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I have another great conversation to share with you this week, one that is both unique to this guest’s personal story while also thoroughly symbolic of so many who have embraced the Slow Flowers Movement.

Andrea K. Grist is a wedding and event florist and owner of Lee Summit, Missouri, based studio, Andrea K. Grist Floral Art, which serves the Kansas City metro area. Andrea and I met through a Facebook conversation, which is similar to many of our social media/floral connections.

Earlier this year, Andrea reached out and told me she had been listening to the Slow Flowers Podcast and that she also had been reading my books.

That was a flattering connection, of course, but what impressed me since then, over the course of the past six or eight months, is that Andrea shared with me links to one of her blog posts discussing her visits to Missouri flower farms and featuring her designs and styled photo shoots using locally grown and American grown flowers.

Eventually we set up a phone date to talk further and I asked Andrea to share her story on this podcast.

Andrea has had a successful career for more than 20 years, but in recent years, she wanted to stretch herself as a designer and as a small business owner.

She started seeking out what was going on in her profession and landed on the Slow Flowers Movement.

Even though most florists in her area weren’t asking for local flowers, Andrea began to do so.

One vase, one bouquet at a time, her work is changing the conversation in her community and for her customers.

Andrea is also a member of the Chapel Designers, and she recently self-published Gatherings in Bloom-Table Art for All Occasions with images by Freeland Photography.

The book is filled with beautiful images of table decor, floral design, and hometown stories about her inspirations and floral passions.

Meet and follow Andrea K. Grist here:

Read Andrea’s Blog Here

Andrea on Facebook 

Andrea on Twitter

Preview and order Gatherings in Bloom here

Before we sign off, I have an announcement to share.

There is an abundance of holiday floral design and wreathmaking workshops going on right now, but one scheduled for next week promises to be unlike any other workshop I’ve heard about.

On November 17th, New York-based Slow Flowers member Elena Seegers of Le Fleuriste will be teaching a fall centerpiece how-to with branches fruits and berries.

Here’s the fun twist: The workshop will be held at Fluent City and include French conversation and vocabulary.

As Elena explained it to me Fluent City is a cool language start up where you learn and converse in different languages through social gatherings and workshops.

“Students will learn how to choose and use branches and berries for their table designs, taught in a mixture of French and English.” I don’t know about you, but I would simply love to be part of this evening, which is affordably priced. [note: in the Podcast introduction I inaccurately stated a workshop price of $65. The actual price is $80 per student]

Thanks to the Slow Flowers Tribe, this podcast has been downloaded more than 71,000 times. Whether you’ve just discovered this Podcast or whether you’re a longtime listener, don’t forget that we’ve archived all of the past episodes at Debraprinzing.com – more than two years of conversations with American flower farmers and floral designers – leading voices in the progressive, American-grown community.

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

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

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

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It is a pleasure today to share my recent conversation with Susan Kelly of Three Sisters Custom Flowers & Events, recorded at her studio in East Palo Alto, California on October 22nd.

Susan is a member of Slowflowers.com.

I featured this gifted floral artist in a short interview a few weeks ago to discuss her installation at The Flower House in Detroit, as part of a round-up podcast conversation with several of the designers involved in The Flower House a few weeks ago.

You can listen to that interview here.

When I realized that I would be in her area the following week, for a lecture and workshop I was scheduled to give at Filoli, the historic estate, I invited myself to Three Sisters Flowers for a tour and interview to share with you.

 

 

Here’s more about Susan:

As owner, lead floral designer and certified wedding coordinator, Susan really knows her flowers and celebrates abundance and natural beauty through her designs. She is constantly doing research to find the newest trends but she also enjoys creating classics.

A Susan Kelly garden-inspired bouquet.

And a lovely floral crown by Susan Kelly.

Susan’s signature design style is simple, natural and elegant, mirroring nature’s effortless beauty.

Susan’s passion for floral design began when she was young. She was immersed in the world of floral design through her first job in high school at the local florist and went on to major in Ornamental Horticulture in college.

It later led her to work as a floral designer for Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, (one of the busiest florists in the world) and, more recently, as a freelance designer for nationally acclaimed Mark’s Garden in Los Angeles.

Susan has also worked a wedding coordinator for the gorgeous and very busy Stanford Memorial Church on the Stanford University campus.

I caught this image of Susan consulting with a bridal client who stopped by to see a sneak preview of her bouquets and centerpieices.

During a hectic wedding season a few years ago, mothers of her bridal clients discovered that Susan was willing and able to step up to more than just delivering the flowers.

