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We are in the midst of American Flowers Week, which runs annually from June 28th through July 4th. In 2015, Slow Flowers Society launched American Flowers Week as an annual advocacy, education and outreach campaign to promote domestic and locally-grown flowers. The project encourages flower farmers, floral designers, flower enthusiasts and gardeners alike to share photographs of their blooms across social media with the hashtag #americanflowersweek.

Elevating local flowers and communicating the many reasons to support domestic floral agriculture and sustainable floristry are at the heart of the campaign. According to the 2022 National Gardening Survey, research sponsored by the Slow Flowers Society, 65 percent of Americans say it is very or somewhat important that the flowers they purchase are local (up from 58 percent in the 2021 survey). These numbers are trending up!

Sharing red-white-and-blue bouquets to commemorate Independence Day celebrations, is one way to woo the eye of the beholder. Today, you will meet the individuals and creative teams responsible for our 2022 American Flowers Week Botanical Couture collection. Together, they have drawn inspiration from nature, using design and art to bring deeper layers of meaning to their work.

Let’s jump right in and meet the creatives. You can see their botanical couture looks and learn how you can use the social media graphics for your own AFW promotional projects.

We know that creativity is not a finite commodity, although time and space in which to create is a priceless factor that can make the difference for so many florists, designers, and makers. We thank our talented Botanical Couture creatives value local, seasonal and sustainable flowers above all else and together, they are stimulating curiosity and changing  people’s relationship with flowers. 

I hope you’re inspired to participate in American Flowers Week. You’ll want to log onto Americanflowersweek.com and check out the Media Resources:

2022 American Flowers Week Press Release

Press Photos

Botanical Couture Badges

and Free Downloads:

2022 Artwork by Shelley Aldrich

Slow Flowers Journal – Summer 2022 Issue

What a wonderful preview! I want to share a special thank you to our Botanical Couture Sponsors who supported many of our florists and farmer-florists with donated flowers. Thank you to Carlos Cardoza of CamFlora Inc., a Watsonville, California-based family-owned flower farm, for providing stems of flowers and foliage for several of the looks.

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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 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.

And thank you to Mayesh Wholesale Florists for providing shipping, delivery and logistics support. In addition, we are grateful for Mayesh’s support of the Slow Flowers Podcast. 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.

Our final thanks 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.

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Thanks so much for joining us today! The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more than 864,000 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 the right.

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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. 

Music credits:
Camp Fermin; 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

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I’m so delighted today to welcome Hans Larsen and Lisa Larsen, partners in Sunborn Gardens, a Wisconsin flower farm and design studio with a long history in cut flower growing.

Tucked in a little valley near downtown Mount Horeb,  Sunborn has been growing beautiful cut flowers for over 40 years. Owners Hans and Lisa Larsen run the flower farm and design studio, working closely together to create unique and artful floral.  The farmer and florist relationship is what makes their floral designs one-of-a-kind, as they constantly trial new varieties and color palettes to showcase the best Wisconsin has to offer. All farming is done using organic practices in order to properly care for their family land. Sunborn’s modern designs are inspired by the garden, full of specialty blooms, heirloom varieties and rich with texture. 

Sunborn Gardens’ founder Carol Larsen is Hans’ mother. She originally began to sell at the Dane County Farmer’s Market in Madison, Wisconsin, 44 years ago. Her love affair with flowers began with a bucket of orange marigolds and she and Sunborn have grown cut flowers ever since. Many of you will recall that Carol is a pioneering cut flower farmer who co-founded Fair Field Flowers, a marketing cooperative of Wisconsin and Illinois specialty cut flower growers.

Fair Field Flowers permanently closed as of January 1, 2019, but the roots of this legendary and innovative regional model remain deep in Madison, Milwaukee and other markets formely served by the cooperative. These are talented people who really made a mark on the Wisconsin floral scene and whose reach went far beyond their region through education, workshops and sharing their knowledge generously.

