Debra Prinzing

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Episode 554: A garden and studio tour with Lorene Edwards Forkner, sharing her new book “Color In and Out of the Garden”

Wednesday, April 20th, 2022

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
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.

Color in and out of the Garden

Lorene is a past guest of the Slow Flowers Podcast and she was a featured presenter at the 2021 Slow Flowers Summit.

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.

red spreadColor in and Out of the Garden
Gold from Color in and out of the Garden
pink from Color in and Out of the Garden

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.

Farmgirl Flowers 2022

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.


Slow Flowers Podcast Logo with flowers, recorder and mic

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.


Debra in the Slow Flowers Cutting Garden
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

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

In The Field
audionautix.com