As a result, Three Sisters add wedding planning, coordination and consulting to their services.

Susan became certified as a Wedding and Event Consultant through WPI.

She is a member of the Board of Directors for the Silicon Valley chapter of the National Association for Catering and Events and is very active in the event and wedding industry.

 

Breathtaking chandelier!

Three Sisters Custom Flowers & Events cares about the environment and Susan considers herself a “green florist,” employing the following practices:

• Composting all our plant and organic waste

• Recycling all packaging materials

• Organic flowers by request

• Locally grown flowers when possible

• Re-using containers and supplies

  

  Apples! Seasonal and local!

Follow Susan and Three Sisters:

Three Sisters on Facebook

Three Sisters on Pinterest

Three Sisters on Instagram

Here are details about next week’s three-day Chapel Designers California conference, which Susan will host at the studio of Three Sisters Custom Floral & Events on November 9, 10 and 11.

After spending 30 minutes with Susan, I hope you feel her incredible passion for what she does.

To me, her passion is inspiring and contagious.

Susan puts her whole heart into each event and it’s no surprise that she’s has formed lasting friendships with many of the clients and professionals she has worked with.

That’s the epitome of a leader in the Slow Flowers community.

Thanks to the Slow Flowers Tribe, this podcast has been downloaded more than 70,000 times.

Whether you’ve just discovered this Podcast or whether you’re a longtime listener, don’t forget that we’ve archived all of the past episodes at Debraprinzing.com – more than two years of conversations with American flower farmers and floral designers – leading voices in the progressive, American-grown community.

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

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

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

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I’ve had today’s first guest on my “wish list” for a couple years and due to both of our travel schedules, it has taken nearly two years for us to connect in the same time and place with a quiet moment to record today’s interview.

Our paths finally crossed when Françoise Weeks and I were in Detroit at the same time for The Flower House festivities. Françoise traveled to Detroit earlier in the week to teach a two-day workshop hosted by our second podcast guest Susan McLeary of Passionflower Events.  And I was in town to co-host the final Field to Vase Dinner of 2015.

The Flower House, subject of last week’s podcast, prompted Susan to ask Françoise to collaborate with her on the first floor kitchen, called “Fruits of Labor.”

The three of us sat down for this recording on the morning after the hugely successful Field to Vase Dinner.

They were staying in a restored loft apartment in an historic Detroit neighborhood and suggested I come over to record the interview.

When I arrived, Susan and Françoise were concentrating on assembling a bridal bouquet, boutonniere and floral crown for a last-minute elopement that was to occur at The Flower House the following day. It was a lovely moment to talk with both Françoise and Susan as their hands shaped and formed tiny botanical elements into the most delicate, textural creations.

Françoise hails from Belgium, and you can hear the gentle traces of her Flemish accent when she speaks. She has been living in Portland for many years, which is where she developed her studio design business, created flowers for hundreds of weddings and shaped her distinct brand of European-inspired floral design.

Françoise and I have known one another for several years as residents of neighboring states; in fact I first met her in 2010 while on a scouting trip to Portland for The 50 Mile Bouquet.

Since that time, it has been so inspiring to watch Françoise’s career explode as an in-demand floral educator whose workshop series and classes are often sold-out with waiting lists.

Here’s a little more about Françoise:

Françoise was born in Belgium in an area romanticized by the flower arrangements of the Dutch and Flemish painters of the 17th and 18th centuries.

Honing her talents through training with the florists of Antwerp, Françoise discovered her signature—a unique lush and textural style, heavily imprinted by her love of nature and art. Since 1996 she has translated her passion into creations of flowers, herbs, fruits, vegetables and foliage in a way that the masters could only paint.

Her portfolio runs the gamut from elegant natural simplicity to the abundant and bountiful; she consistently delivers the unexpected. Françoise’s first priority is to realize the ideas and needs of her clients and bring to the process her attention to detail and unique creativity.

Recently her work has emerged into two distinctive styles: URBAN WOODLANDS—contemporary stylings of mosses, lichens, bark and forest floor gatherings and FLORAL FORWARD—exquisite botanical haute couture creations of purses, headpieces and shoes.

She shares her knowledge of floral design and mechanics with professionals and students from around the world in intimate studio classes and workshop settings. Françoise has been the subject of numerous magazine articles throughout the United States and Europe.

My conversation with Françoise naturally transitioned to Susan McLeary, once her student; now a good friend and fellow floral educator.

Susan and I met in 2014 when I spoke to the Chapel Designers in New York City at the invitation of Holly Chapple.

