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There’s an Instagram trend going around as we flash back to 2016, sharing highlights from one decade ago. Today’s episode does just that, as I reunite with Hudson Valley farmer-florist Marybeth Wehrung of Stars of the Meadow Flower Farm. In 2016, I visited Marybeth, toured her farm, and interviewed her about the emerging local floral scene in her region. Today, many of those dreams of creating a hub for seasonal and sustainably-grown flowers have come to life. Learn how Marybeth has manifested a more sustainable future for her farm by finding new and larger land and negotiating a 10-year lease, which ensures stability and allows for growth into on-farm retail and higher-value crops. It’s a fun reunion and I’m so happy to share it with you today.

Based in Stone Ridge, New York, Stars of the Meadow Flower Farm offers locally and sustainably grown specialty cut flowers and foliage to market goers, florists, event designers, retailers and DIY Wedding couples in the mid-Hudson Valley. Inspired by permaculture, biodynamics, and regenerative agriculture, Marybeth Wehrung and her team grow over 60 seasonal varieties of lush, vibrant blooms, foliage, and herbs on just over one queer-femme-powered acre.  

Stars of the Meadow uses organic, no-till methods to grow flowers on a human scale, without machinery. Marybeth has made it her mission to grow high quality floral material to contribute towards a regional floral supply, and to provide an alternative to the chemically driven global floral trade.

A few weeks ago, Marybeth and I were able to reunite while in Albuquerque to attend the ASCFG conference. What a treat to see her again and to reminisce about the trajectory that has propelled Stars of the Meadow over the past decade. While Marybeth has farmed for about 15 years, she transitioned from growing veggies and medicinal herbs to cut flower farming about 12 years ago. Stars of the Meadow has come so far and I loved catching up with her story.

Find and follow Stars of the Meadow on Instagram and Facebook

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Last Day to Grab Your Slow Flowers Summit Registration!!

Today, Wednesday, January 28th, is the final day that you can register for the Slow Flowers WORLDWIDE Summit. We are super excited to “go live” with the 10 hours of floral education starting this Friday, January 30^th.

There is still time to get in on the action – if you grab your registration by midnight Pacific Time today – and join more than one hundred attendees at our two-day online conference. The program includes 13 amazing speakers who will share their flower growing, design, and business expertise.

If you’ve been sitting on the fence, here is just one more nudge to prompt you to register. Use LETSDOTHIS for a last-minute 10% discount on all ticket levels. Remember, Slow Flowers members already receive $50 off their registration and all registrants with US addresses will receive a spring-flowering tree from our lead sponsor, My Patio Tree – a $199 value, which means attending the Summit practically pays for itself! One more reminder. The sessions will be available for replay for three months, through the end of April, so you can watch at your leisure and rewatch to capture all the information our instructors will share.

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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 700 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, Flowerbulb.eu and their U.S. lily bulb vendors. One of the most recognizable flowers in the world, the lily is a top-selling cut flower, offering long-lasting blooms, year-round availability, and a dazzling petal palette. Flowerbulb.eu has partnered with Slow Flowers to provide beautiful lily inspiration and farming resources to help growers and florists connect their customers with more lilies. Learn more at Flowerbulb.eu.

A special thank you and welcome to our newest major sponsor, My Patio Tree. My Patio Tree provides Expertly Grown Plants, Perfectly Designed to Elevate Your Garden. This second-generation family tree farm has curated the best-performing, cutting-edge, multi-zone varieties to enhance your garden, patio or special event. Every tree purchased supports Plant With Purpose, a nonprofit organization that restores hope by reversing global poverty and environmental damage. Learn more at mypatiotree.com.

And thank you to the Association of Specialty Cut Flowers. The ASCFG is a gathering place for specialty cut flower growers of all levels of experience. It is a hub of knowledge, where seasoned experts and budding enthusiasts come together to learn, share, and support one another. The ASCFG is dedicated to empowering its members with the knowledge and resources needed to thrive in the world of cut flower farming. From educational workshops and conferences to online resources and publications, they provide a wealth of information and support for all things related to growing exceptional cut flowers. Learn more about the ASCFG and how to be a part of it at www.ascfg.org!

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Thank you for joining me today! The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more than 1.5 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; Vessel One
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

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I’ve just returned from a short trip to New York City and Brooklyn, one of the highlights of which included my spending two days in the lower Hudson Valley doing some pre-planning for the 2022 Slow Flowers Summit!

Of course I spent time at our venue for 2022, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, in Pocantico Hills, New York . . . and I’ll share much more about that in the coming weeks. But I also had a fantastic visit to Sweet Earth Co., located in Pound Ridge, just 20 miles away. Listeners of the Slow Flowers Podcast may recall that I hosted farmer-florist Xenia D’Ambrosi as a guest in January 2018, when she shared her story of recovering from cancer by moving away from corporate finance to a new life growing, designing and teaching around plants, flowers and wellness.

