Sea holly (Eryngium sp.) looking dazzling!

This week’s arrangement comes to you courtesy of a special event in which I participated to benefit the King County Library Foundation.

Called an “Author Salon,” the private gathering was one of several offered at the Library Foundation’s recent annual Literary Lions Auction. Library supporters  Elaine & John Hogle  and  Felicia Dixon & Lucas Hoban  hosted the Author Salon last weekend at theBellevue Botanical Garden – one of my very favorite public gardens in the Seattle area. Landscape architect Liz Browning of Swift Company also participated by leading a tour of the newest garden BBG installations area designed by her firm.

The Author Salon team, standing, from left: Felicia, Liz and Elaine; I’m seated in front.

What a beautiful venue! I was asked to talk about Slow Flowers, the book, as well as the slow flowers movement to source domestic and local flowers rather than rely on imports.

Local flowers and the Slow Flowers book go together well!

My publisher, St. Lynn’s Press, generously donated copies of Slow Flowers so that everyone in attendance took home a signed copy. And all the proceeds of the afternoon benefit the King County Library Foundation. Cindy Sharek and Andrea Quigley of the Foundation ensured that we had a lovely reception to hear the message of supporting literacy education!

And about the flowers you see here. I asked – and received special permission – to cut from the famed Perennial Border at the Bellevue Botanical Garden for my demonstration.

While you might think I focused on which blooms to choose first, it was the oak leaf hydrangea that caught my attention before anything else.

My vase had a fairly wide opening of about 7 inches, so I needed larger, structural branches and leaves as my design’s starting point. Plus, I absolutely love the hydrangea’s stage right now. The leaves are large and supple and the flowers are still in bud so they’re the same color green and the foliage.

Susy Hutchison took home the Slow Flowers bouquet.

See my entire plant list below. As I was basically designing on the fly, (I only clipped the blooms 30 minutes before the event!), it occurred to me that I had three primary hues and three secondary hues of blooms — and naturally, that gave me an organizing structure to discuss a bit of color theory.

I had a few longtime friends in the audience who surprised me by attending, people I hadn’t seen for years!

How cool that my friend Susy Hutchison, former news anchor for KIRO-TV (CBS affiliate) won the doorprize to take home my arrangement. Seriously, it was not a fix!

Susy reported to me that the bouquet was “still going strong,” one week after she brought it home. Yes, folks, that’s another great reason for sourcing locally – your arrangement’s vase life will be extended!

The finished “color wheel” bouquet – clipped just steps away from our event.

Three sets of complements: Blue & Orange; Purple & Yellow; Red & Blue (with lots of green thrown in for good measure)

Three sets of complements: Blue & Orange; Purple & Yellow; Red & Blue (with lots of green thrown in for good measure)

Here’s that essential oak leaf foliage

Here is the recipe, with all ingredients from the Perennial Border at Bellevue Botanic Garden:

• Oak leaf hydrangea foliage & flowers (Hydrangea quercifolia)
• Lady’s mantle (Alchemilla mollis)
• Red/Maroon: Astilbe
• Green: Allium ‘Hair’ (a mutation of  A. sphaerocephalon)
• Orange: Geum (Geum chiloense) possibly ‘Totally Tangerine’
• Purple: Catmint (Nepeta sp.)
• Yellow: Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
• Blue: Sea holly (Eryngium amethystinum)
• Bonus stems: I added a few beautiful stems of pale orange and yellow foxglove

The lady’s mantle and oak leaf hydrangea blooms add a touch of lime.

A cool-toned combo for early June, including Acanthus mollis, baptisia, cerinthe and sweet peas – all offset with fragrant mint foliage.

Here’s how the entire bouquet turned out. I used a large trophy-like urn to accommodate the scale of the bear’s breech.

This week I couldn’t take my eyes off the gorgeous flower stalks of two bear’s breech plants ( Acanthus mollis) growing between our back porch and the pond in a shady area.

This perennial typically belongs at the back of the border where the large glossy foliage can offset smaller and more delicate companions. Deeply lobed, the acanthus leaf is a classical form in art and architecture. I’ve actually used the leaves in winter floral arrangements before. In my Zone 8b garden, the leaves are basically evergreen and winter hardy.

The blooms are also arresting. They are tall and pointed with an overall spiny form and purplish-green bracts. I will say this: They don’t LOVE being cut and plunked in a vase.

The five stalks I cut and used in this bouquet had mixed performance from between one to three days. So if you have bear’s breech in your perennial border, consider it a day-of cut flower.

