

Wednesday, February 25th, 2026

In her new book, “The Regenerative Gardener’s Handbook: Essential Techniques for Growing a Garden that Leaves the Land Healthier Than You Found It,” farmer-florist, YouTube influencer, and educator Briana Selstad Bosch translates her practices at Blossom and Branch Farm into backyard and residential gardening ideas for readers who want to change their relationship with the soil and with nature. In addition to sharing ways that she has eliminated chemicals and plastic from her farming practices, Briana inspires readers to prioritize the health of their own ecosystems, no matter the size. She advocates for planting more native varieties and establishing a closed-loop garden that’s self-sustaining. This is a book for gardeners, for sure, but it will also give flower farmers and farmer-florists new ideas for having a regenerative mindset of their own.

Aerial view of Blossom and Branch Farm
Aerial view of Blossom and Branch Farm
The Regenerative Gardener's Handbook by Briana Selstad Bosch

Today’s interview is the first in a series of four conversations filmed in February at the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival in Seattle, where Slow Flowers has long been involved producing floral education and programming.

When Jeff Swenson, the flower festival’s general manager and seminar and judging manager LaManda Joy, offered me my own room for Slow Flowers gatherings during the five-day event, I realized it would be perfect for podcast recordings.


Slow Flowers Podcast LIVE

But with so many people coming to the flower festival, why not invite them to join in? We created Slow Flowers Podcast LIVE, a four-day series featuring a daily interview with a Slow Flowers member and author who was at the festival to launch a new gardening or floral book. The addition of an audience was so positive and we invited people to ask questions of our guests after my interview.

Today’s guest is Briana Selstad Bosch, the founder of Blossom and Branch and a longtime Slow Flowers member. She is a past guest of this podcast – we recorded an interview in 2022 (Episode 570). Briana also participated as a presenter of last year’s Slow Flowers WORLDWIDE Summit, speaking on “Building a Sustainable Brand,” and she’s featured in our 2025 book, “The Flower Farmers.”

Blossom and Branch is a two-acre microfarm in Colorado that uses organic and regenerative processes to grow flowers, vegetables, and native plants that provide habitat for wildlife and pollinators. Briana teaches regenerative gardening workshops online and in person.

Page from The Regenerative Gardener's Handbook
A peek inside The Regenerative Gardener’s Handbook
The Regenerative Gardener's Handbook inside spread
Plant for Biodiversity, from “The Regenerative Gardener’s Handbook”

In eight chapters of “The Regenerative Gardener’s Handbook,” Briana outlines the key principles of having a regenerative gardening mindset, through which readers – gardeners and flower farmers alike – can reframe their perspective on how to garden alongside nature.

Order “The Regenerative Gardener’s Handbook”
Follow Blossom and Branch (and Briana Selstad Bosch) on YouTube and Instagram

In 2025, Briana offered two garden retreats to France and her retreats and workshops continue for 2026. These special, small-group garden retreats are designed for those who love gardens, travel, beauty, and meaningful connection. The Paris Garden Tour is already sold out, but here are two others to check out:

First, an on-farm retreat at Blossom and Branch Farm, April 15-18, 2026, which includes a 4-night, 3-day immersive stay at the farm, hands on learning, gardening, growing, and eating farm to table with fellow garden lovers! Learn more about the on-farm retreat here!

And that’s followed by A Garden in France is a 5-day retreat (September 5-10, 2026), which combines gardening and great local food. The retreat is hosted by Chateau de Freyssinet – a castle nestled in the quiet green hills of the Limousin – an undiscovered part of France. You can find links to both events in today’s show notes.


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.

Royal Anthos Lily Bulbs

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.


Slow Flowers Podcast Logo with flowers, recorder and mic

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.


