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We’re taking a deep dive into the world of lilies today, featuring my conversations with experts I met while attending Dutch Lily Days in Amsterdam earlier this month. Most lily bulbs are produced in Holland, but the cut flowers you can grow from them are an important opportunity for domestic farmers and florists to offer the beautiful, value-added bulb flower for their retail, wedding and event customers.

If you have a love-hate relationship with lilies, I’m pretty sure today’s episode will change your perception about what I believe is one of the most elegant, classic flowering bulbs.

According to the 2023 National Gardening Survey, there has been an increase in bulb sales of 36 percent from 2021 to 2022 in the United States. The U.S. is the largest flower bulb importer in the world and the largest importer of European flower bulbs.

We have just kicked off a new partnership with Royal Anthos, the bulb trade organization, to educate and promote U.S.-grown lilies.

Royal Anthos’s support of Slow Flowers Society aligns with its desire to increase education about flower bulbs and American-grown cut flowers like tulips and lilies that are grown from European bulbs.

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The timing was perfect for me to take a short, four-day trip to Amsterdam last week to participate in Dutch Lily Days, a showcase for all the many forms, colors, and innovations in the lily bulb market. Dutch Lily Days is a unique gathering of breeders, growers, and trade companies to showcase all the attributes of lilies for cut flowers and gardens. The annual event draws thousands of visitors, including press, to study lilies and network with industry experts. Its focus on trends in the assortment, on pollen-free lilies, and other innovations like double-flowering lilies did not disappoint.

I’ve compiled a series of interviews with the many experts I met during our three-day tour. Included are voices from Jawin van der Steen and Ko Klaver from Zabo Plant; Tyler Meskers from Oregon Flowers, a U.S. grower; breeder P. J. Kos of World Breeding B.V.; Sjuart Onings from Onings Holland Flowerbulbs; and Frans van der Weiden of Van den Bos Flowerbulbs. You’ll also hear some background voices, including from the Chinese translator who accompanied one of the journalists in our group.

A special thank you to my host and tour guide, Anne Verdoes of ibulb.org. We had a fantastic group of journalists from around the world, and you can see a photo of our group – all women – in the show notes. As the only American, I learned so much from flower and horticulture journalists who joined our tour – people from Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, and China. We met up with a few Dutch journalists, as well, including the editorial team from THURSD.com, Floraculture International, and Flormarket Global Magazine.

I know you’ll enjoy this extensive, hour-long, special focus on lilies. Let’s jump right in and get started.

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Slow Flowers Summit

It’s countdown time to the Slow Flowers Summit 2024 – which launches in less than two weeks on Sunday evening June 23^rd, followed by two full days of floral education for sustainably-design-minded growers and florists. You have just a few more days to register and take advantage of the $100-off pricing for all Slow Flowers Society members.

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As a fun preview of Day One of the Summit, you’re invited to join me this Friday June 14^th at the virtual June Slow Flowers Meet-Up, 9 am PT-Noon ET, as we learn from two Canadian farmer-florists who will be featured speakers at the Summit. Melanie Harrington of Dahlia May Flower Farm and Janis Harris of Harris Flower Farm, both based in the province of Ontario, will join us to talk about their enterprises and what you can expect as they lecture and design at the Summit. The Meet-Up is free for members and nonmembers alike, but you do need to pre-register.

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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 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.

Our next sponsor thank you goes to the 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.

Our final sponsor thanks goes 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.

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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:

Music Credits:

Drone Pine; Gaena; Turning on the Lights; Tiny Putty
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 just returned from a short trip to Salt Lake City, where I attended the GardenComm annual conference, the gathering of professional garden communicators with which I’ve long been affiliated.

I’ve known I would be traveling to Salt Lake in early September for quite a while — and I also knew I wanted to visit today’s guest while there. You see, Laura Pittard of Poppin’ Blossoms was the first Utah member of Slow Flowers.

