Debra Prinzing

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Episode 663: Designing with Dried Flowers – a new book by Hannah Muller of Full Belly Farm and Wreath Room

Wednesday, May 22nd, 2024

Flowers are fleetingly beautiful, but dried floral arrangements are both lovely and lasting. In her new book, Designing with Dried Flowers, Slow Flowers member, Hannah Muller of The Wreath Room and Full Belly Farm shares her unique methods to naturally dry flowers that hold their color and delicacy – and how to design small arrangements for every day, wreaths for all seasons, and celebration showstoppers that will look gorgeous in the moment and for months to come.

Designing with Dried Flowers by Hannah Rose Rivers Muller
Designing with Dried Flowers by Hannah Rose Rivers Muller (c) Molly Decoudreaux

Last week, the Slow Flowers community gathered online for a virtual meet-up with our featured expert, Hannah Rose Rivers Muller, of Full Belly Farm and Wreath Room. With her family, especially her lifelong mentor and mother Dru Rivers, Hannah grows 15 acres of cut flowers in Guinda, California, located about 45 minutes west of Sacramento.

From Designing with Dried Flowers
Hannah Muller in the pages of Designing with Dried Flowers (c) Molly Decoudreaux

We’ve had Dru and Hannah as past guests of the Slow Flowers Podcast, Episode 498 (2021). Click to listen to the replay of that conversation.

Book jacket artwork: Designing with Dried Flowers
Creating Everlasting Arrangements with Hannah Rose Rivers Muller of The Wreath Room at Full Belly Farm 

Today, we’re welcoming Hannah back to the Slow Flowers community as she shares her passion for dried botanicals. She spent two years working with photographer Molly Decoudreaux to capture all the seasons of growing, harvesting, processing, drying and designing with flowers, herbs, floliages, grains, and grasses.

From the pages of Designing with Dried Flowers: Wreaths
From the pages of Designing with Dried Flowers: Wreaths

Their new book, Designing with Dried Flowers, will be published on June 4th. Follow along with Hannah as she inspires people to embrace and celebrate the joy and beauty of drying flowers for long-term enjoyment.

From the pages of Designing with Dried Flowers
Step-by-step instructions for creating a centerpiece with dried flowers

Find and follow Hannah Muller at these social places:
Full Belly Farm on Instagram and Facebook
Farmer Hands on Instagram
Wreath Room on Instagram

DIY dried floral garland from Designing with Dried Flowers
DIY dried marigold garland from Designing with Dried Flowers
From the pages of Designing with Dried Flowers
Scenes from Full Belly Farm

The video that accompanies this episode includes Hannah’s centerpiece design demo, and a discussion of some of the varieties she prefers for wreathmaking, bouquet making and creating arrangements.


It’s the 10th Anniversary of Slowflowers.com!

Happy 10th Anniversary Slowflowers.com
Happy 10th Anniversary Slowflowers.com

Remember last week’s announcement. To celebrate the 10-year anniversary of slowflowers.com — our online directory to local flowers –we created a gift for our community. If you’ve always wanted to join Slow Flowers, we have a special 50%-off discount for you. Use the discount code HAPPY10 to join or renew for one year’s membership at half the regular price – this offer is good at all levels, from Standard and Premium to our special 3-year perennial membership. Check it out! This offer expires on June 7, 2024.


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

Thank you to Store It Cold, creators of the revolutionary CoolBot, a popular solution for flower farmers, studio florists and farmer-florists.  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 Red Twig Farms. Based in New Albany, Ohio, Red Twig Farms is a family-owned farm specializing in peonies, daffodils, tulips and branches, a popular peony-bouquet-by-mail program and their Spread the Hope Campaign where customers purchase 10 tulip stems for essential workers and others in their community. Learn more at redtwigfarms.com.


Slow Flowers Podcast Logo with flowers, recorder and mic

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


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. Thanks so much for joining us today and I’ll see you next week!


Music Credits:

Drone Pine; Gaena; Turning on the Lights; Paper Feather
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