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Emily Pek of Frayed Knot Farm recently contributed an essay to Slow Flowers Journal’s Summer 2024 issue, sharing her philosophy on the importance of community connections for sustaining a vibrant cut flower business that has served the greater Cleveland area for the past seven years. We invited Emily to discuss her story and her journey with the Slow Flowers Podcast – and I’m excited for you to join us today.

Let’s jump right into today’s interview with Emily Pek of Frayed Knot Farm.

The mission of Frayed Knot Farm is to grow beautiful, diverse, cut flowers and herbs that share stories, bring joy, and support equitable and regenerative farming.

As owner-founder Emily has a passion for systems thinking and agriculture, both of which led to an apprenticeship in Brooklyn, NY in 2016 where she learned how to farm while studying food justice. Upon returning to her deep roots in Cleveland, she worked at various farms and started Frayed Knot in 2017. The land that Frayed Knot resides on was previously stewarded by her grandparents, who have been part of the community for close to a century.

Frayed Knot Farm is located 30 miles east of downtown Cleveland and grows over 100 varieties of annual and perennial flowers and foliage on less than an acre. Using hand scale and regenerative farming practices, the flowers produced and foraged are offered in CSA bouquet subscriptions, wholesale for purchase by florists, and supply events and workshops.

Follow Frayed Knot Farm on Instagram and Facebook

Read Emily’s “With Heart” essay, recently published in Slow Flowers Journal.

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Thank you to our Sponsors

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

Thank you to our new lead sponsor for 2024-2025, 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 The Gardener’s Workshop, which offers a full curriculum of online education for flower farmers and farmer-florists. Online education is more important than ever, and you’ll want to check out the course offerings at thegardenersworkshop.com.

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Slow Flowers Podcast Turns 11!

Today is cause for celebration – we are commemorating the 11^th anniversary of the Slow Flowers Podcast, the original floral podcast that we’ve produced and hosted for you ever since our debut on July 23, 2013! That means today’s episode is our 574^th consecutive weekly program highlighting the people, farms, florists, and flowers of the Slow Flowers Movement. Thank you for supporting this storytelling project for more than a decade – now, in its 11^th season!

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

---

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

---

Music Credits:

Drone Pine; Gaena; Camp Fermin; Flattered
by Blue Dot Sessions
http://www.sessions.blue

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

In The Field
audionautix.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Podcast Index | RSS | More

Ten years ago, Rebecca Bodicky combined her fine arts education with flower shop and restaurant experience to open the Alice Blue Collective, a design studio and urban micro farm in St. Louis, Missouri. Join me in conversation with Rebecca as she reflects on her floral journey and shares her approach to combining art with flowers.

Alice Blue Collective is a St. Louis-based artistic project bringing the unexpected to everyday spaces and local places with flowers. Founder Rebecca Bodicky’s creative life began in childhood, when she took classes at the St. Louis Art Museum; later, she studied art at NYU, and worked in New York as an artist and artists’ assistant.

A high school job as a florist’s shop-assistant drew her back to floristry Rebecca returned to St. Louis. Her love of nature informs everything Rebecca creates, and she strives to honor that love in her designs by mixing local, seasonal, and foraged flora with nursery flowers.

Her experiment with urban farming has produced ninebark, river birch, thornless blackberry, and native grasses for taller arrangements and installations. Rebecca has studied herbalism with Rosemary Gladstar, and holds a certificate in aromatherapy.

Her commissions can be seen in some of St. Louis’s best restaurants, cafes, and businesses. You heard us discuss Rebecca’s idea of creating watercolors of her arrangements, and after we ended the recording, her assistant Kim told me that when Rebecca delivers arrangements to some of her restaurant clients, she makes a quick sketch for them – which is usually displayed in the reception area. What a wonderful way to connect restaurant patrons with the art of local flowers!

Find and follow Alice Blue Collective
Alice Blue Collective on Facebook and Instagram

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Slow Flowers Summit Recap

It’s been a few weeks since the 7^th annual Slow Flowers Summit wrapped up and I’ve spent some really enjoyable moments reflecting on the amazing education and deeply meaningful connections that I and our attendees experienced. Earlier this week, we posted a recap story about the 2024 Summit, featuring highlights of our sessions, the afternoon of floral immersion, and the people who invested their time and talents to make this conference such a success. I hope you enjoy reading my reflections and enjoy photography of our time in Banff, Alberta, Canada.

