Episode 585: Diane Szukovathy and Dennis Westphall of Jello Mold Farm on the 10-year publication anniversary of The 50 Mile Bouquet

https://youtu.be/7ROKj8OnvVM

When it was published in 2012, The 50 Mile Bouquet was the first book to spotlight a major cultural shift and a transformation around how cut flowers are grown, designed and consumed, closely mirroring the culinary world's locavore/slow food revolution.

Diane Szukovathy and Dennis Westphall, photographed by Mary Grace Long (c) September 2012 at Jello Mold Farm in Mt. Vernon, Washington. (c) Mary Grace Long

One decade ago, the floral industry was just beginning to ask for changes, seeking alternatives to imported, mass-produced and chemical-laden flowers. The 50 Mile Bouquet introduced some of the innovative voices of the dynamic new Slow Flower Movement: the organic flower-farmers, the sustainably motivated floral designers . . . and the flower enthusiasts who were increasingly asking, 'Where and how were my flowers grown, and who grew them?'

Jello Mold Farm, fields, and barn

Linda Blue captured Dennis performing at his own farm, Jello Mold, as a special feature of the Field to Vase Dinner Tour in September 2016.

The 50 Mile Bouquet's documentary-feature reporting and photography took readers into the personal stories of Slow Flowers practitioners. Its relevance today is more important than ever, considering issues around climate change, supply-chain limitations, and equity in the marketplace.

Today's guests involved me in their story, their flowers, and the renaissance of floral agriculture in the Pacific Northwest and beyond. I learned so much from them while interviewing and writing about the farms and design studios of Slow Flowers practitioners, even before I began to use the phrase, "slow flowers."

Buckets of just-picked lilacs at Jello Mold Farm (c) Missy Palacol Photography

Jello Mold Farm and the distant views of Skagit Valley (Washington) (c) Missy Palacol Photography

Let's jump right in and meet Diane Szukovathy and Dennis Westphall, co-founders of Jello Mold Farm, in Mt. Vernon, Washington, and part of the group that established the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market in 2011. I'm so grateful to Diane and Dennis for their support and friendship over the past 12 years since we met. They are both past guests of the Slow Flowers Podcast and I consider them sustainability leaders and pioneers of the Slow Flowers Movement.

WATCH Seattle Wholesale Growers Market: Farm to Florist Video Series (Lilacs)

https://youtu.be/QdWrs7v7eV0

Farm to Florist: Lilacs, filmed and edited by Alayna Erhart for Seattle Wholesale Growers Market; produced by Slow Flowers Society

Find and follow Jello Mold Farm on Instagram:@[email protected]

Jello Mold Farm on Slow Flowers Podcast (Past Episodes):December 2015: Episode 225: Slow Flowers’ Holiday Special with Musician-Flower Farmer Dennis WestphallApril 2017: Episode 294: A Floral Collective of Greater Good: Celebrating and Selling Local Flowers with the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market’s Sixth Anniversary

This Week's News

Top row, from left: Julio Freitas, Amy Balsters and Lennie LarkinMiddle row, from left: Gina Lett-Shrewsberry, Dee Hall, Tracy Yang and Valerie ChrisostomoBottom row, from left: Becky Feasby, Amber Tamm, Sarah Reyes and Debra Prinzing

And head's up-- next week, on December 1st, we will open the early bird registration for the 2023 Slow Flowers Summit! We are extending a $100 discount to members of the Slow Flowers Society and the general public who preregister for the Summit - through December 31st.