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This week, we meet another inspiring Slow Flowers member, a farmer-florist whose Fernley, Nevada, enterprise is inspiring, considering some of the challenging growing conditions there. Trisha Starkey, owner of Petals and Pages Flowers, is farming in her fourth season. Her farm is situated 35 miles outside of Reno, at 4,500 feet elevation.

We’ll start out this episode with a 30-minute narrated tour that Trisha filmed for us — she introduces us to important infrastructure features, discusses her watering and growing practices, and shows off the late season flowers. Petals and Pages is located in USDA Zones 7b/8a and surprisingly, the area hasn’t yet been hit by frost.

Here’s a bit more about Trisha Starkey and her farm. Petals and Pages is a Certified Naturally Grown family farm dedicated to growing unique flowers. It is also a design studio and floral experience for couples who seek authentic, one-of-a-kind designs that help celebrate their special day. Her story is long and relatable, and you’ll want to read her personal narrative, excerpted here:

In 2015 we purchased our 1970’s era home on just shy of an 1.25 acre plot. We signed the final paperwork in the fall as the trees and shrubs on the property stood bare and the house felt cold and drafty. At first, we just chalked this up to the time of year and the lack of recent residents but come spring of 2016 we began to piece together that the house and land had been severely neglected.  Derek set out to restore it little by little and I began to daydream about relocating to an area known for more fertile soil.  As time went on and more issues arose we began to feel deflated. We bled cash to fix emergency breaks in the house, and the movie “The Money Pit” starring Tom Hanks and Shelly Long was like watching our lives on screen (but much funnier).  2017 and 2018 almost broke us as new home owners but we are both fiercely stubborn and wouldn’t give up.  Slowly over time our innovative minds began thinking of the house and land as more of a companion rather than a small child stomping their feet while hurling obstacles our way. Looking back, I think this change of view was a turning point for us.  

Derek built up his compost bins, we planted trees, shrubs, and bulbs, we pruned our sad trees, and added beneficials to the soils and instead of “cleaning up” the natural debris of the fall season we began leaving it to rot away.  This suddenly changed our soils.  We could dig down and actually see life happening! It was a very exciting time for us, simultaneously, it was around this time that I started paying attention to how unmotivated I was by my days in the office. We knew that if we were going to someday turn our farming hobby into a full-blown career and functioning farm I had to pour my heart, soul and most importantly time into it. After months of stress and exhaustion, I wrote my resignation letter.

Since that day, we’ve never looked back. Sure, there are absolutely days where I wonder what on earth we’re doing and question my own sanity but mostly I look around and feel overwhelmed with gratitude that I get to create, grow, and pour love into this land with my incredible family by my side. To read more in depth click HERE for our first part of a three part series of blogs.

“Our History,” from Petals and Pages Flowers

Thanks so much for joining us today. Trisha and I ran out of time, but I wanted to share one of her future goals. She says, “In 2024, we will have a beautiful space to welcome customers to our farm for a more hands-on learning experience. We want to help others grow on small scale farms and become profitable farms, too. We also would like to host workshops on our farm and hold farm to table dinners with local food and flowers.”

That’s something to look forward to! By the way, Trisha — if you’re still looking for a “D” name for your 4th compost bin, I suggests you name it “Debra” – ha!

Find and Follow Petals and Pages Flowers at these social places:
Petals and Pages on Instagram

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News for the Week

October as membership appreciation month continues and you’re invited to get involved. You can find the full schedule of Tuesday’s Instagram Live sessions with me and Thursday Zoom Lunches with Tonneli Gruetter, our membership and community engagement manager.

Also this month, any new member who joins and any Standard level member who upgrades to Premium will be included in our drawing for our Perennial Membership — a three-year membership. That’s a $649 value! Please reach out to Tonneli at membership@slowflowers.com, with any questions.

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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 850 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms.  It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.

Thank you to our lead sponsor, Farmgirl Flowers. Farmgirl Flowers delivers iconic burlap-wrapped bouquets and lush, abundant arrangements to customers across the U.S., supporting U.S. flower farms by purchasing more than $10 million dollars of U.S.-grown fresh and seasonal flowers and foliage annually. Discover more at farmgirlflowers.com.

Thanks to Mayesh Wholesale Florist. Family-owned since 1978, Mayesh is the premier wedding and event supplier in the U.S. and we’re thrilled to partner with Mayesh to promote local and domestic flowers, which they source from farms large and small around the U.S. Learn more at mayesh.com.