And for those who have asked . . . we will announce the 2025 Slow Flowers Summit details on September 1^st – you’ll hear about it here, of course, but if you want to make sure to see the announcement, click here to sign up for future announcements.

---

Thank you to our Sponsors

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

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

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

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

---

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

---

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

---

Music Credits:

Drone Pine; Gaena; Turning on the Lights; Blue Shift
by Blue Dot Sessions
http://www.sessions.blue

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

In The Field
audionautix.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Podcast Index | RSS | More

What can flower people learn from tree collectors? For Amy Stewart, whose 2007 book “Flower Confidential” ignited the spark of the Slow Flowers Movement, the tree world is filled with people who are as equally fascinating and inspiring as the flower world contains. Amy and I discuss her new book, its 50 vignettes of remarkable people whose lives have been transformed by their passion for trees, as well as her approach to writing and illustrating humans and their beloved specimens.

I’m so thrilled today to share my recent conversation with Amy Stewart. The New York Times best-selling author of The Tree Collectors, The Drunken Botanist, Wicked Plants, and several other popular nonfiction titles about the natural world, Amy is best known in the Slow Flowers community for writing Flower Confidential – the Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful in the Business of Flowers – in 2007. She wrote the foreword to my 2012 book that launched the Slow Flowers Movement, The 50 Mile Bouquet, and I’m honored to call Amy a friend.

Amy has also written several novels in her beloved Kopp Sisters series, which are based on the true story of one of America’s first female deputy sheriffs and her two rambunctious sisters – there are seven books in the series and you’ll want to read them all.

Her books have sold over a million copies worldwide and have been translated into 18 languages. Amy lives in Portland with her husband Scott Brown, a rare book dealer who can usually be found at his shop, Downtown Brown Books.

Today, you’ll learn about The Tree Collectors, and Amy and I discuss the connections between the tree community and the floral community.

When Amy discovered the universe of tree collectors, she expected to meet horticultural fanatics driven to plant every species of oak or maple.

But she also discovered that the urge to collect trees springs from something deeper and more profound: a longing for community, a vision for the future, or a path to healing and reconciliation.

In this slyly humorous, informative, quite poignant volume, Amy shares captivating stories of people who spend their lives in pursuit of rare and wonderful trees and are transformed in the process.

I’m delighted that Amy has populated her lively tree compendium with her own hand-drawn watercolor portraits of the extraordinary people and their trees, interspersed with side trips to investigate famous tree collections, arboreal glossaries, and even tips for “unauthorized” forestry. This book is a stunning tribute to a devoted group of nature lovers making their lives—and the world—more beautiful, one tree at a time.

Learn More:
Book Tour for The Tree Collectors
Subscribe to Amy’s Newsletter: “It’s Good to Be Here”
Listen to Episode 140 (May 2014), Amy Stewart’s past guest appearance on the Slow Flowers Podcast

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News of the Week

Summer is in full swing, and I just want to take a moment to celebrate the exciting news that just appeared in last week’s New York Times!

Writer Amanda McCracken’s piece, “Your Wedding Flowers Could be in Your Backyard,” blew up the web with excitement from our Slow Flowers community.

She writes: “Ms. Prinzing attributes the rising interest in local flora partly to social media, where couples and florists have shared photos of romantic bouquets featuring nonconventional flowers,” and also quotes a talented lineup of our @slowflowerssociety members:

Jessica Stewart, @bramble_blossom_pgh; Lennie Larkin, @b.side.farm.flowers; Heather Henson, @borealblooms; and Becky Feasby, @prairiegirlflowers.

The response from our social media community underscores how much support there is for the topic of local, seasonal, and sustainably-grown wedding flowers. As of July 4^th, here are the metrics:
>REACH: 21.5 k accounts, (including 87% non-followers)
>ENGAGEMENT: 1.3k accounts
>SHARES: 170 times
>COMMENTS: 40+

For people who think local flowers are a “fringe topic,” this level of engagement does not lie! Thank you, Amanda, for reaching out to chat. This story represents one great reason to join Slow Flowers Society @slowflowerssociety — when the press calls, we love to highlight our members!

