Lorene Edwards Forkner (c) Missy Palacol Photography

Oh my gosh, Slow Flowers Podcast listeners, you are in for a wonderful treat today because my guest is one of my lifelong friends and dearest sister in all sorts of horticultural, floral and artistic adventures in this world. It is my deepest privilege to introduce you to artist and designer, writer, editor and educator Lorene Edwards Forkner.

Lorene is a columnist for the Seattle Times weekly gardening column called GROW, along with her colleague Colin McCrate of Seattle Urban Farm Co. She is author of five garden books, including The Timber Press Guide to Vegetable Gardening: Pacific Northwest, and Handmade Garden Projects, bestselling titles from Timber Press.

October 21, 2007. Lotusland. Lorene and Debra together in the garden.

Lorene owned a popular and beloved boutique specialty nursery in Seattle for more than a decade, called Fremont Gardens; she has served on the boards of a number of horticultural organizations, has edited a horticulture journal and is the designer of two gold medal display gardens at the Northwest Flower and Garden Festival.

A polychromatic series: Seeing Color in the Garden @gardenercook

Most recently, Lorene's creative life can be found on Instagram, where @gardenercook she is in the 2nd year creating and sharing a series called "Seeing Color in the Garden."

She started this project on April 3, 2018 as part of #the100dayproject as #100DaysofSeeingColorintheGarden. She continued her series through the subsequent months and this past April 2019, kicked off #Another100 DaysofSeeingColorintheGarden, which concludes today, July 10th.

So our timing is perfect to sit down with Lorene and learn more about this visually engaging, spiritually uplifting creative project. I'm so happy that you are joining my chat with this highly intuitive observer of color in nature, in plants, in flowers and even in the kind of organic objects you might pick up on a walk and drop in your pocket.

When she kicked off #100 days of seeing color in the garden,

Lorene wrote this:

"And so it begins. #the100dayproject is here and so am I—well, sort of. These days life is charged with loss and grief on many levels. But if I’m honest with myself (& desperately trying to keep on keeping on) I have to acknowledge that without great love and joy there would be nothing to lose, nothing to grieve. So however hard, this pain is a gift. "#100daysofseeingcolorinthegarden will be my #dailypractice starting today. My hope is that this daily interval focused on seeing my beloved garden will provide refuge and a way forward. They say that time heals. I’m curious to watch that unfold. How cool would it be (WILL it be) to witness the process playing out in real time. A powerful anchor for future losses.

"So for 100 days I will be making time to see and interpret color in my garden. It’s basically permission to pause and play.

She continues, ". . . this idea had to be something simple, intuitive, and soothing. I like to say color is my native tongue, and I'd pretty much lost all other words.

"It's now nearly 150 days later and while I'm not still counting, I am still painting. SeeingColorInTheGarden has become a daily practice, permission to step away from work, house, garden—even play. When I sit down at my table with my oh-so-humble watercolors, a brush, and blank sheets of watercolor paper the world goes calm.

"Occasionally I get asked “HOW.” I don't know how else to describe it but seeing with all 5 senses... things go quiet, time stops, and everything is focused on the blossom, twig, rock, or the occasional snail. My paints are nothing special, but they’re familiar to me and I feel comfortable with the visual vocabulary I’ve developed with them. For all that this project has played out in public on Instagram, it still feels strange to write about something so intimate and deeply personal. Except that,

American Flowers Week 2019 is coming to a close after we enjoy the fireworks and sparklers of July 4th Independence Day celebrations. I hope you and your flowers were part of the festivities!

Laura Mewbourn (left) and Toni Reale (right), photographed when I visited her shop last summer.

My two guests today have played an important part of this year's American Flowers Week campaign as co-creators of one of our nine Botanical Couture looks. Please meet Laura Mewbourn of Feast & Flora Farm, based in Meggett, S.C., and Toni Reale of Roadside Blooms, based in North Charleston, S.C., who teamed up to design an incredible and deeply meaningful floral fashion look that represents coastal South Carolina's unique heritage and cultural roots.

The women collaborated with their friend Giovanni Richardson, an oral historian representing the region's Gullah Geechee community of South Carolinians who descended from West African and Central African enslaved people. Giovanni served as cultural and historic advisor to the project, which incorporated locally-grown flowers into the colorful  wardrobe of a Gullah Geechee woman.

