Debra Prinzing

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Archive for the ‘Landscape Design’ Category

Episode 651: Growing and Designing With Fragrant Flowers with Stefani Bittner of Homestead Design Collective

Wednesday, February 28th, 2024

Today, you’re invited to inhale and enjoy the fragrance of flowers, herbs, and foliage. Stefani Bittner of Homestead Design Collective uses sensory plants as a way to immerse her clients in nature. She is the co-author of forthcoming book, “The Fragrant Flower Garden: Growing, Arranging, and Preserving Natural Scents,” and we’re delighted to learn from her.

Alethea Harampolis (L), Stefani Bittner (R) - photo by David Fenton
Alethea Harampolis (L), Stefani Bittner (R) – photo by David Fenton
The Fragrant Flower Garden
The Fragrant Flower Garden

Welcome to Stefani Bitter, returning for her second appearance on the Slow Flowers Podcast. A garden designer and Slow Flowers member, Stefani is the owner of Homestead Design Collective, based in Lafayette, California. Follow the link below to listen to my 2017 interview with Stephanie on the publication of Harvest – Unexpected projects using 47 extraordinary garden plants.

Modern potpourri
Modern potpourri

She appeared on the episode with co-author Alethea Harampolis, and they have collaborated on the new book, “The Fragrant Flower Garden: Growing, Arranging, and Preserving Natural Scents” (Ten Speed Press, 2024). The Fragrant Flower Garden invites gardeners and growers to design with fragrance in mind and encourages readers to choose plants that can be smelled, awakening the senses.

Garden by Homestead Design Collective
A garden for all the senses, including fragrance, designed by Homestead Design Collective

By connecting people with fragrance in the garden and vase – or by preserving fragrance for longer enjoyment — we have a richer, more visceral relationshp with nature, they authors say. This means making floral teas, natural perfumes, flower tinctures, modern potpourris, and more applications for scented plants. The idea of creating beauty products from the garden appeals to anyone who desires a non-synthetic alternative to the plethora of chemicals used in beauty and bath products. “Keep in mind that scent is subjective, emotive, and personal,” Stefani points out.

The Garden Eclectic
The Fragrant Flower Garden

I’m a huge fan of this book and its mission – to engage with plants through the senses – especially scent. When Robin Avni and I were collecting our top themes for the 2024 Slow Flowers Floral Insights & Industry Forecast, we wanted to include fragrant flowers and gardens. Stefani generously shared a preview of the new book, along with photography by David Fenton, which we highlighted in Insight #7 – the Garden Eclectic. In our insight, we encouraged flower farmers, gardeners, and florists – to lead with fragrance as a way to engage customers’ emotional memories with the scent of flowers.

the Fragrant Flower Garden
Soaking in the citrus orchard

“You can preserve the scent, perhaps making a flower tincture. You can make perfume, a hydrosol, or an updated potpourri,” Stefani suggests and several projects are included in the book to introduce the idea of “preserving fragrance.”

As Stefani and Alethea write, floral customers are not farmers, but they are inspired by the farm, and they want to translate what they see into their lifestyle. “Just like food, they want to enjoy garden scents, and that’s what really speaks to them about those sensory bouquets.”

Find and follow Homestead Design Collective on Instagram

Take a virtual tour of Trulli Trazzonara, Stefani’s vacation rental in Puglia, Italy. Talk about agrotourism! I am so enchanted by this destination and how she plans to integrate her design and teaching into an Italian lifestyle!


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 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.

Thank you to Rooted Farmers. Rooted Farmers works exclusively with local growers to put the highest-quality specialty cut flowers in floral customers’ hands. When you partner with Rooted Farmers, you are investing in your community, and you can expect a commitment to excellence in return. Learn more at RootedFarmers.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 johnnyseeds.com.


Slow Flowers Podcast Logo with flowers, recorder and mic

Thank you for joining me 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; Rue Severine
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

Episode 645: The Mum Project Update with Jessica Hall of Harmony Harvest Farm

Wednesday, January 17th, 2024
Jessica Hall of Harmony Harvest Farm and The Mum Project
Jessica Hall of Harmony Harvest Farm and The Mum Project

PROMO CODE: Harmony Harvest has provided a promo code for our listeners and viewers. You can apply this to any retail or wholesale order SLOWMUMS

I’m welcoming Jessica Hall of Harmony Harvest Farm back to the Slow Flowers Podcast today with an update on her Weyers Cave, Virginia-based farm’s expanding collection of specialty, old-fashioned, heirloom, and hard-to-find chrysanthemums for growers and gardeners. The Mum Project, as it is called by Jessica and her partners, mom Chris Auville, and sister Stephanie Duncan, reflects the ambitious journey on which these women have embarked to educate themselves and the entire floral community about the exquisite qualities of chrysanthemums.

