Episodes

https://youtu.be/FhiS0CcQmfo If you've been following along for a while, you have noticed that 2022 is the 10-year celebration of the publication of The 50 Mile Bouquet, a book that, to be honest, started me along the journey that became the Slow Flowers Movement. In a tribute to this small but mighty book, I'm spending this year circling back to interview as many people featured in its pages as possible. The 50 Mile Bouquet was photographed by David Perry, designed by James Forkner, and brought...

https://youtu.be/v-51vvHyJPs Check out one of Joseph Massie's free YouTube tutorials above I'm thrilled today to welcome Joseph Massie back to the Slow Flowers Podcast. I wanted to share the great news of the arrival of Joseph's first book, The Flower School, which has a subtitle: "the principles and pleasures of good flowers," published by UK-based Hardie Grant and is now available online for pre-order. Click to read more about The Flower School book. AND....we have a beautiful copy for a givea...

https://youtu.be/-JlMNEOeI4s Left: a selection of Kelsey's handmade ceramic vases; Right: Kelsey Ruhland My guest today is Kelsey Ruhland, owner of Foxbound Flowers a floral studio offering same-day flower delivery to the Eugene, Oregon, marketplace. Her brand offers electric vehicle delivery, responsible sourcing, zero waste and non single-use plastics, as well as locally- and U.S.-grown flowers and plants. I'm especially fascinated with her flower shop hacks -- using everything from upcycled c...

https://youtu.be/jf71Jbh38e0 My guest today is Colorado-based flower farmer and educator Briana Bosch. We recently met in person when Briana attended the Slow Flowers Summit and I've been wanting to host her on the show - so we finally got this conversation on the calendar to share with you. Just a little bit of background: Armed with an MBA from the University of California, Briana established Blossom & Branch in 2019 with her husband. As she writes on the Blossom & Branch website: ". . . cubic...

https://youtu.be/pQF-tZKk7d8 My guest today is Krista Rossow of O'Flora Flower Farm in Oregon's Southern Willamette Valley. The tagline for O'Flora Farm is: Small Farm, Big Blooms, Oregon-grown. Flower farmer and professional photographer Krista Rossow of O'Flora Flower Farm (c) Krista Rossow Krista Rossow (left) and the zinnia patch at O'Flora Flower Farm (right) (c) Krista Rossow Krista and I met in person earlier this summer at the Slow Flowers Summit in New York, but we're just a few hours a...

https://youtu.be/kMiO9-HykY8 My Q&A Interview with Norman Peterkort and Sandra Peterkort Laubenthal https://youtu.be/8o_EBoKEDR0 Peterkort Roses Greenhouse Tour Happy 9th Anniversary to the Slow Flowers Podcast! This week, we are celebrating our 9th anniversary of the Slow Flowers Podcast. Yes, folks, as the first-ever flower podcast and the longest-running flower podcast series, with 469 episodes, we are committed to delivering fantastic episodes to you each week -- all free for your education ...

https://youtu.be/rt5m6fkz6ME If you are a longtime Slow Flowers member or follower, you know that the origins of our organization are closely rooted with those of the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market.I was present at the 2010 regional meeting of the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers, which was held at Charles Little & Co., in Eugene. That's when a group of Oregon and Washington flower farmers began to discuss banding together to establish a new flower hub in the Pacific Northwest. They...

https://youtu.be/F5bWvsGt8yg Joanna Letz of Berkeley-based Bluma Flower Farm (TItle Slide (c) The Curated Feast) In February 2018, I wrote an article about a Berkeley, California, based grocery store called Berkeley Bowl. The family-owned company opened in a former bowling alley in 1977, blocks away from the famed UC, Berkeley, and it has become an neighborhood institution in this college town. My story was about Berkeley Bowl's floral department and its relationship with local flower farmers. 0...

Greetings, friends. Here at the Slow Flowers Society, we have experienced a whirlwind several weeks, including producing our fifth and largest Slow Flowers Summit conference ever, celebrating American Flowers Week, and publishing our debut Summer issue of our Slow Flowers Journal e-zine quarterly. Add to that 10 days of me traveling away from home and honestly, I'm just beginning to recover from all the festivities. Alpacas are the best flower crown models! So today, in what is an entirely rare ...

https://youtu.be/e6O8B6Kk88g 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 f...

https://youtu.be/m5U42PP8QmE https://youtu.be/1GdrIsa4N2A The fifth Slow Flowers Summit is coming right up and everyone involved is getting very excited to convene in New York's Westchester County for three creatively informative and inspiring days centered around local flowers, sustainability and community -- June 26 to June 28. Today, I want to share two back-to-back interviews with Slow Flowers members in New York's lower Hudson Valley and Brooklyn, both of whom are hosting bonus events built...

https://youtu.be/7bQSV_2w-vc Watch Susan McLearly's design stage presentation from the 2021 Slow Flowers Summit at Filoli in Woodland Hills, California We are closing in on the 2022 Slow Flowers Summit, taking place June 26-28th in Westchester County New York - at two venues, the Red Barn at Maple Grove Farm in Bedford and at Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture in Pocantico Hills. You've met almost all of our speakers here on the Slow Flowers Show or the Slow Flowers Podcast and tickets ar...