Thanks to Details Flowers Software, a platform specifically designed to help florists and designers do more and earn more. With an elegant and easy-to-use system–Details is here to improve profitability, productivity, and organization for floral businesses of all shapes and sizes. Grow your bottom line through professional proposals and confident pricing with Details’ all-in-one platform. All friends of the Slow Flowers Podcast will receive a 7-day free trial of Details Flowers Software. Learn more at detailsflowers.com.

Thanks to CalFlowers, the leading floral trade association in California, providing valuable transportation and other benefits to flower growers and the entire floral supply chain in California and 48 other states. The Association is a leader in bringing fresh cut flowers to the U.S. market and in promoting the benefits of flowers to new generations of American consumers. Learn more at cafgs.org.

---

Thanks so much for joining us today! The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more than 900,000 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.

---

Music credits:

Town Market; Turning on the Lights; Gaena
by Blue Dot Sessions
http://www.sessions.blue

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

In The Field
audionautix.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Podcast Index | RSS | More

Today, I want to introduce you to the women behind Becky at Appleberry Farm, Becky Osborne and Kate Munno. Becky at Appleberry Farm is based in Sandy Hook, Connecticut and is part of the Connecticut Flower Collective.

When a floral designer or flower farmer joins the Slow Flowers Society as members, if I’m not already doing so, I immediately check out their social places and follow them on Instagram and Facebook. Because Kate and Becky post a daily reel on Instagram, I couldn’t help but see their silly, but totally on-target content over the past year. When they registered to attend the Slow Flowers Summit this past June, I was thrilled to know I would meet them.

By way of background, the sisters say their business started from a love of watching their mom arrange flowers growing up. Becky at Appleberry creates floral arrangements and installations for any and every occasion using flowers that they grow themselves, or source from other local growers if it’s a specific that they don’t grow!

Their great-grandfather, Robert Young (R.Y.) Brown purchased the Keane dairy farm in 1939 as a place where he and his wife Dorothy could provide roots for their children, Betty Lou and Bob. Their family named the property Appleberry Farm for the apple orchard and the fields of blackberries that grew on the property. Many years later, Betty Lou and her husband Jim in turn raised their children at Appleberry Farm. Four generations (and hundreds of animals, laughs, swims, parties, adventures, and multitudes of shenanigans) later, Betty Lou’s granddaughter Kate and her husband David bought the farm and, together with Kate’s sister Becky, are working to reinvigorate Appleberry Farm as a cut flower farm and magical place.

You will love this episode and be sure to find and follow Becky at Appleberry Farm on Instagram, especially for Kate and Becky’s daily installment of Reels from the farm.

Find and Follow Becky at Appleberry Farm:

Instagram and Facebook

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News for the Week

This month, during October Membership Appreciation Month, any new member who joins and any Standard level member who upgrades to Premium will be included in our drawing for our Perennial Membership — a three-year membership. That’s a $649 value! Please reach out to Tonneli, our membership and community engagement manager at membership@slowflowers.com, with any questions.

Slow Flowers Member Appreciation Month continues at you’re invited to join our Slow Flowers Member Virtual Meet-Up this Friday, October 14th at 9 am PST/Noon Eastern.

Our monthly topic is quite timely, especially after today’s conversation with Becky and Kate. We’ll be Tackling TikTok with Niesha Blancas. You’ve probably noticed that the rules on Instagram keep changing and your posts are likely not reaching the audiences you enjoyed in the recent past. According to our own social media expert, Niesha Blancas of Fetching Social, that’s because of the exploding viewership of IG Reels and, of course, TikTok. You’ve also probably noticed that our IG account (@slowflowerssociety) is featuring more Reels than ever before (71% of our August posts were Reels) . That’s thanks to Niesha. In fact, last month, our reach was 88k, with 14.7 k impressions and 81.2 k Reel views.

Niesha will share a one-hour dive into what you need to know about Reels and TikTok – even if you’ve never created this type of content. Look for her posts on @slowflowerssociety leading up to our Meet-Up because she’ll be asking for your questions. Newbies will have lots to learn and members who are already making Reels and experimenting with TikTok accounts will pick up some expert tips! Niesha might even share how she created her most popular TikTok post which garnered 600k+ views!

You will need to pre-register at the link below. The link to join is also in our Instagram bio @slowflowersociety.