Harvesting mums at Harmony Harvest Farm
Harvesting mums at Harmony Harvest Farm

They have networked extensively with other chrysanthemum aficionados, from members of the national chrysanthemum society to growers of public garden collections. Their goal is to expand the Harmony Harvest list of “mother” plants from which they can take cuttings, propagate more plants, and offer high quality plug to growers. In the process, they also are advocating for other flower farmers to get in on the mum game, offering educational resources and events to elevate understanding about growing mums.

apricot chrysanthemum petals
Beautiful apricot chrysanthemum petals

To peruse the collection of mums – ranging from ‘Apricot Alexis’, with a blushy-salmon color and a cascade of curving petals, to ‘Vesuvio’, an ultra-weird creamy-ivory chrysanthemum that begs the question – “are you sure that’s a mum?”, there are more than 50 selections in the current inventory of plugs, or plant starts, offered at both retail and wholesale programs.

Inside the high tunnel at Harmony Harvest Farm
Inside the high tunnel at Harmony Harvest Farm

Let’s jump right in and join my conversation with Jessica. Because of the time of year, there isn’t much to see in terms of rows of colorful chrysanthemum plants, but Jessica did send us a small video she filmed inside one of the three chrysanthemum growing houses at Harmony Harvest. We’ll see that first and then move right into our conversation, recently recorded on January 11th.

More amazing mums
The Mum Project has a scope of more than 50 specialty chrysanthemum varieties

Thanks so much for joining me today! As you heard us discuss, in collaboration with the USDA and other agriculture authorities in states across the US, Harmony Harvest Farm is compliant with all required regulations, training, and inspections. I don’t know about you, but I’m inspired and because I don’t have a lot of cutting garden space, I’m looking at my front garden border with a new point of view, thinking about where I can perennialize some of the juicy chrysanthemums among my grasses, shrubs, roses and other permanent plantings!

PROMO CODE: Harmony Harvest has provided a promo code for our listeners and viewers. You can apply this to any retail or wholesale order SLOWMUMS


News of the Week

The New Year is off to a great start, and I love hearing from our listeners and viewers about how inspired they feel after learning from our guests. If I haven’t said it often enough, our programming is the “voice” of the Slow Flowers Movement and we love showcasing our members and their stories. As we think about the shifts, opportunities and changes in the floral landscape for 2024, I hope you took a moment to read the just-released Slow Flowers Floral Insights & Industry Forecast, our 10th annual report. I’ll share the link in our show notes for you to check it out. And, we’re honored that the UK-based lifestyle publication House & Garden has picked up on the forecast, reporting on three of our seven insights and those influences on the gardening world for 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 Red Twig Farms. Based in Johnstown, Ohio, Red Twig Farms is a family-owned farm specializing in peonies, daffodils, tulips and branches, and a popular peony-bouquet-by-mail program. Learn more at redtwigfarms.com.

Thank you 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.


Slow Flowers Podcast Logo with flowers, recorder and mic

Thank you for joining me 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; Bridgewalker; Turning on the Lights
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

Episode 638: A visit to Washington flower farm Field to Heart, with Dee Swan and Valiant Poole

Wednesday, November 29th, 2023

The Slow Flowers Podcast is grateful to the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market for its longtime support — and today’s episode underscores our relationship. From its beginnings in 2010, when a group of local flower farmers hatched up the idea of starting a wholesale hub for local flowers here in Seattle, my storytelling has been intertwined with their stories. My guests today are part of that narrative. Please join me on a visit to Field to Heart owned by Danielle (Dee) Swan and Valiant Poole.

Valiant Poole (left) and Dee Swan (right) of Field to Heart
Valiant Poole (left) and Dee Swan (right) of Field to Heart
Danielle (Dee) Swan at Seattle Wholesale Growers Market's Field to Heart display
Danielle (Dee) Swan at Seattle Wholesale Growers Market’s Field to Heart product display

When I first me this couple, they were based in Snohomish, an agricultural county located about 30 minutes north of Seattle. Both have an extensive background in the arts, horticulture, fine gardening, and organic landscape maintenance. They apply this experience and passion to providing sustainably grown, chemical free, high-quality flowers to florists in the Pacific Northwest.

Field to Heart

In 2018, Dee and Valiant relocated Field to Heart to Curtis, Washington, to a new home and acreage located west of Centralia. The area is known as the center point, about 90 miles in either direction between Seattle and Portland, which has allowed Field to Heart to also supply Portland area florists who shop at the Oregon Flower Growers Association, also a Slow Flowers member, located at the Portland Flower Market.

The view from Field to Heart
The view from Field to Heart

Earlier this month, I had a trip to the Washington coast planned with a friend, and in looking at the map for my return to Seattle, I realized that we were due west of Field to Heart. I have always loved the botanicals that Dee and Valiant grow and I basically invited myself to visit them on my drive home. When she emailed me back, Dee wrote: “We’d love to show you around Field to Heart! We should be here all day on Saturday making wreaths…being farmers it’s hard to get away even in the off season.” 

Low Tunnels with Craspedia globosa
Low Tunnels with Craspedia globosa

I brought my camera and started filming the minute I arrived. You’ll see inside the high tunnels, the low tunnels, and spent time as I chat with Dee and Valiant on their porch. In preparation for their winter wreath and garland production, the porch is converted into an outside studio filled with greenery and other design elements. It’s also the location of the wreathing workshops they host during December.