Production day at the Seashore Farmers’ Lodge No. 767; Toni Reale (left) attaches a vibrant palette of Lowcountry S.C.-grown blooms, including those from Feast & Flora Farm (right). (c) @philipcaseyphoto

Click here to see more photos of this project, featuring flowers grown at Laura's farm and an historic setting where independent black farmers erected a fraternal common house in 1915, as well as the marshland of coastal Charleston.

I could go on and on about how

inspiring I found their dress, styling and setting, but you'll want to meet

Laura and Toni right now. Let me give you a little background on their stories:

Attaching blooms, one at a time (left) and the dream team (right); (c) @philipcaseyphoto

Laura Mewbourn grew up surrounded by gardens and flowers and had her first garden plot when she was still very young. Just a couple generations ago, farming was a way of life for Laura's family, but when it was time to decide on her college major, she landed on English Literature and Language. Life had other ideas for Laura, though. In 2015, she completed the Growing New Farmers program through Lowcountry Local First. She apprenticed on a vegetable farm and landed a full-time job at a hydroponic farm.

I had a wonderful visit to Charleston, S.C., last summer to speak at the Southern Flowers Symposium, where Laura Mewbourn and I finally met in person.

She continues in her own voice: "I absolutely loved it and knew I really wanted to start my own farm. In the meantime, I pruned tomatoes, welcomed a new baby into my family, and took coursework in floral design.

In 2017, I was fortunate enough to purchase a home on acreage just outside of Charleston, SC, and before I knew it, my dreams of flower farming and growing vegetables were off and running with the launch of Feast & Flora, supplying friends, family, and the Charleston community."

Find and follow Laura at these social places:

Feast & Flora on Facebook

Feast & Flora on Instagram

Toni Reale was a featured floral designer at Southern Flower Symposium in 2018. You can see her hand-tied bouquet at left.

Toni Reale founded Roadside Blooms with a story to tell and a mission to share, believing that beauty and sustainability don’t just co-exist, they work in concert. With over 8 years of experience in the event-planning and floral-design industries, Toni’s many adventures have led her to this chapter (ask her about the time she converted a 1971 British ice cream truck into a mobile flower shop; or about her Environmental Geology background).

A leader of Charleston’s “green and local” movement, Toni has

served on various nonprofit boards, including the Charleston Green Fair, and

has been recognized as one of Charlie magazine’s "50 Most

Progressive" in Charleston in 2014.

She says this: "At Roadside Blooms,

If you're a regular listener to this Podcast, you know that we're gearing up for a very exciting series of activities this week and next, all centered around American Flowers Week, June 28-July 4.

All across the US, our members are planning floral education and promotion activities on their farms and communities, in local shops and studios, in grocery store floral departments and wholesale florist branches. Each event stimulates and nurtures the conversation about local, seasonal and domestic flowers, floral agriculture and sustainable design. If you have something planned, please post it on the Events Page at American Flowers Week web site. We all want to know what you're planning!

There was a fab installation and American Flowers Week party in Seattle today! (c) Missy Palacol Photography

In my own corner of the country, here in Seattle, the Slow Flowers Community threw a fun party and celebration a little early on Wednesday, June 26th, which is the peak market day of the week at the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market, the farmer-to-florist regional wholesale hub that has so greatly influenced me and my Slow Flowers mission.

Some of the Slow Flowers members and friends who helped create our floral installation (c) Missy Palacol Photography

We're throwing a red-white-and-blue floral party to celebrate local flowers - complete with a large-scale floral installation, music, refreshments and a few surprises. A special thank you to the Washington State Farm Bureau for providing underwriting for the event.

The timing couldn't be better to welcome today's guest, Laura Ridenour of the Washington State Department of Agriculture. She works for the Small-Farm Direct Marketing and Farm-to-School Program as part of WSDA's Regional Markets division. Laura and her colleagues, along with their collaborators at the Washington State Farm Bureau, are aligning with American Flowers Week to announce the brand new Washington Flowers Project.

