The Slow Flowers Podcast is the award-winning show known as the “Voice of the Slow Flowers Movement.” Launched in 2013 as the original flower podcast, we’ve devoted more than 10 years to covering the business of flower farming, floral design, and the Slow Flowers sustainability ethos. Listen to a new episode each Wednesday, available for free download here at slowflowerspodcast.com or on iTunes, Spotify, and other podcast platforms.
It’s Earth Day 2022 and wow, has the past year been packed with great news for flower and garden lovers!
One year ago, Slow Flowers Society announced the first consumer insights around cut flower purchases, collected as part of the 2021 National Gardening Survey. The NGS is a well-regarded survey conducted annually since 1973, which tracks consumer behavior and produces a comprehensive market research report used by the lawn and garden industry to make strategic decisions around product development and sales.
Last year’s Survey established benchmarks on consumer attitudes about domestic and locally-grown cut flowers and their purchasing preferences. The findings were so encouraging and they gave us a statistically accurate tool to evaluate consumer attitudes and behavior shifts from 2020 moving forward.
For 2022, Slow Flowers has again partnered with the National Gardening Association, sponsors of the National Gardening Survey. This year’s research was conducted for a full month, from early January through early February. Around 2,600 people completed the national survey.
In planning for our second consecutive year, we worked with the NGS to expand last year’s questions to add the phrase “floral arrangements” to the cut flower question. We are excited to share those insights with you:
Q: “When buying cut flowers and flower arrangements, how important is it to you that they are Locally Grown?“
For 2022, 65% of respondents indicated it is Very or Somewhat Important that cut flowers and floral arrangements they purchase are locally grown.
That’s up from the 2021 National Gardening Survey, which found that 58% of respondents indicated it is Very or Somewhat Important that the cut flowers they purchase are grown locally.
Q. “When buying cut flowers and flower arrangements, how important is it to you that they are U.S. Grown?“
For 2022, 61% of respondents indicated it is Very or Somewhat Important that cut flowers and floral arrangements they purchase are U.S. Grown.
That’s up from the 2021 National Gardening Survey, which found that 57% of respondents indicated it is Very or Somewhat Important that the cut flowers they purchase are U.S. Grown.
Combined Importance When Buying Cut Flowers/Floral Arrangements
These numbers are encouraging! What’s to account for the needle moving? The 2022 survey included a wording change — from “Cut Flowers” to “Cut Flowers/Flower Arrangements.” As NGS researcher Paul Cohen explained, it’s likely that these numbers are due to a significant increase in the percentage of respondents who said they made a flower purchase. He also notes that the addition of “flower arrangements” likely spurred more respondents to report flower purchases. Paul Cohen also speculates that the significant backlog of weddings that created a boom year for weddings in 2021 (from only 1.3 million in 2020 to roughly 2 million in 2021) also contributed to the increased number of customers for local and US-grown cut flowers. And as a footnote, 2022 is forecast to be another banner year for weddings, with 2.5 million couples expected to tie the knot.
Where Do Consumers Purchase U.S.- and Locally-Grown Flowers?
With input from the Slow Flowers community, we added a new follow-up question to the National Gardening survey. We asked:
Q. “When purchasing cut flowers and flower arrangements that you know are grown within the U.S. or locally grown, which of the following places have you purchased them from?”
The most common purchase locations for cut flowers and flower arrangements grown within the US or locally grown were supermarkets, mass merchants/discount stores, retail florists and farmers’ markets.
Supermarkets: 32.5%
Mass Merchandiser/Discount Stores: 28.6%
Retail Flower Shops: at 26.1%
Farmers’ Markets: 23.8 %
There is still much room for education around flower origin. Just over 13% of respondents stated they were unsure or do not know where the flowers they purchased were grown.
So what does this mean for you and your floral enterprise? Slow Flowers’ investment to participate in a national survey brings the conversation about the origin of cut flowers and floral arrangements to the center of the dialogue.