Pottery by Dee Swan of Field to Heart
Pottery by Dee Swan of Field to Heart

I also wanted to mention that you can find Dee’s handmade pottery mugs and vases on the Field to Heart website and at the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market. I love her sentiments: “We often wonder if we are farmers with the eyes of an artist or artists with a farmers’ touch. We are educated in both and strive to create our lives around both disciplines, whether it be plant identification to painting, music to ‘garden-nerding’ or ceramics to soil health.  It’s all intertwined.”

Follow Field to Heart on Instagram and Facebook


This Week’s News

2024 Slow Flowers Summit graphic

Here in the U.S., we’ve just finished a nice, long, four-day Thanksgiving weekend, followed on Monday, November 27th by Cyber Monday. While Slow Flowers isn’t jumping on that bandwagon this year, we do want to remind you that there’s still time to grab your ticket to the 2024 Slow Flowers Summit and  take advantage of Early Bird Registration rate! You’ll save $100 off your Slow Flowers Summit registration, now through December 31st.  I can’t wait to see you in Banff, Alberta, Canada – June 23-25, 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.

Farmgirl Flowers 2022

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 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.

Thank you 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.

Thank you to Rooted Farmers. Rooted Farmers works exclusively with local growers to put the highest-quality specialty cut flowers in floral customers’ hands. When you partner with Rooted Farmers, you are investing in your community, and you can expect a commitment to excellence in return. Learn more at RootedFarmers.com.


Slow Flowers Podcast Logo with flowers, recorder and mic

I love all this floral goodness and I am so happy you joined me 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:

Dippler; Drone Pine; 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

Episode 607: From Botanist to Flower Farmer with Kate Watters of Arizona’s Wild Heart Farm

Wednesday, April 26th, 2023

It’s great to be back with you today — and to share another inspiring and uplifting conversation about the healing power of plants and the ability of flowers to nurture us, body and soul.

Kate and flower-chocolate-poetry shares
Kate Watters (left) and a Wild Heart Farm CSA share, including a poem tucked inside the bouquet

My guest today is botanist-turned-farmer-florist Kate Watters of Arizona’s Wild Heart Farm. I first met Kate several years ago through the community of florists and flower farmers in Arizona, where I often visited my parents who were living outside of Phoenix.

Kate and I connected through her frequent collaborator, Terri Schuett, owner of Happy Vine Flowers, a Prescott Valley area florist who is also part of the Slow Flowers Movement. The women produced a beautiful styled shoot that we published in Florists Review in December 2019, and I’ve secretly always wanted them to team up for a desert-inspired botanical couture piece for American Flowers Week!

READ: The Desert as Floral Canvas

READ: Flower Power: A farmer-florist reflects on the time she sold Valentine’s Day roses on a Las Vegas corner

Kate sister Kelly and Mike Amy S. Martin
A family affair at Wild Heart Farm, with Kate, her sister Kelly, and her partner Mike Knapp (c) Amy S. Martin

Kate has an extensive background in botany, ecological restoration and agriculture, coming to floristry while establishing flower and herb gardens at Orchard Canyon on Oak Creek, a 10-acre destination resort in Sedona.

Wild Heart Farm Amy S. Martin
Wild Heart Farm (c) Amy S. Martin

She transitioned to flower farming full time when she and her partner Mike Knapp found a unique property in Rimrock. They knew it could become the heart and home for both of their personal and professional endeavors. As Kate says, after 20 years in the field and wilds of botany and conservation, she wanted nothing more than to grow fields of flowers.

Wild Heart retreat yoga
“Flower Healing,” with yoga on the farm at a Wild Heart Farm retreat

Now, at Wild Heart Farm, Kate calls her approach to plant-based products and programs ‘Flower Healing.’ “Plants have so many qualities that bolster emotional and mental wellness,” she explains. I invited Kate to share more in today’s conversation. The second part of this episode features a 12-minute video tour of Wild Heart Farm, which Kate filmed to give us a closer look at this special destination in the high desert.

Blooming from the Ashes graphic

Learn more about BLOOMING FROM THE ASHES: FOREST FIRE AND COMMUNITY RESILIENCE, Wild Heart Farm at ArtX on May 26th, 2023

Follow Wild Heart Farm on Facebook and Instagram


This week’s News

Johnny's Seeds Webinar Graphics

And a reminder that tomorrow is our free webinar for Southern States flower growers. You’re invited to Join Slow Flowers +Johnny’s Selected Seeds at attend, tomorrow, April 27th (2 pm Pacific/5 pm Eastern). I’ll be co-hosting the session with Johnny’s Seeds’ Flower Product Manager Hillary Alger for a discussion on what it means to grow flowers in the challenging climatic conditions of the southern United States.

Our  guest panel of experienced Slow Flowers members are cut-flower growers from Florida, North Carolina, and Texas. We’ll hear their farming stories firsthand and discuss regional growing challenges, lessons learned, and their favorite varieties. You’ll meet and learn from them:

Rita Anders, Cuts of Color, Weimar, Texas

Eileen Tongson, FarmGal Flowers, Orlando, Florida

Taij & Victoria Cotten, Cotten Picked, Pittsboro, North Carolina

Julia Keel, Full Keel Farm, Fort White, Florida

The webinar is free and you can find the sign up link below. I hope to see you there!