She later joined the Slowflowers.com web site (as has Françoise), which is fitting because both designers are known for working with local and seasonal blooms as a preference.

I’ve recently spent more time with Susan who was the featured designer for the Field to Vase Dinner Tour at The Flower House.

I credit Susan for nudging me to schedule this interview with Françoise.

Susan couldn’t avoid me asking her to be part of this episode, as well.

 

Here’s more about Susan McLeary:

Like most of the florists in our Slow Flowers community, Susan is such a collaborative individual as an artist, designer and educator.  Based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, she is known for her unusual, boundary-pushing floral art including elaborate headpieces, flower crowns, and her signature succulent jewelry. Her soulful, seasonally-inspired creations and floral wearables have been described as exquisite living artwork.  

Susan has trained with some of the country’s leading floral designers, including Françoise Weeks, Holly Chapple and Erin Benzakein of floret. Yet, she has developed her own distinctive style of floral design.

Considered one of the country’s top designers of floral wearables and living jewelry, Susan received one gold and three silver medals and placed second overall in the 2014 Fusion Flowers International Designer of the Year competition. 

Her studio Passionflower was the only finalist in the floral category of Martha Stewart’s 2015 American Made contest! 

A passionate teacher, Susan offers private design instruction for new and professional florists in her studio and through destination workshops.

Her teaching experience also includes a sold-out two-day workshop on living jewelry design in Scotland; numerous other creative collaborations workshops are planned for the coming year.  

Susan’s work has been featured on the cover of Fusion Flowers Magazine and in leading industry publications and websites including Modern Wedding Flowers, Style Me Pretty and The Knot. Susan is a member of Chapel Designers, Slow Flowers and Style Me Pretty’s “Little Black Book.”  A frequent featured designer on Etsy, her designs and living jewelry has been praised for its originality, sustainability and style.  

Susan calls Françoise a kindred spirit, which is such a lovely way to view how the Slow Flowers Movement is bringing together many like-minded flower farmers and florists. We are kindred spirits and the more we share and give, the more we can stimulate a new normal in this profession. I’m so grateful that these two women shared their stories with you today.

Here’s how to follow Françoise Weeks:

Françoise on Facebook

Françoise on Instagram

Françoise on Twitter

Françoise on Pinterest

Susan on Facebook

Susan on Instagram

Susan on Twitter

Susan on Pinterest

Susan on Vimeo

Episodes of the Slow Flowers Podcast have been downloaded nearly 69,000 times. I thank you and others in the progressive American-grown floral community for supporting this endeavor.

Until next week, you’re invited to join me in putting more American grown flowers on the table, one vase at a time. And If you like what you hear, please consider logging onto Itunes and posting a listener review. THANK YOU to each and every one of you for downloading, listening, commenting and sharing. It means so much.

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

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

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How do flower farmers band together to take control of their distribution channels? This week’s podcast features a recording pulled from the 2014 audio vault, a fantastic presentation that I know will answer this and many questions about selling American grown flowers. I hope you find it inspiring.

The panel, “Cooperative Wholesaling Among Farmers,” features the history and experiences of three farmers’ co-ops in the Madison, Wisconsin area; in the Pacific Northwest; and in the nation’s Capitol.

Anecdotally, I’ve heard quite a bit of of interest in farmer-owned flower cooperatives around the country. There are probably as many potential farmer-to-florist models as there are individual floral marketplaces.

For example, I have personally heard from groups in Oregon; Sacramento, California; New York-Hudson Valley area; and in Ohio, all of whom are exploring the possibilities of a collective selling effort to reach a hungry customer base of florists, event and wedding designers, and other wholesale buyers. So clearly, the potential has yet to be tapped.

This panel was presented last fall at the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers annual conference in Wilmington, Delaware. Slow Flowers was a sponsor of that conference and I’ve aired several other panels in the past.

Today, you’ll hear from Barbara Lamborne of Greenstone Fields, a Northern Virginia organic flower grower and co-founder of Capitol Flower Growers; Joe Schmitt of Fair Field Flowers; and Diane Szukovathy of Jello Mold Farm and the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market. The three generously share their experience as leaders of successful regional co-ops around the country and how they made it happen.

The presentation starts with Diane Szukovathy, co-founder of Jello Mold Farm in Mt. Vernon, Washington, and founding chair of the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market. Diane was one of this podcast’s first guests, appearing in Episode 103 when she discussed the co-op model in depth.

Be sure to visit debraprinzing.com to find links to several articles that I and others have written about the Seattle co-op model. Full-disclosure: I’m not totally objective here. As one of two non-farmer board members who volunteer for this endeavor, I care deeply about the co-op model. It is so rewarding to work closely with flower farmers like Diane and I know that her insights will help point you to resources for possible collaborations in your own farming community.