‘April in Paris’ sweetpea, grown by Jello Mold Farm. If only you could inhale its perfume!

Baptisia (love the sweet pea-like flowers on the tall stem), with honeywort (Cerinthe).

Blue false indigo (Baptisia australis)

Curled just like a little shrimp, Cerinthe has a fabulous blue-green/purple flower

Here is the recipe::

• Garden mint, grown by Ojeda Farms in Ethel, Washington
• Honeywort (Cerinthe major ‘Purpurascens’), grown by Jello Mold Farm in Mt. Vernon, Washington
• Blue false indigo (Baptisia australis), Jello Mold Farm
• ‘April in Paris’ Sweet Peas, Jello Mold Farm
• Bear’s breech (Acanthus mollis) flowers, from my garden

Everything came together beautifully, including the addition of the mint foliage!

Just for fun, here’s how the Acanthus mollis foliage lent much-needed drama to a December arrangement. I paired it with Callicarpa, curly willow and camellia foliage.

Note the large, glossy Acanthus foliage on the right side of this winter arrangement.

And on its own, the foliage of Blue false indigo (Baptisia australis) is also fantastic. Long after the beautiful flowers fade, you can keep cutting the leaves for arranging:

Baptisia foliage in an August bouquet.

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In this pencil study, Abbie Zabar captures an exuberant floral arrangement from the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Great Hall.

This week we’re celebrating the 50,000th download of the Slow Flowers Podcast.

As of today, we’ve produced 97 episodes bringing you the leading voices in the American Grown floral community – from flower farmers to floral designers, the inspiring people working to save flowers as part of our nation’s agricultural heritage and keep our flowers local, seasonal, sustainable — and American grown.

I am grateful to my past guests, each of whom has shared his or her story with listeners. And I’m so thankful to listeners who regularly tune in, comment, share and like this endeavor.

Students at Sarah Pabody’s floral design workshop learn about the origin of the flowers in their lives. (c) Elena Slesarchuk, courtesy of Triple Wren Farm.

Before we meet Abbie Zabar, this week’s guest, I wanted to share a text that I received this week from my friend Sarah Pabody of Triple Wren Farms located just north of Bellingham, Washington.

Sarah and her husband Steve Pabody are big promoters of the Slow Flowers Movement. When Sarah leads design workshops at Triple Wren she does something for which I’m so grateful.

Each student is handed one of the Slow Flowers infographics that reads “Where do your flowers come from?”

Then Sarah leads a short discussion about the frightening statistics revealing the small percentage of domestic flowers in the marketplace versus imported flowers, as well as the cost of those imported flowers, both environmentally but also economically, to local communities.

She texted me photos of last weekend’s workshop, which I have permission to share with you.

Even the youngest floral design student is introduced to the Slow Flowers Movement at Triple Wren Farms! (c) Elena Slesarchuk.

Said Sarah: “I thought you’d like to see your Infographics in action – at every workshop, I issue a challenge to each person to casually ask another person in their lives (grocery florist, family member, however they can work it into their daily conversation),”Do you know where these flowers were grown?”

If anyone listening to this story feels moved to do the same with their own customers, please follow this link to our graphics, which you are welcome to download and copy. Thanks for the inspiration, Sarah!

Abbie Zabar, captured in a familar pose at Rodmarton Manor in the UK. She’s sketching in a garden, with paper on her lap. (c) Sylvia Martin

Okay, today’s guest is thoroughly inspiring in a completely different way. When I first read the news that the work of Abbie Zabar, a New York-based artist and longtime virtual friend in the garden-writing world, was going to be celebrated this coming weekend with the opening of an exhibit of her floral drawings, I had to share her story with you.

As you will hear in our conversation, Abbie is a close observer of nature and of flowers, especially. She captures what she observes with colored pencils on sheets of rather ordinary paper or cardboard.

from June 23, 2002

For one decade of her life, from the early 1990s to the early 2000s, Abbie walked from her apartment in New York City’s upper east side to the famed Metropolitan Museum of Art on Fifth Avenue. She entered the impressive Great Hall during the early hours, found a place to sit, and proceeded to sketch the grand floral arrangements on display there each week. (I feel quite an affinity for someone who honored such a creative ritual week after week; after all, I managed to make a bouquet each week for one year and ritualized that practice, but Abbie’s ten-year observance is hugely impressive).

