Flower Friends

On today's episode, Liz Schreiner-Schmidt, President of Schreiner's Gardens in Salem, Oregon, stops by to discuss bearded iris! Iris are in all their glory at their display garden right now, which is open through May 31st. If you don't make it this year, put it on your calendar for next year!

Liz answers all my questions about how to grow bearded iris - what conditions they like, how your iris will come packaged and what to do with them when they arrive, whether they can grow in pots, what to do in winter in spring to help iris succeed - as well as how to divide and what companion plants work well with bearded iris. We also discuss Schreiner's hybridizing program, some of Liz's favorite varieties, and some of their best sellers. We also discuss how her grandfather started the family business, how it's grown, and what their farm and display gardens are like. Liz is a wealth of information!

In the intro, I continue the convo on the Chelsea Flower Show and discuss some of my favorite gardens and takeaways from the show, and some of the things I learned about garden design.

If you don't already follow along with Schreiner's Gardens, find them on their website or Instagram. 

Subscribe to the Flower Friends pod wherever you get your podcasts, and follow along on Instagram at @flowerfriendspodcast and @growgirlseattle. And call in to our new Flower Friends hotline to leave a message that might get played on the pod: 7313-FLOWER, or 731-335-6937.

Sarah’s in London in garden & flower heaven, and recorded a quick lowdown of her visit so far - Kensington Gardens,  Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, and the RHS Chelsea Flower Show! 

Today we get to talk with Miranda from Wildrye Farm about the heirloom chrysanthemums she grows and sells plugs of, and about her amazing farm in Bellingham, Washington where she specializes in sustainable, exceptional quality cut flowers and foliage!

I ask Miranda about her career in farming, how she evolved from growing veggies into cut flowers, where and how she sells those cut flowers, the layout of her farm spaces (which she has recently expanded!), about the plants she grows, and then we dive into chrysanthemums! Miranda answers all my questions on favorite varieties, where and how to grow mums, best time for harvest, overwintering, and taking cuttings. Listen in for all the info!

Miranda's mum plug sale is ongoing - as new plugs become available she posts them for newsletter subscribers; to join her mum newsletter, send her an email at [email protected]. She is also having an in-person plant sale with Free Range Flowers, where they'll have dahlia tubers, mum plugs, veggie starts, and coffee and pastries on April 29th. You can find out more info and updates on Wildrye Farm's instagram page.

In the intro, I talk about a project I've been working on to clean up and plant woodies and shrubs in our rain garden, and get rid of pesky bindweed! This is the "last frontier" of places I can take over at our house to grow flowers.

In the outro, I play the first voicemail from a caller to the Flower Friends hotline, Michelle from Kentucky, who called in to ask about the differences between hoop houses and other outdoor protective structures. I give a quick response - but this will be a great topic for a future season!

If you'd like to call in, and get your flower-related question, story, or topic in, the Flower Friends hotline is: 7313-FLOWER, or 731-335-6937. Hope to hear from you and make the podcast more interactive!

Subscribe to the Flower Friends pod wherever you get your podcasts, and follow along on Instagram at @flowerfriendspodcast and @growgirlseattle. 

Season 4 is here, and we're kicking it off with a bang - Jason Delaney from PHS Daffodils stops by to chat about everything daffodils! Jason specializes in classic, historic, and novel varieties for garden & exhibition. 

I got to ask Jason about his background in flower growing - which started at a very young age in rural Illinois, and continued on into a long career with the Missouri Botanical Garden where he oversaw the flower bulb collection and travelled the world on plant collecting expeditions - to places like Siberia, Morocco, and the Republic of Georgia, looking for plants that are extremely endangered or threatened.

Jason has had a life-long love of daffodils, the harbingers of spring. He grew his collection out on his family farm in Flora, Illinois, where he lifts, divides, and replants by hand every 3-5 years - it is a true labor of love. Jason shares amazing tips on planting and growing daffodils, including excellent companion plants, and discusses his breeding and growing program and his favorite daffodil characteristics. He is an absolute wealth of knowledge, with the best podcast voice imaginable, you guys are gonna love this one!

Jason says that if you take nothing else from this episode, he wants you to PLANT YOUR DAFFODIL BULBS 6-8 INCHES DEEP! If planted this way, daffodils can live for hundreds of years. Plant for permanence!

To purchase bulbs from PHS Daffodils, sign up for the newsletter on their website (at the bottom of the "Contact" page), and follow along on Instagram to see photos and get the up-to-date info on their plant sales - which will likely be in late May-early June this year. In addition to daffodils, Jason will also be offering day lilies from his vast collection.

Subscribe to the Flower Friends pod wherever you get your podcasts, and follow along on Instagram at @flowerfriendspodcast and @growgirlseattle. And call in to our new Flower Friends hotline to leave a message that might get played on the pod: 7313-FLOWER, or 731-335-6937.

The seed starting episode is in! On this episode, I share how I start seeds here at grow Girl Seattle, both for indoor and outdoor sowing. I go through my timing, what my setup is like, cover the tools and supplies I use, how I get my seeds started, and share some tips and tricks I’ve picked up along the way.

Today you'll also get some updates on Season 4, which is coming out shortly, and on our new Flower Friends Hotline! You can call in and leave a message or ask a question, and your voicemail might get played on the podcast. Call 7313-FLOWER, or 731-335-6937 to leave a voicemail!