One of many wonderful video clips produced to promote Washington Flowers

This project aims to raise the profile and advance the marketing of Washington-grown cut flowers and is a collaborative effort of WSDA's Regional Markets team and the Washington State Farm Bureau. The project is funded by a USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant and runs 2017-through 2019. Slow Flowers has joined the project as a supporter and stakeholder. 

Follow the Washington Flowers Project @washington.flowers.project

There is a beautiful new logo

that growers and retailers are invited to use on sleeves and other packaging --

depicting Washington state's outline with graphic flowers and lettering that

reads Washington Flowers. 

The campaign also has its own social media presence on Facebook and Instagram and there are a couple fun hashtags you'll want to use or follow -- #washingtonflowers, #WAflowers and #localflowersmakelifebetter.

https://vimeo.com/343107702

It was so fun to be part of this Washington Flowers promo video, along with our Slow Flowers friends Diane Szukovathy of Jello Mold Farm & Seattle Wholesale Growers Market and Teresa Engbretson and Katie Elliott of My Garden Overfloweth.

There is a lot to learn from this state-specific project, which Laura and I will discuss today. She and I both strongly believe that the format and elements of the Washington Flowers Project can be adapted and replicated by any of you in any of your states -- and we encourage you to download the resources I'll share to set up a meeting with your own department of agriculture or farm bureau to explore and seek funding for a similar campaign.

WA CUT FLOWERS INDUSTRY REPORT 2018Download

Charlie's Produce Washington Flowers Project

One exciting component of the Washington Flowers Project is a Grocery Pilot program aiming to connect flower growers to new markets and sell more locally-grown cut flowers and foliage at Northwest Independent Grocers stores via Charlie's Produce,

Today's guests: Mary Kate Kinnane of The Local Bouquet (the brunette) and Kelly Shore of Petals by the Shore (the blonde)

While I'm 100% focused on putting the finishing touches on the upcoming Slow Flowers Summit -- which arrives in less than two weeks -- today's guests are similarly obsessed with an unique event they're planning for this coming September. It's a floral destination workshop unlike any I've come across and Slow Flowers has signed on as a media sponsor and I will be joining this workshop as a presenter. 

Mary Kate and Kelly co-presented at the 2018 Slow Flowers Summit, sharing their experiences sourcing from domestic flower farms.

My guests are Kelly Shore of Petals by the Shore, based in Damascus, Maryland, and Mary Kate Kinnane of The Local Bouquet, located in Little Compton, Rhode Island. They are both long-time Slow Flowers members and past guests of this podcast. You can check out their prior appearances on our podcast here:

Hear Kelly on Episode 308 (August 2017)

Hear Mary Kate on Episode 268 (October 2016)

Kelly and Mary Kate have been dreaming up their new project, called The Floral Field Trip, for more than a year -- and they have been laying the groundwork for this workshop-tour series by researching and visiting flower farms across the U.S. 

The Floral Field Trip was born from an idea of connecting America’s flower farmers with professional floral designers. As designers there is a rich opportunity to highlight each region’s most beautiful flowers and foliages year round. Seasonality happens throughout the country, 365 days, 12 months a year.  This means, if you look close enough, there is always something blooming! But without the knowledge of each region’s growing pattern, a designer is left to source what grows seasonally in their own region while admiring different parts of the United States from afar! With the tagline: A U.S. Floral Buying Experience, the Floral Field Trip is designed to meet the needs of professional florists to introduce them to specific flower farms, crops, varieties, regions and technical information like care and handling. Kelly and Mary Kate believe that the knowledge is power -- and to truly walk the talk of being a Slow Flowers-minded creative, you must educate yourself about the premium flowers, foliage and botanical products with which you design.

The Floral Field Trip: Destination Vermont

This year's inaugural trip takes place at Vermont's Mountain Flower Farm and the product focus is the Hydrangea. The dates are September 22-24, 2019. 

Mountain Flower Farm, with picturesque scenery and beautiful hydrangeas

Here is a little more about each guest:

Kelly Shore says this: My entire life I’ve gravitated towards anything creative.  It gives me joy to be able to take something that never existed and bring it to reality.  In 2000 my floral journey began in a small campus flower shop at the University of Illinois.  What began as a curiosity to know more about floral design quickly became a passion that I didn't know would become my future.  I went on to receive my Bachelor of Arts in Advertising and from there a Masters in Elementary Education.  In between studying for those degrees I designed small weddings for close friends and family. I loved being asked to do this and could never say no.  After several years, I couldn’t hold back my passion for floral design and Petals by the Shore was born in 2011.

