My guest is Cel Robertson, author and owner of Forever Green Flower Co. an artisan flower farm in North Norfolk, England, growing garden gathered blooms for sale to florists and flower lovers.  Cel’s commitment to sustainability and her steadfast conviction in the power of collective actions to create necessary change make her a persuasive champion of locally grown flowers.  As an educator she manages to twine the beauty of the field to the necessity of spreadsheets, ensuring that growing ventures can become stable businesses.  Her new book with Bloom Magazine is out now, a wonderful guide to growing cut flowers that is packed with Cel’s grace and wisdom. 

Garden People Podcast from @violetear_studio

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Cel Robertson

Forever Green Flower Company

Cel’s book, Cut Flowers

How to go peat free plus alternatives, UK resource list, US resource list

No Dig (Charles Dowding) / No Till Flower Farming (Love n’ Fresh Flowers)

Floret’s how-to on using horticultural fabric for weed suppression

Soil testing: USA lab services, UK RHS services, at home tests

P L A N T L I S T

Astrantia ideas

Fern ideas

Birch tree ideas

Helleborus ideas

Japanese Maple Acer japonica ideas

Rowan tree myth and lore, Rowan and Mountain Ash

Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Dark Desire'

It is a pleasure to welcome Lauren Elizabeth Palmer, Founder and Principal Designer at The Wild Mother Creative Studio.  Lauren, along with her sisters Leah and Callie, are based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where they offer incredible floral design as well as in-person and online education.  Their art is informed by their Afro-indigenous heritage, and reflects their reverence for the natural world, drawing together the threads of the past and present, beauty and activism, to tell the stories of today.  The care they take with their materials imbues their creations with passion and true joy.    

2022 is the second year of the “Send Flowers To” campaign, through which the Wild Mother creates floral art installments to honor, draw attention to, and heal intergenerational community trauma.  This year, the campaign highlights Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, or MMIW, and involves an installation at the First American’s Museum in Oklahoma City from May 7th to May 9th.  Please follow the links in the show notes or at thewildmother.com to learn more and contribute to this important cause.        

Garden People podcast, from @violetear_studio

S H O W N O T E S

Lauren and her sisters - The Wild Mother Creative Studio

The Wild Mother

#SendFlowersTo for Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women (MMIW)

Tulsa Greenwood Massacre - the subject of #SendFlowersTo for 2021

The First Thanksgiving

Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe

Story Pocahantas’ kidnapping

Ride on King Jesus

Edgar Degas

Robin Wall Kimmerer

bell hooks

Yo-Yo Ma

P L A N T L I S T

California Lilac, Ceanothus ssp. - Ceanothus thyrsiflorus ‘Blueblossom’

Sweet grass, Hierochloe odorata, and some of its uses

Coneflower, Echinacea, as medicinal plant

Olive leaf, Nestronia umbellula Raf.

Sweetheart rose, Champagne

Helleborus, Lenten Rose

Tweedia, Oxypetalum coeruleum

Limelight Hydrangea, Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’

PeeGee Hydrangea, H. paniculata

My guest is Clare Foster, the Garden Editor at House & Garden magazine in the UK.  Clare is the author of numerous books, including the gorgeous Winter Gardens with photographer Andrew Montgomery. 

Clare’s writing is such a pleasure to read and she has brought me closer to some of my favorite plants and gardens. Join us to hear about Clare’s career as a garden writer and her development as a gardener, as well as some of the principles at play in her own garden, which is an inspiring example of low(ish) input, high reward design from a gardener who has access to some of the most beautiful spaces and guides in the world.

** The first printing of Winter Gardens sold out quickly and a reprint has been ordered, which Clare and Andrew hope to make available by late summer.  You can find links in the show notes to follow them for ordering information.**

Garden People podcast, from @violetear_studio

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Thames & Hudson

Gardens Illustrated

Rosie Atkins, book edited by Rosie on gardener profiles

House & Garden

Winter Gardens published with photographer Andrew Montgomery

Clare’s Compost book

Beth Chatto

Clare’s book The Flower Garden: How to Grow Flowers from Seed, in collaboration with photographer Sabina Rüber

Helen Dillon

Andrew Montgomery’s Petersham book

Piet Ouldof 

Ouldof’s Designing with Plants book

Dan Pearson

Ngoc Minh Ngo

Arne Maynard

P L A N T L I S T

Tulips

Myosotis perennial Forget-me-not

Lunaria annua - honesty ‘corfu blue’

Ammi majus - ‘False Queen Anne’s Lace’

Cosmos bipinnatus

Cynoglossum Chinese forget-me-not mystery lavender

Agastache aurantiaca, ‘Navajo Sunset’

Stipa gigantea

Calamagrostis x acutiflora 'Karl Foerster' 