Abbie Zabar. December 6 1994. Collection of the artist

Abbie was enthralled by the five enormous flower-filled urns that stood in the Met’s Great Hall. At the time, the pieces were created by Chris Giftos, the Met’s former Master Floral Designer and Director of Special Events. For more than 30 years, Mr. Giftos was responsible for the beautiful arrangement in the Great Hall. And, as Abbie describes, the flowers occupied four large niches carved from the central piers, as well as the centrally located Information Desk. The weekly arrangements of fresh flowers appear, thanks to an endowment provided by the late Lila Acheson Wallace, who was one of the Museum’s largest single benefactors.

Abbie Zabar. February 4 2002. Collection of the artist

It’s no surprise to learn that Abbie and Chris became good friends. The fondness she had for this floral artist are reflected in each drawing she made in response to his work. Incredibly alluring, her diminutive floral portraits are breathtaking in both their simplicity and their complexity. Abbie’s own experience as a gardener and her innate knowledge of the flowers, fronds and leaves before her allowed her to capture the splendid bouquets with a sure and deft hand, well before the Museum opened its doors for the day.

Abbie Zabar. October 16 1999. Collection of the artist

Working in situ and in pencil—the only implement allowed in the space —her drawings showcase the vibrancy, variety and vitality of the displays, as captured in one quick sitting.

Abbie Zabar at the Manhattan Chapter of the North American Rock Garden Society’s Plant Sale, where she was passing around saxifraga “favors.” Photo courtesy of Yukie Kurashina.

You will hear more about her process in our conversation, and please visit debraprinzing.com to see examples of the pieces that will be unveiled in this upcoming exhibition.

The show is called Abbie Zabar: Ten Years of Flowers, on view June 7 through October 4 at Wave Hill, a beautiful public garden and cultural center in The Bronx. The event is free with your admission to the grounds.

And here is a little more about Abbie’s background:

Abbie Zabar is an acclaimed artist, graphic and garden designer, and the author of five books. Her first book, The Potted Herb (1988), is now considered a gardening classic.

She has created garden and graphic designs for numerous prestigious companies and organizations, including Bergdorf Goodman, Daniel Boulud’s restaurants and PS 198.

Her landscape collages have been represented by Allan Stone and BlumHelman, and Flowers in the Great Hall of the Metropolitan Museum of Art series has been represented by Ursus Books & Prints and the Horticultural Society of New York.

Abbie Zabar. May 18 1995. Private collection

Abbie’s artwork has been shown at the Museum of Modern Art, the Cooper-Hewitt Museum, the Parrish Museum, the International Paper Corporation, the Louvre, the Institute of Contemporary Arts (London) and the Vigeland Museum (Oslo), and is part of the permanent collections of the Mead Paper Corporation of America, the Brooklyn Museum, the Jewish Museum, the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation and the Smithsonian Museum.

Abbie Zabar. May 17 2003. Collection of the artist.

Abbie’s illustrated articles have appeared in Garden Design, Horticulture, Fine Gardening, Gourmet and The New York Times, as well as in numerous esteemed British publications. She received the 2010 Award for Best Newspaper Writing from the Garden Writers Association for her piece “A Vine in the Sky,” published in The Forward.

Abbie Zabar. September 24 2000. Collection of the artist

In 2014, she was honored with the North American Rock Garden Society’s Carleton R. Worth Award, given to an author of distinguished writings about rock gardening and rock garden plants. Zabar is currently the Program Chairperson for the Manhattan Chapter of the North American Rock Garden Society and a Learning Leader at P.S. 198.

Jar with green hyacinths

White roses in straight-sided jar.

White roses, little creamer

As Abbie and I discussed, not only is the exhibition at Wave Hill available for public viewing all summer long, continuing to October 4th, she has a second show in the works, which will run September 16th to October 2nd at W.M. Brady & Co., a gallery at 22 East 80th Street, just a few steps from The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

This collection of drawings includes the series of small floral studies that Abbie and I discussed at the close of our interview (and she generously shares a sneak peek of a few of those pieces here).

From the grand floral arrangements at the Met to these intimate moments of singular blooms captured in small vases, Abbie’s gifts as an illustrator of flowers are evident. And I know you’ll be as enchanted as I am. By the way, many of these pieces will be available for purchase, so please follow the links to the two institutions (Wave Hill and W.M. Brady & Co.) to inquire if you’re interested in a list of available works.

Thank you, Abbie Zabar, for showing us flowers in a new way. Not everyone is an artist or has the ability to use a pencil so masterfully as my friend Abbie. But this conversation has moved me to use my innate skills of observation more acutely, whether I’m on a walk in the park, purchasing flowers from my favorite flower farmer, or tending to plants in my own backyard.