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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 850 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms.  It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.

Thank you to our lead sponsor, Farmgirl Flowers. Farmgirl Flowers delivers iconic burlap-wrapped bouquets and lush, abundant arrangements to customers across the U.S., supporting U.S. flower farms by purchasing more than $10 million dollars of U.S.-grown fresh and seasonal flowers and foliage annually. Discover more at farmgirlflowers.com.

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

Thanks 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 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 johnnysseeds.com.

---

Thanks so much for joining us today! The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more than 900,000 times by listeners like you. Thank you for listening, commenting and sharing – it means so much. As our movement gains more supporters and more passionate participants who believe in the importance of our domestic cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious. I know you feel it, too.

If you’re new to our weekly Show and our long-running Podcast, check out all of our resources at SlowFlowersSociety.com. I’m Debra Prinzing, host and producer of the Slow Flowers Show & Podcast. The Slow Flowers Podcast is engineered and edited by Andrew Brenlan. The content and opinions expressed here are either mine alone or those of my guests alone, independent of any podcast sponsor or other person, company or organization.  Next week, you’re invited to join me in putting more Slow Flowers on the table, one stem, one vase at a time.

---

Music credits:

Nu Fornacis; Turning on the Lights; Gaena
by Blue Dot Sessions
http://www.sessions.blue

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

In The Field
audionautix.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Podcast Index | RSS | More

If you’ve been following along for a while, you have noticed that 2022 is the 10-year celebration of the publication of The 50 Mile Bouquet, a book that, to be honest, started me along the journey that became the Slow Flowers Movement.

In a tribute to this small but mighty book, I’m spending this year circling back to interview as many people featured in its pages as possible. The 50 Mile Bouquet was photographed by David Perry, designed by James Forkner, and brought to market by St. Lynn’s Press publisher Paul Kelly.

The opening chapter of The 50 Mile Bouquet includes profiles of several of the flower farmers who shaped the story and influenced my understanding of domestic floral agriculture. These are people who grew specialty cut flowers long before the term Slow Flowers was coined. They are the OG’s the originals, who have quietly practiced their craft as artisan growers, supplying their customers, both flower lovers and florists, with superior quality heirloom blooms.

So, today, you will meet Charles and Bethany Little of Eugene, Oregon-based Charles Little & Co. Their story appears in a section called Growers’ Wisdom in which we introduce these inspiring growers.

Charles Little has tended to ornamental crops in the verdant Willamette Valley since 1986 and I value his perspective and insights about how flower farmers have navigated the past decade and more. You met Bethany Little earlier this year when I featured her as a guest during her appearance as a NWFGS instructor, and so this is a bonus interview.

Listen to Bethany: Episode 349: Finding a Market for Your Flowers with Bethany Little of Charles Little & Co.
Listen to Charles: Grower Wisdom with Flower Farmer Charles Little (Episode 207)

Here’s how to find and follow Charles Little & Co.:

Charles Little & Co. on Facebook

Charles Little & Co. on Instagram

Read: “Heart of the Country,” my first interview with Charles and Bethany, that appears in The 50 Mile Bouquet.

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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 850 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms.  It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.

Thank you to our lead sponsor, Farmgirl Flowers. Farmgirl Flowers delivers iconic burlap-wrapped bouquets and lush, abundant arrangements to customers across the U.S., supporting U.S. flower farms by purchasing more than $10 million dollars of U.S.-grown fresh and seasonal flowers and foliage annually. Discover more at farmgirlflowers.com.

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

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

Thank you to 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 johnnysseeds.com.

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I want to announce the winner of our special giveaway of The Flower School book by Joseph Massie, last week’s Podcast guest. We asked listeners to like and follow our @slowflowerssociety IG post and also like and follow Joseph Massie, as well as share a comment with the name or names of their favorite focal flowers. Thanks so much to all who entered our random drawing for this fantastic new book! Our winner is Whitney Muncy of Emerald Design in Evansville, Indiana! Congratulations, Whitney! We’ll get that book off in the mail to you soon.

---

Thanks so much for joining us today! The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more than 881,000 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 and consider making a donation to sustain Slow Flowers’ ongoing advocacy, education and outreach activities. You can find the donate button at slowflowerspodcast.com.

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

---

Music credits:

American
by Crowander
www.crowander.com

Gaena
by Blue Dot Sessions
http://www.sessions.blue

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

In The Field:
audionautix.com

Song title by Crowander (www.crowander.com)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Podcast Index | RSS | More

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Happy 9th Anniversary to the Slow Flowers Podcast!