Aster umbulatas - flat topped aster

Symphyotrichum turbinellum (smooth violet prairie aster)

Dusty pink Campanula lactiflora from Clare’s garden - Campanula Loddon Anna

Clare’s granny’s shrub Clerodendrum trichotomum

Teucrium fruticans

Phlomis russeliana

Echinacea

Penstemon ‘garnet’

My guest is Amanda Vidmar, floral artist of Amanda Vidmar Designs, and co-owner/designer at Francis & Frances in San Francisco, California. Amanda’s appreciation of place and the unique connection between a flower and its land are a through line in her arrangements, which draw from the stories of her clients and the surrounding environment. To hear her tell the story of her work, each step has, in retrospect, been the right one. As if the road has risen up to meet her, matching her own openness and generosity of spirit.

Garden People podcast, from @violetear_studio

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Amanda Frances Vidmar

Amanda Vidmar Designs

Frances & Francis (co-owned with Mikenzie Francis Salvucci)

UC Santa Cruz

Flowers Claire Marie

Joanna Letz, Bluma Farm

Hannah Brannan, Gather Flora

Kathleen Deery

William Eggleston – Flowers

Bernal Heights neighborhood in San Francisco

Mendocino County, CA

P L A N T L I S T

Clematis Clematis lanuginosa 'Candida'

Lilac Syringa vulgaris

Daphne Daphne

Dahlias

Heuchera Heuchera

Pee Gee Hydrangea - Hydrangea paniculata 'Grandiflora'

Rain Tree - Koelreuteria paniculata

Paper whites - Narcissus papyraceus

Koko Loco Rose - floribunda

Queen Elizabeth Rose - floribunda

Double Delight Rose - hybrid tea

Rose geranium Pelargonium graveolens

My guest is Alison Jenkins of Damson Farm in Somerset, England.  Alison trained as a garden designer before making her small holding of Damson Farm into a resource for learning about the interrelationship of gardens and the natural world. The workshops that she offers at the farm focus on observing and supporting natural ecosystems, creating gardens which function ecologically and look beautiful, too. The garden is often a place of solace in difficult times. I think Alison’s work shows us the comfort that can be found working with nature, as well as a way forward in our efforts to bring peace and healing to the earth.

Garden People podcast, from @violetear_studio

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Alison Jenkins, Damson Farm

Royal Horticultural Society

The English Gardening School at the Chelsea Physic Garden

Gardens Illustrated profile of Damson Farm

WWOOF International

Fergus Garrett, Great Dixter House & Garden

Robert McFarlane (some of my favorites are The Lost Words and Underland)

Braiding Sweetgrass – Robin Wall Kimmerer

Permaculture

Oxford Real Farming Conference

Amelanchier essay by Robin Wald Kimmerer: The Serviceberry, An Economy of Abundance

Heritage Seed Library

P L A N T L I S T

Lemon cucumbers or cucumber melons?

Amalanchier

Damson

Dog Rose, Rosa canina

Wild Plum, Prunus Americana

Crab Apples Malus

Currants (black currant, Ribes nigrum; red currant, Ribes rubrum)

Worcesterberry Ribes divaricatum

Edible honey suckle Lonicera caerulea

Perennial Sorrel Rumex acetosa

Alpine strawberries Fragaria vesca

Purple orach/atriplex

My guest this week is Joanna Game, a grower and floral artist based in Devon, England. Joanna’s arrangements have a sort of cultivated wildness, reflecting both her garden and her forages from the surrounding countryside. She discusses her development as an artist, her next steps after pulling back from wedding design, and how she blurs the boundary between nature and maker.

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** Tips on responsible foraging**

New Covent Garden

Sarah Raven

Black Shed Flower Farm

Amelia’s Flower Farm

Rakes Progress magazine

Dan Pearson, Dan Pearson Studio

Great Dixter House & Gardens

Sissinghurst Castle Garden

Nicolette Camille

Sarah Ryhanen – Saipua, World’s End Farm

Sarah Winward

Fiona Pickles

Brigitte Girling, Moss and Stone

Bex Partridge, Botanical Tales

 P L A N T L I S T

Yellow rattle, Rhinanthus minor

Meadow buttercup, Ranunculus acris

Camassia, Camassia quamash

Campion Lychnis coronaria

Cow Parsley Anthriscus sylvestris

Viburnum opulus

Spindle berry, Euonymus europaeus

This week I welcome Tiffany Jones of Blomma Flower Farm (@blommaflowerfarm) to the show. Tiffany is a grower in San Clemente, California and is building new farm in Nevada where she’ll be focusing on her passion, Zinnia breeding and seed development. We talk about her journey to flower farming, zinnia breeding, and her new book. A self-described plant nerd, Tiffany has poured her enviable energy and enthusiasm into researching and writing this publication, and I know you’ll join me in saying that I can’t wait for the finished product.