Thanks again for joining me today for another wonderful conversation about flowers. Listeners like you have downloaded the podcast more than 50,000 times. THANK YOU to each and every one of you for downloading, listening, commenting and sharing. It means so much.

Until next week please join me in putting more American grown flowers on the table, one vase at a time. And If you like what you hear, please consider logging onto Itunes and posting a listener review.

The content and opinions expressed here are either mine alone or those of my guests alone, independent of any podcast sponsor or other person, company or organization.

The Slow Flowers Podcast is engineered and edited by Andrew Wheatley and Hannah Holtgeerts. Learn more about their work at shellandtree.com.

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Meet Eleanor Blackford, owner and creative director of Bash & Bloom (c) Barbie Hull Photography

This week’s guest is Eleanor Blackford Davis, owner of Seattle-based Bash & Bloom.

Eleanor and I frequent the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market where she is a regular customer and I’m on the board.

A Bash & Bloom emerald green and white bouquet displayed in an ornate chair with photography (c) Courtney Bowlden Photography

It’s always fun and tempting to see what she has loaded in her arms on those early-morning excursions – and there’s often a fabulous related story she shares about a wedding or event in the works.

Eleanor and I got to talking last year about her decision – and her public announcement – to go foam free as a designer.

A Bash & Bloom Table Garland adorns a wedding reception (c) photography by Mark Malijan Photography

She also believes in sourcing from local farms and through the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market, whose staff members procure only local, seasonal and sustainably-grown flowers from Washington, Oregon, Alaska and California.

My photograph of Eleanor Blackford, with her sample arrangement using local spring flowers and Floral Soil.

Eleanor’s finished design, a prototype for her wedding reception.

We continued the dialogue recently while both participating in a workshop to use Floral Soil, a 100-percent plant-based alternative to the conventional foam, invented by Mickey Blake, a past guest of this podcast.

Alicia Schwede of Flirty Fleurs, another past podcast guest, led the workshop on designing elevated centerpieces, and I have to tell you that Eleanor’s piece was stunning! It was also the prototype for her own wedding florals, which took place on May 8th. 

Check out the no-foam elevated centerpiece she created at the workshop with Alicia and Mickey.

But about five weeks ago, Eleanor and I agreed to meet over tea to record our conversation, and I know you’ll enjoy it.

Eleanor’s art deco bouquet in white and dark reddish purples was photographed by (c) My Beloved Photography

I’m happy that Eleanor has shared so many photos of her floral design work and a few bonus photos from her recent wedding to Matthew Davis (see below).

Eleanor on her wedding day with flowers by Kelly Sullivan of Botanique (Instagram photo from wedding photographer Shane Macomber)

Those fantastic elevated centerpieces designed with Floral Soil – adorning Eleanor and Matt’s wedding reception. (c) Shane Macomber Photography

You can find Eleanor at these Social Sites:

Bash & Bloom on Facebook

Bash & Bloom on Instagram

Bash & Bloom on Pinterest

The Greater Seattle Floral Association, the local organization for wedding, event, studio and retail designers in which she is actively involved.

Bouquets for a pink-and-mauve floral palette (c) Alante Photography

Here’s how my guest introduces herself on the Bash & Bloom web site:

I’m Eleanor Blackford – a craftster, dog lover, fun haver, and Owner of bash & bloom. My style has been described as having a lush, organic, and creative look and feel. I love to make an event unique, personal, and fun and can’t wait to sit down with you to talk about your vision. I work closely with my couples or party hosts to bring their unique personality and style to their event, primarily using seasonal and local products.

Vivid palette (c) Dana Pleasant Photography

Thanks again for joining me today for another wonderful conversation about American flowers and the designers and farmers who are changing this entire industry for the better.

More flowers from the brighter end of the spectrum, (c) Barrie Anne Photography

Listeners like you have downloaded the podcast 50,000 times.

I want to stop for just one moment and savor that news. Yes, we just produced our 96th episode and we are very, very close to airing the big one-hundredth episode, just one month from now.

THANK YOU to each and every one of you for downloading, listening, commenting and sharing. It means so much.

Until next week please join me in putting more American grown flowers on the table, one vase at a time. And If you like what you hear, please consider logging onto Itunes and posting a listener review.

The content and opinions expressed here are either mine alone or those of my guests alone, independent of any podcast sponsor or other person, company or organization.

The Slow Flowers Podcast is engineered and edited by Andrew Wheatley and Hannah Holtgeerts. Learn more about their work at shellandtree.com.