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.

Farmgirl Flowers 2022

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 sponsor 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.

Thank you to Store It Cold, creators of the revolutionary CoolBot, a popular solution for flower farmers, studio florists and farmer-florists. If you watch the video tour that Kate filmed for us, you’ll see a good example of her CoolBot. 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 Johnstown, 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

Thanks so much for joining me 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; Falaal; 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

Episode 605: The Color of Roses with Rose Story Farms’ Danielle Hahn

Wednesday, April 12th, 2023
The Color of Roses by Danielle Dall’Armi Hahn

If you’re a rose lover, you already know about Rose Story Farm in Carpinteria, California, a mecca for garden roses — all 40,000 plants that produce cut flowers to supply the national floral trade and event design world. Rose Story Farm thrives under the care of Danielle Dall’Armi Hahn, her husband Bill Hahn, her mother Patricia Dall’Armi, her sister Nina Dall’Armi, her business manager Patti Keck and so many other longtime farm staff members.

Introduction to The Color  of Roses
Introduction to The Color of Roses

She may not remember this, but I first met Dani in October 2007 when I had recently relocated to Ventura County and my Seattle friends Maryann and Charles Pember, who were vacationing in Santa Barbara, invited me to meet them at Rose Story Farm for one of its famous tours and luncheons in the display gardens. Writing about the visit was one of my very first blog posts!

Later, we corresponded when Dani joined Slow Flowers Society during the very first year of our existence. And then, I visited during an industry dinner in 2014 where we finally met in person. Soon thereafter, Dani appeared as a guest — my 28th guest – of the new Slow Flowers Podcast in February 2014.

Title page The Color of Roses

So much has happened in the ensuing years, which she and I discuss in today’s episode, while I also turn the pages of The Color of Roses and we admire the lush and dreamy rose photography of Victoria Pearson — all 330 pages of it!

table of contents The Color of Roses

Let’s jump right in and meet Dani Hahn, catch up on all that she’s been doing, and learn why she wants to reclassify the term Garden Rose! What a lovely experience to talk roses with one of our living rose legends!

photography by Victoria Pearson
photography by Victoria Pearson

Thank you, Dani ~ I can’t wait to return to Rose Story Farm for another visit!

Order your copy of The Color of Roses here.

We will also share the public dates for visiting Rose Story Farm, just released. The first date is at the end of April so check it out if you’ll be in the Santa Barbara/Carpinteria area. To celebrate their 25th Anniversary RSF will be hosting a limited number of garden tours. Experience the splendor of this 15-acre farm featuring 30,000 rose plants in 200 varieties. Blooms rotate in six-week cycles so at any time during the season (mid-April to end of November), over 3⁄4 of the plants will be in bloom.


News for this Week

Fragrance from Field & Florist; jewelry from FLEUR Inc LLC
Fragrance from Field & Florist; jewelry from FLEUR Inc LLC

In News of the Week, our Member Meet-up of the month takes place this Friday, April 14th, 9 am PT/Noon ET. We have invited four guests, all Slow Flowers members who own successful retail flower shops and who have curated an unique product mix of gifts and other items that pair well with fresh, local flowers. You’ll hear from this panel who offer high-value collections to their floral customers. Meet:

Heidi Joynt of Field + Florist — luxury fragrances

Susan Chambers of bloominCouture — custom candles

Kelly Marie Thompson of Fleur Inc. Chicago – fine jewelry

Lauralee Symes of Sellwood Flower Co. – wine and bubbly


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.

Farmgirl Flowers 2022

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 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.

Thank you goes to Rooted Farmers. Rooted Farmers works exclusively with local growers to put the highest-quality specialty cut flowers in floral customers’ hands. When you partner with Rooted Farmers, you are investing in your community, and you can expect a commitment to excellence in return. Learn more at RootedFarmers.com.

Thank you goes 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.


Slow Flowers Podcast Logo with flowers, recorder and mic

Thanks so much for joining me 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; He Has a Way; 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

Episode 600: Becky Feasby of Prairie Girl Flowers on Florists, Invasive Species, and Protecting the Natural World

Wednesday, March 8th, 2023

Today I have invited Becky Feasby of Prairie Girl Flowers and Instagram’s #SustainabilitySunday to return the Slow Flowers Podcast to talk about a project she is spearheading to evaluate the floral industry’s relationship with invasive plant species — both growing and designing with problem plants harmful to the environment, to local economies, and to the larger community.

Becky Feasby, Prairie Girl Flowers
Becky Feasby, Prairie Girl Flowers

This past December, Becky convened an Invasive Species Roundtable to discuss and determine Best Practices in the Floral Industry. The expert panel included Doug Tallamy, professor of entomology and wildlife ecology at the University of Delaware; Latifa Pelletier-Ahmed, a botanist and native plant expert with the ACLA Native Plants Society in Calgary, Alberta, Canada; and Nicola Dixon, State Priority Weeds Coordinator for Australia’s Department of Primary Industries.