The next speaker is Joe Schmitt, who I and many consider the elder statesman of the American cut flower movement. Long before the flower farming craze burst onto the mainstream scene, Joe was growing flowers on his Madison, Wisconsin farm. He is a founder of Fair Field Flowers, a Slow Flowers member that serves as a wholesale farmer-to-florist cooperative selling to florists in Madison, Milwaukee and beyond.

Approximately eight farms combine their resources to supply floral customers from spring through fall. Where the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market is a central hub that sells direct to florists five days a week, Fair Field Flowers is a delivery truck (like a wholesaler on wheels) that delivers flowers to its customers in key markets.

The panel continues with a presentation from Barbara Lamborne of Greenstone Fields, one of the founders of Capitol Growers, which until recently served the Washington, D.C. market. At the time of the presentation, Capitol Growers had lost one of its three founding members. And as of 2015, the cooperative has sadly disbanded. There are lessons to learn here, from failures as well as successes.

Some of the best information comes at the end of the panel presentations during the Q&A portion. Hang in there to listen to the amazing wisdom from farmers with years of experience growing quality American flowers.

Episodes of the Slow Flowers Podcast have been downloaded more than 67,000 times. I thank you and others in the progressive American-grown floral community for supporting this endeavor.

Until next week, you’re invited to join me in putting more American grown flowers on the table, one vase at a time. And If you like what you hear, please consider logging onto Itunes and posting a listener review. THANK YOU to each and every one of you for downloading, listening, commenting and sharing. It means so much.

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

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

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Please meet Riz Reyes, horticultural wunderkind, floral designer extraordinaire and all-around positive influence in the gardening and botanical community here in Seattle and beyond – across North America and internationally thanks to his active presence on social media.

Riz credits an early curiosity about fruits and flowers for turning a young boy from the Philippines into an award-winning garden and floral designer in the Pacific Northwest.

His true interest in gardening began as a seven-year-old watching public television to learn English and gaining an appreciation for the natural world where the art and science of growing plants captivated him.

Riz turned a childhood hobby into a career by earning a BS in environmental horticulture and urban forestry from the University of Washington. Riz gardens in an environment that unveils an overwhelming diversity of plants each season, thanks to the Pacific Northwest typically moderate climate and cultural conditions.

After graduation, Riz logged several years working for the University of Washington Botanic Garden’s Center for Urban Horticulture, as well as running RHR Horticulture, his own horticultural enterprise, where he designs, consults, and maintains gardens he helped create.

Just a few months ago, Riz joined the McMenamin’s Hospitality group as the Gardens Manager at the about-to-open McMenamin’s Anderson School, a hotel, brewery and pub in Bothell, north of Seattle, where I predict the gardens will wow guests and those plants to which Riz tends will very soon make their way into vases of his own creation.

Riz supports and collaborates with local cut flower growers and designers to create unique floral installations for venues and special events. He is a regular speaker and writer for various local and national organizations and publications.

In 2013, Riz was highlighted in Ken Druse’s Organic Gardening article “The New Generation,”  which captured the stories of six notable young horticulturists. Ken described Riz as:  a rising star in the firmament of plant explorers and innovative nurserymen.”

If that wasn’t enough, Michael Tortorello last year interviewed Riz for a New York Times’ story about plant selection, not bad, huh?

Riz earned a Gold Medal and the popular People’s Choice award at the 2013 Northwest Flower & Garden Show with his amazing display garden and the following year, with his collaborator Nicole Cordier Wahlquist, he won People’s Choice Award for a floral display.

Just a few weeks ago, Riz presented at the national Garden Writers’ Association symposium in Pasadena on the topic, “Floral as a Gateway to Horticulture.”

I sat in the front row of that presentation, a huge grin on my face, following along on Riz’s personal journey that has brought him — full circle — back to flowers.

As I say during our interview, I’ve wanted to record an episode of the Slow Flowers Podcast with Riz forever. Listening to his presentation at Garden Writers was the incentive to schedule time together to do just that after we both returned to Seattle from Pasadena.

More places to connect with Riz:

Riz’s web site, RHR Horticulture. You can subscribe to Riz’s newsletter here.

Riz/RHR Horticulture on Facebook

Riz on Twitter

Riz on YouTube

Riz on Instagram

Details on the October 22nd Farm Dinner at University of Washington Farm

Episodes of the Slow Flowers Podcast have been downloaded more than 66,000 times. I thank you and others in the progressive American-grown floral community for supporting this endeavor.