Today's rundown:
0:00 - intro
1:56 - podcast updates
12:50 - seed starting variables
21:50 - indoor sowing & timing
30:50 - seed starting setup
37:47 - seed trays, soil, sowing, heat mats, lids
50:42 - grow lights, fans, rotating, watering, fertilizer
57:58 - hardening off
1:05:45 - outdoor sowing
1:28:18 - more resources

Links to products I love (not sponsored!):
Grow Light Stand - Gardener's Supply Company
Heat Mats - Vivosun
8-Outlet Surge Protector with Mechanical Timer - BN-Link
Sticky Fly Traps for Fungus Gnats - GreenKeeper
Seed Starting Trays (1020 size) - Bootstrap Farmer
Six-cell Tray Inserts (72 plugs per 1020 tray) - Bootstrap Farmer
Black Gold Seed Starting Mix - Sun Pro
Organic Potting Mix - Peat Free - PittMoss
Fans - Vivosun
Liquid Fertilizer - Fox Farm Organic "Big Bloom" (diluted for seedlings)
Mini Greenhouse "Zippy" - Topline

For any plastic products, please reuse for many years!

Subscribe to the Flower Friends pod wherever you get your podcasts, and follow along on Instagram at @flowerfriendspodcast and @growgirlseattle.

Let's continue our convo on signature flowers and seed starting, Flower Friends! In today's episode I take you through my personal brainstorm of my favorite flowers and foliage, and how I used the brainstorm list to narrow down what I'll be growing this year. I call this my "signature ingredients exercise". 

Subscribe to the Flower Friends pod wherever you get your podcasts, and follow along on Instagram at @flowerfriendspodcast and @growgirlseattle. 

This week is all about signature flowers and seed starting! In this two part series, I’ll walk you through an exercise I decided to do before starting seeds this year, and give some updates on where I’m at with seed sowing.

Part I covers what I’m calling my “signature ingredients exercise”, which is a brainstorm and narrowing process to get your seed-sowing list down to your favorite flowers and foliage. In this episode, I describe my general process, but don't give you the specifics from my list. That way if you’d like to use the process, you can safely listen to Part I without having my favorite flowers fresh on your brain or being influenced by any of my opinions.

After you put your pen to paper, you may want to catalogue it in a spreadsheet, which I discuss on the episode. If you'd like to see the spreadsheet template I use, here's the link. 

Then in Part II (which will be released as a separate episode), I’ll walk you through my actual brainstorm, to really illustrate the exercise, give you the specific plant lists many of you have asked me for, and talk about some of my preferences, themes, and realizations in more detail. I'll also discuss my seed-starting set up and sowing plans. 

But as always, my biggest takeaway and advice is to connect with yourself and identify your priorities to make sure whatever you're doing aligns with you. Hope you'll give this exercise a try, and I'll be back soon with Part II!

Subscribe to the Flower Friends pod wherever you get your podcasts, and follow along on Instagram at @flowerfriendspodcast and @growgirlseattle. 

Come along on a walk through my January garden. When the rain let up and I saw some sun shining this morning, I thought it would be the perfect time to take stock of what's where in the garden, what space I have open, what projects I want to work on, and I thought you might like to join. Welcome to my garden!

Subscribe to the Flower Friends pod wherever you get your podcasts, and follow along on Instagram at @flowerfriendspodcast and @growgirlseattle. 

To kick off season 3, I share six mindset practices I've been working on to lay the foundation for the new year and help reduce Instagram stress and comparison: 

1. Set priorities to act with confidence and intention
2. Create a "pat yourself on the back list"
3. Write down projects and ideas that make you excited
4. For the things you don't love doing but need to, brainstorm ways to make them more fun
5. Make a one-page year-at-glance overview
6. Plan some getaways, some time away, time with flower friends, and time with non-flower friends

Fall has been a real time of reflection for me, and I'm hoping to use the things I've been working on for my mindset to fuel a flowery year that is connected to my priorities. Before diving into my boxes of seed packets, or buying any dahlia tubers, I wanted to take a step back and get my priorities straight first, and have everything else flow from there. We as flower growers and florists plan so far in advance that I didn't want to let this year rule me - but rather want to move with intention and confidence on a track that aligns with my personal and professional priorities.

I walk through each of the six steps I took to try to get my mind right for the coming year, and would love to hear from you about what works best for you, and if you try any of these what came up for you. You can reach out by email to [email protected], or message me on Instagram at @flowerfriendspodcast or @growgirlseattle. 

Wishing you a very happy new years, and will be back with more "Sarah Sessions" soon - with best-of lists, recommendations, and more. Thanks for listening!

Yasmine Mei from Yasmine Floral Design stops by the pod for our Season 2 finale, bringing all of her floral magic with her. Yasmine's designs are whimsical, romantic, and edgy, and we talk about the flowers and ingredients she celebrates in her work (including mushrooms!), using nature as inspiration, and a new and fun way she's been exploring the natural world. We also chat about how she maintains her voice and how she has built her business in an intentional way where her creations are thoughtful and individual. Yasmine shares some incredible advice for new designers, and for finding your voice in the floral world. What a treat.

In the intro, I mention how I'm collecting and saving seeds, planting hardy annuals, and reviewing what ingredients I loved using this year to help guide what I grow next year. On the design side, I had the opportunity to freelance last weekend and recap that! Stay til the end for this week's trivia (about mushrooms), and the song of the week, which you can find on our Spotify Flower Friends Song of the Week playlist.

Subscribe to the Flower Friends pod wherever you get your podcasts, and follow along on Instagram at @flowerfriendspodcast and @growgirlseattle.