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by Debra Prinzing
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- 6 days ago56 min
Episode 768: Organic flower farming in the Netherlands, with Julian Langelaan of Op Beemster Klei
https://youtu.be/a14eAaKuufw?si=l-DMCSjyfhpK1DBK Julian Langelaan is a pioneer in the emerging organic farming movement in the Netherlands. As the founder of Op Beemster Klei, which translated means, “a farm with clay soil, in the Beemster region,” Julian began growing cut flowers 10 years ago. The healthy, high quality, annuals, perennials, and ornamental woody shrubs from Op Beemster Klei demonstrate the success of having an organic approach, rare in a nation filled with greenhouse cut flower operations and a mega flower auction that serves the globe. As part of our recent Slow Flowers tour to Holland and Belgium, we visited Op Beemster Klei for a personal tour with Julian. Prior to traveling to Holland in April, I also pre-recorded an interview with him. Together, the interview and the tour of Op Beemster Klei will introduce you to what promises to be the future of flower farming in Holland. Julian Langelaan of Op Beemster Klei Op Beemster Klei was founded in 2016 by Julian Langelaan. He grows a wide array of organic summer flowers, supplied to the floral marketplace from mid-May through the end of October. Principle crops include peonies, sunflowers and dahlias, supplemented with a selection of other species such as alchemilla, saponaria, flowering dill, and nearly 30 other crops -- a beautiful mix of perennials and annuals, making it possible to compile a complete organic bouquet. Op Beemster Klei supplies to (international) wholesalers and to local stores and florists, which are supplied via the FloraHolland locations, as well as directly from our nursery. Julian, leading a guided tour of Op Beemster Klei for our Slow Flowers group on an April 2026 visit to Holland Julian assumed management of the flower farming operations from Jan Knook, who grew organic flowers in the same fields for nearly 15 years. Jan’s organic arable farm is still located at the same address as Op Beemster Klei, while today he focuses on crops like potatoes and onions. One of the high tunnels at Op Beemster Klei The objective of Op Beemster Klei is to increase the organic cut flower sector and make the floriculture sector greener. Other floriculture growers also want to commit to this, together with them, Op Beemster Klei co-founded the association Pure Organic in 2017. Pure Organic aims to raise awareness of the organic floriculture sector among buyers and end users. The flowers of Op Beemster Klei are certified by SKAL Biocontrole, an independent organization that supervises the organic chain in the Netherlands. Skal certifies companies with organic activities. An independent administrative body, SKAL ensures that the organic production, processing, and trading of products comply with EU organic regulations, the Dutch Agricultural Quality Act, and the regulations and principles of Skal Biocontrole. The promise of a beautiful flower season across the fields at Op Beemster Klei Op Beemster Klei is located in The Beemster Polder, an important UNESCO World Heritage site, reclaimed from a lake via the water extracted by windmills between 1609 and 1612. The region’s original historic landscape of fields, roads, canals, and dykes has been preserved intact. It is a stunning landscape and we LOVED visiting Julian’s farm. The Slow Flowers Tulip Tour to Holland and Belgium 2026 Today’s episode is in two parts – first, I filmed an in-person tour led by Julian when our small tour group visited Op Beemster Klei on April 29th. That is followed by a virtual interview I conducted with Julian in early April, prior to my visit. I can’t wait to share this impressive flower farmer and his operation with you. Thanks to Lois Moss of Tour 2 Explore More, our fantastic tour producer, who arranged for our visit to Op Beemster Klei and introduced us to Julian Langelaan. Hot Off the Press! Slow Flowers Journal Spring 2026 "The Slow Weddings Issue" In News of the Week, we have just published the Spring 2026 edition of Slow Flowers Journal – our third annual Slow Weddings issue! Slow Flowers Journal Spring 2026 - Table of Contents Floristry’s conventional wisdom says the largest expenditure any client will make at any time in their lives is when and how they choose to flower their marriage ceremony. That may be true, but we’re not interested in price tags. Instead, we’re intrigued by the size of the emotional investment in flowers that any couple might make. Again, it’s not about the dollar amount (while that is certainly important), but it’s about the value placed on having flowers – seasonal and local flowers – at the center of a ceremony. We love floral-forward weddings, and this issue delivers just that. Creatives are inspired to do their best work when a couple lets the flowers express their sentiments, be it a backyard family wedding, an elopement for two, nuptials in the dahlia fields, or a classic church ceremony. We hope you are equally inspired by the narratives and the thoughtful artis