I’m so proud that after 8 years in business I’ve developed many amazing relationships throughout the Washington, DC area and across the country.  Not only with my clients but with venues, caterers, planners, and photographers.  My clients know that I listen to their needs and work tirelessly to create unique one-of-a-kind experiences. I’m a stickler for details and the use of high quality American Grown flowers & foliage.  Petals by the Shore has been featured in national and local magazines and blogs such as Martha Stewart Wedd...

Welcome to the Slow Flowers Podcast!

Tobey Nelson teaches foam free centerpieces at Whidbey Flower Workshop image by Suzanne Rothmeyer Photography

This is an important week in the floral world and we want to draw your attention to two very cool projects happening in London and New York City.

First of all, British Flowers Week is happening right now -- It runs June 10-16 -- and we're cheering on this original flowers week celebration from across the Atlantic. As you may have learned from past episodes, the inspiration for American Flowers Week, launched in 2015, came directly from our friends at New Covent Garden Flower Market in London who launched British Flowers Week in 2013.

Check out galleries of U.K.-grown flowers and installations in real time by following the social media feeds of @marketflowers and the Garden Museum in London @gardenmuseum, which for the second year will open its doors to some spectacular installations that the public can see and enjoy.

The mission of British Flowers Week is concise and clear: Showcase great British flowers, plants and foliage through great British floristry; Raise awareness of which British flowers are in season when; Encourage the public to buy more British flowers. Here's to British flowers!

Second, in New York City, the new L.E.A.F. Flower Show debuts. L.E.A.F brings a riot of color across the city with #NYFlowerWeek – a series of pop-up floral installations in which Manhattan will – quite literally – blossom on Tuesday, June 11th and Wednesday, June 12th. We will have more information on this project in the future, but for now, I congratulate New York for bringing more flowers to the forefront of the city landscape! We're especially cheering for Slow Flowers member Sylvia Lukach of Harlem, NY-based Cape Lily, for her installation at the Plaza de Las Americas as part of New York Flower Week (above right) -- follow her feed @capelily to see more.

For the fourth year, we've produced the American Flowers Week bouquet label. Get in on this program and order labels for your bouquets and other promotions. Labels are available at an affordable price to active Slow Flowers members. We'll be fulfilling your orders until June 21st to don't put it off! Details are available in today's show notes, as well.

Tobey Nelson (c) Suzanne Rothmeyer

Now, on to our guest of the day: Tobey Nelson. Tobey Nelson is a return guest, and you may recall our past interviews, first when I visited her and others in the Whidbey Island local flowers scene in December 2015 (episode 223) and later in February 2018 (Episode 338) when we discussed details about the second Whidbey Flower Workshop.

It has been a privilege to collaborate with Tobey Nelson on a number of projects, including joining the Whidbey Flower Workshop as both an instructor and speaker; and to interview Tobey for articles in both Florists' Review and Country Gardens. Tobey has helped to nurture my relationship with one of her mentors, Hitomi Gilliam, and we've teamed up on a number of Slow Flowers projects over the years.

When we had a last-minute opening for a Slow Flowers Summit speaker, Tobey came to mind immediately. I asked and she agreed, which is wonderful news! Tobey will co-present with Carly Jenkins of Killing Frost Farm during our morning session that follows Terri McEnaney's keynote talk.

Whidbey Flower Workshop 2018 installations in a session led by Joseph Massie

Tobey and Carly's expertise will blend beautifully as the two women take the stage to discuss sustainable sourcing and installation design. You'll learn from Carly about how she forages ethically and with an artistic approach that communicates a personal design vocabulary to truly reflect season and place. And Tobey will discuss her commitment to no-foam installation and event design, including methods you can immediately implement in your own practice. Their presentation will continue into the noon hour and our lu...