Debra in the Slow Flowers Cutting Garden
Thank you for listening! Sending love, from my cutting garden to you! (c) Missy Palacol Photography

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; Waterbourne
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

Episode 756: Sarah Coldwell of Honeybee Grove Flower Farm – on building a destination floral enterprise on U-Pick, farmers’ and makers’ markets, and seasonal flower festivals

Wednesday, February 18th, 2026

Nestled in the heart of Somers, New York, about one hour north of Manhattan, Honeybee Grove is a cozy little flower farm offering cut-your-own flowers, small events, workshops, retail pop-ups, and more. As owner Sarah Coldwell enters her fifth season, she joined me to share her story and discuss the benefits of planning a full year of events while managing the flow of production, sales, and customers. In addition to flowering her community with local blooms, Sarah incubates other small, local creative businesses through her weekly summer farmers’ markets and seasonal holiday markets that bring out the public. The season kicks off soon – on April 26th for Daffodil Day, a celebration that puts thousands of spring-flowering bulbs in the hands of her customers. And you’ll learn a thing or two about how to choose the best flowers for U-Pick programs and how to make your premium flowers more exclusive through a subscription program. She’s smitten with flowers so let’s join in and learn more.

Daffodil Day at Honeybee Grove Flower Farm
Daffodil Day at Honeybee Grove Flower Farm

For Sarah Coldwell, Honeybee Grove Flower Farm began as an inkling of an idea and rapidly grew into a frenzied obsession: “I must bring a cut-your-own flower farm to our small town!”

She could not get the dream out of my head after coming across a little roadside cutting spot in New York’s Finger Lakes area while vacationing with her family.

With a background in marketing, branding and graphic design, and as a lifelong gardener, Sarah wanted to share the joy that she feels when harvesting blooms that have been carefully nurtured from seeds or bulbs. Honeybee Grove Flower Farm occupies rented land that was once part of a larger working vegetable farm in Sarah’s village. When she felt the itch for a new adventure, while simultaneously obsessing over the idea of a cut-your-own flower farm, Honeybee Grove Flower Farm was born in 2021.

To Sarah, Honeybee Grove Flower Farm is about offering others an experience that they may not be able to create on their own – giving them the magical feeling of stepping into a field brimming with color and fragrance, that is buzzing with bees and butterflies. To slowly walk through rows of flowers to carefully select your own recipe for a bouquet. It is an experience that forces one to slow down, savor the natural beauty and harvest flowers with intention.  

We initially planned on talking about the upcoming season launch – Daffodil Day – but Sarah and I went further down the garden path to discuss farm dinners and popup sales events, retail versus wholesale, and the allure of U-Pick. I learned so much and I can’t wait for you to hear today’s episode, so let’s jump right in and get started.

Some parting thoughts from Sarah – that answer her “why” question: She writes: “I believe in bringing people together within a community. Our two larger artisan markets at the beginning and end of our season extend an opportunity to local artisans, artists and makers to sell their wares to the surrounding community.  With the success of our larger markets reaching a wider audience, I was eager to bring the town its own centrally-located Farmer’s Market. It gives our surrounding farms and food-product makers a weekly space to sell their crops and goods. It gives our community a chance to buy locally-raised meats, locally-grown produce and support small businesses from their own community.” What a beautiful mission!

Find and follow Honeybee Grove Flower Farm on Instagram and Facebook


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.

Royal Anthos Lily Bulbs

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 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 Association of Specialty Cut Flowers. The ASCFG is a gathering place for specialty cut flower growers of all levels of experience. It is a hub of knowledge, where seasoned experts and budding enthusiasts come together to learn, share, and support one another. The ASCFG is dedicated to empowering its members with the knowledge and resources needed to thrive in the world of cut flower farming. From educational workshops and conferences to online resources and publications, they provide a wealth of information and support for all things related to growing exceptional cut flowers. Learn more about the ASCFG and how to be a part of it at www.ascfg.org!


Slow Flowers Podcast Logo with flowers, recorder and mic

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.


Debra in the Slow Flowers Cutting Garden
Thank you for listening! Sending love, from my cutting garden to you!
(c) Missy Palacol Photography

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; Chicory Honey
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

Episode 754: Slow Flowers Floral Insights and Industry Forecast for 2026

Wednesday, February 4th, 2026

As we enter the 13th year of publishing our Slow Flowers Floral Insights and Industry Forecast, new impressions continue to infuse our mindsets and enthuse us. The Year 2026 presents a consequential time in our industry. We have been impacted by economic challenges that affect consumer confidence and spending choices; we’ve been clobbered by supply chain and tariff constraints; and we’ve continued to see consolidation and closures among large-scale players in the marketplace. As we look at “what’s next,” I believe we have even more reasons to feel confidence that Seasonal, local, and sustainably-grown flowers are more than relevant and essential for the present day. During the coming year, when little is certain and the terrain is uneven, consumers are drawn to what they can control. The notion of “Taking Control” is a remedy, an antidote, to the pressures and distractions that abound. As I share the 2026 forecast, you may recognize some of the themes as an affirmation of what’s taking place in your floral enterprise – I would love to hear how this inspires you for the coming year.