- 1 weeks ago46 min
Episode 767: Floral tourism at FAM Flower Farm in Lisse, Holland
https://youtu.be/NkUs5zQIaCQ?si=r8yE4x6setQ4Zpud In anticipation of my visit to FAM Flower Farm during last month’s Slow Flowers Tulip Tour in Holland and Belgium, I invited floral entrepreneurs Linda van der Slot and Marlies Weijers to join me on the Podcast. Friends since age 12, who married into Dutch tulip bulb and dahlia tuber-producing families, respectively, Linda and Marlies left careers of their own to form FAM Flower Farm nearly a decade ago. Their goal was to bring a feminine touch to a global floral industry – producing and selling bulbs, not for brokers and distributors or via the famous Dutch flower auctions, but for home gardeners, flower enthusiasts and tulip and dahlia lovers across Europe. By sharing their floral lifestyles and encouraging people to “Grow Your Own Happiness,” the partners quickly became Instagram darlings, with nearly 200k followers. Our tour group, which I co-led with Lorene Edwards Forkner, was fortunate to schedule a private tour of FAM Flower Farm, located in Holland’s flower bulb region, next to Keukenhof Gardens. Join our visit, followed by my pre-recorded conversation with Linda and Marlies – and catch a glimpse into their beautiful, bloom-filled lives, that they share with the world. Marlies Weijers and Linda van der Slot of FAM Flower Farm For years, Marlies Weijers and Linda van der Slot watched their husbands grow bulbs and tubers, which were then shipped in bulk to wholesalers and exporters all over the world. But they had no idea who would actually end up enjoying those flowers in their garden. That felt like a missed opportunity. So, the women decided to team up and start FAM Flower Farm. They chose “FAM” because it stands for both family and feminine -- with the goal of bringing a fresh, female perspective and connecting directly with fellow flower lovers. Endless rows of tulips at FAM Flower Farm With a mutual love for flowers, shared on Instagram, through FAM Flower Farm’s inspiration-packed website and an online shop for tubers, bulbs, and seeds, the small enterprise has exploded. Their goal was to showcase the stunning variety of the flowers they grow, the vibrant colors, the blooming fields, and the heart of family businesses. All with our own feminine touch, in the photography, the stories, and the packaging. And guess what? It took off! Thousands of flower lovers found their way to us. Our colorful updates were welcomed with open arms, and people began ordering bulbs and tubers to bring that same joy to their own gardens. They visited our fields, shared their photos, and helped spread the word. Suddenly, we were connecting with flower fans all over the world. People we had never met became real faces and voices to us. We could ask them questions, learn what they love, and share tips and ideas. That direct contact with our customers is what we love most. Many are amazed by how easy it is to plant bulbs and tubers—and how long the flowers bring joy, both in the garden and in the home. The Slow Flowers Tulip Tour gathers at FAM Flower Farm on April 22, 2026 Today’s episode is in two parts – first, I filmed an in-person tour and Linda’s presentation when I visited FAM Flower Farm on 22nd, with 37 others as part of our Slow Flowers Tulip Tour to Holland and Belgium. That is followed by a virtual interview I conducted with Marlies and Linda in early April, prior to my visit. Thanks so much for joining me today. You’ll want to watch the replay video of Episode 767 at slowflowerspodcast.com or on our YouTube channel. Thanks to Lois Moss of Tour 2 Explore More, our fantastic tour producer, who initially discovered FAM Flower Farm and arranged for our visit to spend a beautiful afternoon with Linda and Marlies. If you’re planning to visit the region, be sure to check out FAM Flower Farm’s tour calendar – tickets go quickly for April’s tulip tour and September’s dahlia tour! Thank you to our Sponsors This show is brought to you by slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 700 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers. Thank you to our lead sponsor, Flowerbulb.eu and their U.S. lily bulb vendors. One of the most recognizable flowers in the world, the lily is a top-selling cut flower, offering long-lasting blooms, year-round availability, and a dazzling petal palette. Flowerbulb.eu has partnered with Slow Flowers to provide beautiful lily inspiration and farming resources to help growers and florists connect their customers with more lilies. Learn more at Flowerbulb.eu. Thank you to the Seattle Growers Market, a farmer-owned cooperative committed to providing the very best the Pacific Northwest has to offer in cut flowers, foliage and plants. The Growers Market’s mission is to foster a vibrant marketplace that sustains local flower farms and provides to
- 2 weeks ago45 min