This week, we are celebrating our 9th anniversary of the Slow Flowers Podcast. Yes, folks, as the first-ever flower podcast and the longest-running flower podcast series, with 469 episodes, we are committed to delivering fantastic episodes to you each week — all free for your education and enlightenment.

It’s truly amazing to look back on how this show has become the voice of the Slow Flowers movement since our first episode #100, broadcast on July 23, 2013. We’ve brought you inside the Slow Flowers Movement, up close and personal, with hundreds of inspiring and intimate conversations with individuals who are deeply immersed in growing specialty cut flowers and designing with them. These are advocates who care deeply about a sustainable, safe, and local supply of seasonal floral ingredients — and they share their stories with heart and passion.

One year ago, to mark the 8th anniversary, we added a video component to the Slow Flowers Podcast, so you have a chance to watch the conversations as well as listen to them — including seeing videos of flower farm tours and floral studio tours. We hope you value this content, created specifically for our Slow Flowers Community. It’s such a privilege to be your host as I share new episodes, week in and week out, can you believe it — for 9 entire years! As we enter our 10th year, this means we’ll be making a big splash by sharing more people and their flowers with you!

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In another milestone of celebration, I’m devoting 2022 to a year-long series that revisits a book I wrote ten years ago — The 50 Mile Bouquet.

Today’s guests, siblings Norman Peterkort and Sandra Peterkort Laubenthal, are featured in the pages of this pioneering book, published by St. Lynn’s Press with photography by David Perry. The chapter about Peterkort Roses is titled “The Last Rose Farm in Oregon” and we’re bringing you both a reflection and a look ahead.

I have visited Norman and Sandra on several occasions, but this week, I made a point of traveling to their greenhouses outside of Portland, Oregon, to film our conversation. Learn what’s been happening at this unique and resilient flower farm over the past decade, and gain new insights on diversification and innovations they have implemented.

READ:

Of Note: Last week’s episode included a visit to the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market, a farmer-owned cooperative. As you heard us discuss, Peterkort Roses is not only a founding member farm of SWGMC, their family was also a founding member of the Oregon Flower Growers Association, which opened in 1942 as a farmer-owned wholesale hub. Pretty amazing history for one boutique specialty cut flower farm! Shop for Peterkort Roses at the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market. And if you’re in Portland, you can often catch Sandra and her roses in their stall at the Oregon Flower Growers Association.

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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 850 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms.  It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.

Thank you to our lead sponsor, Farmgirl Flowers. Farmgirl Flowers delivers iconic burlap-wrapped bouquets and lush, abundant arrangements to customers across the U.S., supporting U.S. flower farms by purchasing more than $10 million dollars of U.S.-grown fresh and seasonal flowers and foliage annually. Discover more at farmgirlflowers.com.

Thank you to Details Flowers Software, a platform specifically designed to help florists and designers do more and earn more. With an elegant and easy-to-use system–Details is here to improve profitability, productivity, and organization for floral businesses of all shapes and sizes. Grow your bottom line through professional proposals and confident pricing with Details’ all-in-one platform. All friends of the Slow Flowers Podcast will receive a 7-day free trial of Details Flowers Software. Learn more at detailsflowers.com.

Thank you to CalFlowers, the leading floral trade association in California, providing valuable transportation and other benefits to flower growers and the entire floral supply chain in California and 48 other states. The Association is a leader in bringing fresh cut flowers to the U.S. market and in promoting the benefits of flowers to new generations of American consumers. Learn more at cafgs.org.

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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Thanks so much for joining us today! The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more than 870,000 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 and consider making a donation to sustain Slow Flowers’ ongoing advocacy, education and outreach activities. You can find the donate button at slowflowerspodcast.com.

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

---

Music credits:
Camp Fermin (uptempo); Gaenaby Blue Dot Sessions
http://www.sessions.blue

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

Acoustic Shuffle; In The Field
audionautix.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Podcast Index | RSS | More

The urgency to reverse climate change and better care for the future of our planet are top of mind issues for many floral professionals. If you’re listening or watching today, you’re probably here because you want to know more about the Slow Flowers Movement — and we schedule our topics and guests with values of seasonality, sustainability and social equity in mind. We know from our members feedback and surveys that you, too, want to make mindful decisions about your own role in creating a better floral marketplace.