Until next week, you’re invited to join me in putting more American grown flowers on the table, one vase at a time. And If you like what you hear, please consider logging onto Itunes and posting a listener review. THANK YOU to each and every one of you for downloading, listening, commenting and sharing. It means so much.

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

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

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Fall is here and news from our Slow Flowers Tribe is exploding!

There are so many things to discuss and update you about this week. You’ll find that news at the bottom of this post, after I introduce you to Rain Drop Farms.

The heart of the Slow Flowers Podcast are my weekly conversations with inspiring voices in the American flower farming and floral community. Please meet today’s guests, Erin McMullen and Aaron Gaskey, the dynamic duo behind Rain Drop Farms. Based outside Corvallis, Oregon, in Philomath, this husband-wife team of farmers grows a wide array of perennials and annuals on three acres of healthy soil. Allow me to bring Raindrop Farms  — and the sunshine they spread — to you, with the story of lovely, local, Oregon flowers and how one family makes a beautiful and creative living from their land.

Situated in the foothills of the Oregon coast range, Rain Drop has been providing fresh, local, specialty flowers to the Willamette Valley since 2000.

Passionate about growing flowers, Erin and Aaron count dahlias among their favorites. They grow more than 75 varieties and are always searching out more, as well as a wide variety of perennials and many different annuals.

Theirs is a working family farm. As Erin writes on the web site: “We live here, grow here and play here.  Our children have grown up digging in the dirt and chasing rainbows here.  As stewards of this beautiful place we strive to maintain and promote the diversity here.  We use organic and sustainable practices throughout our farm.  It is our belief that growing this way is just the right thing to do. It is the best for our farm, our family and flowers.”

I adore this couple. We’ve met in person on a few occasions, most recently when they took what I call a busman’s holiday to drive from Philomath up to Mt. Vernon, Oregon, (about 325 miles away) to spend a few days volunteering at the Field to Vase Dinner held on Sept. 12th at Jello Mold Farm. I simply couldn’t let the opportunity pass and am so thrilled that Erin and Aaron agreed to record this conversation.

Last week, Erin shared with me a fascinating conversation she had with a Farmers’ Market customer and I think it sums up what so many of us have experienced:

“We have had so many people ask us this year if we grow all of the flowers.  Of course we say ‘Yes!  Every last one!’ We are always surprised by how many people seem surprised by this!  Yesterday we had a guy come up and ask if we grew all the flowers; the conversation progressed and he tells us that he works with flowers in LA and didn’t realize that there were people like us who actually grew flowers like these domestically.

His business is selling flowers at college graduations and he said that they buy most things from Ecuador and South America, basically saying that domestic flowers were just too pricey.  

Aaron told me later that he could see me high jump onto my soap box, but I let (the customer) know what I thought of that excuse and that supporting American farmers is a more sustainable long term economic strategy.  

He actually took pause and then asked for our contact info and for the name of the Slow Flowers website again, saying that he was intrigued and would like to learn more.  

I’m telling you this story, though I’m sure you hear this kind all the time, because it was so refreshing to me.  Also, because of you and your efforts, I have become more well informed and confident about my convictions that American flower farmers deserve a chance to thrive in a domestic marketplace.  So, thank you!  So glad that we met and that we’ve had an opportunity to get to know each other a little better!  :)”

Thank YOU both Erin and Aaron! I couldn’t agree more.

Follow Rain Drop Farms on Facebook

Follow Rain Drop Farms on Instagram

More news to share!!!

Here is a just-released clip about The Flower House, created by Hello Future Films, that shows recent footage captured during the installation of the preview exhibit earlier this year – it’s being shown to stimulate ticket sales for The Flower House show dates, October 16-18. If you’re anywhere near Detroit, hop on over to see this amazing display!

And then, with much fanfare, I’m so pleased to share with you “Field to Vase: Santa Cruz,” a 7-minute, 39 second documentary produced, filmed and edited by my friends Haejung Kim and her husband Moon, a LA-based couple of creatives whose probono efforts have beautifully captured the story of American grown flowers and the renaissance we are all helping make happen. Click here to read my recent Q&A with Haejung and Moon.

I have a cameo role in the film, but please don’t take this as blatant self-promotion. It’s all about the cause of promoting American flower farms, American flowers and the florists who create such beauty with intent. You’ll also meet flower farmer Paul Furman whose family owns California Pajarosa Roses and Slow Flowers member Teresa Sabankya, of Bonny Doon Garden Co., who was the guest designer at the Field to Vase Dinner held at Pajarosa Roses this past June. The film is beautiful, poignant and I encourage you to watch it and share it widely.