Episode 766: Adding a flower farm and floral shop to a retail nursery center with Delisa Hiel of Gardenwerks in Helena, Montana
https://youtu.be/ng5wllVlQyU Back in 2018, we included Retail Garden Centers Adding Floral Design Services as one of our trends to watch in the annual Slow Flowers Floral Insights and Industry Forecast. I noted the early wave of retail nurseries and garden centers opening or reviving in-house floral shops with a distinctly local emphasis.As it turns out, that’s the year that Delisa Hiel joined Gardenwerks, an established retail nursery and landscape design business in Helena, Montana, founded by her father-in-law Michael Hiel. Gardenwerks is truly a family affair, with Delisa’s husband Peter Hiel serving as designer and foreman on the landscape side of the business. Delisa dreamed up, installed and now manages Gardenwerks flower farm, essentially creating a sister business that extends the nursery brand and provides a new suite of plants and design services to the community. I recently connected with Delisa to discuss her approach to flower farming and floral design, as she shares a fantastic model that brings together horticulture and floriculture with intentionality. Scenes from gardenwerks flower farm with Delisa Hiel (c) Kelly Van Dye Photography The flower farm at Gardenwerks grows more than 100 fresh cut flower varieties one important facet of the long-established full-service nursery, landscape design-build business. From the months of March through September, under the management of head flower farmer Delisa Hiel, Gardenwerks offers unique, seasonal fresh flowers and produces artisanal, natural designs for weddings and special events in Helena and the surrounding area. In the off season, customers can find beautiful dried flowers and increasingly, season-extention offerings like winter-forced tulips. The dahlia field at sunriset at Helena, Montana-based gardenwerks I recently spoke with Delisa about her family’s nursery business, as we touch on the “symbiosis” that brings together flowers and plants in harmony. The economics of growing cut flower crops and raising cutting garden plants under the same roof as a landscape nursery seems obvious to me, but I always question why more garden centers are missing out on the market potential of flowers. I think it boils down to personnel. You can’t just throw a talented landscaper onto the flower farm setting and expect them to magically grow and design blooms that resonate with the floral marketplace. Luckily for Gardenwerks, which has served Helena for decades, Delisa Hiel joined the family and brought her horticulture, design, and floriculture expertise to the company. I’m excited to share her story with you today. More dahlias! For floral designs and market bouquets (c) Kelly Van Dye Photography It’s so inspiring to see how a nursery and garden center like Gardenwerks has included flower farming and floral design services in the mix – I wish more independent garden centers would recognize the potential of this model. Thanks to Delisa for sharing her story and perhaps stimulating more conversation around flower-growing as a revenue center in the green industry. Find and follow Gardenwerks Nursery and Gardenwerks Flower Farm on Instagram and Gardenwerks on Facebook. Thank you to our Sponsors This show is brought to you by slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 700 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers. Thank you to our lead sponsor, Flowerbulb.eu and their U.S. lily bulb vendors. One of the most recognizable flowers in the world, the lily is a top-selling cut flower, offering long-lasting blooms, year-round availability, and a dazzling petal palette. Flowerbulb.eu has partnered with Slow Flowers to provide beautiful lily inspiration and farming resources to help growers and florists connect their customers with more lilies. Learn more at Flowerbulb.eu. Thank you to Charles Little & Company for supplying our industry with some of the most beautiful and sustainably-grown design ingredients, available nationwide through their website at charleslittleandcompany.com. Based in Eugene, Oregon, the farmers at Charles Little & Company have been growing and drying flowers since 1986. New products and dried flower collections are added to their website at the first of each month. Check it out at charleslittleandcompany.com. Thank you to My Patio Tree: Expertly Grown Plants, Perfectly Designed to Elevate Your Garden. This second-generation family tree farm has curated the best-performing, cutting-edge, multi-zone varieties to enhance your garden, patio or special event. Every tree purchased supports Plant With Purpose, a nonprofit organization that restores hope by reversing global poverty and environmental damage. Learn more at mypatiotree.com. Thank you for joining me today! The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more t
- 3 weeks ago53 min
Episode 765: Beyond the Bouquet: Expanding Your Flower Business Through Education and Experience with Xenia D’Ambrosi of Sweet Earth Co.