Today’s guest has been a valuable resource throughout my own quest to become better educated, including understanding the scientific facts and academic research around sustainable and non-sustainable practices in the floral marketplace. I recently visited Becky Feasby, owner of Calgary, Alberta-based Prairie Girl Flowers, and the two of us spent much of our 72 hours together in conversation about our shared passion for making the floral industry a safer and more sustainable one. Those conversations are captured in today’s show and I’m excited to share it with you.

Becky writes that ethical and sustainable floristry involves looking at not only how and where we source our flowers, but also considering the waste generated by designs and packaging.  She maintains that like other agricultural crops, we need to examine not only the carbon footprint of our flowers, but also the use of pesticides, water pollution, exploitation in the supply chain, and waste.  Sustainable floristry means using local and seasonal flowers; for her, it also means not importing flowers from overseas; never using single use plastics for packaging or floral foam in designs; and supporting local growers and creatives to give back to the community.

Becky is a past guest of this podcast, Episode 400 (May 2019). Listen here.
Follow Becky and Prairie Girl Flowers on Instagram for her popular weekly series #sustainabilitysunday
Learn more about the upcoming Sustainable Flowers Project, a three-day workshop, which she is co-producing with TJ McGrath of TJ McGrath Design.

If you’re heading to the Slow Flowers Summit, just a few weeks away on June 26-28th in New York, be sure to meet Becky and TJ there in person to learn more about their workshop. I’m hoping to be there in September, too! 

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News of the Week: You’re Invited to our Slow Flowers Member Virtual Meet-Up

Later this week on Friday, June 10th (at 9 am Pacific/Noon Eastern), you’re invited to join the Slow Flowers Member (Virtual) Meet-up. Join Shannon Algiere, our special guest, as she introduces the famed Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, our Slow Flowers Summit host and venue for Day Two and Day Three.

Shannon is Arts & Ecology Director at Stone Barns Center. She brings over 25 years of experience in holistic farm design, crops production, garden and greenhouse management and farm-based education. She and Philippe Gouze will open our June 27th (Monday) session with a presentation entitled THE FLOWERS OF STONE BARNS CENTER & BLUE HILL. At the Meet-Up Shannon and Stone Barns Center Greenhouse Manager, Daniel Bartush will give us a preview of the floral program at Stone Barns Center and the programs of the Arts & Ecology Lab. 

You must pre-register to join us. I’ll share the registration link in today’s show notes for Episode 561 at slowflowerspodcast.com.

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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 850 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.

Thank you to our lead sponsor, Farmgirl Flowers. Farmgirl Flowers delivers iconic burlap-wrapped bouquets and lush, abundant arrangements to customers across the U.S., supporting U.S. flower farms by purchasing more than $10 million dollars of U.S.-grown fresh and seasonal flowers and foliage annually. Discover more at farmgirlflowers.com.

Thanks to Mayesh Wholesale Florist. Family-owned since 1978, Mayesh is the premier wedding and event supplier in the U.S. and we’re thrilled to partner with Mayesh to promote local and domestic flowers, which they source from farms large and small around the U.S. Learn more at mayesh.com.

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

Thank you to Details Flowers Software, a platform specifically designed to help florists and designers do more and earn more. With an elegant and easy-to-use system–Details is here to improve profitability, productivity, and organization for floral businesses of all shapes and sizes. Grow your bottom line through professional proposals and confident pricing with Details’ all-in-one platform. All friends of the Slow Flowers Podcast will receive a 7-day free trial of Details Flowers Software. Learn more at detailsflowers.com.

---

Thanks so much for joining us today! The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more than 855,000 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 and consider making a donation to sustain Slow Flowers’ ongoing advocacy, education and outreach activities. You can find the donate button to the right.

---

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

Music credits:
Turning on the Lights; Gaena
by Blue Dot Sessions
http://www.sessions.blue

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

In The Field
audionautix.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Podcast Index | RSS | More

Today, I’m so delighted to share my wonderful conversation with artist Ronni Nicole Robinson. Ronni creates works in plaster and paper and all of her pieces are botanically-inspired, utilizing flowers, branches and stems she clips from surrounding gardens and nature to incorporate into her embossed surfaces.

When planning the 2022 Slow Flowers Summit, “Flowers as Artist’s Muse” emerged and felt like the ideal theme to connect the stories, aesthetic, and craft of each of our gifted presenters. I knew I wanted to invite Ronni Nicole to share her unique point of view and her floral-embellished artwork to inspire Summit attendees.