Debra Prinzing
Debra Prinzing (c) Mary Grace Long photography

I recorded my introduction to this episode on Monday morning, February 2nd, just 36 hours after we wrapped up the second annual Slow Flowers WORLDWIDE Summit on January 30th and 31st. It was an unqualified success and the raves for our fabulous presenters and educational content are pouring in. We designed the Slow Flowers WORLDWIDE Summit to inspire and inform, include and instigate, and most of all to provide you with new Ideas for your floral enterprise! One hundred eighteen attendees joined us virtually – from 24 US states and the District of Columbia; from four Canadian provinces; and from Australia, the UK and Chile. What an enriching experience and an affirmation of the power of creativity and community.

In addition to 10 hours of floral education designed for growers, florists and farmer-florists, we presented five bonus sessions. Today’s episode is a replay of the session I shared to introduce the 2026 Slow Flowers Floral Insights & Industry Forecast. Working with my frequent collaborator Robin Avni, creative director of BLOOM Imprint, we identified three themes for 2026. We also reviewed this project’s 100 past insights and singled out one primary theme from each year — 2015 to 2025. There isn’t an expiration date to these insights. They don’t go away; but rather, they evolve, moving from being an alternative or fringe idea towards one that simply reflects a cultural shift toward the mainstream.

Thanks so much for joining me today as we journeyed through 12 years and 103 insights to inspire you. As we move forward, new topics of interest in the Slow Flowers Movement will continue to be leading edge, ones that early-adopters embrace and ones on which you’ll put your own spin. They also will reflect an evolution that may be subtler and less over-the-top as more people in floristry and flower farming learn from one another, and adopt our values as their own.

Please let me know if any of this resonates with you and thanks for joining me in the conversation! A special thanks to Robin Avni for co-producing this year’s report. We’ll have the full report to share as a PDF with links in the coming days.


Slow Flowers Podcast LIVE at the NWFGF

Slow Flowers Podcast LIVE

After connecting with so many of you virtually, I’m excited to share that we have a great opportunity for you to connect with me and so many other Slow Flowers member at Slow Flowers Podcast LIVE at the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival, February 18-21, 2026. For the first time ever, you are invited to join the studio audience to watch and listen during a recording of the Slow Flowers Podcast with Debra Prinzing. The tapings take place once per day, during the Festival. Meet four Slow Flowers Members who will be in Seattle to lecture at the festival and promote her new garden or floral book coming out this spring.

The guests includeBriana Bosch, Blossom & Branch Flower Farm (Colorado), with new book: The Regenerative Gardener’s Handbook; Theresa Sabankaya, theresasabankaya.com (California), with new book: Modern Florigraphy; Janice Cox, Natural Beauty at Home (Oregon), with new book: Beautiful Roses; and Elizabeth Brown, Foxglove Farmhouse (Maine), with new book: The Beginner’s Cut Flower Garden.

SLOW FLOWERS PODCAST LIVE Entry is FREE to Slow Flowers Members (guests are welcome) BYOC: Bring your own hot beverage or cold drink.


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.

Royal Anthos Lily Bulbs

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.

And 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.


Slow Flowers Podcast Logo with flowers, recorder and mic

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.


Debra in the Slow Flowers Cutting Garden
Thank you for listening! Sending love, from my cutting garden to you! (c) Missy Palacol Photography

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; Rue Severine
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

Episode 753: Ten Years Later, Revisiting the Story of Stars of the Meadow Flower Farm with Marybeth Wehrung

Wednesday, January 28th, 2026

There’s an Instagram trend going around as we flash back to 2016, sharing highlights from one decade ago. Today’s episode does just that, as I reunite with Hudson Valley farmer-florist Marybeth Wehrung of Stars of the Meadow Flower Farm. In 2016, I visited Marybeth, toured her farm, and interviewed her about the emerging local floral scene in her region. Today, many of those dreams of creating a hub for seasonal and sustainably-grown flowers have come to life. Learn how Marybeth has manifested a more sustainable future for her farm by finding new and larger land and negotiating a 10-year lease, which ensures stability and allows for growth into on-farm retail and higher-value crops. It’s a fun reunion and I’m so happy to share it with you today.