Those invited as educators and floral industry participants included florists and growers who are both part of the Sustainable Floristry Network and Slow Flowers Society members. I was so happy to join the session ~ and I learned so much from the discussion. I learned that even the best of intentions from those of us who think our practices are good for the planet can yield damaging results.

https://www.instagram.com/sustainabilitysunday/
Sustainability Sunday posts from @prairiegirlflowers

As an outcome from that session, Becky has worked with Rita Feldmann, founder of the Sustainable Floristry Network, to produce a report to introduce the topic of invasive plants to florists, farmers and wholesale sellers. She has shared a preview of that report with me, as well as several lists of “Dirty Dozen” plants found in the floral marketplace in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Europe, and Australia, drawing input from some of the round table experts.

It’s such a timely topic, and if you follow Becky’s @prairiegirlflowers feed on Instagram, you’ve already read some of her posts about invasive species in the floral trade. I asked Becky to join me today to share about her research and help us understand what each of us can be doing to eradicate invasives from our own design work, farms, and gardens.

As she mentioned, the fact sheet and Dirty Dozen lists will be available soon via prairiegirlflowers and we’ll share those links when that happens.

LISTEN to past episodes with Becky Feasby:

Episode 561: Becky Feasby of Prairie Girl Flowers and IG’s Sustainability Sunday

Episode 400: Slow Flowers in Calgary with Becky Feasby of Prairie Girl Flowers


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.

Farmgirl Flowers 2022

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 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.

Thank you to 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.

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.   


This Week’s News

Slow Pottery
Slow Pottery, featuring pieces from: (left) Kelsey Ruhland of Foxbound Flowers and (right) Andee Zeigler of Three Sepals

Last month’s Slow Flowers Member Meet-Up featured a idea-filled hour discussing floral photography best practices, which was an exclusive member-only session with Krista Rossow of O’Flora Farm and Tiffany Brown Anderson of Earth & Seeds.

We are continuing with even more creative inspiration this Friday, March 10th, with our monthly Slow Flowers Member Meet-Up (9 am Pacific/Noon Eastern ). The topic is Slow Pottery and we have invited a fabulous panel of Slow Flowers members who incorporate Slow Pottery into their enterprises – growers and florists alike.

You may recall that I originally wrote about the concept of Slow Pottery in our 2018 Slow Flowers Floral Insights & Industry Forecast. We wanted to track the creative work of floral artists and their collaborators who combine one-of-a-kind vessels with locally-grown flowers for a truly “slow” composition that resonates with customers.

We’ll meet several creatives who will share about the pottery they make and use while also discussing sustainability, supply chain issues, and a desire among Slow Flowers members to celebrate artisan pieces rather than throw-away vases.

Meet and Learn From:
Kelsey Ruhland, Foxbound Flowers
Katie TolsonSeed-on-Hudson
Holly LukasiewiczDistrict 2 Floral Studio + ceramic artist Anna Stoysich
 Andee ZeiglerThree Sepals
Sarah NayaniGrow Girl Seattle


Slow Flowers Podcast Logo with flowers, recorder and mic

Thanks so much for joining me 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. I’ll see you then!


Music credits:

Drone Pine; He Has a Way; 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

Episode 589: Bellevue Botanical Garden’s Joseph Abken introduces the 2023 Slow Flowers Summit Host Venue

Wednesday, December 21st, 2022

Hello again and welcome back to the Slow Flowers Podcast with Debra Prinzing, This is Episode 589

This is the weekly podcast about Slow Flowers and the people who grow and design with them. It’s all about making a conscious choice and I invite you to join the conversation and the creative community as we discuss the vital topics of saving our domestic flower farms and supporting a floral industry that relies on a safe, seasonal and local supply of flowers and foliage.

Bellevue Botanical Garden
The Perennial Borders at Bellevue Botanical Garden

On December 1st we opened up registration for next year’s Slow Flowers Summit and it’s so gratifying to see how many of you are jumping on our $100-off Early Bird Ticket offer.  Today, I also want to share more about our fantastic host venue — Bellevue Botanical Garden in Bellevue, Washington, just outside Seattle.

Joseph has an extensive background in management, merchandising and buying at independent garden centers and five more than five years, he served Executive Director of Kruckeberg Botanic Garden in Shoreline, just north of Seattle. He joined the Bellevue Botanical Garden as Society Director earlier this year and is an avid garden photographer — something that is a daily practice at the Botanical Garden.

And since it’s currently holiday season when the BBG hosts its special winter light show, Garden D’Lights, I filmed a nighttime video tour of the gardens illuminated with twinkling, botanical-inspired installations. So today, you’ll meet my friend Joseph Abken, director of the Bellevue Botanical Garden Society, the public garden’s programming, membership and development arm, as he shares a bit about the history and mission of this very special place. The light show continues through December 31st, so if you’re in the Seattle area, schedule a visit at dusk!