https://youtu.be/PDyvSAAA7FI We’ve recently highlighted Slow Flowers members who serve not only the professional floral market, but the home gardener in search of cut flowers, flower seedlings, education, and inspiration. Capturing the attention of this often-overlooked population is not hard these days. Home gardeners and flower lovers are avid followers of social media’s influential growers and designers.They are the principal buyers of books about cut flower gardening and about growing specific types of flowers, as well as the shoppers who eagerly line up to buy cutting garden plants not always seen at garden centers. After hosting several recent episodes on this theme, I continue the conversation in today’s episode with Xenia D'Ambrosi of Sweet Earth Co. Xenia shares how she developed an online course, The Eco-Friendly Cutting Garden, to teach students how to plant a backyard flower garden that benefits the environment. The course evolved from a series of in-person, on-farm workshops, adapted for an online format to serve a wider population of cutting garden students. Xenia discusses how she developed the course, the demographic of her students, and the ways this course reinforces her brand as a sustainable cut flower grower and designer. Xenia D'Ambrosi of Sweet Earth Co. Sweet Earth Co. in the pages of The Flower Farmers book Here’s an excerpt from The Flower Farmers, the 2025 book I co-authored with Robin Avni. One of the 29 flower farmers featured in its pages is today’s guest, Xenia D’Ambrosi of Sweet Earth Co. Xenia D'Ambrosi of Sweet Earth Co. We wrote:. . . in 2010, a cancer diagnosis altered everything for Xenia D’Ambrosi. “It was a life-changing event,” recalls the woman who at the time worked on Wall Street in finance. While going through her cancer treatments, Xenia began her own version of horticultural therapy. “I started to reconsider what I wanted to do and how I wanted to take care of myself and my family.” She embraced eating locally and gardening. “I volunteered at some local farms and I truly believe that having my hands in the soil healed me.” She also studied at New York Botanical Garden for a certificate in gardening with a focus on sustainable design and began to create edible landscapes for others in her community. She grew vegetables and herbs for both her family and for private chefs and formed Sweet Earth Co. in 2012. A few years later, she added cutting garden design and transformed the kids’ playfield into a “farmstead,” a thriving teaching farm filled with an acre of cut flowers, which grown for commercial use. The Eco-Friendly Cutting Garden course package Xenia D’Ambosi used the farm as a backdrop for the mini-sessions she films and posts to Sweet Earth Co.’s YouTube channel. These have led to her signature online course, The Eco-Friendly Cutting Garden, created for avid gardeners and beginning flower growers. The six-module course connects Xenia with people all around the country, as she teaches how to plan, plant, harvest, and maintain a productive cutting garden that supplies a steady supply of bouquets. The Eco-Friendly Cutting Garden Students at an in-person cutting garden workshop at Sweet Earth Co. Xenia recently appeared as our April Slow Flowers Member Meet-Up expert as she shared with others in the Slow Flowers community the background behind creating her online course. With an MBA and a background in business and marketing, it’s fascinating to learn how she evaluated Sweet Earth Co.’s assets and created a digital product to help scale her expertise. I’m sure you’ll find yourself asking, “what expertise do I have that could be packaged into an educational product or experience?” There are so many fantastic takeaways from Xenia’s session, so be sure to take notes! Find and follow Sweet Earth Co. on Instagram and FacebookRegister for The Eco-Friendly Cutting Garden, Xenia's online course. $100-off course discount: SLOWFLOWERS Thank you to our Sponsors This show is brought to you by slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 700 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers. Thank you to our lead sponsor, Flowerbulb.eu and their U.S. lily bulb vendors. One of the most recognizable flowers in the world, the lily is a top-selling cut flower, offering long-lasting blooms, year-round availability, and a dazzling petal palette. Flowerbulb.eu has partnered with Slow Flowers to provide beautiful lily inspiration and farming resources to help growers and florists connect their customers with more lilies. Learn more at Flowerbulb.eu. Thank you to Rooted Farmers. Rooted Farmers works exclusively with local growers to put the highest-quality specialty cut flowers in floral customers' hands. When you partner with Rooted Farmers, you are investing in your community