Martha Stewart American Made Taps Two Slowflowers.com Members

I want to showcase the many people in our community whose work has earned them FINALIST status on the Martha Stewart American Made 2015 campaign.

I am especially excited that Susan McLeary of Passionflower, a Slowflowers.com member based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is a finalist – the only floral category finalist – in the Design Category. Check her out here. 

And flower farmer Wanda Fox of Illinois-based Fox & Co. is a finalist in the Craft Category for her beautiful charcuterie boards made from salvaged and reclaimed black walnut lumber. Check her out here.

I also want to put in a plug for my friend Andy Chapman of Stumpdust. Andy is a finalist in the Design Category for Gardening & Outdoor Living, for his unique garden stakes and tools fashioned from salvaged wood. Andy’s work is exquisite and he is the genius behind my American Made shadowbox that I used to display my 2015 Northwest Flower & Garden Show floral entry. You can see photos of that beautiful work here. And please check out Andy & Stumpdust on MSL here.

Get Your Hands on Floral Soil!

Another Slow Flowers Podcast friend who is near and dear to my heart is Mickey Blake of Floral Soil, the innovative, plant-based, 100% biodegradable alternative to formaldehyde-based flower foam.

Mickey has just introduced a fun new product called “Floral Soil Cupcakes,” a perfect gift or DIY project that is one of the perks in her two-week Indiegogo fundraising campaign that continues through October 10th. Many of us have been waiting for Floral Soil to kick into full-scale production because we can’t wait to get our hands on this earth-friendly design product. By supporting the Floral Soil Indiegogo campaign, for as little as $15 you can get your hands on a cute cupcake-shaped base for planting succulents or arranging flowers – and you can help push Floral Soil to the next level where commercial production of those must-have bricks will begin before the holidays.

Episodes of the Slow Flowers Podcast have been downloaded more than 66,000 times. I thank you and others in the progressive American-grown floral community for supporting this endeavor.

Until next week, you’re invited to join me in putting more American grown flowers on the table, one vase at a time. And If you like what you hear, please consider logging onto Itunes and posting a listener review. THANK YOU to each and every one of you for downloading, listening, commenting and sharing. It means so much.

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

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Podcast Index | RSS | More

Earlier this month I spent several days at LynnVale Studios, the farm and art studio owned by Andrea and Lou Gagnon.

The couple graciously hosted the Washington, D.C., area Field to Vase Dinner in their Gainsville, Virginia, flower fields on September 3rd.

Not only was the event a spectacular floral and culinary celebration of local agriculture, it also gave me the chance to spend time observing Andrea’s incredible talents as a flower farmer and designer.

I’ve been wanting to interview Andrea for the past few years and somehow the moment never presented itself for us to record a face-to-face conversation for the Slow Flowers Podcast until now.

Let me tell you a bit more about Andrea:

Andrea Gagnon combines her professional design education with her expertise in floriculture to grow premium flowers and design unique arrangements that range from formal to fantastic. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Virginia Tech.

Andrea was the invited floral designer whose creations decorated the 2015 Congressional Wine Caucus Reception in Washington, D.C., held at the Library of Congress, where her exquisite floristry featured all American-grown flowers and foliage.

Andrea and Lou manage a thriving art and design studio, floral design studio and commercial cut flower garden surrounded by 100 acres of forest, pasture and crop land.

Founded in 2002, LynnVale is dedicated to the cultivation of creativity and the human spirit through alternative agriculture and fine art.

The heritage farm is nestled in the middle of an eighth generation family homestead in Northern Virginia. They share this on the LynnVale web site:

“We are committed to sustainable horticulture and ethical labor practices. We hire local high school students, university interns, stay at home parents and floral and garden enthusiasts. For events, we work with some of the best floral designers in the region. We thank you for supporting our effort to keep our farmland open and productive and for helping us cultivate a creative community.”

Each year, LynnVale grows more than 100 varieties of specialty cut flowers, foliages and herbs for sale at farmers markets and to fine florists across the D.C.- metro region.

In addition, with Andrea as the studio’s creative director, LynnVale provides flowers and arrangements, specializing in eco-friendly events and green weddings.

Our interview was recorded inside Andrea’s somewhat noisy delivery van, which happened to be filled with buckets of just-picked hydrangeas, dahlias, celosia and other amazing fresh, local and seasonal blooms.