Well, it's the first episode of June and that means we're kicking it off with this week's unveiling of the American Flowers Week Botanical Couture Collection, which you can see in the pages of Florists' Review's June issue! I'm so excited to share this beautiful body of work -- nine floral fashion looks -- which have been created by talented members around the U.S.

Our participation is at the highest ever, with designer-flower farmer teams from Alaska, California, Florida, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Oregon, South Carolina and Washington. Click here to find links to free, downloadable social media badges of all the botanical couture looks for your promotion as you celebrate American Flowers Week, coming up on June 28-through-July 4.

And . . . this might be of interest, for the fourth year, we've produced the American Flowers Week bouquet label. Get in on this program and order labels for your bouquets and other promotions. Labels are available at an affordable price to active Slow Flowers members. We'll be fulfilling your orders until June 21st to don't put it off! Find more details here.

Stacey Denton of Floral Farm & Design Studio. This photo is part of the Southern Oregon Flower Farmer series (c) Ann Nguyen of idyllwildstudio.com

Speaking of American Flowers Week, today's guest has something brilliant planned for her corner of the country -- and you'll learn all about in our conversation. I'm excited to welcome Stacey Denton of Flora Farm and Design Studio in Williams, Oregon.

Stacey harvested locally-grown manzanita foliage for this beautiful arrangement (c) Ann Nguyen of idyllwildstudio.com

Stacey

is, and always has been, a generalist.  That’s why her job title "Farmer-Florist"

is hyphenated.  She would be bored if she wasn’t always trying new things

(combining unique colors, implementing new floral design techniques,

incorporating unusual design elements, using uncommon foliage in arrangements)

and doing multiple tasks (growing the ‘Double Click’ cosmos for both blooms and

seed, harvesting amaranth flowers from the compost pile, and undersowing the

September flower beds with cover crop seed) at the same time.  

Stacey's unique floral design elements range from orchard fruit to feathers, live oak foliage and acorns (c) lilysandhorns.com

Stacey has spent her adult life committed to organic agriculture, first as a home gardener, then as a farm apprentice, farm worker, small CSA farm manager, and currently as a seed grower, flower farmer, and floral designer.  This breadth of experience has led her recently to advise on current and future flower seed offerings at Siskiyou Seeds.

A lovely fern-festooned wedding by Stacey Denton of Flora Farm & Design Studio (c) gypsyjanephotography.com

Stacey likes to be busy, and likes to feel like her life

is purposeful.  She is inspired by beauty, committed to good follow

through and clear communication.  She is motivated by meaningful work and

an opportunity to dance.  Stacey loves supporting Southern Oregon

weddings. When she’s not in the field, making arrangements or on the dance

floor, Stacey is spinning wool and experimenting with natural dyes.

An image of Stacey Denton on her farm, part of the Southern Oregon Flower Farmer Series (c) Ann Nguyen of idyllwildstudio.com

At Flora, Stacey's purpose and passion is growing exceptional quality cut flowers and flower seeds. She selects highly desirable cultivars that are prized by brides and wedding designers; she harvests cut flowers at their peak beauty and is always on the look-out for unusual and new varieties. Stacey especially enjoys the shared creative process of growing a particular flower crop with our clients in mind. Flora Farm is certified organic and managed with biodynamic practices.

Find and follow Flora Farm at these social places:

Flora Farm on Facebook

Flora Farm on Instagram

Read Stacey's advice on Floral Crop Planning and Succession Planting in our a...

My guest is Shane Connolly, plantsman, sustainable designer, author, educator, environmental advocate

Last week, I enjoyed a five-day whirlwind trip to London; my itinerary was filled with all things flowers and gardens. It was an incredible trip, made all the more enjoyable thanks to unseasonably beautiful and dry London weather that made everything sparkle.

The people behind the Facebook Garden (which won a Gold Medal at RHS Chelsea Flower Show) asked me to share my favorite gardening tip at "The Message Tree"

I'll be covering the RHS Chelsea Flower Show with a Best of Chelsea report for Florists' Review's August issue - out later this summer. In the meantime, I have a very special episode to share with you today.