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The Slow Flowers Podcast is coming to you this week from Britain, where I’ve been touring the Chelsea Flower Show, reporting on gardening and floral trends for Houzz.com, and speaking to a passionate group of British Flower Farmers. I promise to bring home inspiring podcast interviews to share in the coming weeks.

And if you want to listen to what’s happening in the British-Grown flower movement, including the perspective of both florists and flower farmers, I’ve added links to past interviews here:

Episode 129: Reclaiming our Floral Heritage . . . Lessons from #Britishflowers

Episode 186: The Flower Farmer’s Year with Georgie Newbery of Common Farm Flowers UK

Flowers from the Farm, the UK’s nationwide network of cut flower growers

A special thanks to Gillian Hodgson of Fieldhouse Flowers and the force behind Flowers from the Farm – an organization of British flower farmers, as well as to Sarah Statham of Simply by Arrangement, both of Yorkshire, who created a magnificent itinerary for my visit. You’ll hear from them both in future reports.

And here are a few more pieces of good news, shared by Slowflowers.com members on both American coasts:

First from Mary Coombs, who with her sister Dawn Clark operate A Garden Party based in Elmer, New Jersey:

Subject line: It is Working

“I was meeting with a client last night and I asked her how she found us. Much to my delight, she found us via Slowflowers.com! She is a perfect fit for my company and I am proud to be listed on this site. Thank you for working so hard on this!
I will also be talking about the Slow Flowers movement on Fox 29 Philadelphia on Monday morning. They are coming to film us in the garden for three live segments to air during their news show. I am nervous but excited!”

Mary’s note is so encouraging that I wanted you to hear it – and check out this news clip featuring Mary and Dawn.

“Anything you can get locally grown will be fresher; it will last longer; it’s going to do better in the vase.” — Dawn Clark, A Garden Party.

And next, a note from one of my favorite flower farmers, Joan Thorndike of Le Mera Gardens, based in Talent, Oregon, just outside Ashland. Joan is featured in The 50 Mile Bouquet, and she was an early supporter of Slowflowers.com. She is a farmer and a florist, famous for her summertime Oregon wine-country weddings.

Here’s Joan’s note, a text that arrived on my phone screen:

“Twice last week a potential customer called me because they knew all about your Slow Flowers as a concept – and so wanted to find a source close rather than far. Thank you for what you do!”

Please keep these updates coming – it is your anecdotal stories of customers finding their American grown flowers from Slowflowers.com farms and floral designers that allow me to share the news with others interested in joining this movement.

4th generatoin Fern Farmer Erik Hagstrom.

I met today’s guest in person – finally – after a long-distance social media acquaintance. Please meet Erik Hagstrom of Albin Hagstrom & Son.

Based in Pierson, Florida, Albin Hagstrom & Son is one of, if not THE, largest American farms growing ferns, greenery and all types of cut foliage for the floral marketplace.

The family-owned business was started in 1928.

Glossy and durable — Leatherleaf fern.

Not only did Albin Hagstrom & Son join the Slowflowers.com site very early after we launched, Erik has been a super supportive member. On two occasions, when I was booked to do interviews with Florida radio personalities, I asked him to send a sample box of Florida ferns and foliage to the host. He more than exceeded my expectations.

Such a generous gesture that proved to be a tangible example of the Slow Flowers movement – and in both cases, those radio hosts mentioned receiving those beautiful Florida ferns while we were on the air. That’s the kind of partnership that helps all of us in the movement.

Under the live oak, as I attempted to reach the naturally draped Spanish moss.

Last week I spent five days in Orlando, Florida. I was thrilled to have an extra day before I started speaking and designing on the Festival Stage at Disney Epcot’s Flower & Garden Show, and while my two sons went off to Magic Kingdom, I headed north on Interstate, about 75 miles south of where Albin Hagstrom & Sons is located, to find the hamlet of Pierson, population 1,730.

Variegated pittosporum shrubs, growing prolifically under a shade structure.

I had a fun visit with Erik’s dad, Richard, grandson of founder Albin, who has just turned 80 and is a walking encyclopedia of fern-farming.

Tree ferns, naturalized under the canopy of live oak trees.

Then Erik and I jumped in his pickup  truck to drive through some of the production area, passing through shade structures and then following a narrow road through the “hammock” where ferns grow naturally under the canopy of ancient live oak trees.

Mostera. Beautiful, but I wasn’t going to venture too close!

