Episodes

https://youtu.be/9HVJNoRhWgE I'm so excited this week to share the video from our March Slow Flowers member meet-up featuring author Teresa J. Speight as our special guest, along with many of our Slow Flowers members who appear in the pages of the new book Black Flora, just released by Bloom Imprint. Black Flora is a book that is long overdue and it showcases the excellence and contributions of Black flower farmers and floral designers throughout the country. Above portraits of Black floral crea...

https://youtu.be/t0tOm-9SvY8 Today's guests, Shannon and Judd Allen, are first-generation farmers who grow specialty cut flowers in Uniontown, Ohio, serving the Canton-Akron communities. One of Bloom Hill Farm's many John Deere Tractor IG posts -- in which Judd and Shannon tagged the company. Another fun post! A few weeks ago, Shannon reached out via email to let us know that John Deere, the tractor company based in Moline, Illinois, filmed and produced several videos about their small farm and ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZVF4y_zhW0 THAT FLOWER FEELING is a cooperative effort to get more Americans enjoying more flowers, more often. From upscale florists, farmers markets or grocery stores — as long as people are bringing home flowers regularly, that’s good enough for us. We want everyone to experience the impact of flowers on a daily basis. They’re a beautiful, natural dose of feel-good, so why should they be reserved for special occasions? Even the most modest bouquet of flowers c...

https://youtu.be/rlTMy9WVTsw I believe that springtime brings out the creativity in all of us and even though we're still nearly a month from the start of Spring, our thoughts are turning to another bountiful season of growing and design. That sentiment was abundantly clear last month at the 2022 Northwest Flower & Garden Festival here in Seattle. Last week, I introduced you to two Oregon farmer-florists, Bethany Little of Charles Little & Co., and Beth Syphers of Crowley House Farm. Today, I ha...

https://youtu.be/l8_Fo4bvLsc February has been a month packed with flowers, from Valentine's Day to our annual spring ritual here in Seattle -- the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival. Earlier this month, I hosting a number of out-of-town Slow Flowers Society members were here to speak and teach at the flower show, and it was so nice to see one another in person AND to celebrate locally-grown flowers and sustainable practices in growing and design. My two guests today joined the Blooms & Bubbles ...

https://youtu.be/cEg4d5POQLw First of all, I hope you had a happy Valentine's Day! Today, we are in for a real treat. So many of our members – flower farmers and floral designers alike – are devoted to changing the dialogue around flower sourcing. During what is one of the biggest floral holidays of the year, it has not been unusual to read media reports about flower shortages or all the negatives around flowers in general. The chocolate and jewelry folks wouldn't have it any other way -- just d...

https://youtu.be/DEEyyLNX2lw Today, we're sharing more insight about one of the themes of the 2022 Slow Flowers Floral Insights & Industry Forecast, released last month. 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 a...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOSA64L3Zmo Before we start today, don't forget to listen for details about the 2022 Northwest Flower & Garden Show ticket giveaway! You'll hear all about how to win one of 5 sets of two tickets to attend the show-- which starts one week from today on Feb 9th and continues through Feb 13th in Seattle. I'll share the giveaway rules at the end of this episode -- stay tuned. Photography, courtesy of (c) Hans Li and (c) Ana Gambuto As some of you heard a few weeks ago...

https://youtu.be/qf9WxhFUE48 It's great to be here today to share our 8th consecutive floral forecast for the Slow Flowers community. The audio you'll hear was recorded during our Monthly Member Meet up on January 14th and those who attended got an early, sneak peek at the report. We recorded the session and I'm sharing the edited version with you today. This report has become an important gauge for our members, as well as for the greater floral marketplace and business media, as we evaluate pre...

https://youtu.be/eKi8x3WAGDM At the beginning of a New Year, I often find myself focusing on all the projects and improvements I want to tackle, not as "resolutions," but as "upgrades" that frankly, I've probably been thinking about for the entire past year -- and now it's just time to put those ideas and concepts into practice. There's something that resonates with the phrase, New Year, New You, and I have to say, I already feel like I'm ticking off some of those goals in small and large ways. ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4d6fj2eUP4 It's that time again -- our chance to review and reflect on all we achieved and experienced in the year that's just come to a close -- this time, 2021. I'm joined by two key members of the Slow Flowers Team -- Karen Thornton, our operations and events manager, and Niesha Blancas, our social media manager, who helped review our highlights and wrap things up for 2021. As historians have taught us, you can't plan for the future without knowing the past, r...

https://youtu.be/p0A3EzW7goc We recorded today's show last week as the final video episode of 2021, so for Podcast listeners, it's our first episode of 2022 -- and you are in for a real treat. I'm so happy to welcome Gina Lett Shrewsberry of Inspirations by Gina, a Slow Flowers member and floral designer based in Northern California, and her colleague Valerie Chrisostomo, an Atlanta-based florist and founder of the new organization Black Girl Florists. Gina Lett Shrewsberry (left) and Valerie Ch...