- Apr 15, 20261h 8m
Episode 764: A visit House Flowers, Megan Homewood’s 100-square-foot flower shop in Shelton, Washington
https://youtu.be/3dhAhas1Awg?si=LJUYkQflSCv8xZDu Megan Homewood is the owner, lead designer, and grower at House Flowers. She combines a diverse design experience and a passion for sustainable floristry to inform her seasonal, romantic design style. Inspired by the transient beauty of seasonal flowers and the dynamic landscape of the Pacific Northwest, she loves growing and designing with unique elements to create events that embody a particular place and time. Prior to settling in Shelton, a town at the gateway to Washington’s Olympic National Forest and known for its famous oysters and logging industries, Megan worked as the lead florist at a show garden in Alaska and managed floral installation projects for large events at some of Chicago’s most iconic venues. Her background as a studio manager and lead designer have given her the experience needed to produce stunning events in any environment. I recently made the lovely spring drive to visit Shelton and spent time interviewing and filming Megan in her jewel box-sized flower shop at 211 West Cota Street. Megan Homewood, owner of House Flowers in Shelton, Washington As I described at the top of this show, I recently took a drive about 65 miles to the south of me, towards Washington’s Highway 101 to the town of Shelton. It was such a delight to step inside House Flowers, a tiny little flower shop owned by Megan Homewood, a Slow Flowers member, farmer-florist, and small business entrepreneur. Vignettes inside the petite flower shop, House Flowers Megan and I met in person last fall during an event for The Flower Farmers and there she introduced me to her friend Isa Radojcic, owner of Marmo Cafe, a neighboring Shelton business described as an alternative arts organization with a caffè and shop. Marmo was one of Megan’s CSA floral pickup locations, and it was Isa who urged Megan to “open a flower shop” in the tiny storefront just two doors down from Marmo. I love the passion that these two bring to their little street. They’re the impetus for helping attract other businesses, including a few nearby eateries. They collaborate with others to produce an annual summer Arts Walk and are working to establish Shelton as a Certified Creative District, a program that helps Washington state communities into arts and culture destinations. A glimpse into the cutting garden at Megan's mini-farm This is the life of solo creatives, and I thoroughly enjoyed visiting both House Flowers and stopping by Marmo before I left for my drive home. I will be back to spend more time – and If you come to the Seattle-Tacoma area, remember to plan a trip. As Megan points out, Shelton is filled with tourists in the summer months, when people from around the globe to the famed Olympic National Forest pass through the town. Shelton Resources:The beautiful mural with an elegant, oversized fritillaria that you see behind Megan in the video interview was painted by her friend Molly Wheat Baker, a PNW illustrator and painter. You can follow her at @mollywheatbaker. When in Shelton, please visit Caffè Marmo, the cafe, gallery, and shop on Cota Street - owned by Megan's friend Isa. Follow Marmo here. Find and follow House Flowers on Instagram and Facebook. Thank you to our Sponsors This show is brought to you by slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 700 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers. Thank you to our lead sponsor, Flowerbulb.eu and their U.S. lily bulb vendors. One of the most recognizable flowers in the world, the lily is a top-selling cut flower, offering long-lasting blooms, year-round availability, and a dazzling petal palette. Flowerbulb.eu has partnered with Slow Flowers to provide beautiful lily inspiration and farming resources to help growers and florists connect their customers with more lilies. Learn more at Flowerbulb.eu. Thank you to the Seattle Growers Market, a farmer-owned cooperative committed to providing the very best the Pacific Northwest has to offer in cut flowers, foliage and plants. The Growers Market’s mission is to foster a vibrant marketplace that sustains local flower farms and provides top-quality products and service to the local floral industry. Visit them at seattlegrowersmarket.com. Our next sponsor thanks goes to Longfield Gardens, which provides home gardeners with high quality flower bulbs and perennials. Their online store offers plants for every region and every season, from tulips and daffodils to dahlias, caladiums and amaryllis. Check out the full catalog at Longfield Gardens at longfield-gardens.com. Thank you for joining me today! The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more than 1.5 million times by listeners like you. Thank you for listening, commenting and sharing – it means so much. As our