Anytime I wanted to take a photo, Erik indulged me by stopping and letting me hop out. However, when we slowed down to view the shade house where Monstera foliage grows, he warned me that rattlesnakes like to hang out in the protective tangle at the base of these tropical-looking plants with such dramatic leaves. Um, no thank you. I stayed in the car! But I did find it interesting that most of Albin Hagstrom & Son’s Monstera goes to the cruise ships that dock in Florida.

The Hagstrom family homestead, built in the 1920s by great grandfather Albin. You can see the Swedish farmhouse influence in its simple lines and appealing symmetry.

And by the way, Erik is a man of many interests. He started his career working for the famous Daytona International Speedway and has an extensive background in promotions and marketing. While he eventually left the world of racing to grow ferns, Erik is still a huge fan of NASCAR events. He is the owner of an American-made pickup truck, a fact that did not escape my notice!

Tree ferns, just picked and ready for shipping to all 50 states.

I hope you enjoy our podcast interview and gain a newfound appreciation for FOLIAGE — an important source of botanical beauty for floral design. I left with a huge box of samples and was delighted to use the ferns, foliage, grasses and greenery in my demonstrations on the Epcot stage during the following three days. I was proud to tell my audiences that about those American grown, FLORIDA grown stems beautifying my vases. And in a state where nearly all of the imported flowers and foliage flow through nearby Miami International Airport, it was doubly important to have this gorgeous and tangible example of the Slow Flowers movement in my hands.

Thanks again for joining me today and please visit debraprinzing.com to see my photos and to follow links to all Erik’s social sites.

Albin Hagstrom & Son on Facebook

Erik Hagstrom on Twitter: @erikhagstrom

Listeners like you have downloaded the podcast nearly 49,000 times. Until next week please join me in putting more American grown flowers on the table, one vase at a time. And If you like what you hear, please consider logging onto Itunes and posting a listener review.

The content and opinions expressed here are either mine alone or those of my guests alone, independent of any podcast sponsor or other person, company or organization.

The Slow Flowers Podcast is engineered and edited by Andrew Wheatley and Hannah Holtgeerts. Learn more about their work at shellandtree.com.

Some of Springtime’s most alluring flowering branches include: Magnolia, Dogwood, Apricot, Quince and Cherry.

We’re digging into the archives this week for the  Slow Flowers Challenge. That’s what happens when I find myself on too many airplanes, which is ironic, isn’t it? It’s sort of the opposite of my “Slow” aspirations!

However, I’m just back home from speaking and teaching in Orlando, Florida. And now, after recharging for the past five days in Seattle, I’ve re-packed and am heading to the airport tonight to fly to London!!!

That’s right! I’m off to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. I’ll also be meeting many of the people active in the British Flowers scene – U.K. flower farmers and florists who have many of the same objectives that we have here in the U.S. To put local, seasonal and sustainably-grown flowers at the center of our tables!

Stay tuned, because I promise that next week’s Slow Flowers Challenge will be decidedly British!

The acid green of variegated hostas and euphorbia create a “skirt” effect for flowering magnolia branches.

I absolutely love the images you see here. I created these arrangements for a national magazine story that was, sadly, never published. The editors, as they say, went in a different direction.

But my photos live on and I’m delighted to share them with you here.

The vase at left is filled with Pieris and Dogwood; the vase at right has both flowering Dogwod and twig dogwood.

Flowering Cherry with Snowball Viburnum.

Simple: Quince in two hues, plus swordfern.

Flowering plum, paired with Lamb’s Ear foliage.

Spring hellebores paired with flowering apricot branches.

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The Slow Flowers Movement has a lot to celebrate lately – and I want to share with you the very good news that occurred just before Mother’s Day.

While some may view this as a merely symbolic event, I applaud the news that both the Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives passed Resolutions about flowers last week. Seriously!

The opening lines of the Senate Resolution urging support of American Grown Flowers.

Follow this link to read the entire Senate resolution #166, passed unanimously and introduced by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, with Sen. Barbara Boxer and Sen. Lisa Murkowski.

The document’s first paragraph gets right to the point:

Expressing the sense of the Senate that domestically grown flowers support the farmers, small businesses, jobs, and economy of the United States, enhance the ability of the people of the United States to honor their mothers on Mother’s Day, and that the White House should strive to showcase domestically grown flowers.

It continues:

Whereas people in every State have access to domestically grown flowers, yet only 1 of 5 flowers sold in the United States is domestically grown;

Whereas more people in the United States are expressing interest in growing flowers locally, which has resulted in an approximately 20 percent increase in the number of domestic cut flower farms since 2007;

(c) Washington Post image of California irises and Florida tropical foliage.