https://youtu.be/Amp0vRk3U1w Becky Feasby of Prairie Girl Flowers, with Magic (left) and Larry (right) in her Calgary, Alberta, cutting garden The urgency to reverse climate change and better care for the future of our planet are top of mind issues for many floral professionals. If you're listening or watching today, you're probably here because you want to know more about the Slow Flowers Movement -- and we schedule our topics and guests with values of seasonality, sustainability and social equ...

https://youtu.be/tvkriz8QaOc If you're a regular viewer or listener of the Slow Flowers Vodcast/Podcast, you're familiar with my sponsor thanks, like those you just heard me say. In order to produce our content and share it freely, our relationships with sponsors are important to us. Look for this section on the home page: Flowers Grown in the USA For the past year, you're probably heard me mention FlowerFarm.com, a leading wholesale flower distributor that sources from and supplies farm-direct ...

https://youtu.be/cKizgsOLbTs Today, I'm so delighted to share my wonderful conversation with artist Ronni Nicole Robinson. Ronni creates works in plaster and paper and all of her pieces are botanically-inspired, utilizing flowers, branches and stems she clips from surrounding gardens and nature to incorporate into her embossed surfaces. When planning the 2022 Slow Flowers Summit, "Flowers as Artist's Muse" emerged and felt like the ideal theme to connect the stories, aesthetic, and craft of each...

https://youtu.be/dZCBsM5EhKI Portrait of Frances Palmer (c) Jane Beiles Today, you're invited into the pottery studio and cutting garden of celebrated ceramic artist, Frances Palmer of Frances Palmer Pottery. We recently recorded a preview of Frances's upcoming presentation at the Slow Flowers Summit. Our theme this year is Flowers as Artists' Muse, and in the conversation that follows, you'll learn why we invited Frances to the Summit. Left (c) Frances Palmer; artist portrait (c) Marion Brenner...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fahH23cfMrI I'm so happy to share today's conversation and design demonstration with you. My guest is Jennifer Driscoll, owner of Oakland-based Redwood Wild Florals. I met Jennifer last summer at the 2021 Slow Flowers Summit, held at Filoli, not far from her Bay Area backyard. You know how you start following someone you've met on social media and then want to learn more about their story and their creativity? That's what's happened with us. I invited Jennifer to ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDnRJ-O4dN8 I love it when I can host a Slow Flowers member on a Seattle visit, and now that travel is again opening up, I have a feeling 2022 will be a busy one. Last month, Andrea K. Grist, a long-time Slow Flowers Society member and friend, spent a few days visiting Seattle. She is a past guest of the Slow Flowers Podcast and a wedding and event florist based in the Kansas City metro area. Five years ago, Andrea assumed the management of Florasource KC, a local...

https://youtu.be/SvFcZJ3Ps0Q We have just recognized Earth Day and the Slow Flowers Podcast focused on a non-green topic: Funeral Flowers. This episode was inspired by two Slow Flowers members in the Seattle area who have been researching ways to infuse sustainability into sympathy flowers. I've invited Lori Poliski of Flori LLC, and Tammy Myers of LORA Bloom and First and Bloom to share their experience, research, and future plans on this topic. Farewell Flowers, designed by Lori Poliski and Ta...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHWlQb2k7Ss The tagline for today's episode should be "how to see nature's palette in deeper, more meaningful ways," because that's the lesson Lorene Edwards Forkner wants to share with everyone. Lorene Edwards Forkner (c) Mary Grace Long As many of you know, Lorene is a dear friend and inspiration to me in all things horticulture. She is an author, artist, and speaker; you can read her GROW stories every week in the Sunday Seattle Times, and catch her daily on In...

https://youtu.be/sPrkj4KupO4 I'm very excited about today's conversation. My guests are Hitomi Gilliam and Gregor Lersch, renowned international floral design educators who have just launched a new endeavor called the FREESIA Challenge.You'll have to listen closely to learn what the FREESIA acronym represents! It's an initiative to engage florists, and especially floral educators, to motivate the new generation of florists and students to begin challenging themselves to seek creative solutions t...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qX1C-4TDLc Welcome to Part Two of the Slow Flowers Podcast, Episode 522, a special bonus conversation with singer-songwriter Eva Leach. I'm honored that she's sharing her new original music with us. If you’ve attended Holly Chapple’s Flowerstock Festival, you’ve already been treated to live performances by Eva and her frequent collaborator (and brother) Nathan Leach. Nathan & Eva is a Musical Duo from Charleston, South Carolina. The origins of their story are pre...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0LeQEdkwWs Today, I have two interviews and this is Part One. First up, a delightful mother-daughter design duo shares their story. Owner of Belle Pétale, a Seattle-based studio, Teresa Rao is an avid gardener and flower lover who in 2020 transitioned from a 16-year corporate training career to floristry. She has based her boutique design studio at home, where she can clip foliage and blooms from her garden while also parenting Priya, her eight-year-old daughter....

https://youtu.be/zLx9bwGnLNw It's Spring, so it's garden book season, of course. Last week, you met Teresa J. Speight, author of Black Flora. Today, it's my pleasure to introduce you to Riz Reyes of RHR Horticulture, a longtime Slow Flowers member and friend who has authored his first book for young readers and their families. GROW: A Family Guide to Plants and How to Grow Them, encourages children to discover 15 plants and fungi with life-changing powers and learn how to grow them at home. Riz ...