Marybeth Wehrung of Stars of the Meadow Flower Farm in Stone Ridge, New York
Marybeth Wehrung of Stars of the Meadow Flower Farm in Stone Ridge, New York

Based in Stone Ridge, New York, Stars of the Meadow Flower Farm offers locally and sustainably grown specialty cut flowers and foliage to market goers, florists, event designers, retailers and DIY Wedding couples in the mid-Hudson Valley. Inspired by permaculture, biodynamics, and regenerative agriculture, Marybeth Wehrung and her team grow over 60 seasonal varieties of lush, vibrant blooms, foliage, and herbs on just over one queer-femme-powered acre.  

The vibrant and prolific flower fields at Stars of the Meadow Flower Farm
The vibrant and prolific flower fields at Stars of the Meadow Flower Farm

Stars of the Meadow uses organic, no-till methods to grow flowers on a human scale, without machinery. Marybeth has made it her mission to grow high quality floral material to contribute towards a regional floral supply, and to provide an alternative to the chemically driven global floral trade.

Marybeth is a farmer-florist whose designs are seasonal and stunning!
Marybeth is a farmer-florist whose designs are seasonal and stunning!

A few weeks ago, Marybeth and I were able to reunite while in Albuquerque to attend the ASCFG conference. What a treat to see her again and to reminisce about the trajectory that has propelled Stars of the Meadow over the past decade. While Marybeth has farmed for about 15 years, she transitioned from growing veggies and medicinal herbs to cut flower farming about 12 years ago. Stars of the Meadow has come so far and I loved catching up with her story.

Find and follow Stars of the Meadow on Instagram and Facebook


Last Day to Grab Your Slow Flowers Summit Registration!!

Slow Flowers WORLDWIDE Summit 2026 speaker lineup
Slow Flowers WORLDWIDE Summit 2026 speaker lineup

Today, Wednesday, January 28th, is the final day that you can register for the Slow Flowers WORLDWIDE Summit. We are super excited to “go live” with the 10 hours of floral education starting this Friday, January 30th.

There is still time to get in on the action – if you grab your registration by midnight Pacific Time today – and join more than one hundred attendees at our two-day online conference. The program includes 13 amazing speakers who will share their flower growing, design, and business expertise.

If you’ve been sitting on the fence, here is just one more nudge to prompt you to register. Use LETSDOTHIS for a last-minute 10% discount on all ticket levels. Remember, Slow Flowers members already receive $50 off their registration and all registrants with US addresses will receive a spring-flowering tree from our lead sponsor, My Patio Tree – a $199 value, which means attending the Summit practically pays for itself! One more reminder. The sessions will be available for replay for three months, through the end of April, so you can watch at your leisure and rewatch to capture all the information our instructors will share.


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.

Royal Anthos Lily Bulbs

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.

A special thank you and welcome to our newest major sponsor, My Patio Tree. My Patio Tree provides Expertly Grown Plants, Perfectly Designed to Elevate Your Garden. This 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.

And thank you to the Association of Specialty Cut Flowers. The ASCFG is a gathering place for specialty cut flower growers of all levels of experience. It is a hub of knowledge, where seasoned experts and budding enthusiasts come together to learn, share, and support one another. The ASCFG is dedicated to empowering its members with the knowledge and resources needed to thrive in the world of cut flower farming. From educational workshops and conferences to online resources and publications, they provide a wealth of information and support for all things related to growing exceptional cut flowers. Learn more about the ASCFG and how to be a part of it at www.ascfg.org!


Slow Flowers Podcast Logo with flowers, recorder and mic

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.


