Earlier this year, at the first of April, a long-awaited hub for flowers grown in the NY-Connecticut-New Jersey tri-state region opened its doors. Unlike many of the emerging North American hubs selling local flowers, Flower Aggregate is not a collective or a cooperative. It is a privately-owned wholesale florist serving the floral trade with the […]

The post Episode 743: Discovering NYC’s new source for locally-grown flowers with Brooklyn’s Flower Aggregate co-founder Jessica Balnaves appeared first on Slow Flowers Podcast with Debra Prinzing.

Join me in a virtual tour of Hautau & Sons, a third-generation greenhouse grower of uncommon specialty cut flowers. Founded in 1902, Hautau & Sons is now run by Brian and Kimberley Hautau, who are both stewarding the family business that Brian’s grandfather started; it was later operated by Brian’s father and uncle, until, in […]

The post Episode 742: Brian and Kimberley Hautau of New Jersey’s Hautau & Sons on Year-Round Growing and Supplying Local Flowers to NYC’s Wholesale Market appeared first on Slow Flowers Podcast with Debra Prinzing.

The beauty of dried botanicals is a fitting topic for our first episode of November, as the interest in and demand for these preserved florals represents significant financial influx for flower farmers and floral designers. My recent visit to Charles Little & Co. in Eugene, Oregon, illustrates the story as I interviewed both Charles and […]

The post Episode 741: Dried Floral Magic with Bethany and Charles Little of Charles Little & Co. appeared first on Slow Flowers Podcast with Debra Prinzing.

We’ve been working closely this past year with lily bulb growers around the country, with the goal of providing more lily education to both farmers and florists. For today’s Lily Episode I wanted to learn more about what’s required to have a year-round lily program. I began my conversations with Jessica High of Flamingo Holland […]

The post Episode 740: The Lily Episode with Jessica High of Flamingo Holland Bulbs and Peterkort Roses’ Year-Round Lily Program with Norman Peterkort and Sandra Laubenthal appeared first on Slow Flowers Podcast with Debra Prinzing.

Join me for a great conversation with farmer-florist Kelly Brown, owner of Do Right Flower Farm in Santa Cruz and founder of the Santa Cruz Flower Hub. We also welcome return guest Amelia Ihlo, founder of Rooted Farmers, a longtime Slow Flowers partner and podcast sponsor. Together, they will discuss Santa Cruz Flower Hub’s origins […]

The post Episode 738: Santa Cruz Flower Hub’s Kelly Brown and Rooted Farmers’ Amelia Ihlo appeared first on Slow Flowers Podcast with Debra Prinzing.

At Penflora, sustainable floristry meets thoughtful design. Founder Melissa Olson recently hosted me for a book-signing event at her Bay Area shop where we celebrated the publication of The Flower Farmers and enjoyed her beautiful floral design demonstration. It was one stop during a full weekend of floral, garden, and book events and you’ll love […]

The post Episode 738: Meet Melissa Olson of Penflora Designs, a Bay Area floral studio and lifestyle shop reflecting her love of nature, the garden, and local blooms appeared first on Slow Flowers Podcast with Debra Prinzing.

Compared to the way today’s guests view the role of herb plants for the landscape, for culinary and medicinal purposes, and especially for floral design, I feel like the herb repertoire in the Slow Flowers Cutting Garden is in need of a major makeover. Learning from herb-lover and edible landscape designer Stefani Bittner of Homestead […]

The post Episode 737: Herbs for floral design (and the garden) with Stefani Bittner of Homestead Design Collective and Rose Loveall of Morningsun Herb Farm appeared first on Slow Flowers Podcast with Debra Prinzing.

Anne Long likes to call herself a cheerleader for dahlias and many other flowers that she wants gardeners and growers to experience. “I love ridiculously gorgeous flowers that look like they are out of a high-end magazine,” she proclaims. “And I want my neighbor to have them on her kitchen table.” At the peak of dahlia season […]

The post Episode 735: The magic of dahlias with Anne Long of The Dahlia House appeared first on Slow Flowers Podcast with Debra Prinzing.

At The Little Farm on Olga Road on Orcas, Carol Wetzel and Allan Tone live in a small house and have devoted much of the surrounding three acres to growing a food-herb-and-flower farm and seasonal plant nursery to serve their neighbors and island visitors, including destination wedding clients. The Little Farm is a Big Endeavor […]

The post Episode 734: A visit to The Little Farm on Olga Road, with Carol Wetzel and Allan Tone, where customers are welcomed to harvest the beauty of flowers, herbs, and vegetables appeared first on Slow Flowers Podcast with Debra Prinzing.

Alicia Houston is the founder of Healer’s Harvest, based in Poulsbo, Washington. After moving to the Pacific Northwest from San Diego to care for her grandfather, a long-time veggie grower and farmers’ market seller, Alicia found her own passion for flower farming. Her lifelong interest in medicinal plants led her to take courses, attend workshops, […]

The post Episode 733: Field tour and design demonstration with Alicia Houston of Healer’s Harvest appeared first on Slow Flowers Podcast with Debra Prinzing.