This is posted on the Fair Field Gardens FB Page: Fair Field Flowers has ceased operation as of 1/1/19. Should you wish to contact any of the former partners please check out the info below:

FAIR FIELD FLOWERS
PO Box 2071
Madison WI 53701

Mary Jo Borchardt fivegreenacres@gmail.com
Five Green Acres

Catherine Cooper katesfreshflowers@gmail.com
Kate’s Fresh Flowers

Christine Curley beehappyblooms@gmail.com
Bee Happy Blooms

Hans Larsen sunbornfarm@gmail.com
Sunborn Gardens

Jeanie McKewan jeaniem@brightflowerfarm.com
Bright Flower Farm

Cheryl Burton and Gina Graham oldstonehousefarm.wisc@gmail.com
Old Stone House Farm, LLC

Here’s more about Flower Farmer Hans Larsen:

“When the opportunity to take over the family farm business came up I had just had my first child. It was in that moment that I knew I had to do it. I wanted my daughter to live the magical, nature-filled life I had as a kid. I wanted her to play in those woods and talk to the flowers. This is by far the hardest thing I have ever done. Learning greenhouse production, bookkeeping, seed starting and more is no walk in the park.  I keep showing up for the flowers. The entrepreneurship journey is a interesting one, full of ups and downs, but unlike the jobs I had before, this gig feeds the soul.  Working so closely with my designer wife, we are cultivating something really special.”

And a bit from farmer-florist Lisa Larsen:

I married into this wonderful flower family of mine. When Hans first had the idea to take over his Mother’s flower farm I was skeptical.  I was about to move my entire life to a new city and become a farmer? I eventually found myself helping out in the design studio and it was there I found my calling. I had studied fine arts in college and was set on becoming a teacher, but through long days at the workbench creating art by using flowers as my medium, I was hooked. All the elements and principles of design I once studied were being applied on a daily basis and I wanted more more more! I apprenticed with my mother-in-law for a few years learning all I could. I now run the design studio with a small, very talented staff to produce weddings almost every weekend. I am constantly inspired by what is growing all around me. There really is nothing better than a fresh cut local stem.

I can’t wait for you  to hear the next chapter of Sunborn Gardens and be inspired by the changes that Lisa and Hans have brought, changes that work with their lifestyle of living off farm and juggling farming and studio responsibilities while parenting three young children. As Lisa and Hans like to joke, it takes two of them to match the skills of Carol Larsen. They are all quite fortunate to have one another along this journey, with Carol continuing to share her “heirloom body of knowledge” (a phrase my friend Diane Szukovathy once coined) with the next generation.

Thanks so much for joining me today — what a wonderful visit with two passionate flower lovers. Sunborn Gardens is part of the upcoming Wisconsin Cut Flower Growers School, scheduled for next weekend, February 15-16, 2020, and presented by University of Wisconsin/Madison’s Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems. You can find more details here.

May 17th Spring Centerpiece Workshop with Lisa Larsen in Madison, Wisc.

Find and Follow Sunborn Gardens at these social places:

Sunborn Gardens on Facebook

Sunborn Gardens on Instagram

Sunborn Gardens on Pinterest

Well, we’ve made it through the first month of a new year and a new decade. If you missed the February Slow Flowers newsletter check it out here.

We’ve got lots of goodness going on and you won’t want to miss out on opportunities to get involved with campaigns, content and events that will benefit you and your brand. Among other things, the newsletter celebrates one of our top highlights for the New Year. January witnessed our largest burst of growth ever — with 23 new members joining and 61 renewing members last month. Welcome all!

Registration continues for Slow Flowers Summit and we’re more than 50% sold out!

Please join me on June 28-30th and connect with our fabulous speakers, enjoy the incredibly beautiful venue at Filoli Historic House & Garden, and experience the many features that will immerse you in the people, principles and practices of Slow Flowers.

Check out all the details by following the link in today’s show notes or head to slowflowerssummit.com where you can register at an incredibly affordable rate of $599 for 2-1/2 days inclusive of programming and meals. Slow Flowers Members enjoy a discount at $549.

The Slow Flowers Podcast has been downloaded more than 573,000 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. Our partnership with Florists’ Review is such a valuable one, providing a forum for beautiful and inspiring editorial content in the #slowflowersjournal section – month after month. Take advantage of the special subscription offer for members of the Slow Flowers Community.

FarmersWeb software makes it simple for flower farms to streamline working with their buyers. By lessening the administrative load and increasing efficiency, FarmersWeb helps your farm save time, reduce errors, and work with more buyers overall. Learn more at  www.farmersweb.com.

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. Thanks to ASCFG for returning as a Slow Flowers Sponsor for 2020. We’re launching a fun podcast series this year, in which I will catch up with all of the regional directors across North America — so listen for news about what’s happening in your area.

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:

Homegrown; A Palace of Cedar; Gaena; Glass Beads
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
Music from:
audionautix.com