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

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

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

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

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

Find and follow Kristen Primrose:
On Facebook and Instagram

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

Thanks so much for joining me today!

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

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

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Thank you to our Sponsors

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Music Credits:

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

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

In The Field
audionautix.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Podcast Index | RSS | More

Today is the 5th Encore Episode of our retrospective to highlight one episode from each year of the past decade and bring the best of the Slow Flowers Podcast to you. If you’re a longtime listener, you might recognize these flower folks; if you’re new to the Slow Flowers Podcast, I’m excited to introduce you to them for the first time.

In July 2017, we turned attention to the Slow Flowers Movement in Canada, where there is amazing flower farming and floral design community, with equally passionate kindred spirits like my guest Janis Harris of Harris Flower Farm.

Here’s a little more about Janis and her family’s flower-filled business. There’s a twist, and that’s the other “crop” grown at their farm — husband Mark’s pasteurized pork livestock enterprise. You’ll hear more about THAT — and how flowers and piggies live in harmony in my conversation with Janis!

Janis and Mark Harris and their three youngsters, Cameron, Nathan and Megan, live and farm just north of St. Thomas, Ontario. They have been going to the local market with their fresh cut flowers since 2010

Both Janis and Mark grew up on a family farm. Janis’ parents have an organic vegetable, poultry and beef farm and Mark’s parents have a cow/calf beef farm. They hope to instill the farm life and values to their children. Cameron already loves the farming life; he can be found playing with his tractor toys. Nathan loves helping in the fields picking and hauling in the flower harvests. Megan is already picking up tips on arranging flowers.

The fresh cut flower business is a family affair, everyone picks, packs and sells flowers. Cameron and Nathan have grown up at the market, they look forward to introducing Megan to the ins and outs of selling market bouquets.

Mark and Janis purchased Janis’ Grandparents former dairy farm where Grandma and Grandpa’s love of flowers is apparent throughout the property. There are many established flower gardens filled with collections of lilies, irises, peonies and lilacs. Currently with 3 acres in flower production, the farm is flourishing. Former corn and soyabean fields have been turned into sunflower fields. Lawn has been turned over for perennial beds. The farm is being revitalized and beautified with every growing season. Every year the flowers we grow have increased in number and variety.

As I mentioned, along with the flowers, pastured pigs are raised on the farm. Healthy, happy and MUDDY pigs. The pigs have access to outdoors and are cared for in the best way possible, hands on and one on one with each animal. You will often find Mark in the sows’ pens brushing them. Janis designs — literally – with her “Grandma’s garden” of flowers, as well as field production of flowers.  She sells her mixed bouquets at the Horton Farmer’s Market every Saturday from Mother’s Day to Canadian Thanksgiving.

I’m so happy to share this Encore episode with you today. Let’s jump right in and welcome Janis Harris!

Find and follow Harris Flower Farm on Facebook and Instagram

Thanks so much for joining me today! I’ll be hosting an IG Live conversation with Janis today, September 6th, so check it out @slowflowerssociety — and you’ll find all of my Slow Flowers Podcast 10th anniversary Live Chats in the archives there.

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In this week’s news:

We’re resuming the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Slow Flowers Podcast! Our audio storytelling resonates with so many listeners — people like you who love local, seasonal, and sustainable flowers and who are joining in the Slow Flowers Movement as members, supporters, and allies!

We invite you to share your story of how the Slow Flowers Podcast has been an inspiring companion to you over the years! Post or send us a video tagged #slowflowerspodcast and we may feature you in our Slow Flowers social media feed! Check out our IG stories on @SlowFlowersSociety, which we will run for the next 10 weeks — you could win one of two priceless prizes! We’ll select two winners among eligible entrants:
1 – win a featured guest spot on a future episode of the Slow Flowers Podcast; and
2 – win a chance to co-host an upcoming monthly Slow Flowers Member Meet-Up. We’ll post the details on social media for you to follow along and participate.

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First up, our September issue of the Slow Flowers Newsletter dropped on the first and if you missed it, check out our show notes at slowflowerspodcast.com to find the link. If you’re a Slow Flowers member, there is a final call for submissions for our Slow Flowers Journal fall editorial stories – we’d love to see your flowers and styled shoots, so check it out. The submission deadline is September 15^th!

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I also want to alert you to the Slow Flowers Member Meet-Up, resuming after our summer break! This Friday, September 8^th, we are gathering again in the Zoom Room at 9 am Pacific/Noon Eastern. Our very special guest is celebrated British Florist Shane Connolly! He has graciously accepted Slow Flowers invitation to lecture and teach in Seattle at the end of the month, so the September 8^th virtual meet-up will preview Shane’s inspiring story. We’ll do a little Q&A and you should bring your questions about how to stay sustainable, shift to sustainability in your floral business, and keeping your sourcing in the seasons. Pre-registration is required, so check out our show notes to find the signup link. I’ll see you there!

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Thank you to our Sponsors!

This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 850 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.

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

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

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

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

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I love all this floral goodness and I am so happy you joined 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; These Times; Chymique; Turning on the Lights; Gaena
by Blue Dot Sessions
http://www.sessions.blue

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

In The Field
audionautix.com