Whereas in 2014, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama highlighted their support for domestically grown flowers at the White House State Dinner with French President Francois Hollande, the only White House State Dinner that year; Whereas the 2014 White House State Dinner featured quince branch from Mississippi, weeping willow from New Jersey, Scotch broom from Virginia, iris from California, and alocasia, equisetum, nandina, and green liriope from Florida;

There are many more “whereas” paragraphs that discuss the economic impact of America’s flower farming industry. And then the actual resolution concludes with these four assertions:

Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that—

(1) purchasing flowers grown in the United States supports the farmers, small businesses, jobs, and economy of the United States;  

(2) flowers and greens grown in the United States are a vital and integral part of the agricultural industry of the United States;

(3) flowers grown in the United States enhance the ability of Americans to honor their mothers on  Mother’s Day; and  

(4) the White House should strive to showcase flowers and greens grown in the United States to show support for the flower breeders, farmers, processors, and distributors of the United States.

You may be wondering, “What prompted our nation’s leaders to introduce such a Resolution? (And by the way, a very similar Resolution was passed at about the same time by Congress, with language introduced by the four co-chairs of the Congressional Cut Flower Caucus.)

In addition to congratulating these policymakers and their staff members for doing the right thing for American Flowers, this good news would never have happened if it wasn’t for the determination of Kasey Cronquist, CEO and Ambassador for the California Cut Flower Commission and the flower farmers of his state who have invested time and financial resources to visit Washington, D.C., year after year for the past five years, to engage in conversation with those elected officials.

That is huge and I am pleased to have joined this effort in a small way by joining those delegations in 2014 and 2015. At the helm of this strategy is Bill Frymoyer, of Stewart & Stewart, the man who represents the American Grown effort in our nation’s capital. Bill and Kasey have authored this strategy that of course was crafted to benefit the agenda of California’s cut flower growers, but also creates a ripple effect to benefit everyone in the Slow Flowers community.

JOINING HANDS ACROSS THE FLOWER FIELDS OF AMERICA

When a spotlight in Washington, D.C., shines on domestic flowers it brings attention to you, to your flower farm (no matter what its size). It gives credibility to our cause, the cause of people who care about keeping flowers local, seasonal and sustainable. I encourage you to reach out to your own representative or Senator and let them know that you are a cut flower farmer in their district or state. Take the time. Send a letter. Deliver a bouquet. Thank them for signing onto these resolutions and tell them the support means something to you. And by the way, here is a great resource to help you send that message efficiently and directly.

I am always shocked when someone tries to drive a wedge between the big-idea American grown movement and the grassroots local-flowers movement.  There should be no wedge. We need everyone’s efforts to fight imports. Every single flower farm and farmer; every single florist and designer who makes a mindful choice about sourcing flowers grown and harvested from American soil; every single customer who orders flowers and asks for local or American blooms. That is the rising tide that floats all of our boats. In your own backyard and in all 50 states.

KEEPING IT LOCAL IN THE TWIN CITIES

This blackboard/sandwich board is a message I can get behind. Spotted outside Foxglove Market & Studio, owned by today’s guest Christine Hoffman.

Now to today’s guest. Chrisine Hoffman is the owner of Foxglove Market & Studio based in St. Paul, Minnesota.

I am thrilled that I was able to visit Foxglove personally when I was in the Twin Cities to speak and teach at the Minneapolis Institute of Art two weeks ago for “Art in Bloom.”

I broke away one afternoon and caught a ride to St. Paul, asking my driver to take me to Grand Avenue, the charming, pedestrian-focused street where Christine’s store is located.

The vintage building has all the character you could want, with high ceilings finished in decorative pressed tin, a bay window in the front where an inviting vignette lures you in, and a lovely mix of old and new, crafted and curated goods.

On her web site, Christine describes the shop and studio as: “Putting a fresh modern spin on an honest folk vibe. Foxglove’s thoughtful aesthetic emphasizes sustainability, utility, community and comfort.”

Local Midwest-grown flowers are at the heart of Foxglove Market & Studio.

Proprietress and creative director Christine Hoffman.

Get it, got it, GOOD!

Welcome to Foxglove, where you can find an artisan gift, take a workshop or gather an armload of seasonal blooms.