My guest is Shane Connolly of  Shane Connolly & Co., whose web site carries this royal warrant of appointment: "By Appointment to HRH The Prince of Wales, Supplier of Flowers for Events." If you track royal weddings at all, you will know that Mr. Connolly designed the florals for the marriage ceremony of Will and Kate, that is Their Royal Highnesses, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

In 2005, he was honored and delighted to be asked by HRH The Duchess of Cornwall to design her bouquet and all the other flowers for her marriage to HRH Prince of Wales and the service of dedication in Windsor Castle. In recognition of this, Shane was awarded a Royal Warrant of Appointment to HRH The Prince of Wales in 2006.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding, trees courtesy of Connolly (c) Financial Times

In 2011 Shane was appointed Artistic Director for the wedding of TRH’s The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and was awarded a second Royal Warrant of Appointment, to HM The Queen in 2015. HRH The Prince of Wales has long been a campaigner for the environment and has recognized the dangers of intensive farming, imported and GM food very publicly. Both he and his eldest son, HRH The Duke of Cambridge, are crusaders for environmental wellness, which provided Shane the tremendous distinction to design the florals for both of their marriage ceremonies in a naturally stunning, eco-conscious manner.

Shane and I posed for a portrait at his studio (left); just-arrived, gorgeous stems from Usk Roses in Wales, held by Lily Matilda, a freelancer for Shane Connolly & Co.

There is something very flattering when you arrange to meet someone for tea and he shows up holding a copy of your book, The 50 Mile Bouquet, asking you to autograph it. There is something entirely surreal when that person is Shane Connolly. What a lovely surprise. It turns out that Shane acquired The 50 Mile Bouquet several years ago when he was teaching at Flower School New York, where they keep a small selection of books in the school shop. I think that's perhaps how Shane learned of my passion for local and seasonal flowers -- and we became Instagram aquaintances.

A fanciful Shane Connolly headpiece, truly seasonal and inspired!

I sent him a message several months ago, asking if he would be willing to record an interview for the Slow Flowers Podcast while I was in London. What a thrilling treat that Shane said "yes."

As it turns out, in order to have a quiet space for the recording, we walked from his North Kensington studio just a few blocks away to Shane's home that he and his wife Candy have recently established in the neighborhood. Pinch me - I was seated on the linen sofa, surrounded by antiques, textiles, books, art, and flowers - interviewing this warm, kind, funny and intelligent floral artist.

A botanical table design by Shane Connolly + Co. (c) Thomas Alexander Photography

Shane is a true pioneer and he is a vocal leader in sustainable floral design in all of its facets -- a kindred Slow Flowers spirit who asks about the origin of the flowers he sources and is working to change the floral industry's conventional, less-than-sustainable practices by example.

Marty Wingate, on location, at a favorite garden spot in the U.K.

If you're listening on this episode's release day -- May 22nd -- I'm coming to you from London, where I have traveled to attend the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and report for Florists' Review and its sister publication. This incredible trip would never have happened without a surprise birthday gift from my husband Bruce Brooks, who completely floored me with a dream experience.

So of course, I wanted to season today's episode with all things British. Our guest is my dear friend Marty Wingate and I'm so excited to introduce you to her as she shares her journey -- from successful garden writer to even more successful mystery writer. All of Marty's titles are traditional mysteries that take place against her favorite British gardens, landscapes, estates and historic manor houses as backdrops. Her mystery-solving female protagonists are curious, clever and courageous, even when they get themselves into tricky situations that require their amateur sleuthing skills.

Marty Wingate, mystery writer, gardening expert, and lover of all things British.

Here's more about Marty -- excerpted from a 2017 profile I wrote about her for the Garden Writers Association's membership publication.

Armed with a

Master's in Urban Horticulture from the University of Washington, not to

mention being a bonafide King County (Washington) Master Gardener and a Seattle

gardening personality who for years wrote a weekly newspaper column and

appeared on the local NPR radio station, Marty Wingate knows how to diagnose

dead plants.

Three book series! So fun -- you must read them!

And now, after

penning more than 10 murder mysteries and being named a USA Today Bestselling Author, you could say Marty also solves

mysteries about dead characters.

The threads

connecting these different chapters of her life tie together Marty's skill for

storytelling, her Anglophile tendencies and a love for all things botanical.