I was in on the secret: those flowers were destined for a very special VIP event in our nation’s capitol – I can’t tell you who ultimately enjoyed them but I am definitely in awe of what Andrea pulled off to fulfill the last-minute request from her floral design client.

Thanks so much for joining me today. Please enjoy these photographs of the flowers at LynnVale, of Andrea’s gorgeous floral designs, and of the stunning Field to Vase Dinner held in the fields that she and Lou so lovingly farm.

Read my Q&A profile of Andrea on the American Grown Flowers’ blog.

Learn more about Andrea in this wonderful piece on Flirty Fleurs.

Follow LynnVale on Facebook

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Follow LynnVale on Pinterest

Follow LynnVale on Instagram

Episodes of the Slow Flowers Podcast have been downloaded more than 66,000 times. I thank you and others in the progressive American-grown floral community for supporting this endeavor.

Until next week, you’re invited to join me in putting more American grown flowers on the table, one vase at a time. And If you like what you hear, please consider logging onto Itunes and posting a listener review. THANK YOU to each and every one of you for downloading, listening, commenting and sharing. It means so much.

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

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

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This week’s guest is my very good friend and “flower-sister” Melissa Feveyear, owner and creative director of Terra Bella Flowers.

Melissa’s appearance on the Slow Flowers Podcast  is especially exciting this week because she and her work will be showcased at the next Field to Vase Dinner, set for Saturday, September 12th at Jello Mold Farm in Mt. Vernon, just north of Seattle.

Only 10 designers in the country have been invited to create the floral installation for the Field to Vase Dinner series, a very special pop-up, floral-centric dining experience pairing local flowers and local food.

 

It is fitting that Melissa is the featured designer this week because she is a longtime customer of Jello Mold Farm and the entire floral community of the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market.

You’ll hear us discuss her role in the Market’s origins as the first cooperative marketplace connecting local flower farmers with local florists.

The visionary of Terra Bella Flowers, Melissa combines her obsession with all things rooting and a background in Environmental Studies/Hazardous Waste Management.

After working in the field and becoming aware of the amount of pesticides used in the production of cut flowers, she realized she couldn’t consciously support the conventional side of the floral industry. Melissa created Terra Bella Flowers nearly 10 years ago to prove that the business of flowers can be a beautiful thing, from the time the seed is planted, until her bouquet arrive at your door.

As we discuss in this episode, Melissa and her business are featured in The 50 Mile Bouquet, the book I wrote in 2012 featuring the photography of David Perry. As a special gift to you, I’ve included the free chapter called “Sublime and Sensuous,” which you can download her and read more of her story: MelissaFeveyear_The 50 Mile Bouquet Chapter

I began that chapter with this description of Melissa:

Curiosity and intentionality are two of her design tools; she selects foliage, blooms, and other fresh-from-the-field elements with the same care as if she personally grew each ephemeral blossom or stem in her own backyard. That connection with nature is vitally important to her artistic philosophy.

“If flowers aren’t locally or organically grown, then they are most likely coming from some huge factory farm,” she said. “My customers do not want flowers dipped in strong pesticides on their dinner table.”

Melissa has been a fabulous supporter of Slowflowers.com from the moment it was just an idea of mine. She has contributed her time and talents, appearing on the 2014 Indiegogo campaign video that helped raise more than $18,000 to launch the online directory (see above).

We’ve also teamed up to promote Slow Flowers on local television and at special events — and I know you’ll find Melissa and her story inspiring.

Here’s how you can connect with Melissa and Terra Bella Flowers:

Terra Bella Flowers on Facebook

Terra Bella Flowers on Instagram

Greater Seattle Floral Association

Thanks for joining me today. If you’re in the Northwest and you want to experience the magic of Melissa’s Northwest Gothic floral installation at the September 12th Field to Vase Dinner, there’s still time. A few tickets are still available and I can’t wait for you to be part of the evening on a flower farm. Follow the link to reserve your seat at the table and use the special discount code SLOWFLOWERS to enjoy a $35 discount when purchasing your ticket.

Episodes of the Slow Flowers Podcast have been downloaded more than 63,000 times and I thank the progressive floral community for supporting this endeavor. It is nothing short of inspiring to see the listenership increase each week – and we have received only 5-star reviews on iTunes, 22 in all.

Until next week, you’re invited to join me in putting more American grown flowers on the table, one vase at a time. And If you like what you hear, please consider logging onto Itunes and posting a listener review. THANK YOU to each and every one of you for downloading, listening, commenting and sharing. It means so much.

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

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

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I’m delighted to introduce you to Hilary Holmes whose Portland-based flower shop is called Emerald Petals.