There are three aspects to this business that I find so wonderful interrelated:

First the Marketplace, where an assortment of home goods, books, high quality paper products and findings, as well as Midwest salvage reflect Christine’s aesthetic as a former interior designer, photo stylist and event planner. Then there’s the Studio, where any number of gatherings take place – from floral design workshops and other creative hands-on classes to private pop-up chef dinners. And finally, the Flowers, a complement to every other activity held here. Of the Flowers, Christine focuses her offerings on seasonal flowers grown by local farms.

As she writes on her web site:

Knowing where our food comes from and how it is grown and processed is once again becoming a natural part of our everyday lives. These same issues apply to our cut flowers. The majority of commercial flowers are grown overseas using a mixture of fertilizers, chemicals and preservatives that are anything but natural. Add in worker exposure and ship time and resources, and you’ve got one loaded bunch of tulips. It’s easy to grab a cellophane wrapped bouquet, pop it in a vase, and not give it another thought. Those flowers, however, have a big impact on our environment-both in a broad sense and in your home.

I have a commitment to unique and expressive floral design, happy plants, and a healthy environment. By staying domestic and keeping it simple, Foxglove strives to minimize environmental and social impact. My farmers use sustainable and organic growing methods, and deliver blooms personally to my shop.

• Support Local Growers
• Embrace Healthy Homes
• Celebrate Seasonal Abundance

My mission is a simple one, based on my personal aesthetic and belief that flowers are most beautiful in their natural state. To me it seems counterintuitive to treat soil and plants with artificial fertilizers, chemicals and sprays, and I really don’t want to trail those things into my home and onto my table. It poses a challenge in our cold climate to source everything locally, but it is a better choice for so many reasons.

I am so pleased to welcome Christine Hoffman to the Slow Flowers Podcast.  Since her days growing up in a river valley, gathering endless bouquets of wildflowers from the woods surrounding her childhood home, Christine has been in love with flowers. Her parents are both gardeners, and their knowledge of plants and flowers settled into Christine with each bed she helped prep (grumbling all the way), and each garden picked bouquet brought into their house.

Follow Foxglove at these social places:

Foxglove Market & Studio on Facebook

Foxglove Market & Studio on Instagram

Foxglove Market & Studio on Pinterest

Foxglove Market & Studion on Twitter

Listeners like you have downloaded the podcast nearly 48,000 times. In fact, in April, we logged the all-time high number of 5,101 episode downloads which only means that the message of Slow Flowers and the farmers and florists who exemplify this movement is reaching more and more listeners.

Until next week please join me in putting more American grown flowers on the table, one vase at a time. And If you like what you hear, please consider logging onto Itunes and posting a listener review.

The content and opinions expressed here are either mine alone or those of my guests alone, independent of any podcast sponsor or other person, company or organization.

The Slow Flowers Podcast is engineered and edited by Andrew Wheatley and Hannah Holtgeerts. Learn more about their work at shellandtree.com.

Three Days. Six Workshops. Hundreds of American Grown Flowers, including some very special Florida-grown varieties.

Having Fun on the Festival Stage at Disney Epcot.

Last week, the Slow Flowers Challenge took place in Orlando, at the International Flower & Garden Show at Epcot. This was the third time I’ve been invited to present at Epcot since 2010 – and I was thrilled to return. If you love horti-tainment (and that’s what I call the combination of talented horticulture staff let loose on plants, Disney-style), you’ve got to visit this 10-week spring celebration of flowers and gardening, usually staged between March and May.

There are no fewer than 21 planted topiary characters throughout the park, from my personal favorites, Farmers Mickey & Minnie, to the hottest new offering: Anna and Elsa from the animated film “Frozen.”

Each morning for three days running I shared the story of “American Beauty: the Slow Flowers Movement,” featuring the successful renaissance of flower farming and creative floral design that’s inspired by local and domestic American-grown flowers. Each afternoon, audiences were able to see that same story brought to life with flowers and foliage. Here are some of those arrangements:

Love this all-California-grown palette featuring grevillea, Gerrondo gerberas, bupleurum, pink wax flowers,’Green Ball’ dianthus and an echeveria.

An all Florida arrangement featuring three types of foliage and ferns combined with trailing clematis.

A whimsical arrangement with a Disney-fun palette of yellow lilies, hot pink Matsumoto asters and ‘Green Ball’ dianthus – California grown – arranged into a base of variegated Florida-grown pittosporum foliage.

A truly favorite nearly all-Florida bouquet with ferns, foliage and clematis, topped off with an echeveria. White waxflower is from California.

The big takeaway? People want to know more! They understand the importance of keeping things local – from saving farmland to the environment to jobs! I consider it a privilege to tell that story while playing with the flowers grown by people I respect and admire!