She leads garden tours to England, Scotland and Ireland and she is a member of

the U.K.-based Royal Horticultural Society. In addition to being a longtime

member of Garden Writers (now called GardenComm), she is a member of Mystery

Writers of America, Sisters in Crime and the Crime Writers Association, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the Royal

Horticultural Society.

In 2014,

Alibi, a Random House imprint, published The

Garden Plot, Marty's first book in "The Potting Shed" series. The

books feature Pru Parke, a middle-aged American gardener transplanted from

Texas to England. Murder has a way of finding Pru, wherever she gardens. The seventh

title in this series, Midsummer Mayem,

was just released November 2018.

It all began with "The Garden Plot," and here's a photo of Marty at her book launch party in Seattle.

After her

stories about Pru were well underway, Marty's editor suggested she dream up a

new protagonist to engage the birding crowd. Julia Lanchester, a bird lover who

runs a tourist office in a Suffolk village, was born, part of the "Birds

of a Feather" series, with the fourth in the series Farewell, My Cuckoo, also published in 2018. Marty's books are

available on tablets and smart readers, with fans having downloaded more than

120,000 books in just four years.

Marty’s

newest series—The First Edition Library (Berkley)—presents Hayley Burke, the

curator of a collection of books from the Golden Age of Mystery. The Bodies in the Library,

book one, will be released October 1, 2019

How did this

popular garden writer, who has authored five garden titles and whose byline

continues to appear in Country Gardens,

American Gardener and other

publications, become a successful mystery writer? So many self-employed garden

communicators are interested in diversifying their careers into

"crossover" platforms such as culinary, travel, health and wellness

or floral (that would be me). And yet, why not fiction?

Baylor Chapman of Lila B. Design (c) Paige Green

Today’s guest is a long-time friend of mine and of the Slow Flowers Movement. I told this story in 2014 when I introduced you to Baylor Chapman in Episode 125. She and I originally met in the fall of 2010 when I was visiting San Francisco to give a lecture for the Garden Conservancy. We were introduced by a mutual friend, landscape designer and garden writer Susan Morrison, who told me: “You need to meet my friend Baylor when you’re in town. She’s into locally-grown flowers just like you are.”

That led to a wonderful visit to tour Baylor’s

former “loading dock” studio in San Francisco’s Mission District. Susan

and Rebecca Sweet, another fellow garden designer and blogger, met me at

Baylor’s. The three of us had lots of fun drooling over Baylor’s floral

creations and learning more about her design philosophy based on seasonal and

locally-grown floral elements. 

Baylor in the pages of The 50 Mile Bouquet (with photography by David Perry)

Baylor is the creator and owner of Lila B. Design, a San Francisco-based design studio. Her creative path is well documented in the pages of The 50 Mile Bouquet where we featured her in a chapter entitled “The Accidental Flower Farmer.”

Writing, teaching and consulting about designing with plants has occupied a good part of this creative woman’s life for the past five-plus years. She hasn’t completely shifted from growing and designing with cut flowers, but she has found a special place in the living plant world, an important and growing niche in the floral marketplace.

Today she is described as an author, plant designer, botanical strategist and promoter of all things green. In 2014,  Baylor produced and wrote The Plant Recipe Book: 100 Living Arrangements for Any Home in Any Season (Artisan Books, 2014), with photography by Paige Green. 

Last month she released a new title: Decorating with Plants, also published by Artisan Books, with photography by Aubrie Pick.

Decorating with Plants

Here’s a bit more about Decorating with Plants:

In Decorating with Plants, Baylor Chapman walks readers through everything they need to know to bring houseplants into their home.

First, there’s Plant

Care 101: from how to assess light conditions to tricks for keeping your plants

alive while on vacation, Baylor gives readers the simple, foundational info

they need to ensure their plants will thrive.

Then she introduces the

reader to 28 of her favorites—specimens that are tough as nails but

oh-so-stylish, from the eye-catching Rubber Tree to the delicate Cape Primrose.

Finally, she guides readers through the home room by room: Place an aromatic plant like jasmine or gardenia to your entry to establish your home’s “signature scent.”

Add a proper sense of scale to your living room with a ceiling-grazing palm. Create a living centerpiece of jewel-toned succulents for a dining table arrangement that will last long after your dinner party.