---

Thank you to our Sponsors

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

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

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

Our next sponsor thank-you goes to Red Twig Farms. Based in New Albany, Ohio, Red Twig Farms is a family-owned farm specializing in peonies, daffodils, tulips and branches, a popular peony-bouquet-by-mail program and their Spread the Hope Campaign where customers purchase 10 tulip stems for essential workers and others in their community. Learn more at redtwigfarms.com.

---

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

---

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

---

Music Credits:

Drone Pine; Gaena; Turning on the Lights; A Palace of Cedar
by Blue Dot Sessions
http://www.sessions.blue

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

In The Field
audionautix.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Podcast Index | RSS | More

What is it like to grow cut flowers in Zones 2-4 for only three-to-four months each year and run a successful small-scale flower farm with those constraints? Kristen Primrose does just that and I’m so excited to share our conversation and a tour of her Southern Alberta-flower farm.

I know you’ve heard me talk about the 2024 Slow Flowers Summit, held last week, June 23-25, in Banff, Alberta, Canada. I’m recording this episode just days after returning home from the Canadian Rockies, the gorgeous, natural setting where nearly 100 of us gathered to inquire and include, be informed and inspired – and, we hope – instigate new ideas, projects, and approaches to our floral enterprises.

While on my 700+ mile drive home to Seattle, I took the somewhat out-of-the-way and incredibly scenic route to southwest Alberta, where I visited Primrose Lane Farm in Mountain View, outside Cardston, Alberta, and recorded an interview with Kristen Primrose, its resident flower farmer.

I’m so grateful to Kristen for her support – she was one of the very first Alberta floral professionals to join Slow Flowers Society as a member. Not only that, but Kristen brought a few buckets of blooms with her to the Summit in Banff, wowing the instructors and audience alike with her just-picked peonies. Thank you, Kristen!

I know you’ll love this conversation – it was a very windy day and we’ve tried to knock back the audio a bit, but that’s the deal with recording outdoors on a flower farm. Kristen is an inspiration and I’m so grateful for the in-person visit.

Find and follow Kristen Primrose:
On Facebook and Instagram

Get Ready to Celebrate Canadian Flowers Week – coming up August 15-21^st — with flower pro’s like Kristen Primrose. Learn more here.

Thanks so much for joining me today!

---

It’s American Flowers Week (June 28-July 4)

We are in the heart of American Flowers Week – now through tomorrow – July 4^th. Please share photos of your flowers, too, and use the hashtag #americanflowersweek so we can spot your posts. Follow these links to download free American Flowers Week social media badges, including of our entire botanical couture collection.

---

Thank you to our Sponsors

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

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

Thank you to 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.

---

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

---

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

---

Music Credits:

Drone Pine; Gaena; Turning on the Lights; Skyway
by Blue Dot Sessions
http://www.sessions.blue

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

In The Field
audionautix.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Podcast Index | RSS | More

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

---

Thank you to our Sponsors

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

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

Our next sponsor thank you goes to Red Twig Farms. Based in New Albany, Ohio, Red Twig Farms is a family-owned farm specializing in peonies, daffodils, tulips and branches, a popular peony-bouquet-by-mail program and their Spread the Hope Campaign where customers purchase 10 tulip stems for essential workers and others in their community. Learn more at https://www.redtwigfarms.com/

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

---

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

---

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

---

Music Credits:

Drone Pine; Gaena; One Eight Four; The Big Ten
by Blue Dot Sessions
http://www.sessions.blue

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

In The Field
audionautix.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Podcast Index | RSS | More

Get ready for our inspiring conversation with Janis Harris and Melanie Harrington as these two farmer-florists bring us a preview of their upcoming presentations at the Slow Flowers Summit, taking place next week in Banff, Alberta, Canada.

In just a few days, I’ll be gathering with nearly 100 attendees at the Slow Flowers Summit, which will take place June 23-25 at the Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity in Banff, Alberta, Canada.

It is our seventh annual Slow Flowers Summit – our first in Canada and our first international conference. We planned this Summit to showcase the expertise and knowledge of Canadian floral, horticultural, and sustainability experts – most of whom are Slow Flowers Members. We are thrilled with the deep body of knowledge that our Summit attendees will receive from 10 inspiring speakers!