And today, she will inspire you too. Ronni Nicole has been creating “flower fossils” in plaster and paper, pursuing her art full-time. She comes to us from the Ron Nicole studio in New Hope, Pennsylvania and I know you’ll enjoy this gifted artist as she discusses her process and techniques, as well as her philosophy of art, design, nature and beauty.

If you like what you hear today, please consider joining us at the Slow Flowers Summit where Ronni Nicole will share her remarkable journey as an artist and one who draws creative and soulful guidance from nature and especially from flowers. Ronni’s presentation takes place on Monday, June 27th (Day Two), and is followed by a Q&A.

Follow Ronni Nicole on Instagram

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Slow Flowers Summit News: Flower Donation Program

If you’re a regular listener, I know you’ve heard me talk about the upcoming Slow Flowers Summit, our fifth conference, which takes place June 26-28 at two venues just outside New York City. We’ll gather on Day One at the Red Barn at Maple Grove Farm in Bedford, New York, a beautiful private event venue, and then, we will continue Days Two and Three at Stone Barns Center in Pocantico Hills, New York. One of the ways you can get involved with the Summit is to participate in our Floral Donation Program to support design demonstrations and our Floral Design Takeover at Red Barn.

We’re inviting domestic flower farms and growers to provide donated flowers and foliage to be used throughout the 3-day event. In exchange, floral donations will be featured in Slow Flowers Summit social media, in our printed program, as well as at the in-person Summit. Interested? Click below for all the details.

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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 850 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms.  It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.

Thank you to our lead sponsor, Farmgirl Flowers. Farmgirl Flowers delivers iconic burlap-wrapped bouquets and lush, abundant arrangements to customers across the U.S., supporting U.S. flower farms by purchasing more than $10 million dollars of U.S.-grown fresh and seasonal flowers and foliage annually. Discover more at farmgirlflowers.com. 

Thank you to Flowerfarm.com, a leading wholesale flower distributor that sources from carefully-selected flower farms to offer high-performing fresh flowers sent directly from the farm straight to you. You can shop by flower and by country of origin at flowerfarm.com. Find flowers and foliage from California, Florida, Oregon and Washington by using the “Origin” selection tool in your search. It’s smarter sourcing. Learn more at flowerfarm.com.

Thank you to the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers. Formed in 1988, ASCFG was created to educate, unite, and support commercial cut flower growers. It mission is to help growers produce high-quality floral material, and to foster and promote the local availability of that product. Learn more at ascfg.org.

Thank you to Red Twig Farms. Based in Johnstown, Ohio, Red Twig Farms is a family-owned farm specializing in peonies, daffodils, tulips and branches.  Learn more at redtwigfarms.com.

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Thanks so much for joining us today! The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more than 851,000 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 and consider making a donation to sustain Slow Flowers’ ongoing advocacy, education and outreach activities. You can find the donate button in the column to the right.

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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. 

Music credits:
Heliotrope; Turning on the Lights; Gaena
by Blue Dot Sessions
http://www.sessions.blue

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

In The Field
audionautix.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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We have just recognized Earth Day and the Slow Flowers Podcast focused on a non-green topic: Funeral Flowers.

This episode was inspired by two Slow Flowers members in the Seattle area who have been researching ways to infuse sustainability into sympathy flowers.

I’ve invited Lori Poliski of Flori LLC, and Tammy Myers of LORA Bloom and First and Bloom to share their experience, research, and future plans on this topic.

Just for context, based on funeral industry statistics, if half of the funerals in the US annually have traditional funeral flowers, Lori and Tammy estimate that up to 1.2 million plastic and floral foam saddle caskets, wreath forms and cages that end up in the landfill, every year. 

The women want to change “farewell flowers” to make them not only environmentally friendly, but beautiful, meaningful and personal.  After a long life or a tragic death, one should be laid to rest with beauty – and the flowers should do no harm.  

They are on a mission to raise awareness about this topic, first, with consumers, florists and the funeral industry and second, by offering sustainable options in for clients in the Seattle area and hosting sustainable mechanics classes for florists. While the main focus will be around sympathy or farewell flowers, there’s certainly potential for making daily deliveries and event work greener. 

Lori and Tammy have partnered with a certified green burial cemetery, Cedar Lawns in Redmond, Washington, to start. They recently designed green farewell flowers for a photo shoot at Cedar Lawns and are preparing a brochure and a booklet as well as listing the items digitally on their respective websites. 

Resources and Where to find and follow Lori and Tammy:

Follow Flori on Facebook and Instagram

Follow LORA Bloom on Facebook and Instagram

Follow First & Bloom on Facebook and Instagram

Learn more about the Green Burial Counsel

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Last Friday, on Earth Day, I posted a video announcing the just-released new findings from the 2022 National Gardening Survey, which includes specific questions about cut flowers that Slow Flowers Society developed in collaboration with the National Gardening Association, which conducts the annual survey.

Click here to read more. Last year’s survey found that 58 percent of respondents said it is very or somewhat important that the flowers they purchase are locally grown. This year, that number has climbed to 65 percent — nearly 2/3rd of respondents prefer locally-grown flowers.

The attitudes about American-grown flower purchases is also trending up — from 57% of respondents in 2021 saying it’s very or somewhat important that the flowers they purchase are U.S. grown, to 61% preferring domestic flowers.

There’s much more to learn and as a bonus, we have prepared a media kit for Slow Flowers Society members to use for their own local promotions. If you are a member, you’ll find a special email in your in-box this week sharing the download details. All in all, I’m encouraged about the needle moving higher as we now have two consecutive years of consumer attitudes about Local and US-grown flowers!

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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 880 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms.  It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.

Thank you to our lead sponsor, returning for 2022, Farmgirl Flowers. Farmgirl Flowers delivers iconic burlap-wrapped bouquets and lush, abundant arrangements to customers across the U.S., supporting U.S. flower farms by purchasing more than $10 million dollars of U.S.-grown fresh and seasonal flowers and foliage annually. Discover more at farmgirlflowers.com. 

Thank you to the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers. Formed in 1988, ASCFG was created to educate, unite, and support commercial cut flower growers. It mission is to help growers produce high-quality floral material, and to foster and promote the local availability of that product. Learn more at ascfg.org.

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.  

Thank you to Flowerfarm.com, a leading wholesale flower distributor that sources from carefully-selected flower farms to offer high-performing fresh flowers sent directly from the farm straight to you. You can shop by flower and by country of origin at flowerfarm.com. Find flowers and foliage from California, Florida, Oregon and Washington by using the “Origin” selection tool in your search. It’s smarter sourcing. Learn more at flowerfarm.com.

---

Thanks so much for joining us today! The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more than 842,000 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 Slow Flowers Society.com and consider making a donation to sustain Slow Flowers’ ongoing advocacy, education and outreach activities. You can find the donate button at slowflowerspodcast.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. 

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Music credits:
Homegrown; Sage the Hunter; Gaena
by Blue Dot Sessions
http://www.sessions.blue

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

In The Field
by:
audionautix.com

The trend line is moving up!

It’s Earth Day 2022 and wow, has the past year been packed with great news for flower and garden lovers!

One year ago, Slow Flowers Society announced the first consumer insights around cut flower purchases, collected as part of the 2021 National Gardening Survey. The NGS is a well-regarded survey conducted annually since 1973, which tracks consumer behavior and produces a comprehensive market research report used by the lawn and garden industry to make strategic decisions around product development and sales.

Last year’s Survey established benchmarks on consumer attitudes about domestic and locally-grown cut flowers and their purchasing preferences. The findings were so encouraging and they gave us a statistically accurate tool to evaluate consumer attitudes and behavior shifts from 2020 moving forward.

For 2022, Slow Flowers has again partnered with the National Gardening Association, sponsors of the National Gardening Survey. This year’s research was conducted for a full month, from early January through early February. Around 2,600 people completed the national survey.

In planning for our second consecutive year, we worked with the NGS to expand last year’s questions to add the phrase “floral arrangements” to the cut flower question. We are excited to share those insights with you:

Q: “When buying cut flowers and flower arrangements, how important is it to you that they are Locally Grown?“

For 2022, 65% of respondents indicated it is Very or Somewhat Important that cut flowers and floral arrangements they purchase are locally grown.

That’s up from the 2021 National Gardening Survey, which found that 58% of respondents indicated it is Very or Somewhat Important that the cut flowers they purchase are grown locally.

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Q. “When buying cut flowers and flower arrangements, how important is it to you that they are U.S. Grown?“

For 2022, 61% of respondents indicated it is Very or Somewhat Important that cut flowers and floral arrangements they purchase are U.S. Grown.

That’s up from the 2021 National Gardening Survey, which found that 57% of respondents indicated it is Very or Somewhat Important that the cut flowers they purchase are U.S. Grown.

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Combined Importance When Buying Cut Flowers/Floral Arrangements

These numbers are encouraging! What’s to account for the needle moving? The 2022 survey included a wording change — from “Cut Flowers” to “Cut Flowers/Flower Arrangements.” As NGS researcher Paul Cohen explained, it’s likely that these numbers are due to a significant increase in the percentage of respondents who said they made a flower purchase. He also notes that the addition of “flower arrangements” likely spurred more respondents to report flower purchases. Paul Cohen also speculates that the significant backlog of weddings that created a boom year for weddings in 2021 (from only 1.3 million in 2020 to roughly 2 million in 2021) also contributed to the increased number of customers for local and US-grown cut flowers. And as a footnote, 2022 is forecast to be another banner year for weddings, with 2.5 million couples expected to tie the knot.

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Where Do Consumers Purchase U.S.- and Locally-Grown Flowers?

With input from the Slow Flowers community, we added a new follow-up question to the National Gardening survey. We asked:

Q. “When purchasing cut flowers and flower arrangements that you know are grown within the U.S. or locally grown, which of the following places have you purchased them from?”

The most common purchase locations for cut flowers and flower arrangements grown within the US or locally grown were supermarkets, mass merchants/discount stores, retail florists and farmers’ markets.

Supermarkets: 32.5%

Mass Merchandiser/Discount Stores: 28.6%

Retail Flower Shops: at 26.1%

Farmers’ Markets: 23.8 %

There is still much room for education around flower origin. Just over 13% of respondents stated they were unsure or do not know where the flowers they purchased were grown.

Other notable outlets included:

On-Farm Shopping: 9.5%
eCommerce Flower Websites: 5/6%
CSA flower subscriptions: 3.7%

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So what does this mean for you and your floral enterprise? Slow Flowers’ investment to participate in a national survey brings the conversation about the origin of cut flowers and floral arrangements to the center of the dialogue.

Simply by asking these questions, we elevate local and domestic flowers to top of mind — and this is important. The statistics reflect an ongoing cultural shift, one that I predict will only increase.

The survey results are a free resource for our members and we encourage you to incorporate the findings into your own branding, marketing and conversations to elevate your platform.

Next week, we will release a member press kit with resources that include a press release, survey graphics, and social media assets for your use. If we want more people to talk about local and domestic flowers, we need to give them something to write about! We’re doing the same, thanks to your support! You can look for these resources in a special member mailing or find a link to download them at slowflowerssociety.com

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Welcome to Part Two of the Slow Flowers Podcast, Episode 522, a special bonus conversation with singer-songwriter Eva Leach. I’m honored that she’s sharing her new original music with us.

If you’ve attended Holly Chapple’s Flowerstock Festival, you’ve already been treated to live performances by Eva and her frequent collaborator (and brother) Nathan Leach. Nathan & Eva is a Musical Duo from Charleston, South Carolina. The origins of their story are pretty recent and immensely fascinating. While in school at USC Columbia, Nathan longed to get back into guitar playing, so he began to post cover songs on YouTube. Over time, he expanded the roster of featured talent to include the occasional help from his sister, Eva. In 2013, they posted a cover of Family of the Year’s “Hero”. In 2015, that video went viral. It’s mindboggling to say this, but music videos on the Nathan & Eva YouTube channel have been viewed more than 26 MILLION times.

In 2018, I was inspired to invite them to join me on the Slow Flowers Podcast holiday music show (Episode 340).

In celebration of Eva’s new EP Sick Girl, released April 1st, we recorded this interview, in which you’ll hear two of her three original new songs.

Follow Eva on Instagram

Follow Eva on TickTock

Find Sick Girl on Spotify

Read more, Charleston City Paper profile of Eva and Nathan Leach

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I shared our sponsor thank you’s in Part One today, so we’ll just wrap things up by saying The Slow Flowers Show is a member-supported endeavor and I value our loyal members and supporters! If you’re new to our weekly Show and our long-running Podcast, check out all of our resources at Slow Flowers Society.com and consider making a donation to sustain Slow Flowers’ ongoing advocacy, education and outreach activities. You can find the donate button in the column to the right at slowflowerspodcast.com.