Garden People podcast, from @violetear_studio

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Tiffany Jones, Blomma Flower Farm

Danielle, Rose Flower Farm

Erin Benzakein, Floret Flower Farm

Keyhole gardens

Rogers Gardens

Lasagna method

Biochar amendments

The problem with miracle grow

USDA zones

Garden.com

P L A N T L I S T

Gladiolus (Gladiolus hybridus)

Martha Washington Geranium (scented geranium) (Pelargonium x domesticum)

Ranunculus

Butterfly ranunculus

Anemones

Foxgloves, here

Snapdragons (Antirrhinum majus), Chantilly variety

Key lime (Citrus × aurantiifolia)

Blood orange (Citrus × sinensis 'Blood orange')

Tangelo (Citrus × tangelo)

Passion fruit (Passiflora edulis)

Zinnias (Zinnia elegans) here, here, here

Chrysanthemums (Chrysanthemum x grandiflorum)

We welcome Emily Avenson of Fleuropean to the show!  Originally from California, Emily grew into her role as a floral artist and instructor after her move to Belgium, where she lives and works today.  Her arrangements are always exciting, with movement and use of color.  She grows all the flowers used in her on-site classes and online workshop, and the delight she takes in the growing process is visible in each stem. Enjoy! 

Garden People podcast, from @violetear_studio

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Emily’s Flueropean insta

Fleuropean

Celebrating the Seasons Class

Susanne Hatwood, The Blue Carrot

Sarah Ryhanen, Saipua

Studio Choo  (Garden People’s favorite books: The Flower Recipe Book and Branches and Blooms)

Kings Mums

Chrysanthemums Direct

Dan Pearson: Studio, Create Academy Class (Garden People’s favorite books: Home Ground and Natural Selection)

Madison Hartley, Hart Floral Design

Kristen Albrecht, Santa Cruz Dahlias (Kristen’s Dahlia breeding book)

David Austin Roses

P L A N T  L I S T

Sweet peas Lathyrus odoratus (see here, here, here)

Cosmos Cosmos bipinnatus (see here)

Nigella Nigella damascena (see here and here)

Café au lait dahlia (see here and here)

Bearded iris Iris germanica (see everything at Schreiners Iris)

Ranunculus Ranunculus asiaticus (see, e.g., Cafe here and Black here)

Scabiosa Scabiosa japonica, S. caucasica, S. columbaria (see here and here)

Zinnias Zinnia elegans (see here, here, and Blomma Farm for breeding)

Dahlias (see here and here)

Petunias Petunia × atkinsiana Surfinia Group (here, here)

Beech tree Fagus grandifolia

Bracken fern Pteridium aquilinum

Soloman’s seal Polygonatum odoratum (here)

Asters perennial Symphyotrichum novae-angliae (here) and annual Chinese Aster Callistephus chinensis (here)

Chrysanthemums Chrysanthemum spp. (here)

Snowdrops Galanthus nivalis, G. elwesii, G. woronii (here)

Helebores Helleborus orientalis, H. niger (here)

Tulips Tulipa gesneriana (here)

Fritillaries see Fritillaria meleagris, F. persica, F. thunbergii, F. imperialis (here, here)

Daffodils Narcissus (here, here)

Heuchera H. americana, H. sanguinela and x Heuchera (here)

Jowey Joshua Dahlia (here and here)

Akita Dahlia (here)

Pompon Dahlia (here)

Icelandic poppies Papaver nudicaule (here)

Lilies Lilium (here, here)

Oaxacan Green corn (seeds here)

Golden raspberries (find here)

White currants (find here)

Hybrid Tea Roses: created by cross-breeding hybrid perpetuals with tea roses, they are considered the oldest “modern” garden rose (see examples here and here)

Pansies (here and here)

This week we welcome Philippa Stewart, of Justdahlias, located in Cheshire, England.  Philippa’s passion for Dahlias is infectious.  She is an enthusiast first and foremost and turned her personal Dahlia obsession into a thriving business where she provides incredible blooms, both cut and dried, to florists and Dahlia lovers in the UK. Her commitment to supporting the natural ecosystems around her flowers is especially inspiring, producing gorgeous blooms in a way that is best for the bees and butterflies, too. Get ready for a dahlia masterclass.