https://youtu.be/fcupDb7Bygo Today's guest, Carlee Donnelly of The Rusted Vase Co. Click on the video above to see Carlee's beautiful botanical couture fashion and watch our recorded interview. At the conclusion, I added a video peek at all of the Fleurs de Villes creations by Seattle area Slow Flowers members. December's series of holiday-themed episodes concludes with a celebration of botanical couture by Fleurs de Villes. Listeners of the Slow Flowers Podcast met Karen Marshall and Tina Barkl...

https://youtu.be/B5G1K5IWJJM We are continuing December's series of studio tours with holiday decor demonstrations with a visit to Seattle florist Melissa Mercado-Denke of Campanula Design Studio. We'll be discussing how she differentiates her floral business with a gifting component and she'll show us a few of her designs for the holidays. Campanula Design Studio floral design (left); Melissa Mercado-Denke (right) (c) Missy Palacol Photography Melissa is the Founder and Creative Director of Cam...

https://youtu.be/fxAX4ihvn9E Our episodes this month have included a series of studio tours with holiday decor demonstrations -- and today you'll be treated to another inspiring visit. I'm delighted to welcome Polly and Mike Hutchison, owners of Robin Hollow Farm in Saunderstown, Rhode Island. Mike and Polly Hutchison of Robn Hollow Farm and the NEW Robin Hollow Flowers retail store in Providence, Rhode Island I first met Polly and Mike in 2012 when the annual Association of Specialty Cut Flower...

https://youtu.be/Qz65ppy6ZGA Farmer-florist Lori Poliski of Flori, photographed in front of her studio in Woodinville, Washington (c) Missy Palacol Thank you so much for joining us today! It's the first week of December and time to put away all the pumpkin and harvest decor aside and think about the floral palette for our winter holidays. I'm so happy to introduce you to Lori Poliski of Flori LLC, a Slow Flowers member whose design studio is based in Woodinville, Washington, outside of Seattle. ...

https://youtu.be/DeNj9H7j7J0 Thank you so much for joining us! Today, I'm sharing the audio recording of a November 20th panel I moderated for the annual Tilth Conference. Produced by the Tilth Alliance, a Seattle-based organization that works in community with farmers, gardeners and eaters in Washington state to build a sustainable, healthy and equitable food future. The conference planners invited Slow Flowers to propose a presentation, and of course we wanted to bring the conversation of flow...

https://youtu.be/C_WTDlGYU6U Thank you so much for joining us today! You are in for a very special treat because I've invited TJ McGrath of TJ McGrath Design to join me for a conversation about his flower-filled life. The timing is perfect because we just announced the speaker lineup for the 2022 Slow Flowers Summit and I'm thrilled to tell you that TJ will be one of our guest designers at the 5th annual Slow Flowers Summit, June 26-28, 2020 in Bedford and Pocantico Hills, New York. You can find...

https://youtu.be/jpeAWpoqUVs Why is it that we're supposedly moving into our quieter, perhaps dormant season, but we are doing everything but resting?! I don't think I'm alone in this feeling, and I wanted to discuss it with you, and bring today's guest into the conversation. Please meet Sarah Wagstaff, of SUOT Farm and Flowers, based in Burlington, which is located in Washington State's Skagit County about halfway between Seattle and the US-Canadian border. SUOT Farm and Flowers is home to fres...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHJmO0SqK8A Thank you so much for joining us today! If there's anything I've learned from my publishing partner Robin Avni, creative director of BLOOM Imprint, it's that some stories are best told visually. And today's guest is going to immerse us in the visual delight of the natural world's amazing palette for pigments, dyes and paints. Please meet Julie Beeler, a farmer-florist and owner of Bloom & Dye, based in Trout Lake, Washington in the Columbia River basin...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRlFmsrRGjM Watch my wonderful conversation with Libby Francis-Baxter of The Modest Florist For our final week of October's Member Appreciation Month, I recorded a terrific interview with longtime Premium member Libby Francis-Baxter, owner of The Modest Florist in Baltimore, Maryland. Libby is one of those constant IG presences in our lives, tagging Slow Flowers Society in her everyday floral posts that show the beautiful arrangements heading out the door of her n...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5E5FyIFkvo Thank you so much for joining us today! As you may know, October is our month to celebrate our Slow Flowers members and one of our goals is to showcase and thank as many of our Premium Level members as possible, our top supporters. Just-picked pastels (left) and vivid hues (right) (c) Jamie Horton Photograph Today, we're visiting David Brunton of Right Field Farm in Millersville, Maryland, outside of Annapolis. David is a past guest of this podcast - y...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OURJHGtx7XA Thank you so much for joining us today! October is our celebration of our Slow Flowers members and one of my goals this month is to showcase and thank as many of our Premium Level members as possible, our top supporters. Today, we're visiting Eileen Tongson of FarmGal Flowers, coming to us from Orlando, Florida. As a farmer-florist, Eileen has experimented with a number of channels to market the flowers she grows, but she's honed in on two key portions...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nICvbZxTo2k I've just returned from a short trip to New York City and Brooklyn, one of the highlights of which included my spending two days in the lower Hudson Valley doing some pre-planning for the 2022 Slow Flowers Summit! Xenia D'Ambrosi and Debra Prinzing at Sweet Earth Co. Of course I spent time at our venue for 2022, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, in Pocantico Hills, New York . . . and I'll share much more about that in the coming weeks. But I...