Debra in the Slow Flowers Cutting Garden
Thank you for listening! Sending love, from my cutting garden to you! (c) Missy Palacol Photography

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; Vessel One
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

Episode 752: Deb Majerus and Joel MacDonald of Minnesota’s Iron Butterfly Flower Farm

Wednesday, January 21st, 2026

On a sweet, 6-acre country parcel in Rochester, Minnesota, Deb Majerus and Joel MacDonald are creating a place of beauty and sanctuary, spreading joy to their community as an oasis just beyond busy roads, paving and residential developments all around. Minnesota natives who dated in high school and reunited years later, Deb and Joel grow spring perennials, peonies, and specialize in native plants for floral design and to create a more welcoming, regenerative habitat for their farm. I sat down with this engaging couple recently to hear more about their story and the path that led them to flower farming, inspired by their passion for the Slow Flowers Movement and their growing expertise in the benefits of native plants.

Helen the Van at Iron Butterfly Flower Farm
Meet Helen, Joel’s van from high school given to him by his grandparents, named for Grandma Helen. Deb & Joel went on some dates in this van in H.S.

At Iron Butterfly Flower Farm, native flowers and sustainable regenerative practices are at the heart of everything Deb Majerus and Joel MacDonald are doing. Their passion for the native flora and fauna of Minnesota, has prompted them to grow native flowers, grasses, trees, and shrubs to support beneficial insects with pollen and nectar, and to provide habitat and food for songbirds and pollinators.  Iron Butterly Flower Farm grows a variety of native species from early spring ephemerals to showy mid-summer blooms to late autumn sources of nectar for pollinators.

Deb Majerus
Deb Majerus
Joel MacDonald
Joel MacDonald

They offer spring bouquet subscriptions, DIY wedding and event flowers, farm tours and workshops, and sell seasonally at the Rochester Farmers’ Market.

We originally met in person when Deb and Joel attended the Slow Flowers Summit in 2024, held in Banff, Alberta, Canada, and we published Deb’s article, “Growing Native Plants to Combat Climate Change,” in the 2024 Slow Flowers Journal – see “Native Flora” below.
Read the full issue here

Native Flora article by Deb Majerus

The three of us reunited last week in Albuquerque, where we attended the ASCFG conference. I set up a little recording studio in my hotel room and they joined me to share their story.

Joel MacDonald and Deb Majerus of Iron Butterfly Flower Farm
Joel MacDonald and Deb Majerus of Iron Butterfly Flower Farm

Find and follow Iron Butterfly Flower Farm on Instagram and Pinterest

Also, if you’re looking for ideas that might inspire you to add more workshops, check out “The Art of Seasonal Flowers,” a 10-workshop series that Iron Butterfly Flower Farm has just announced, offering many ways for their community to learn about and engage with local flowers. From sun-printed botanicals to a culinary session focused on edible flowers to hand-carved block printing inspired by the farm – these are really creative ideas packaged in a beautiful way. Plus, the series generates revenue, brings people to the farm, and deepens relationships with return customers. Check it out.

Slow Flowers WORLDWIDE Summit

Slow Flowers WORLDWIDE Summit 2026 speaker lineup
Slow Flowers WORLDWIDE Summit 2026 speaker lineup

If you’re listening to this podcast on its release day – January 21st, we’re just 9 days from the Slow Flowers WORLDWIDE Summit. We are super excited to “go live” with the 10 hours of floral education starting next Friday, January 30th. We are back for Year Two and coming to you virtually to deliver inspiration and education during the two-day online conference. The program 13 speakers near and far – at an incredible rate for $289 general registration. Remember, Slow Flowers members receive $50 off their registration at $239.

My Patio Tree flowering lilac tree

All registrants with US addresses will receive a spring-flowering tree from our lead sponsor, My Patio Tree – a $199 value, which means attending the Summit practically pays for itself! One more reminder. The sessions will be available for replay for three months, through the end of April, so you can watch at your leisure and rewatch to capture all the information our instructors will share. Find all the details in our show notes or visit slowflowerssummit.com.


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.

Royal Anthos Lily Bulbs

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 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 A-ROO Company, your one-stop shop for in-stock floral packaging. From sleeves and wraps to labels and tags, visit www.a-roo.com for their full selection of eco-friendly items or to start the process of developing a look that is uniquely yours.


Slow Flowers Podcast Logo with flowers, recorder and mic

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.


Debra in the Slow Flowers Cutting Garden
Thank you for listening! Sending love, from my cutting garden to you! (c) Missy Palacol Photography

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; 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