L I S T E N

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@justdahlias

Justdahlias

Flowers from the Farm

Strawberry Hill House Flower Festival

Liquid seaweed (example here)

Epsom salts (example here)

Rosemary, peppermint, marigold essential oil mix (examples products)

Cheshire Wildlife Trust

No dig - a method of soil cultivation designed for minimal disturbance of the soil. See, e.g., Charles Dowding and No-till Flowers

Kristine Albrecht, @santacruzdalias - Book: Dahlia Breeding for the Farmer-Florist and the Home Gardener

Erin Benzakein, @floretflowers - Book: Floret Farms Discovering Dahlias: A Guide to Growing and Arranging Magnificent Blooms

The National Dahlia Society (and the US version: The American Dahlia Society!)

Andrew Vernon Book: Plant Lover’s Guide to Dahlias

Richard, Withypitts Dahlias

David Hall, Halls of Heddon

Dragons Den

Gardener’s World - episodes

P L A N T L I S T

Dinnerplate Dahlias - a term describing any variety that produces large flowers measuring at least 8” across. See, e.g., Café au Lait and Belle of Barmera

Jean Fairs and Pink Gene Fairs

Small cactus varieties

Small mini pompoms

Collarette dahlias: Apple blossom, April Heather, Sunshine Girl

Mini-pompon: Gertla Twilight and Small world

Cornell Bronze

Coral Strand

Stevie D (similar: Peaches n Cream)

Waterlily type, e.g., Gerrie Hoek

Anemone type, e.g., Platinum Blonde

Verone’s obsidian

Josudi Mercury, Andromeda, and Hercules

Barbarry D’amour, Drum, Pip, Vulcun (also: Jester, Sultan)

Ryecroft series

Rossendale series (Luke, Peach, Natasha, Flamenco)

Today we welcome Hannah Brannan of Gather Flora in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Guided by the Slow Flower movement, Hannah created the Gather Flora web platform to connect local florists with regional growers. The site streamlines hundreds of orders between consumers and farmers, allowing for clear visibility into the seasonality, origins, and cultivations of each bloom. Her passion for flowers is the driving force behind the site, and her appreciation of the demands placed on farmers and florists is evident in everything Gather Flora does. Please contact them if you are interested in learning more about this kind of coordination in your region. I can’t wait to see how it grows!

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@gatherflora

@gardenpeoplepodcast

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@gatherflora

Gatherflora.com

The Flower & the B (now closed) (insta)

Wildflower and Fern (insta)

Sarah Reyes (owner, Wildflower and Fern and Unfurled)

North Bay Flower Collective

San Francisco Flower Mart, manager Jeanne Bose, (read about the SFFM’s relocation)

Kelly Brown, Do Right Flower Farm (the Gather Flora Hub in Santa Cruz, CA)

Susan Kegley, Bees N Blooms Susan Kegley (the Gather Flora Hub in Petaluma, CA)

Seth Gowans, Side Kick Flowers

Sharla Flock, Sharla Flock Designs

Serenity Flower Farm

Heidi Herrmann, Strong Arm Farm

Erin Benzakein, Floret Flowers

Debra Prinzing, Slow Flower Society

Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers (ASCFG)

Code.org

Hack Reactor

Slow Food Movement

Bluma Farm

Pilar Zuniga, Gorgeous and Green

Studio Mondine

Annies Annuals & Perennials

Uprising Seeds (white cloud larkspur)

Eleanor, Borrowed Garden

Feral Flora Farm

Pucks Garden (insta)

Gaby Lee, Lunaria Flower Farm

Front Porch Farm (insta)

CSA (Community Supported Agriculture)

P L A N T L I S T

Lucospermum (Leucospermum spp.)

Button chrysanthemums (Chrysanthemum morifolium)

Coral Amaranth (Amaranthus caudatus)

Caper Flower (Capparis spinosa)

Echium (Echium candicans)

Seaside Buckwheat (Eriogonum latifolium)

California Bush Anenome (Carpenteria californica)

California Lilacs (Ceanothus thyrsiflorus)

Lime Tree (Citrus aurantiifolia)

Bell Tree Dahlia (Dahlia imperialis)

Lunaria, honesty (Lunaria annua)

White Cloud Larkspur (Consolida regalis)

African Foxglove (Ceratotheca triloba)

Mallows (Malva ssp.)

Coreopsis (Coreopsis tinctoria)

Thistle (Cirsium ssp.)

Begonia (Begonia ssp.)

Chrysanthemums (Chrysanthemum ssp.)

Amaranth (Amaranthus ssp.)

Marigolds (Tagetes ssp.)

Statice (Limonium sinuatum)

Poppy pods (Papaver orientale)

Orach (Atriplex hortensis)

Larkspur (Delphinium consolida)

Craspedia, Billy balls (Craspedia globosa)

Xeranthemum (Xeranthemum annuum)

Bittersweet (Celastrus scandens)

Elaeagnus (Elaeagnus pungens)

Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus ssp.)

Olive tree (Olea europaea)

Lobelia (Lobelia cardinalis)

Art: @altavistastudio