From air purification to pest control, there’s no limit to what houseplants can do for your home—and Decorating with Plants is here to show you how to add them to spaces big and small with style.

From "Decorating with Plants"

Here’s a bit more about Baylor Chapman, excerpted from the

Lila B. Design “about” page:

Baylor writes: Every day I am inspired by the raw beauty

of nature, and constantly think about ways of how to bring it into my home —

and yours. I believe that nature is handsome more than pretty, and am always

searching for an unexpected definition of beautiful.

I love working with plants so much that I’ve spent more

than 15 years surrounding myself with them. I attended the UC Berkely program

for garden design, founded Lila B., a San Francisco green-certified plant and flower

design business, authored my first how-to title called The Plant Recipe Book —

and built a parking lot garden in the middle of a big city.

A Woodland Kokedama Tablescape,

Becky Feasby of Prairie Girl Flowers

Thanks to a small but fabulous network of Slow Flowers members in Canada, I'm so happy to say that the Slow Flowers Community is taking hold across the country in numerous provinces. I'm very jazzed to welcome today's guest, Becky Feasby of Prairie Girl Flowers, based in Calgary, Alberta. She's helping me kick off the 10 Provinces of Slow Flowers, a sister series to 50 States of Slow Flowers in the U.S. Over this coming year, I will bring you voices from members in as many provinces as we have in the community.

Canadian-grown flowers by Becky Feasby

As we discuss in this episode, Becky and originally I met at the Whidbey Flower Workshop in 2018, where organizer Tobey Nelson invited me to return and teach a creative writing module. Over the three days together, I enjoyed getting to know Becky and was swept up by her infectious personality and her embrace of Slow Flowers Values. Since she has joined Slow Flowers, it has been rewarding and fascinating to watch her develop her platform as an activist for sustainable design practices and local flower sourcing in Calgary and beyond.

Fresh and dried flowers designed by Becky Feasby

When Florists' Review acquired Canadian Florist magazine at the end of last year, I was eager to connect Becky with the editors. As a result, Becky has begun to contribute stories to that publication.

Her first piece appeared in the March-April issue entitled "Slow Flowers Are Blooming In Canada."

Here's more about

Becky, excerpted from Prairie Girl Flowers' web site:

Becky is a passionate gardener-florist who creates natural arrangements centred on the vibrant colours and textures that make up life on the Canadian Prairies. 

She takes great care in selecting materials for floral commissions and designs and uses as many locally sourced products as possible, in an effort to reduce waste and cut back on the use of plants and flowers that need to travel long distances to reach Calgary.  Dedicated to seasonal flowers, Becky loves collaborating with farmers, growers and creatives in her community. 

Seasonal flowers designed by Becky Feasby of Prarie Girl Flowers

Becky believes that ethical and sustainable floristry involves looking at not only how and where flowers are sourced, but also considering the waste generated by designs and packaging.  Like other agricultural crops, she wants the floral industry to examine not only the carbon footprint of flowers, but also the use of pesticides, water pollution, exploitation in the supply chain, and waste. 

Becky completed her gardening and landscape design training in New York, Calgary and Chicago and completed the Floral Design program at Mount Royal University.  She has also completed workshop training with many incredible, innovative florists and growers who support the foam free and Slow Flowers movements.  

Becky previously worked as the Horticultural Therapist at the Alberta Children's Hospital, where she oversaw the design and management of five acres of gardens.  In creating prairie girl flowers, she wanted to utilize all of her training to bring sustainable beauty to Calgarians - and to cultivate a change in the floral industry.  A change that makes florals better for the planet and create opportunities for clients to make a conscious choice that supports local growers and our environment.

Jessica Broyles of Starry Fields Farm in Bowling Green, Kentucky (c) Emily Rose Photography

Our theme for 2019 - Fifty States of Slow Flowers - continues today, with farmer-florist Jessica Broyles of Starry Fields Farm based in Bowling Green.

Kentucky-grown blooms at Starry Fields Farm

Jessica and her husband Ryan share this on their web site:

Here at Starry Fields Farm we are captivated by the beauty of flowers.  We believe that flowers have a transforming power that changes and connects people in a way that nothing else can.