Thanks so much for joining us today. Joseph and garden director James Gagliardi will give the opening remarks at the Slow Flowers Summit. In their presentation, “GARDENS FOR PEOPLE, they will set the tone for our two-day immersive experience at Bellevue Botanical Garden and share the story of this important cultural resource serving the people of the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Celebrating its 30th Anniversary in 2022, BBG is known for its world class perennial border, the result of a partnership with Northwest Perennial Alliance. We’ll learn about the flowers, plants, and people of this beautiful destination. I’m so excited to share this gem with our guests, flower growers, floral designers, and flower gardening enthusiasts who will be inspired by both our program and this very special setting.

Learn more about Bellevue Botanical Garden, our 2023 Slow Flowers Summit Host Venue.

Follow BBG on Instagram and Facebook


Slow Flowers Summit Early Bird Tickets

Remember, Early-Bird Discount Expires December 31st, so register now to take advantage of the lowest ticket prices available!

$749    Slow Flowers Member                                                               
$849    General Registration (Non Member)
$873    Slow Flowers Member + Dinner on the Farm*                                                                $973    General Registration (Non Member) + Dinner on the Farm*  ​

*Dinner on the Farm is a separately ticketed event that will take place the evening of Sunday, June 25, 2023 at a local flower farm. Save $25 on your dinner ticket when purchased at the time of Summit registration.

Monday, June 26th @Bellevue Botanical Garden​

  • Two keynote presentations with Amy Balsters on Building a Better Bouquet and Lennie Larkin on The Flower Dollar: Pricing + Profitability
  • Hands-on floral design takeover and tour of Bellevue Botanical Garden
  • Breakfast, buffet lunch and evening reception
  • and so much more!

Tuesday, June 27th @Bellevue Botanical Garden, Seattle Wholesale Growers Market & Mayesh Wholesale Florist​

  • Design demonstration and Q&A with Julio Freitas of The Flower Hat
  • 2 breakout sessions to choose from to learn from experts in your field and connect with others on Flower Farming, Floral Design & Sustainability
  • Open house and design demonstrations at Seattle Wholesale Growers Market & Mayesh Wholesale Florist
  • Breakfast, buffet lunch and evening reception

News for this Week

If you missed out December 9th Slow Flowers Member Virtual Meet-Up — all about Value-Added Flower Farm Products — you can catch the replay video above. You’ll hear from Natasha McCrary of 1818 Farms and Sarah Wagstaff of SUOT Farm and Flowers, as they share how many of their floral crops are reimagined into botanical products that extend the seasons into year-round revenue.


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.

Farmgirl Flowers 2022

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.

Thank you to Mayesh Wholesale Florist. 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.

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.


Slow Flowers Podcast Logo with flowers, recorder and mic

Thanks so much for joining me 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.

Music credits:
Homin Brer; 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

Episode 544: Growing Nursery Customers with a Flower Shop and Cutting Garden Program, with Jen Healy of J&B Garden Center in Albany, Oregon

Tuesday, February 8th, 2022

Today, we’re sharing more insight about one of the themes of the 2022 Slow Flowers Floral Insights & Industry Forecast, released last month. 

Grow Your Own Bouquet

Our second insight is Plant Your Own Bouquet and today’s guest, Jen Healy, is one of the people who helped me realize this important shift in the marketplace.

When Jen first joined the Slow Flowers Society with her business J&B Garden Center, we jumped on the phone so I could get to know her better. That was very early in 2021 and I learned that J&B is an independent, family-owned retail garden and home decor destination in Albany, located about 70 miles south of Portland near Corvallis. 

Jen and I discussed the important intersection between gardening and cut flower growing, and how she’s integrated the two world through the business she and her husband Brent Pockrus started in 2019. 

Jen Healy
Jen Healy, the “J” of J&B Garden Center. She’s a retail entrepreneur, nursery owner and proponent of cut flower gardening

Today, we’ll meet Jen, talk about the floral program at J&B — and as a bonus, Jen will share her observations from last month’s Dallas Home & Gift Market. We’ll discuss five key trends that she noticed there — lifestyle and decor themes and concepts you will want to know all about for your floral enterprise.

Click below to download a PDF of our presentation deck with all of Jen’s scouting slides.

Thanks so much for joining us today to meet Jen Healy and learn from a true trendspotter who’s bringing her passion for cut flowers into the retail environment.

Find and follow J&B Garden Center:
On Facebook

On Instagram


NWFGF 2022

As I mentioned in last week’s episode, Slow Flowers is moving into Valentine’s Day by producing five days of floral design workshops for the 2022 Northwest Flower & Garden Festival, which begins today, February 9th and continues through Sunday February 13th.

Be sure to follow our IG stories at slowflowerssociety.com each day, to see our design instructors — all Slow Flowers members. They include Bethany Little of Charles Little & Co., who is teaching romantic wreath design today; Bethany Syphers of Crowley House Farm, who will teach a flower crown workshop on Thursday; Kiara Hancock of K. Hancock Events, who will be teaching a centerpiece workshop on Friday; mom-and-daughter team Kim Gruetter and Tonnelli Gruetter of Salty Acres Farm, who will teach the tiny bouquet workshop on Saturday and Tobey Nelson of Tobey Nelson Events & Design’s botanical jewelry workshop on Sunday.