Simply by asking these questions, we elevate local and domestic flowers to top of mind — and this is important. The statistics reflect an ongoing cultural shift, one that I predict will only increase.
The survey results are a free resource for our members and we encourage you to incorporate the findings into your own branding, marketing and conversations to elevate your platform.
Next week, we will release a member press kit with resources that include a press release, survey graphics, and social media assets for your use. If we want more people to talk about local and domestic flowers, we need to give them something to write about! We’re doing the same, thanks to your support! You can look for these resources in a special member mailing or find a link to download them at slowflowerssociety.com
The tagline for today’s episode should be “how to see nature’s palette in deeper, more meaningful ways,” because that’s the lesson Lorene Edwards Forkner wants to share with everyone.
Lorene Edwards Forkner (c) Mary Grace Long
As many of you know, Lorene is a dear friend and inspiration to me in all things horticulture. She is an author, artist, and speaker; you can read her GROW stories every week in the Sunday Seattle Times, and catch her daily on Instagram, at @gardenercook, her popular feed.
We recently recorded a tour through Lorene’s Seattle garden, which led to her studio indoors, where Lorene demonstrated the daily practice of seeing through a watercolor study of a winter pansy. This practice is also the topic of her forthcoming book, Color In and Out of the Garden: Watercolor Practices for painters, gardeners, and nature lovers.
I know you’ll enjoy our episode today. Thanks to Abrams for providing two copies of Lorene’s beautiful book for our Slow Flowers Podcast giveaway. Listen for details for how you can be entered into a random drawing to win — I’ll share them after the interview. So, let’s jump right in to meet Lorene.
Thank you so much for joining us today. To enter the book giveaway, please post a comment in our show notes below and share an observation about color in your garden — or look for this episode post on our @slowflowerssociety at Instagram. You can comment between today, April 20th and midnight PT on Sunday, April 24th. We will announce the winners the following week.
Speaking of artists and their books, check out @slowflowerssummit on IG this Friday, April 22nd, Earth Day, for a special ticket promotion for this year’s Slow Flowers Summit. It involves a special book giveaway for anyone who grabs their ticket registration during Earth Day. I hope you take advantage of this special package!
Thank you to our Sponsors
This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 880 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.
Thank you to our lead sponsor, returning for 2022, Farmgirl Flowers. Farmgirl Flowers delivers iconic burlap-wrapped bouquets and lush, abundant arrangements to customers across the U.S., supporting U.S. flower farms by purchasing more than $10 million dollars of U.S.-grown fresh and seasonal flowers and foliage annually. Discover more at farmgirlflowers.com.
Thank you to:
The Gardener’s Workshop, which offers a full curriculum of online education for flower farmers and farmer-florists. Online education is more important this year than ever, and you’ll want to check out the course offerings at thegardenersworkshop.com.
Details Flowers Software, a platform specifically designed to help florists and designers do more and earn more. With an elegant and easy-to-use system–Details is here to improve profitability, productivity, and organization for floral businesses of all shapes and sizes. Grow your bottom line through professional proposals and confident pricing with Details’ all-in-one platform. All friends of the Slow Flowers Podcast will receive a 7-day free trial of Details Flowers Software. Learn more at detailsflowers.com.
CalFlowers, the leading floral trade association in California, providing valuable transportation and other benefits to flower growers and the entire floral supply chain in California and 48 other states. The Association is a leader in bringing fresh cut flowers to the U.S. market and in promoting the benefits of flowers to new generations of American consumers. Learn more at cafgs.org.
Thanks so much for joining us today! The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more than 839,000 times by listeners like you. Thank you for listening, commenting and sharing – it means so much. As our movement gains more supporters and more passionate participants who believe in the importance of our domestic cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious. I know you feel it, too.
If you’re new to our weekly Show and our long-running Podcast, check out all of our resources at SlowFlowersSociety.com and consider making a donation to sustain Slow Flowers’ ongoing advocacy, education and outreach activities. You can find the donate button at slowflowerspodcast.com.
Thank you for listening! Sending love, from my cutting garden to you! (c) Missy Palacol Photography
I’m Debra Prinzing, host and producer of the Slow Flowers Show & Podcast. The Slow Flowers Podcast is engineered and edited by Andrew Brenlan. The content and opinions expressed here are either mine alone or those of my guests alone, independent of any podcast sponsor or other person, company or organization. Next week, you’re invited to join me in putting more Slow Flowers on the table, one stem, one vase at a time.
Music credits: Glass Beads; Turning on the Lights; Gaena by Blue Dot Sessions http://www.sessions.blue
I’m very excited about today’s conversation. My guests are Hitomi Gilliamand Gregor Lersch, renowned international floral design educators who have just launched a new endeavor called the FREESIA Challenge.
You’ll have to listen closely to learn what the FREESIA acronym represents! It’s an initiative to engage florists, and especially floral educators, to motivate the new generation of florists and students to begin challenging themselves to seek creative solutions to sustainable floristry. Like so many of us, Hitomi and Gregor believe that by sharing ideas and innovation through the creative process, it’s possible to move the profession to much-needed sustainable and eco-friendly practices.
The FREESIA Challenge includes a 4-category design competition, free for anyone to participate. The first Challenge is a 100% organic hand-tied bouquet, and the entry deadline is coming right up on April 12th, so you’ll want to check out all the details at freesiachallenge.com
An 100-percent organic, hand-tied bouquet, by Gregor Lersch
Here’s more about Gregor Lersch: Gregor Lersch is based in Germany and is a renowned international floral designer and educator. Recipient of many national and international awards and prizes for is floral art, Gregor believes that floristry must be suitable for forming part of our lives, and should be in line with the diversity of environment.
Author of many inspirational books on floral design, Gregor travels the world promoting European design, demonstrating and inspiring florist and floral artists. His concept of combining all styles, architecture, social components, design trends and personality of the artist in floristic work is successful throughout the world. This is his first appearance on the Slow Flowers Podcast.
Here’s more about Hitomi Gilliam: Hitomi Gilliam AIFD is a Japanese-Canadian floral artist, keynote lecturer, demonstrator, educator and a consultant in all aspects of the Art and Business of Floral Design. She is the Creative Director for DESIGN358. She has guest-designed extensively throughout North America, England, Japan, Mexico, Taiwan, Bermuda, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Colombia, Belgium, Korea and India.
She owned and operated Satsuki’s Florist in Mission, British Columbia for 28 years. She currently works with her son, Colin Gilliam in an Event & Education business, DESIGN358 which was established 10 years ago. Hitomi has lectured at major art museums and floral shows around North America and beyond, and she is the founding organizer of the Annual ‘Survival of the Creative Minds’ Conference in Taos, New Mexico.
Listen to Hitomi’s past appearances on the Slow Flowers Podcast:
An 100-percent organic, hand-tied bouquet, by Hitomi Gilliam
As Gregor and Hitomi discussed, to support the FREESIA Challenge and keep it free of outside and commercial interests, they are presenting a series of live lectures coinciding with each of the four challenge themes, which is available for $150. Each lecture is live-streamed and registrants will have access to the full replay videos. Click here for more details.
Thank you to our Sponsors
This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 880 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.
Thank you to our lead sponsor, returning for 2022, Farmgirl Flowers. Farmgirl Flowers delivers iconic burlap-wrapped bouquets and lush, abundant arrangements to customers across the U.S., supporting U.S. flower farms by purchasing more than $10 million dollars of U.S.-grown fresh and seasonal flowers and foliage annually. Discover more at farmgirlflowers.com.
Thank you to: 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.
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.
Mayesh Wholesale Florist. Family-owned since 1978, Mayesh is the premier wedding and event supplier in the U.S. and we’re thrilled to partner with Mayesh to promote local and domestic flowers, which they source from farms large and small around the U.S. Learn more at mayesh.com.
Thanks so much for joining us today! The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more than 835,000 times by listeners like you. Thank you for listening, commenting and sharing – it means so much. As our movement gains more supporters and more passionate participants who believe in the importance of our domestic cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious. I know you feel it, too.
If you’re new to our weekly Show and our long-running Podcast, check out all of our resources at Slow Flowers Society.com and consider making a donation to sustain Slow Flowers’ ongoing advocacy, education and outreach activities. You can find the donate button at slowflowerspodcast.com.
Thank you for listening! Sending love, from my cutting garden to you! (c) Missy Palacol Photography
I’m Debra Prinzing, host and producer of the Slow Flowers Show & Podcast. The Slow Flowers Podcast is engineered and edited by Andrew Brenlan.
The content and opinions expressed here are either mine alone or those of my guests alone, independent of any podcast sponsor or other person, company or organization. Next week, you’re invited to join me in putting more Slow Flowers on the table, one stem, one vase at a time.
Music credits: Nuthatch; Turning on the Lights; Gaena by Blue Dot Sessions http://www.sessions.blue
Welcome to Part Two of the Slow Flowers Podcast, Episode 522, a special bonus conversation with singer-songwriter Eva Leach. I’m honored that she’s sharing her new original music with us.
If you’ve attended Holly Chapple’sFlowerstock Festival, you’ve already been treated to live performances by Eva and her frequent collaborator (and brother) Nathan Leach. Nathan & Eva is a Musical Duo from Charleston, South Carolina. The origins of their story are pretty recent and immensely fascinating. While in school at USC Columbia, Nathan longed to get back into guitar playing, so he began to post cover songs on YouTube. Over time, he expanded the roster of featured talent to include the occasional help from his sister, Eva. In 2013, they posted a cover of Family of the Year’s “Hero”. In 2015, that video went viral. It’s mindboggling to say this, but music videos on the Nathan & Eva YouTube channel have been viewed more than 26 MILLION times.
I shared our sponsor thank you’s in Part One today, so we’ll just wrap things up by saying The Slow Flowers Show is a member-supported endeavor and I value our loyal members and supporters! If you’re new to our weekly Show and our long-running Podcast, check out all of our resources at Slow Flowers Society.com and consider making a donation to sustain Slow Flowers’ ongoing advocacy, education and outreach activities. You can find the donate button in the column to the right at slowflowerspodcast.com.
Today, I have two interviews and this is Part One. First up, a delightful mother-daughter design duo shares their story. Owner of Belle Pétale, a Seattle-based studio, Teresa Rao is an avid gardener and flower lover who in 2020 transitioned from a 16-year corporate training career to floristry. She has based her boutique design studio at home, where she can clip foliage and blooms from her garden while also parenting Priya, her eight-year-old daughter.
Teresa Rao (left), with her daughter Priya (center), and Debra Prinzing (right)
The studio name, Belle Pétale, comes from a childhood love of petals (Teresa and her sister were frequent flower girls for relatives’ weddings) and a passion for all things French. Teresa’s home interiors reflect her floral styling and a recent kitchen remodel was designed with her floral studio in mind. As it turns out, Teresa and Priya recently invited me to tea, so Priya and I could celebrate our shared birthday, February 28th. I asked them to design their signature floriography posies after tea. We had so much fun and I can’t wait for you to watch along.
Thank you so much for joining our conversation. And thank YOU to Teresa and Priya for sharing their mutual love of and talent for floriography! If you have a copy of Where We Bloom, the book we produced last year to showcase creative floral spaces owned by 37 Slow Flowers members, you saw Teresa in the pages, with photography by Missy Palacol.
In that chapter, she told me, “I want to make sure I’m supporting farmers who are growing domestic flowers. I always share where my bouquets are sourced and I use hashtags like #supportyourlocalflowerfarmers, drawing attention to the mission that my business is part of while educating my clients and the public about why it’s important.”
And now, with her new studio space at a neighboring property, Teresa will soon have a much-expanded Belle Petale cutting garden to help her keep things hyper-local.
Chet and Kristy Anderson of The Fresh Herb Co. with their late-harvest scabiosas in front of the old stone schoolhouse that’s now the kitchen wing of their farmhouse.
Here’s some timely news! Coming up this Friday, April 8th, at 9 am Pacific-Noon Eastern, you can join the Slow Flowers Member Virtual Meet-Up on Zoom! Enjoy a Greenhouse Tour with our special guests, Chet & Kristy Anderson of The Fresh Herb Co.
For more than two decades, The Fresh Herb Co. has produced Colorado-grown flowers, plants and herbs for the region’s Whole Foods floral departments. Based in Longmont, Colorado, the 15-acre farm grows gorgeous sunflowers, elegant lilies and peonies, bodacious hanging baskets and bowls of fresh herbs that delight market shoppers each weekend.
Chet and Kristy Anderson are featured in The 50 Mile Bouquet, written 10 years ago by Debra Prinzing and still in print. We’ll visit this gifted flower-farming couple for a virtual greenhouse tour narrated by Chet, and enjoy a peek at their prolific early-season crops, including lilies galore, hanging baskets and culinary herb planters. Come with your greenhouse growing and marketing questions!
This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 880 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.
Thank you to our lead sponsor, returning for 2022, Farmgirl Flowers. Farmgirl Flowers delivers iconic burlap-wrapped bouquets and lush, abundant arrangements to customers across the U.S., supporting U.S. flower farms by purchasing more than $10 million dollars of U.S.-grown fresh and seasonal flowers and foliage annually. Discover more at farmgirlflowers.com.
Thank you to Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers. Formed in 1988, ASCFG was created to educate, unite, and support commercial cut flower growers. It mission is to help growers produce high-quality floral material, and to foster and promote the local availability of that product. Learn more at ascfg.org.
Thank you to 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 Red Twig Farms. Based in Johnstown, 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.
Thanks so much for joining us today! The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more than 834,000 times by listeners like you. Thank you for listening, commenting and sharing – it means so much. As our movement gains more supporters and more passionate participants who believe in the importance of our domestic cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious. I know you feel it, too.
If you’re new to our weekly Show and our long-running Podcast, check out all of our resources at SlowFlowersSociety.com and consider making a donation to sustain Slow Flowers’ ongoing advocacy, education and outreach activities. You can find the donate button in the column to the right at slowflowerspodcast.com.
Thank you for listening! Sending love, from my cutting garden to you! (c) Missy Palacol Photography
I’m Debra Prinzing, host and producer of the Slow Flowers Show & Podcast. The Slow Flowers Podcast is engineered and edited by Andrew Brenlan. The content and opinions expressed here are either mine alone or those of my guests alone, independent of any podcast sponsor or other person, company or organization. Next week, you’re invited to join me in putting more Slow Flowers on the table, one stem, one vase at a time.
Music credits: Entwined Oddity; Turning on the Lights; Gaena by Blue Dot Sessions http://www.sessions.blue
It’s Spring, so it’s garden book season, of course. Last week, you met Teresa J. Speight, author of Black Flora. Today, it’s my pleasure to introduce you to Riz Reyes of RHR Horticulture, a longtime Slow Flowers member and friend who has authored his first book for young readers and their families.
Riz profiles 15 plants, beautifully illustrated by Sara Boccaccini Meadows, and in each section, readers will meet the often surprising plant relatives (for example, the tasty tomato is a cousin of deadly nightshade!). Interesting plant stories are accompanied with step-by-step instructions to grow and care for each one, whether you have a big backyard garden or a sunny windowsill.
Here’s a little bit more about Riz:
Rizaniño Reyes is a horticulturalist, speaker, and educator. Growing up in the Philippines, Riz spent his childhood on a fruit plantation managed by his father before moving to the Pacific Northwest at age seven. Upon arrival in the United States, he learned the names of the new and strange flowers and continued to nurture his love of horticulture—“the art and science of plants”—at the University of Washington. Of his work, he says he hopes to inspire more young people, “especially people of color, to be involved with interacting with nature and learning about the environment . . . If everyone did this, can you imagine what a beautiful world this could be?”
The story of the Pineapple in GROW, by Riz Reyes
The story of Orchids in GROW
I hope you enjoy our conversation, recorded a few weeks ago inside my cozy greenhouse. I’ve edited some of the whimsical, info-packed illustrations by Sara Boccaccini Meadows throughout this video.
This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 880 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.
Thank you to our lead sponsor, returning for 2022, Farmgirl Flowers. Farmgirl Flowers delivers iconic burlap-wrapped bouquets and lush, abundant arrangements to customers across the U.S., supporting U.S. flower farms by purchasing more than $10 million dollars of U.S.-grown fresh and seasonal flowers and foliage annually. Discover more at farmgirlflowers.com.
Thank you to CalFlowers, the leading floral trade association in California, providing valuable transportation and other benefits to flower growers and the entire floral supply chain in California and 48 other states. The Association is a leader in bringing fresh cut flowers to the U.S. market and in promoting the benefits of flowers to new generations of American consumers. Learn more at cafgs.org.
Thank you to Store It Cold, creators of the revolutionary CoolBot, which you just heard Carlee mention as a new addition to her studio. Save $1000s when you build your own walk-in cooler with the CoolBot and an air conditioner. Don’t have time to build your own? They also have turnkey units available. Learn more at storeitcold.com.
Thank you to Flowerfarm.com. FlowerFarm is a leading wholesale flower distributor that sources from carefully-selected flower farms to offer high-performing fresh flowers sent directly from the farm straight to you. You can shop by flower and by country of origin at flowerfarm.com. Find flowers and foliage from California, Florida, Oregon and Washington by using the “Origin” selection tool in your search. It’s smarter sourcing. Learn more at flowerfarm.com.
Thanks so much for joining us today! The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more than 830,000 times by listeners like you. Thank you for listening, commenting and sharing – it means so much. As our movement gains more supporters and more passionate participants who believe in the importance of our domestic cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious. I know you feel it, too.
If you’re new to our weekly Show and our long-running Podcast, check out all of our resources at Slow Flowers Society.com and consider making a donation to sustain Slow Flowers’ ongoing advocacy, education and outreach activities. You can find the donate button in the column to the right at debraprinzing.com
Thank you for listening! Sending love, from my cutting garden to you! (c) Missy Palacol Photography
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.
Gregor Lersch is based in Germany and is a renowned international floral designer and educator. Recipient of many national and international awards and prizes for is floral art, Gregor believes that floristry must be suitable for forming part of our lives, and should be in line with the diversity of environment.
Hitomi Gilliam AIFD is a Japanese-Canadian floral artist, keynote lecturer, demonstrator, educator and a consultant in all aspects of the Art and Business of Floral Design. She is the Creative Director for 
Here’s some timely news! Coming up this Friday, April 8th, at 9 am Pacific-Noon Eastern, you can join the Slow Flowers Member Virtual Meet-Up on Zoom! Enjoy a Greenhouse Tour with our special guests, Chet & Kristy Anderson of The Fresh Herb Co.
Rizaniño Reyes is a horticulturalist, speaker, and educator. Growing up in the Philippines, Riz spent his childhood on a fruit plantation managed by his father before moving to the Pacific Northwest at age seven. Upon arrival in the United States, he learned the names of the new and strange flowers and continued to nurture his love of horticulture—“the art and science of plants”—at the University of Washington. Of his work, he says he hopes to inspire more young people, “especially people of color, to be involved with interacting with nature and learning about the environment . . . If everyone did this, can you imagine what a beautiful world this could be?” 