She joined a few years ago after we originally met in 2016 at Red Daisy Farm outside Denver. Laura was new to flower growing and she was pretty isolated as one of the first growers in her region, so I was doubly impressed that she flew to Denver to network with others at the Slow Flowers meet-up and BBQ hosted by Red Daisy’s Megan McGuire for Colorado flower farmers and florists. Laura and I reconnected on several other occasions – at conferences and workshops — and earlier this year, I was able to feature Poppin’ Blossoms’ profile and flowers in Florists’ Review’s Rocky Mountain-themed issue.

Laura and her family (including husband Brian and son Grayson) welcomed me to Poppin’ Blossoms in Orem, Utah, about 40 minutes south of Salt Lake City. We started off by recording this episode, followed by an informal gathering as seven local flower farmers and farmer-florists joined us for a tour of Laura’s beautiful growing fields. We enjoyed a great discussion over lunch, which Laura provided.

For me, it was an honor to witness the emerging and exciting local floral scene in Utah. There are many talented folks doing community-focused and collaborative projects — and I hope to feature some of them on upcoming episodes.

Please enjoy this conversation with Laura Pittard of Poppin’ Blossoms. Laura’s mission is to supply her marketplace and community with the highest quality, premier specialty cut flowers. In my opinion, she has already reached that level of excellence — and the future is rosy as the momentum can only grow for local, seasonal and bespoke cut flowers.

Find and follow Poppin’ Blossoms at these social places:

Poppin’ Blossoms on Facebook

Poppin’ Blossoms on Instagram

Poppin’ Blossoms on Pinterest

Download a PDF of the Rocky Mountain-themed “Slow Flowers Journal” section that includes a piece on Poppin’ Blossoms

05_Slow Flowers Journal_FR

So happy we visited Utah — and a special shout-out of thanks to Laura for hosting our Slow Flowers meet-up. I’ve written a recap of my visit to Poppin’ Blossoms and the wonderful group of kindred spirits I met last Saturday. We now have five members in Utah, representing the exciting shift towards seasonal and locally-grown flowers serving everyone from farmers’ market customers and CSA subscribers to wedding florists and event designers.

Our theme for 2019 – Fifty States of Slow Flowers – continues today with Tammy Krein of Ken’s Flower Shop in Bismarck, North Dakota.

Ken’s is a local, full-service floral retailer based in the state capital of Bismarck. Tammy purchased an established shop in 2001 and decided to retain its original branding, although she has put her own spin on the business, developing a loyal customer base.

I first learned about Tammy through one of our South Dakota members, floral designer and educator Patience Pickner, and through Jason Lenz of Minnesota-based Len Busch Roses, which supplies Ken’s Flower Shop and others with a regular flow of fresh, high quality midwest-grown blooms on its delivery route through North Dakota. You’ll hear Tammy and I discuss the challenges to sourcing local flowers faced by a florist like her, located in a northern state (wedged between Minnesota and Montana, and sharing its entire northern border with Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Find and follow Tammy Krein at these social places:

Ken’s Flower Shop on Instagram

Ken’s Flower Shop on Facebook

The Slow Flowers Podcast has been downloaded more than 515,000 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 the American cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious. I know you feel it, too. I value your support and invite you to show your thanks and with a donation to support my ongoing advocacy, education and outreach activities. You can find the donate button in the column to the right.

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

Florists’ Review magazine. I’m delighted to serve as Contributing Editor for Slow Flowers Journal, found in the pages of Florists’ Review. It’s the leading trade magazine in the floral industry and the only independent periodical for the retail, wholesale and supplier market. Take advantage of the special subscription offer for members of the Slow Flowers Community.

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.

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.

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

I’m Debra Prinzing, host and producer of the Slow Flowers Podcast. Next week, you’re invited to join me in putting more American grown flowers on the table, one vase at a time. And If you like what you hear, please consider logging onto iTunes and posting a listener review.

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. Learn more about his work at soundbodymovement.com. 

Music Credits:
Bombadore; Betty Dear; Gaena
by Blue Dot Sessionshttp://www.sessions.bluehttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

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

In The Field
Music from:
audionautix.com