I’m super excited to get a jump start on spring and the NW Flower & Garden Show is definitely the way to do it here in Seattle. Oh, and I can’t overlook shout-outs to our members and Bloom Imprint authors who are also speaking at the show: Jennifer and Adam O’Neal of PepperHarrow Farm are speaking three times, including about their new book Small Farm, Big Dreams, and competing head-to-head on the Container Wars stage (I’ll try and grab footage of that match up!), and Julie Beeler of Bloom & Dye, who will teach Colors from the Dye Garden.

So what are you waiting for? If you’re in the Seattle area and you want a pair of tickets, I’ll be giving away two sets of tickets to the first two Members who comment in today’s show notes at slowflowerspodcast.com or who send us a DM at slowflowerssociety on IG.


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, 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 atfarmgirlflowers.com.

Our next sponsor thanks goes to Store It Cold, creators of the revolutionary CoolBot, which you just heard Carlee mention as a new addition to her studio.  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   

Our next sponsor thanks goes to Flowerfarm.com, 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. Learn more at flowerfarm.com.

Our final sponsor thanks goes to 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.


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 813,000 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 Slow Flowers Society.com and consider making a donation to sustain Slow Flowers’ ongoing advocacy, education and outreach activities. You can find the donate button in the column to the right at debraprinzing.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. 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:

For We Shall Know Speed;
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

Episode 520: Visit Kris Bennett, gardener-florist at Bennett Botanical Garden and KRISanthemums in Hermiston, Oregon

Wednesday, August 25th, 2021

Today, we visit the gardens and workshop of longtime Slow Flowers member Kris Bennett of KRISanthemums, a full-service floral design studio that is situated at Bennett Botanical Gardens, Kris’s five-acre garden and wedding venue in Eastern Oregon. I’ve finally placed Hermiston on the map — it’s close to Walla Walla, Washington and Pendleton Oregon — a beautiful place in the Pacific Northwest. We’re going to enjoy a video tour of Bennett Botanical Gardens that Kris recorded for us yesterday, and then meet Kris in her design studio to see her create an arrangement while we talk.

Kris Bennett of KRISanthemums

Having been raised among tulips, daffodils and dahlias in Washington, Kris learned at a young age the beauty of flowers. In high school, she interned in a local flower shop; then she moved east to study at WSU, married and eventually settled a bit south to Eastern Oregon.

Her floral journey includes studying with top designers including Paula Pryke, Ariella Chezar, Max Gill, David Beahm, Amy Osaba, Alicia Swede, Francoise Weeks, Holly Chapple and others.

Bennett Botanical Garden, a private garden and wedding venue

KRISanthemum’s 750 sq. ft. studio is located within walking distance of Kris’s home and beautiful landscape. She likes to say, “When I need encouragement or inspiration I can walk outside the studio doors and harvest branches, blooms or enter the greenhouse to see what’s in bloom.”

two bouquets by Kris Bennett
Two bouquets designed by Kris Bennett of KRISanthemums
The Sunflower and Apple Bouquet, which Kris designed for us during the interview

A bonus for our podcast listeners. In celebration of our Slow Flowers Podcasts 8th anniversary, we launched our new, live-stream video format — calling it the Slow Flowers Show — with the goal of sharing the faces and voices of our members, as well as tours of their farms, their shops and their studios — and most of all, their flowers. Last Wednesday, August 18th, I hosted Kris on our video platform. You can find the replay of that conversation in today’s show notes. You’ll want to check it out because we included a 9-minute video tour that Kris recorded — to introduce us to Bennett Botanical Gardens. For anyone who’s interested in creating a wedding and event component to their farm or property, you’ll be impressed by what Kris and her husband have developed!

2 weddings by Kris Bennett
Two wedding bouquets, designed by Kris Bennett; left @westernweddingmagazine; right @donnailinphoto

Thank you so much for joining me! Kris designed a beautiful arrangement during our video interview, and you can see her process during the video. Check out photos of the finished design, along with a gallery of other KRISanthemums designs.

Find and follow Kris Bennett of KRISanthemums:
KRISanthemums on Facebook
KRISanthemums on Instagram
KRISanthemums on Pinterest


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 Banner

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.

sponsor logo bar
2nd sponsor bar

Mayesh Wholesale Florist. 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.

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. And with no contract commitment, you only pay for what you need, when you need it. Sign up for your first delivery at Roadie.com/slowflowers and use promo code slowflowers–that’s one word–to get five dollars off.