Each of us has experienced our own version of a “pivot” due to the pandemic, and Xenia has done so herself. She’s tightened her focus on the essential aspects of Sweet Earth Co. and taken some very intentional steps in marketing and content development to communicate to her customers. Sweet Earth Co. is described as a floral and garden design studio located on a sustainable flower farm.

Here’s more about Xenia D’Ambrosi, excerpted from her website:

Xenia is lead designer and farmer-florist at Sweet Earth Co. Most wouldn’t have imagined that a city girl like me would find her calling amidst flower fields and gardens, but I can’t deny a history of generations of land stewardship & farming engrained in my DNA.

Having my hands in the soil brought me healing and ignited my passion for sustainable gardening and horticulture. In 2012 I started Sweet Earth Co. which specializes in growing specialty cut flowers and herbs, and in garden and floral design and installations.

After touring the growing grounds, I sat down with Xenia to continue our conversation, which we recorded in her studio. You can watch the video of that tour and interview above.

Find and follow Sweet Earth Co. and subscribe to Xenia’s newsletter here:

Sweet Earth Co. on YouTube

Sweet Earth Co. on Facebook

Sweet Earth Co. on Instagram

Sweet Earth Co. on Pinterest

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We are in the midst of October’s Member Appreciation Month and I’m so pleased at all the great content we’ve been able to share with our community of members. If you aren’t a member yet — and why haven’t you joined us? It’s the perfect time to step up and commit. This month, all new members will receive our special Member Benefits Booklet with coupons, discounts and other perks from eight of our partners and sponsors — the savings will more than cover your annual membership investment.

All new members also receive our Slow Flowers Society collector’s pin, made in the USA and featuring our teal and lime green logo. Plus, if you upgrade to or join at the Premium Level, you’ll also receive the video bundle of all our Slow Flowers Summit 2022 speaker videos, valued at $129.

Interested in learning more? Head to slowflowerssociety.com and click our “Become a Member” Button

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Before we wrap up, I want to draw your attention to another incredible free and timely resource — an extensive report that we just produced for the October Johnny’s Seeds’ Advantage Newsletter. The article is called Collective Selling Models for Flower Farmers. As you have heard many times on this Podcast, it’s no wonder that over the past 10 years interest in collectives, cooperatives and co-marketing models is definitely on the rise. This change runs parallel to the general explosion of new flower farmers and increased demand among florists for local and seasonal product. But there is no one-size-fits-all template, which has been frustrating for some startup groups.

Our article for Johnny’s reviews three popular options for creating a regional wholesale flower hub, including Legal Cooperative; Multi-Owner LLC; and For-Profit Wholesale Business.I spoke withseveral Slow Flowers members who have formed regional marketing hubs to learn about the appeal of each model. Thank you to Slow Flowers members Diane Szukovathy of the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market; Martha Lojewski of Alaska Peony Cooperative; Melissa Webster and Megan Wakefield of Old Dominion Flower Cooperative; Christine Hoffman of Twin Cities Flower Exchange and nationally-recognized expert in shared ownership strategies Margaret Lund.

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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 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 for 2021, Farmgirl Flowers. Farmgirl Flowers delivers iconic burlap-wrapped bouquets and lush, abundant arrangements to customers across the U.S., supporting more than 20 U.S. flower farms by purchasing more than $9 million dollars of U.S.-grown fresh and seasonal flowers and foliage annually. Discover more at farmgirlflowers.com.

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.

Roadie, an on-demand delivery company offering affordable same-day and scheduled delivery. With a network of friendly, local drivers who handle each delivery with care, and one-on-one support from a designated account manager, Roadie guarantees a smooth and reliable delivery experience–from pickup to delivery. Sign up for your first delivery at Roadie.com/slowflowers and use promo code slowflowers–that’s one word–to get five dollars off.

Flowerfarm.com, our new sponsor. 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 and 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.

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Thanks so much for joining us today! The Slow Flowers Podcast has been downloaded more than 774,000 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.

I value your support and invite you to show your thanks to support Slow Flowers’ ongoing advocacy, education and outreach activities. You can find the donate button in the column to the right at debraprinzing.com

I’m Debra Prinzing, host and producer of the Slow Flowers Show & Podcast. Next week, you’re invited to join me in putting more Slow Flowers on the table, one stem, one vase at a time. 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 Brenlan. You can learn more about Andrew’s work at soundbodymovement.com. 

Music Credits:

Long Await; 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