Her tagline: Portland’s Eco Florist. And that’s not just a marketing slogan.

Hilary has a longtime career in the floral industry – in both New England and the Pacific Northwest, and she has operated as Emerald Petals since 2010. Through her 15 years of floral design, Hilary has nurtured a deep-rooted love for flowers.

Emerald Petals is Hilary’s playhouse, a place she created so that customers can shop for flowers from another real person. A place where she can put creative arrangements in beautiful found objects.

She appreciates the simple joys of all growing things.

It’s no surprise that she likens her floral business as a plant that she lovingly tends.

Hilary planted the seed for this little shop on Mississippi Avenue in Portland, Oregon, and is helping it grow with love and whole lot of dirt under her fingernails. Now she gets to watch it bloom.

A full service flower boutique committed to sustainable practices, with a focus on local, sustainable, and domestic flowers and botanicals, Emerald Petals offers fresh custom arrangements for everyday life, as well as flowers for special deliveries, weddings and events.

As Hilary writes on the web site:

“We truly care about the environment and what effect our footprint will have on it. We source our flowers daily from local farmers, whether they come to us or we go to the farms ourselves.  We love to create textural depth using Oregon’s abundance of moss, lichen, branches, pinecones, mushrooms, berries, fruits and vegetables and whatever else we happen upon. During the off season, we also use domestic, sustainably grown product, and fair trade certified when we import from elsewhere.”

Hilary was an early supporter of the Slow Flowers Movement and Emerald Petals is a member of Slowflowers.com.

She walks the talk, down to maintaining an ever-changing collection of vintage containers and vases, as well as new containers and glass made either from recycled products and/or made in the USA. Reuse is encouraged, which appeals to a core group of customers who regularly order and rotate through Hilary’s vintage collection.

Follow Emerald Petals and Hilary Holmes at these social places:

Emerald Petals on Facebook

Emerald Petals on Instagram

Emerald Petals on Twitter

Emerald Petals on Pinterest

MORE FLORAL NEWS:

Last week I announced that our podcast exceeded 60,000 downloads. If that wasn’t news enough, this week we’re celebrating the 600th Slow Flowers Member to join the Slowflowers.com site.

Please welcome Raspberry Hill Farm, a small family farm located on 14 acres in northern Colorado, just south of the Wyoming border, about 15 miles from downtown Fort Collins. Farmer-florist Kathy Hatfield specializes in growing high quality long-lasting specialty cut flowers, seasonally and sustainably grown — more than 150 different varieties, from old fashioned favorites to unique and unusual new varieties. During the growing season, the gardens at Raspberry Hill overflow with the gorgeous colors, delightful fragrances, and striking textures of our beautiful flowers. Please check them out!

This past week was filled with so many wonderful highlights, each of which represents a memory and another beautiful piece in the Slow Flowers quilt.

I spent time in Brooklyn attending and co-hosting the 5th Field to Vase Dinner at the famed Brooklyn Grange, where Slow Flowers member Molly Culver of Molly Oliver Flowers designed a dazzling tablescape using seasonal flowers and foliage harvested from nine area farms in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

Those arrangements symbolized so much about this conversation we’ve been having – about how essential it is to support America’s flower farmers when we also choose to support America’s food farmers.

Molly also hosted me for a personal visit to The Youth Farm in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, where she is the farm manager and director of urban farm training.

My arrival coincided with the final gathering of the student interns, all high school juniors and seniors of the High School for Public Service. These amazing young people are the next generation of farmers — food and flower farmers — and I was so impressed with their interest in and passion for urban farming, the environment, food justice and flowers. Please visit Debraprinzing.com to check out photos of the summer students.

And finally, a shout-out to Suzanna Cameron, a new Slow Flowers member who owns Stems Brooklyn. Suzanna hosted an after-hours Slow Flowers gathering in her flower shop last Friday, which, by the way, is housed inside Sycamore Bar in Brooklyn’s Ditmas Park neighborhood. We had 15 flower farmers, florists and writers in attendance and I’m still on a high from the ideas and creative energy in that room.

More news next week, when you will hear from an illustrious guest, David Beahm. David is a rock star special events producer and florist whose work takes him from NYC to destinations around the globe. He has some big news to share and I can’t believe our good fortune to feature it on the Slow Flowers Podcast on September 2nd. Please tune in!

Until next week, you’re invited to join me in putting more American grown flowers on the table, one vase at a time. And If you like what you hear, please consider logging onto Itunes and posting a listener review. THANK YOU to each and every one of you for downloading, listening, commenting and sharing. It means so much.

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

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

Music credits: