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The Bochner family lived in the Des Moines, Iowa, suburbs for many years, in a house surrounded by a beautiful flower garden. As gardeners with other careers, Lori and Jim never dreamed of packing up everything, moving to rural Iowa, and growing thousands of flowers on a farm. Today, they consider Bochner Farms an “unplanned accident” that emerged from 50 acres of raw land originally intended for weekend camping, fishing, hiking and sitting around the campfire —  you know, an outdoor escape from city life. One year after buying the land, Lori and Jim decided to move there permanently. They built a farmhouse, planted thousands of flowers, and have slowly transitioned the property into a botanical wonderland to share with other flower lovers and for those in search of beauty and a sense of peace. Join me on a walking tour with the Bochners and a conversation that connects the dots between an idea and the reality of being a destination flower farm.

If you’re a longtime listener of the Slow Flowers Podcast, you know that I can find great interview guests wherever I travel – and that’s because we have Slow Flowers members in all 50 states and in  most Canadian provinces! I also mange to find slow flowers-minded guests when I travel abroad, like on last year’s visit to France – and hint, hint – as part of my upcoming trip to Japan!

Last weekend, when I flew to Des Moines, Iowa, to have a garden-and-art weekend with two of my longtime writer-editor friends, I invited myself to meet Lori and Jim Bochner of Bochner Farms. Friends in tow, I made the 30-minute drive south of Des Moines into the rural, Central Iowa countryside. When we arrived at Bochner Farms, we discovered an oasis of flowers surrounded, it seemed, on all sides by corn stalks and bean fields.

There, Lori and Jim Bochner greeted us and led a stroll through their event-focused flower farm and nursery. With distinctive, farm-style architecture (even for the chicken house), a huge covered pavilion for groups up to 50, a charming cottage garden, an enviable she-shed, and displays of dahlias, annuals, and their unique collection of daylilies, there was so much to see!

By necessity, they have installed air conditioning inside the design studio and the picture-perfect shed, as well as in the event barn, currently being upgraded for larger gatherings beginning in 2026. Climate control ensures that all guests are comfortable and never want to leave!

We wore our sun hats and let our fascination with Jim and Lori’s flower farming story – and the beauty of their blooms – distract us from the Midwest heat!

I’m so grateful to Lori and Jim and Bochner Farms for their membership in and support of the Slow Flowers Movement. I hope their story inspires you on your floral journey.

Find and follow Bochner Farms on Instagram and Facebook
Subscribe to Bochner Farms’ newsletter

Digital Download: How to Build a Cottage Garden

More about GIVING COLOR:
1 for 6.  Through a collaboration with Meals from the Heartland, Bochner Farms donates a meal that feeds six people for every flower purchase from our Iowa flower farm.  To learn more about Meals from the Heartland, visit their website at www.mealsfromtheheartland.org. All flower purchases count – so the more flowers purchased, the more people are fed.  This includes Bochner Farms tours, U-pick experiences, farm-to-table dinners, all of our bouquet subscriptions, and daylilies too. Find flowers here.

---

Thank you to our Sponsors!

This show is brought to you by slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 700 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.

Thank you to our lead sponsor, Flowerbulb.eu and their U.S. lily bulb vendors. One of the most recognizable flowers in the world, the lily is a top-selling cut flower, offering long-lasting blooms, year-round availability, and a dazzling petal palette. Flowerbulb.eu has partnered with Slow Flowers to provide beautiful lily inspiration and farming resources to help growers and florists connect their customers with more lilies. Learn more at Flowerbulb.eu.

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

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.

---

Thank you for joining me today! The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more than 1.5 million times by listeners like you. Thank you for listening, commenting and sharing – it means so much. As our movement gains more supporters and more passionate participants who believe in the importance of our domestic cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious. I know you feel it, too. If you’re new to our weekly Show and our long-running Podcast, check out all of our resources at SlowFlowersSociety.com.

---

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

---

Music credits:

Drone Pine; Gaena; Pull Beyond Pull
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

Based in Kingston, Massachusetts, on Boston’s South Shore, farmer-florist Julie Raymond grows cut flowers for her clients’ wedding florals. After an initial career in social service, Julie’s graduate work in horticulture and landscape design now informs her philosophy. She says: “That background in science and design is rooted in everything I do and has inspired my work from the very beginning.” Today, Bittersweet Gardens sources fresh, seasonal and organic flowers to serve those clients with unique, bespoke field-to-vase floral arrangements, tablescapes, wedding bouquets and centerpieces. We recently recorded a conversation about how Julie navigates weddings as a farmer-florist, a topic about which she frequently teaches and writes. Whether you grow cut flowers, design florals for weddings, or do both – this conversation will inspire you!

Join me today in the virtual studio as I visit with Julie Raymond of Bittersweet Gardens, based in Kingston, Massachusetts. With an emphasis on sustainably grown flowers and event design, the studio is known for organic, loose florals inspired by the changing seasons of New England and a lush, ethereal and “just picked” from the garden aesthetic.

Since 1998, Julie has farmed land up and down the eastern part of Massachusetts. Outside of growing flowers and designing floral arrangements for weekly corporate clients and couples, she also markets blooms through the Boston Wholesale Flower Exchange. 

The breadth and depth of design ingredients that Julie grows in mind-boggling – she begins the season with early tulips, ranunculus, and anemones and continues through the summer with all the unique, juicy options – annuals, perennials, and ornamental shrubs and vines – and wraps up the season with dahlias and heirloom mums.

Julie edited and narrated a 20-minute bonus video that leads us through a full year at Bittersweet Gardens, including some of her gorgeous design work and evocative, place-setting installations.

Join Bittersweet Gardens’ mailing list — you’ll be the first to learn about Julie’s upcoming course!

Find and follow Bittersweet Gardens on Instagram and Facebook

---

Thank you to our Sponsors

This show is brought to you by slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 700 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.

Thank you to our lead sponsor, Flowerbulb.eu and their U.S. lily bulb vendors. One of the most recognizable flowers in the world, the lily is a top-selling cut flower, offering long-lasting blooms, year-round availability, and a dazzling petal palette. Flowerbulb.eu has partnered with Slow Flowers to provide beautiful lily inspiration and farming resources to help growers and florists connect their customers with more lilies. Learn more at Flowerbulb.eu.

Thank you to Johnny’s Selected Seeds, an employee-owned company that provides our industry the best flower, herb and vegetable seeds — supplied to farms large and small and even backyard cutting gardens like mine. Find the full catalog of flower seeds and bulbs at johnnysseeds.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 for joining me today! The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more than 1.5 million times by listeners like you. Thank you for listening, commenting and sharing – it means so much. As our movement gains more supporters and more passionate participants who believe in the importance of our domestic cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious. I know you feel it, too. If you’re new to our weekly Show and our long-running Podcast, check out all of our resources at SlowFlowersSociety.com.

---

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

---

Music credits:

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

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

In The Field
audionautix.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Podcast Index | RSS | More

Next year, Gretel and Steve Adams will celebrate the 20^th farming season at Sunny Meadows Flower Farm in Columbus, Ohio. Far younger than the average U.S. farmer, these first-generation flower growers have built Sunny Meadows into an impressive floral enterprise encompassing more than 30 acres, employing a crew of few dozen folks, and producing tens of thousands of floral stems each year. I first met this talented couple in 2010 at the ASCFG conference in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which is where I first realized that they were ones to watch. Over the years, they have appeared in articles I’ve written for national magazines, as guests on the Slow Flowers Podcast, and now, in the pages of The Flower Farmers. Last week, I joined Steve and Gretel and 100 of their customers and friends, at a special book signing party at their farm. Today’s episode features highlights of that event.

Turn to page 126 in The Flower Farmers book and you’ll read the story of Sunny Meadows Flower Farm, the Columbus-based family farm started by Gretel and Steve Adams in 2006, on a 10-acre parcel with a small cottage and little more. Their dream of farming together, sharing their mutual love of nature, has blossomed into an impressive source of domestic flowers for regional and national customers.

Early on, they shifted from a food-and-flower-growing operation to 100% cut flowers, inspired by a market grower who raised sunflowers, zinnias, and cosmos to supplement a teacher salary. “We quickly realized how much money we could earn with our local flowers,” Steve explained. “We found this niche that no one else was really doing in Columbus, and we went for it. What we earn per acre on cut flower production is dramatically different than what we were doing with vegetables alone.”

By adding leased parcels in and around Columbus to their original 10 acres, the farm has expanded like a patchwork quilt. The home farm is where woody and herbaceous peonies grow – crops like hydrangeas, viburnum, willows, yarrow, and sea oats. There are more than one dozen greenhouses that produce luxury crops like ranunculus, anemone, freesia, and lisianthus, plus a farm store open to the public. The leased farmland – across the street – is filled with vibrant rows of field-grown annuals (celosia, amaranth, sunflowers, zinnias, and lots and lots of dahlias. I visited both sites while attending our book launch party, and have some video to share with you.

You’ll want to check out the video in today’s show notes to see highlights of my visit. On Saturday, I spent time with Gretel as we visited all of the lisianthus trials. You’ll hear us discuss CULTIVATE, which is major horticulture conference that takes place in Columbus each July. In addition to our book event, Cultivate brought me to Columbus. The conference made it possible for Takii Seeds’ flower product development manager Jessica Cudnik to attend and share her insight about lisianthus breeding. The episode concludes with Gretel’s floral design demonstration.

I’m so grateful to Gretel and Steve Adams for their longtime support of the Slow Flowers Movement as members and collaborators. I know you will be inspired by their story.

Find and follow Sunny Meadows Flower Farm – @flowerfarmette (Gretel) and @flowerfarmer (Steve) and on Facebook

Order signed copies of The Flower Farmers book – from Slow Flowers Society

More about the lisianthus from Takii Seed

---

Thank You to our Sponsors

This show is brought to you by slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 700 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.

Thank you to our lead sponsor, Flowerbulb.eu and their U.S. lily bulb vendors. One of the most recognizable flowers in the world, the lily is a top-selling cut flower, offering long-lasting blooms, year-round availability, and a dazzling petal palette. Flowerbulb.eu has partnered with Slow Flowers to provide beautiful lily inspiration and farming resources to help growers and florists connect their customers with more lilies. Learn more at Flowerbulb.eu.

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

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

---

Thank you for joining me today! The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more than 1.5 million times by listeners like you. Thank you for listening, commenting and sharing – it means so much. As our movement gains more supporters and more passionate participants who believe in the importance of our domestic cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious. I know you feel it, too. If you’re new to our weekly Show and our long-running Podcast, check out all of our resources at SlowFlowersSociety.com.

---

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

---

Music credits:

Drone Pine; Gaena; Margot Zunni
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

A few weeks ago, I journeyed to Bellingham, a beautiful college town located close to the Washington-British Columbia border, where Annika McIntosh of Hazel Designs grows botanicals, designs gardens, and arranges flowers for everyday customers, weddings, and events. During what was a lovely morning in the garden and studio, I spent time with Annika to learn about how she has expanded beyond designing landscapes to fashion a floral-centric career. As she explained, rather than calling herself a “farmer-florist,” she likes to say she’s a “Designer / Grower.” Not a farmer, per se, but a grower of uncommon and unique cut florals — annuals, bulbs, perennials, shrubs, vines, trees, grasses, and other surprises that are displayed in custom hand-tied bouquets and event installations. We filmed a brief garden tour and then went right in to the backyard studio space where Annika, her husband, and their daughter are living temporarily, while renovating their home that’s located at the front of the generously-sized city property. I know you’ll enjoy our conversation while watching Annika design with early-summer botanicals.

Annika grew up in the gentle, old hills south of the Adirondacks and east of the Hudson River in upstate New York with two artisan parents who built an off-grid home and raised cows and a highly productive vegetable garden. Annika’s father is a fine cabinetmaker turned bass luthier (that means “maker of stringed instruments”; he is also a musician and local politician) and her mother is a basket maker and gardener (as well as a musician, educator and organizer), and they are very much rooted there in the small community where Annika was exposed to a lot of amazing gardens, music, art and progressive thinking.

Annika studied dance, environmental studies and studio art at Oberlin College and Landscape Architecture at the University of Washington. She lived in Montreal for a few years before moving to Seattle and has been in Bellingham for the past 6 years. National and global events have definitely shaped her career path, as the 2008 depression dashed hopes that she might join a design firm. Instead, she started Hazel Landscapes, a design/build company. The family’s move to Bellingham coincided with the pandemic. At first, that felt like starting over, but it also allowed her to stay small and scrappy and build her business again from the ground up, with word-of-mouth, in a way that she feels good about. 

Annika’s garden at home is a demonstration of what can be grown — for ornamental and pollinator/bird foraging purposes, as well as for cutting — with very little tending or water and no protection from deer grazing. She says: “I love to remind people that they can cut widely from their home landscape without making a designated ‘cutting garden,’ using foliage from shrubs and other plants they might not think of as ‘flowers.’ Foraging from pruning piles and then testing vase life and aesthetic utility of landscape ornamentals was what got me into cut flowers in the first place, and I still find it more engaging than growing typical field flowers. (I’m also not set up as a farm, so my home landscape is my focus and it’s all ‘fair game.’) It is definitely more of a long game, with slower-growing plants, but that’s also where I can find branches or stems with real personality that build a gestural narrative in an arrangement. I find that local, seasonal foliage is a more appealing complement aesthetically than the ubiquitous ruscus, smilax, leatherleaf fern, eucalyptus and other florist’s greens, making an arrangement or bouquet really special in a beautiful, of-the-moment uniqueness.”

“Floral designers create smaller encounters with nature for people to interact with — so for me it’s an easy leap to apply the same thinking to working with seasonal flowers and foliage. Florists working with a local supply chain of seasonal products (especially foliage!) will create floral experiences that are truly unique to that particular time and place. Whether the audience includes wedding guests, memorial attendees or conference participants, that brush with seasonal blooms will give them a sense of place and ground them in the season. And I believe it is vitally important to strengthen our connection to nature, especially in recurring, non-verbal, gentle and celebratory ways.”

“I got stalled in college environmental studies classes by desperately wanting to communicate the urgency of the climate crisis and be a part of some kind of solution to the waste and destruction I was so aware of, but feeling completely overwhelmed and unsure how I could ever effect change.  Over the years I’ve pieced together a working answer to that angst and need for action that is so scaled back that I sometimes have to squint to see it… but it works for me, and feels subtle yet positive and supportive: growing with kids in school gardens; designing outdoor spaces where people can connect with nature at home, and bringing flowers to celebrations and everyday occasions that speak to the season and place.”

There is so much packed into one episode — an inspiring moment together in the studio, in the garden. I know you’ll enjoy it immensely. Annika is part of the brand new Field to Floral Market, a Bellingham area collective with local growers and floral designers — and new members of the Slow Flowers Society. You’ll watch a short tour of Field to Floral at the end of my conversation with Annika.

Other Slow Flowers members who are part of the Field to Floral marketplace include:

Nicole Huson of Headwaters Farm; Eryn Shaughnessy of Frogsong Flowers; and Emily Hazlip-Haese of Thorncrest Rose Farm. I’m so excited to learn more about each of them on a future visit to the area.

Annika’s flowers can be found at Lakeline Cafe and Roam Cafe in Bellingham, as well as in her driveway on the weekends. You can message Annika through her Instagram account, or sign up for her newsletter – I’ll share the link in our show notes.

Links to order Annika’s mother’s garden books, which Annika designed:

Once Around the Sun, by Bliss White McIntosh
Battenkill Books and Amazon

Another Time Around the Sun, by Bliss White McIntosh
Battenkill Books

---

Thank you to our Sponsors!

This show is brought to you by slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 700 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.

Thank you to our lead sponsor, Flowerbulb.eu and their U.S. lily bulb vendors. One of the most recognizable flowers in the world, the lily is a top-selling cut flower, offering long-lasting blooms, year-round availability, and a dazzling petal palette. Flowerbulb.eu has partnered with Slow Flowers to provide beautiful lily inspiration and farming resources to help growers and florists connect their customers with more lilies. Learn more at Flowerbulb.eu.

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

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

---

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

---

Music credits:

Drone Pine; Gaena; Stanza in Fuchsia
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

Growing specialty cut flowers for retail floral shops is a very specific niche and today’s guest, Jamie Rogers of Killing Frost Farm in Helena, Montana, has a lot to share on this topic! Jamie co-founded the business with Carly Jenkins in 2014, the “killing frost” name a tongue-in-cheek reference to extreme drops to freezing temperatures that are brutal for flowers. Today, Jamie farms solo and supplies retailers between Bozeman to the east and Missoula to the west and he has maximized efficiencies to supply quantities of unique perennials and annuals to a core base of floral customers week in and week out throughout the season. We’ll wrap up this conversation with a peek into Jamie’s other passion – music – as he shares a new song from the upcoming album he recorded with Les Duck, the local band he performs with as drummer. It’s a great reminder for all of us to find work-life balance in this demanding world of flower growing and design.

As we continue to share the inspiring content from the pages of The Flower Farmers, our new book featuring the stories of 29 expert growers across North America, we’re taking a stop today in western Montana, to meet Jamie Rogers of Killing Frost Farm.

Jamie is a past guest of this podcast, and I’m so happy that he had a chance to record a new conversation with him last week. After farming in Western Montana for more than a decade, on several locations both urban and rural, Jamie and his former partner Carly Jenkins moved Killing Frost Farm to Helena in 2021. Their two-acre parcel of land in the fertile Prickly Pear Valley is surrounded by rolling hills and views of Mount Helena.

There are so many benefits of this new location, including access to well water, distance from fire threats, and proximity to city amenities. The farm pumps out an impressive crop list – including sunflower, strawflower, stock, snapdragon, foxglove, scabiosa, zinnia, gomphrena, amaranth, marigold, cosmos, larkspur, Queen Anne’s lace, sea  holly, and delphinium – the specialty crop we featured in a bonus spread in The Flower Farmers.

You’ll want to wait until the very end of our interview for a delightful bonus track of a song titled “Head Fell Off” from the upcoming album Jamie and his fellow band members produced – no surprise, inside the Killing Frost barn, which they converted to a recording studio! I loved this conversation and I love the energy and joy Jamie shares about flower farming. It can be brutal and demanding, but his story is a reminder to find balance and quality of life in the journey.

Follow Jamie at his new IG account @montanaflowerfarmer, and @les_duck, where details on the album release of “Love is the Dirt,” will be announced later this summer.

---

Thank you to our Sponsors

This show is brought to you by slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 700 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.

Thank you to our lead sponsor, Flowerbulb.eu and their U.S. lily bulb vendors. One of the most recognizable flowers in the world, the lily is a top-selling cut flower, offering long-lasting blooms, year-round availability, and a dazzling petal palette. Flowerbulb.eu has partnered with Slow Flowers to provide beautiful lily inspiration and farming resources to help growers and florists connect their customers with more lilies. Learn more at Flowerbulb.eu.

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

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 www.redtwigfarms.com.

---

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

---

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

---

Music credits:

Drone Pine; Gaena; Stanza for Lumi
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

The Flower Farmers has been in the works for two years, as my co-author and the book’s creative director Robin Avni and I have poured our storytelling passion into the narratives and imagery that portray 29 North American growers. The book was released on May 6^th by Abrams, and we’ve been in major celebration mode ever since. Today’s episode brings you  to the lecture that Robin and I recently presented for the Northwest Horticultural Society, as we introduced the flower farming lifestyle and encouraged the audience to “garden like a flower farmer.” In the second part of this episode, you’ll hear a fabulous conversation I recorded with Daniel Sparler, Seattle-based horticulturalist and expert on botanical Latin, who served as The Flower Farmers’ horticulture consultant.

Here’s the pitch for The Flower Farmers book: “Twenty–nine of today’s most inspiring flower farmers present stories, how–to–cultivate expertise, and favorite new varieties in a lushly photographed guide to feed your every floral fantasy.

“Flower farmers are the garden world’s lifestyle influencers these days, with dedicated social media channels and hundreds of thousands of avid fans who dream about having a lush and vibrant cutting garden of their own. Today’s gardeners follow celebrity growers to gather ideas and expert advice regarding planting techniques and the best varieties and seasonal plants to choose. The Flower Farmers book presents a curated group of favorite growers, from industry leaders to pioneering newcomers. Each grower shares their specialty knowledge and seasonal practices, so that readers will be able to create a similar relationship with flowers and discover sustainable techniques for their own gardens. Dedicated sidebars dig deeper, with information on everything from raising a unique cultivar to the best floral varieties for long-lasting arrangements. Gorgeous photography illustrates each farmer’s profile, highlighting the beauty of their farms, floral passions, and the flowers themselves.”

Regular listeners know all about me, and so I’ll re-introduce Robin Avni, past guest of the Slow Flowers Podcast. Robin is a creative director and experienced designer in the media + high-tech industries. Her specialties include creative management of award-winning teams and content development for high-profile projects. She has produced 18 floral and lifestyle books, including eight in collaboration with me, and together we love showcasing the floral lifestyle of creatives and entrepreneurs.

Click below to view: Robin and Debra’s lecture slides

Whether you’re a plant geek or a beginning plant parent, you’ll love hearing from Daniel Sparler about botanical Latin and how it has evolved. We are so grateful that Daniel shared his expertise with us to ensure that The Flower Farmers’ plant content is correctly identified, accurate and up to date.

Jump to my conversation with Daniel here

Click for more resources from Daniel Sparler

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Join us on tour!

The Flower Farmers JUNE Book Tour — Virginia, Pennsylvania, Connecticut & New York
Sun., June 8th (4-6 p.m.), WATERFORD, Virginia
Book Launch party and signing with Debra Prinzing and Holly Heider Chapple of Hope Flower Farm. Enjoy the afternoon at Hope Flower Farm, featured in the pages of The Flower Farmers. Books will be available for purchase and signing, and you’ll want to visit the Hope Flower Farm Winery, too!
Free; Event Details Here. NOTE: Correct time is 4-6 p.m.

Tues., June 10th (6-7:30 p.m.)
KENNETT SQUARE, Pennsylvania
Longwood Gardens hosts Robin Avni and Debra Prinzing for a lecture and book-signing about The Flower Farmers. They’ll be joined by Marly Surena-Llorens of Fenimore & Rutland (Allentown, Pennsylvania) will join as their special farmer guest.
Free; pre-registration is required; Event Details Here.

Wed., June 11th (4-6 p.m.)
MIDDLETOWN, Connecticut
The Connecticut Flower Collective is hosting Debra Prinzing from the Slow Flower Society and Robin Avni to share their latest book, “The Flower Farmers.” Enjoy light snacks and refreshments while listening to a reading followed by a Q&A from 4-5PM, and a book signing from 5-6PM. Books will be available for purchase at CTFC, as well as a late flower market where you can shop the floor during the event.
Free; Pre-Register Here

Thur., June 12th (6-8 p.m.)
BROOKLYN (Williamsburg), New York
Join Debra and Robin at Flower Aggregate, the exciting new hub for local flowers. Enjoy networking and refreshments, and meet some of the flower farmers featured in The Flower Farmers! Books will be available for purchase and signing.
Free. More Details Here.

Fri., June 13th (4-6 p.m.)
MILLBROOK, New York
Orangerie Garden + Home is hosting Robin and Debra, along with three flower farmers who are featured in The Flower Farmers. Enjoy design demonstrations of their local flowers along with refreshments. Books will be available for purchase and signing.
Free. More Details Here.

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Thank you to our Sponsors!

This show is brought to you by slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 700 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.

Thank you to our lead sponsor, Flowerbulb.eu and their U.S. lily bulb vendors. One of the most recognizable flowers in the world, the lily is a top-selling cut flower, offering long-lasting blooms, year-round availability, and a dazzling petal palette. Flowerbulb.eu has partnered with Slow Flowers to provide beautiful lily inspiration and farming resources to help growers and florists connect their customers with more lilies. Learn more at Flowerbulb.eu.

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

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

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

---

Music credits:

Drone Pine; Gaena; Cast in Wicker
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

Join Debra’s fabulous conversation with Daniel Sparler, Seattle-based horticulturalist and expert on botanical Latin, who served as The Flower Farmers’ horticulture consultant. Note: this bonus interview also appears as part two of Slow Flowers Podcast Episode 718.

READ MORE about Azara serrata in an article by Daniel Sparler, “Azaras in Abundance”

I have a special interview to share! Whether you’re a self-described plant geek or a beginning plant parent, you’ll love hearing from Daniel Sparler about botanical Latin and how it has evolved. We are so grateful that Daniel shared his expertise with us to ensure that The Flower Farmers’ plant content was correctly identified, accurate and up to date. In celebration of the release of The Flower Farmers, I asked Daniel to chat with me about language, plants, and how they come together in botanical Latin. This interview was recorded on May 10, 2025, in the garden Daniel shares with his husband Jeff Schouten.

MORE about Daniel: Daniel Sparler thought he had left gardening behind when he washed up on Seattle’s shores in 1981 after his first two decades of life in agrarian Arkansas. But 11 years later, having acquired a Seward Park house surrounded by a long neglected, sprawling lot, he quickly succumbed to floral and foliar fever, which soon progressed to a full-blown and likely terminal case of CPC – compulsive plant collecting. Within a few years he and his long-suffering husband Jeffrey had cobbled together a notorious but much-photographed garden brimming over with thousands of distinct taxa of plants from all corners of the globe. Daniel has taught botanical Latin classes for the last 15 years in addition to writing the popular “Horticulturally Yours” column for the Northwest Horticultural Society. Otherwise, when not up to his knees in compost, Daniel enjoys reading Spanish literature, preparing vegan cuisine, and visiting the world’s most alluring botanical gardens.

More from Daniel: Papaver was the Latin word for poppy; in Greek it was Mecon. Hence “Meconopsis” (-opsis being a Greek suffix meaning “looking like”). Oreo is Greek for mountain, thus Oreomecon, the “new” genus for Iceland poppy, means (from the Greek) “mountain poppy”.  The genus Papaver is still alive and well, and contains more than 70 species, although the “Iceland poppy” has been moved out of it.

Here are the resources we discussed as “unassailable sources” for botanical Latin:

World Flora Online, https://wfoplantlist.org/

Plants of the World Online (Royal Botanic Gardens Kew): https://powo.science.kew.org/

Botanical Gardens that maintain up-to-date plant information:
Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh
Arnold Arboretum at Harvard University
Missouri Botanical Garden

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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The Carrier family has been growing cut flowers and plants for more than 40 years, raising their three children with a love for flowers, and keeping the business in the family as it transitions into the hands of the next generation. Plant Masters, the specialty cut flower farm owned by Leon and Carol Carrier, and their son Leon Carrier III, is based in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. The family floral enterprise supplies numerous farmers’ markets in the area, thanks to a year-round selection of floral design elements and more than 100 varieties, beginning with woody ornamental branches and early flowering bulbs in winter; hellebores, peonies, and perennials in spring; hydrangeas, sunflowers, dahlias, and other annuals in summer; and heirloom mums, winter greenery, and their famous winterberry branches by the year’s end. Join me for a fun conversation with all three, followed by a video tour of Plant Masters.

Our celebration of The Flower Farmers publication continues today with a visit to Maryland, where you’ll meet Leon and Carol Carrier and their son Lee Carrier, owners of Plant Masters.

With over five acres of cultivated land, four hoop houses, and a greenhouse spread over two home farms, Plant Masters is known for providing sustainable, high-quality flowers to customers and florists in the greater Maryland-District of Columbia market. I first met Leon at a Field to Vase dinner held in Virginia. Around the same time, Slow Flowers member Kelly Shore of Petals by the Shore, approached me with an offer I couldn’t refuse. She had collaborated with Leon and Carol to produce a series of styled photo shoots at their farm using the plants, foliage, and flowers they grew from season to season. Her goal was to showcase the many ways florists could incorporate all-local botanicals into wedding and event design, underscoring the Slow Flowers values that Kelly adopted for her business. The series was my first article for Florists Review, which published a beautiful, 11-page feature called “Four Seasons of Floral Design” in the January 2017 issue. The package included a special one-page “Meet the Farmers” interview with Leon and Carol. READ more here:

When it came time to write The Flower Farmers book, I knew I wanted to include the story of Plant Masters. Today, you’re in for a treat. You’ll meet Leon and Carol, and their son Lee, who’s leading the next generation of Plant Masters. Our interview is followed by a video tour of the farm, filmed by Roy Henry.

Find and follow Plant Masters on Instagram and Facebook

Join us at Hope Flower Farm on June 8th (4-6 p.m.)

Celebrate The Flower Farmers and meet host Holly Chapple at Hope Flower Farm in Waterford, Virginia!

Plant Masters’ Carol and Leon Carrier will be in attendance and, along with Holly and Debra Prinzing, we’ll all sign your copy of The Flower Farmers book.

We’d love to see you there!

NOTE: the event time has changed to 4-6 p.m.

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Thank you to our Sponsors

This show is brought to you by slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 700 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.

Thank you to our lead sponsor, Flowerbulb.eu and their U.S. lily bulb vendors. One of the most recognizable flowers in the world, the lily is a top-selling cut flower, offering long-lasting blooms, year-round availability, and a dazzling petal palette. Flowerbulb.eu has partnered with Slow Flowers to provide beautiful lily inspiration and farming resources to help growers and florists connect their customers with more lilies. Learn more at Flowerbulb.eu.

Thank you to the Seattle 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.

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

---

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

---

Music credits:
Drone Pine; Gaena; Erstwhile
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

Marly Surena-Llorens was born and raised in the U.S., but her Haitian mother’s stories of tropical gardens filled with palms, crotons, and bougainvillea plants inspired her lifelong love of flowers. Yet, Marly says some of her most vivid floral impressions came from the BBC programs of her youth, when she watched period TV dramas in her family’s Brooklyn apartment. Today she gardens and grows cut flowers on two residential lots in Allentown, Pennsylvania, a college town located about one hour north of Philadelphia. Marly describes herself as a “farmer who designs,” and with just a quarter of an acre, her land produces enough flowers for Fenimore & Rutland’s seasonal bouquet subscriptions, wedding florals, and design workshops. I’m so thrilled that Robin Avni and I included Marly’s story in our new book, The Flower Farmers, and today you’ll meet her for our extended interview.

We’ve had a great kickoff week for the The Flower Farmers launch and the fun continues today with Marly Surena-Llorens of Fenimore & Rutland, an Allentown, Pennsylvania-based farmer-florist, our special guest.

Marly and I met at an ASCFG conference several years back and I knew I wanted to include her floral journey in a chapter of The Flower Farmers. We’re thrilled with the gorgeous photography she shared for the pages, and we’re so happy that her story is getting out into the world.

Today, join me in a lovely and inspiring conversation with Marly as we discuss her farmer-florist business, Fenimore & Rutland, its origins and inspiration, and the way she has turned a lifelong interest in English gardens into a micro farm serving weddings, events, and everyday customers in her area.

Find and follow Fenimore & Rutland on Instagram and Facebook.

Meet Marly, Debra & Robin on Tuesday, June 10th at Longwood Gardens!
Tues., June 10th (6-7:30 pm), KENNETT SQUARE, Pennsylvania.
Longwood Gardens hosts Robin Avni and Debra Prinzing for a lecture and book-signing about The Flower Farmers. They’ll be joined by Marly Surena-Llorens of Fenimore & Rutland (Allentown, Pennsylvania) will join as their special farmer guest. 
Tickets: $26-$29; Event Details Here.

Check out the full event calendar for The Flower Farmers book launch (May & June)

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Thank you to our Sponsors!

This show is brought to you by slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 700 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.

Thank you to our lead sponsor, Flowerbulb.eu and their U.S. lily bulb vendors. One of the most recognizable flowers in the world, the lily is a top-selling cut flower, offering long-lasting blooms, year-round availability, and a dazzling petal palette. Flowerbulb.eu has partnered with Slow Flowers to provide beautiful lily inspiration and farming resources to help growers and florists connect their customers with more lilies. Learn more at Flowerbulb.eu.

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

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.

---

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

---

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

---

Music credits:

Drone Pine; Gaena; Turning on the Lights; Surly Bonds
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