Slow Flowers Podcast Logo with flowers, recorder and mic

Thanks so much for joining us today! The Slow Flowers Podcast has been downloaded more than 758,000 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


Debra in her garden
(c) Missy Palacol Photography

I’m Debra Prinzing, host and producer of the Slow Flowers Show. Next week, you’re invited to join me in putting more Slow Flowers on the table, one stem 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. Thank you so much to Andrew for helping me set up our new Video Podcast platform and teaching me the technology! I’ll be relying more on his talents in the coming days. You can learn more about Andrew’s work at soundbodymovement.com

Music Credits:

Fern and Andy; 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

Episode 509: From Cutting Gardens to Flowers for the Home, a Conversation with the Horticulture Team at Filoli Historic House & Garden, Jim Salyards, Kate Nowell and Haley O’Connor

Wednesday, June 9th, 2021
The Wedding Garden at Filoli Historic House & Garden (c) Gretchine Nievarez

Over the past year, you’ve heard from many of the panelists and personalities scheduled to present at the upcoming Slow Flowers Summit, scheduled for June 28-30, which is right around the corner. And today, I’m bringing you straight to our Summit destination, Filoli Historic House & Garden based in Woodside, California, where we will gather for the first two days of the conference.

Filoli’s remarkable Georgian Revival architecture (c) Gretchine Nievarez

I am so excited for the opportunity Summit attendees, speakers, sponsors and guests will enjoy as we immerse ourselves in the beauty and legacy of this Bay Area cultural institution. We will spend two full days experiencing the historic property, including Filoli’s legendary landscape and cutting gardens, which you’ll learn more about today. We also will have unprecedented access to design a ‘floral takeover’ in ‘The House,’ California’s most triumphant example of the Georgian Revival tradition and one of the finest remaining country estates of the early 20th century.

From left, today’s guests: Jim Salyards, Kate Nowell and Haley O’Connor of Filoli’s Horticulture Staff

For now, I’d love to introduce you to the horticulture team at Filoli, because they are the ones whose involvement in the Slow Flowers Summit will ensure a thoroughly immersive plant and floral experience.

Today, join me in a conversation with Jim Salyards, Kate Nowell and Haley O’Connor.

Jim Salyards is the director of horticulture, a 26-year veteran of Filoli!

Kate Nowell is the horticulture production manager, with about one decade at Filoli, and Haley O’Connor is Filoli’s new formal garden manager who joined about six months ago.

Let’s jump right in and take an audio (virtual) botanical tour with three talented plants people.


Attendees of the Slow Flowers Summit will have full access to the beautiful grounds at Filoli Historic House & Garden during our workshops and immersive floral experiences

Thank you so much for joining our conversation today! There are still a few spaces left to attend the Slow Flowers Summit and you can find all those details at slowflowerssummit.com. We are so excited to welcome our attendees to a safe, in-person, COVID-compliant and mostly outdoor setting at Filoli Historic House and Garden. The countdown begins!

The Garden House at Filoli

And by the way, if you’re not attending the Summit, watch Slow Flowers Society on Facebook, Slow Flowers Society and Slow Flowers Summit on Instagram for live feeds coming to you from the Slow Flowers Summit, including a behind-the-scenes tour that I will lead on setup day, Sunday, June 28th.


Something really fun happened this past week as I traded places at the microphone and answered questions posed to me rather than being the person asking those questions. Our good friend Jennifer Jewell, producer and host of Cultivating Place, an award-winning public radio program and podcast, invited me to join her to discuss all things Slow Flowers. I’ll share the link to that episode in today’s show notes. You’ve heard Jennifer here as a past guest and you may already subscribe to Cultivating Place. If not, please check out her amazing, inclusive and expansive weekly radio program about plants, people, place and other conversations about natural history and the human urge to garden. Jennifer is coming to the Slow Flowers Summit as our capstone speaker on day two — and I’m so honored that she shared our story – your story – the story of Slow Flowers – on her terrific show.


Our 2021 Botanical Couture Collection for American Flowers Week 2021

As you know, in the buildup to American Flowers Week, June 28-July 4, there is much to celebrate. This Friday, you’re invited to join our Slow Flowers Member Virtual Meet-Up, June 11th at 9 am Pacific/Noon Eastern. The topic: Botanical Couture for American Flowers Week 2021 Collection. The guests? Several of the creatives responsible for this year’s expansive and flourishing fashion collection! Get a peek at the behind the scenes and hear from the creatives — Slow Flowers member farmers, designers and floral artists who rose to the open call for floral wearables. We have one-dozen looks in all this year — a feat of talent, ingenuity and inventiveness! Can’t wait for you to join us — all the details and the link to log in are available in today’s show notes. See you there!


Thank you to our Sponsors

This podcast 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 Banner

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, and providing competitive salaries and benefits to team members based in Watsonville, California and Miami, Florida. Discover more at farmgirlflowers.com.

sponsor logo bar

For each Podcast episode this year, we thank three of our Major Sponsors.

Flowerfarm.com, is a leading wholesale flower distributor that sources from carefully-selected growers 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. 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.

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.

Rooted Farmers works exclusively with local growers to put the highest-quality specialty cut flowers in floral customers’ hands. When you partner with Rooted Farmers, you are investing in your community, and you can expect a commitment to excellence in return. Learn more at RootedFarmers.com.


Slow Flowers Podcast Logo with flowers, recorder and mic

Thanks so much for joining us today! The Slow Flowers Podcast has been downloaded more than 734,000 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

Debra Prinzing

I’m Debra Prinzing, host and producer of the Slow Flowers Podcast. Next week, you’re invited to join me in putting more Slow 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:

Flattered; 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