I’m delighted that we are partnering with the Cooperative Flower Network based in Edmonton to ensure that our speakers and attendees will have a chance to experience designing with Alberta-grown flowers. I’m also thrilled that we are partnering with the team behind Canadian Flowers Week to share the story of Slow Flowers across Canada.

The first day of the Summit kicks off with two back-to-back presentations under the banner of “Meet the Farmer-Florist,” and it’s my pleasure to introduce today’s guests, Melanie Harrington of Dahlia May Flower Farm in Trenton, Ontario, and Janis Harris of Harris Flower Farm in St. Thomas, Ontario. At the Summit, these women will share the stories of their floral enterprises, each of whom will close out her lecture with a design demonstration.

As a preview, we recently hosted Janis and Melanie as special guests of the June Slow Flowers (Virtual) Membership Meet-Up. We recorded the session for you to hear today. You’ll find it so enlightening to learn about these two farmer-florists and their businesses, as they discuss the challenges (and rewards) of balancing flower farming with design services through a variety of channels. 

Find and follow Melanie Harrington, Dahlia May Flower Farm on Instagram and Facebook

Find and follow Janis Harris, Harris Flower Farm – on Instagram and Facebook

Listen: Melanie’s and Janis’s past appearances on the Slow Flowers Podcast:
Melanie on the Slow Flowers Podcast – Episode 312 (August 30, 2017)
Janis on the Slow Flowers Podcast – Episodse 304 (July 6, 2017) and Episode 450 (April 22, 2020)

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Slow Flowers Summit 2024

I’m departing for Alberta in a few days to make the trip to Banff, and I want to encourage you to follow @SlowFlowersSociety and @SlowFlowersSummit on Instagram next week, as I know our social media manager Niesha Blancas will be filming some fun IG Live segments straight from the Slow Flowers Summit to share with you! We wish you were with us in person, but you’ll still catch some of the amazing education through our social media channels.

And as a footnote, we’re so grateful to all of our Slow Flowers Summit Sponsors, including Red Twig Farms, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, New Age Floral, Sakata Seeds, OLMS Bamboo Floral Sticks, Ball Seed, and Rooted Farmers. Our partner thanks goes to BLOOM Imprint, our publishing partner. We are also grateful for the support from our Alberta host, and member, Becky Feasby of Prairie Girl Flowers. You can learn more about our sponsors, speakers, program, and schedule at slowflowerssummit.com.

---

Thank you to our Sponsors

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

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

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

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

---

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

---

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

---

Music Credits:

Drone Pine; Gaena; One Eight Four
by Blue Dot Sessions
http://www.sessions.blue

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

In The Field
audionautix.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Podcast Index | RSS | More

We’re taking a deep dive into the world of lilies today, featuring my conversations with experts I met while attending Dutch Lily Days in Amsterdam earlier this month. Most lily bulbs are produced in Holland, but the cut flowers you can grow from them are an important opportunity for domestic farmers and florists to offer the beautiful, value-added bulb flower for their retail, wedding and event customers.

If you have a love-hate relationship with lilies, I’m pretty sure today’s episode will change your perception about what I believe is one of the most elegant, classic flowering bulbs.

According to the 2023 National Gardening Survey, there has been an increase in bulb sales of 36 percent from 2021 to 2022 in the United States. The U.S. is the largest flower bulb importer in the world and the largest importer of European flower bulbs.

We have just kicked off a new partnership with Royal Anthos, the bulb trade organization, to educate and promote U.S.-grown lilies.

Royal Anthos’s support of Slow Flowers Society aligns with its desire to increase education about flower bulbs and American-grown cut flowers like tulips and lilies that are grown from European bulbs.

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The timing was perfect for me to take a short, four-day trip to Amsterdam last week to participate in Dutch Lily Days, a showcase for all the many forms, colors, and innovations in the lily bulb market. Dutch Lily Days is a unique gathering of breeders, growers, and trade companies to showcase all the attributes of lilies for cut flowers and gardens. The annual event draws thousands of visitors, including press, to study lilies and network with industry experts. Its focus on trends in the assortment, on pollen-free lilies, and other innovations like double-flowering lilies did not disappoint.

I’ve compiled a series of interviews with the many experts I met during our three-day tour. Included are voices from Jawin van der Steen and Ko Klaver from Zabo Plant; Tyler Meskers from Oregon Flowers, a U.S. grower; breeder P. J. Kos of World Breeding B.V.; Sjuart Onings from Onings Holland Flowerbulbs; and Frans van der Weiden of Van den Bos Flowerbulbs. You’ll also hear some background voices, including from the Chinese translator who accompanied one of the journalists in our group.

A special thank you to my host and tour guide, Anne Verdoes of ibulb.org. We had a fantastic group of journalists from around the world, and you can see a photo of our group – all women – in the show notes. As the only American, I learned so much from flower and horticulture journalists who joined our tour – people from Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, and China. We met up with a few Dutch journalists, as well, including the editorial team from THURSD.com, Floraculture International, and Flormarket Global Magazine.

I know you’ll enjoy this extensive, hour-long, special focus on lilies. Let’s jump right in and get started.

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Slow Flowers Summit

It’s countdown time to the Slow Flowers Summit 2024 – which launches in less than two weeks on Sunday evening June 23^rd, followed by two full days of floral education for sustainably-design-minded growers and florists. You have just a few more days to register and take advantage of the $100-off pricing for all Slow Flowers Society members.

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As a fun preview of Day One of the Summit, you’re invited to join me this Friday June 14^th at the virtual June Slow Flowers Meet-Up, 9 am PT-Noon ET, as we learn from two Canadian farmer-florists who will be featured speakers at the Summit. Melanie Harrington of Dahlia May Flower Farm and Janis Harris of Harris Flower Farm, both based in the province of Ontario, will join us to talk about their enterprises and what you can expect as they lecture and design at the Summit. The Meet-Up is free for members and nonmembers alike, but you do need to pre-register.

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Thank you to our Sponsors

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

Thank you to Red Twig Farms. Based in New Albany, Ohio, Red Twig Farms is a family-owned farm specializing in peonies, daffodils, tulips and branches, a popular peony-bouquet-by-mail program and their Spread the Hope Campaign where customers purchase 10 tulip stems for essential workers and others in their community. Learn more at redtwigfarms.com.

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

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

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

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

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Music Credits:

Music Credits:

Drone Pine; Gaena; Turning on the Lights; Tiny Putty
by Blue Dot Sessions
http://www.sessions.blue

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

In The Field
audionautix.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Podcast Index | RSS | More

Ariella Chezar’s new book – Home in Bloom – is a vivid, inspiring look at the role of flowers and plants in interior design. Through her stunning, wild work, Ariella invites us to revel in the inherent drama of nature, encouraging us to infuse our living spaces with beauty and abundance, while fundamentally altering a room’s energy through the transformative power of flowers.

It’s been many years since today’s guest Ariella Chezar appeared on the Slow Flowers Podcast, so I’m thrilled to welcome her back for our first video episode.

The occasion is the recent publication of Ariella’s fourth and newest book, Home in Bloom, written with Julie Michaels. The benefit of recording for our Slow Flowers YouTube Channel is that you can see a preview of the interior pages of Home in Bloom as Ariella describes many of her beautiful designs and installations.

ARIELLA CHEZAR is a master floral designer and the author of Seasonal Flower Arranging, The Flower Workshop, and Flowers for the Table. Her work has graced the cover and pages of Martha Stewart Living, O Magazine, Better Homes and Gardens, Town and Country, and many more publications. She is a highly sought-after teacher and lecturer and has designed flower arrangements for The Obama White House. Ariella lives in The Berkshires of Massachusetts, where her garden serves as inspiration for her designs.

Home in Bloom celebrates the seamless integration of architecture, light, and natural landscapes into floral design. Ariella layers colors and combines improbable wild elements, resulting in arrangements that are as gorgeous as they are dynamic. With each page, she invites us to revel in the inherent drama of nature, encouraging us to infuse our living spaces with beauty and abundance, while fundamentally altering a room’s energy through the transformative power of flowers.

Home in Bloom is organized into chapters that celebrate every room in the home—Welcome, Nourish, Celebrate, Pause, and Wilding, as it takes us on a journey through flower-filled living spaces. The arrangements in each chapter are accompanied by detailed captions that inspire us to walk outside and bring the wilds of nature into our environments. The book features hundreds of gorgeous photographs by renowned photographers Andrea Gentl and Martin Hyers.

Thanks so much for joining me today!

READ: Mary Ann Newcomer’s review of Home in Bloom, recently published in Slow Flowers Journal online.

LISTEN to Ariella’s past guest appearances on the Slow Flowers Podcast
March 2014 (Episode 133)
June 2016 (Episode 251)

Follow Ariella on Instagram

Order Home in Bloom

Thank you for an inspiring conversation, Ariella!

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Slow Flowers Summit 2024 – News

We are swiftly into the countdown phase before the amazing 7^th annual Slow Flowers Summit – taking place June 23 through 25^th. I can’t wait to see you there! Today, we dropped our FINAL ticket promotion, so take note. Now through June 11^th, next Tuesday, you can take 10 % off your Slow Flowers Summit registration. Use the promo code LETSDOTHIS — all one word – to take 10% off your registration at slowflowerssummit.com.

And speaking of good news, last week, we were delighted with some incredible press coverage about the Slow Flowers Summit. In its coverage of the Slow Flowers Summit, the online floral lifestyle magazine called THURSD.com called it the “must-attend event for floral fanatics.” Thank you for affirming all that’s gone into creating such a valuable educational experience for flower farmers, floral designers, and farmer-florists interested in enhancing their skills and understanding around sustainable and slow flowers. The link to the article in THURSD is in our show notes.

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Thank you to our Sponsors

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

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

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

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

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

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Music credits:

Drone Pine; Gaena; Blue Straggler; Long Await
by Blue Dot Sessions
http://www.sessions.blue

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

In The Field
audionautix.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Podcast Index | RSS | More

Today, we’re continuing our conversations with multi-talented Slow Flowers members who grow flowers, design for weddings and events, and operate a retail flower shop. I call them the triple threat talents, and we have lots to learn from Sydney Garvey of Flowers by Garvey’s Gardens in Grand Junction Colorado.

I am so pleased to have recorded a podcast interview with Sydney Garvey of Garvey’s Gardens, a flower farm based in Palisade, Colorado, and its sister business, Flowers by Garvey’s Gardens, a retail flower shop and wedding design studio in Grand Junction, Colorado.

Garvey’s Gardens joined Slow Flowers as a member several years ago, prior to Sydney Garvey deciding to add retail floristry to her original focus as a farmer-florist. We met last June at the Slow Flowers Summit and we joke that we’ve been trying to schedule the podcast interview ever since.

I will make note that you may have seen us highlight Flowers by Garvey’s Gardens in the 2024 Slow Flowers Floral Insights & Industry Forecast, in the Floral Literacy insight that featured a number of parallel trends, including Retail Expansion. In that insight, we noted: Contradicting the story that floral retail is declining, several Slow Flowers members are opening retail destinations to attract “floral literate” shoppers. “Our storefront allows us to support additional local growers and to get more local flowers into the community,” said Sydney Garvey of Flowers by Garvey’s Gardens.

For today’s interview, Sydney joined me from her flower shop in downtown Grand Junction and later shared a video tour of the retail space interiors as well as a visit to the flower farm.

Find and follow Garvey’s Gardens on Instagram and Facebook

Subscribe to Garvey’s Gardens Podcast here.

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Take 50% Off Your Slow Flowers Society Membership!

Remember, we’re in the midst of a month-long celebration to recognize the 10-year anniversary of slowflowers.com — our online directory to local flowers. This is an amazing milestone and as a thank you for our community, we’ve created a special gift to share with new and renewing members. If you’ve always wanted to join Slow Flowers, we are extending a 50%-off discount for you to make it so! Use the discount code HAPPY10 to join or renew for one year’s membership at half the regular price – this offer is good at all levels, from Standard and Premium to our special 3-year perennial membership. Check it out! This offer expires on June 7, 2024.

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Thank You to Our Sponsors

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

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

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.

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

---

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

---

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

---

Music Credits:

Drone Pine; Gaena; Sun Spots
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