- Apr 8, 202658 min
Episode 763: Colleen McCoole Payne on collective flower selling through Kansas City Flower Farmers Wholesale Market
https://youtu.be/cGL1isNsbbE?si=h00tMUumLpTPXCH3 Collective flower selling is on the rise and we continue to see numerous models across the continent and even abroad. The origin comes from traditional farmers’ markets and has since diversified to include cooperatives, co-marketing ventures and solo-run farmer-to-florist hubs. The structures reflect the desires and business objectives of their founders, and today you’ll hear from Colleen McCoole Payne, co-founder and chief administrator of the Kansas City Flower Farmers Wholesale Market. The KC Flower Farmers Wholesale Market is a mouthful, but was intentionally named to distinguish this venture in the local market. Colleen owns FarmStrong Flowers, a regenerative specialty cut flower farm in Bucyrus, Kansas. I recently spoke with her about the market model she and 21 fellow growers have developed, which she describes to florists as similar to shopping a farmers market and paying for the product from each farm that they buy from. The Market has a new lease and a new location, and as Colleen says, “it’s still a work in progress and we are evolving to make it work better!” Dahlias from FarmStrong Flowers More than 20 flower farmers in Kansas City, Missouri, and in Kansas City, Kansas, and beyond are part of the KC Flower Farmers Wholesale Market, now in its fourth year as a wholesale collective serving approximately 200 floral customers from operations on both side of the Missouri-Kansas state line. The woman behind this endeavor, Colleen McCoole Payne, a Kansas grower and owner of FarmStrong Flowers, joined me recently to record today’s interview. The group has signed a lease to move into a permanent location, a cause for celebration after numerous temporary and pop-up sites in past seasons. Colleen and I dive right into discussing the unique model developed for this specific flower hub. And you’ll have thoughts, I’m sure – especially if you’re part of a collective or cooperative yourself. Here’s a bit of the narrative, as was posted on the market’s Instagram account: “Every year we searched high and low for that perfect landing spot. So much gratitude goes out to the locations we placed our buckets in prior to finding our dream space. We truly were bootstrapping it those first three years.We could not have come this far selling our locally-grown flowers wholesale without our fabulous buyers. So many of you have embraced our products and encouraged us to keep growing. We hope to become your one-stop shop for quality, locally-grown flowers. In other news, the market has open hours two days per week -- Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 AM to 1 PM. Also added: what they believe is the first-ever VIP buyer option for 24-hour self-serve access to “Shopping the Cooler” for local flowers and foliage. The new venue also accommodates floral design work space and cooler space for rent. Participating Flower Growers: Bee & Co. C-Us-Bloom Castle Hill Farm FarmStrong Flowers Fern's Farmette Julie Pal Peonies Laura’s Flower Farm Long Acre Farm Mainstream Meadows Morningstar Flower Farm Nurturing with Nature Oskaloosa Flower Farm Patina Meadows Red Barn Blossoms Ruthie Mae Blooms Shelti Farms Soul of Soil Farm St. Clair Stems Triple S Homestead Whistle Stop Peonies Wild Thistle-Flowers Wyld Heart Flower Farm Find and follow Kansas City Flower Farmers Wholesale Market on Instagram and FacebookFind and follow FarmStrong Flowers on Instagram (as @laylasmarket) and Facebook You're Invited to Join Us: April 10th Member Meet-Up Farmer-florist and educator Xenia D'Ambrosi of Sweet Earth Co. And head’s up, our April Slow Flowers Member Meet-Up is right around the corner on Friday, April 10th at 9 am Pacific/Noon Eastern. You’ll meet farmer-florist Xenia D'Ambrosi of Sweet Earth Co. Xenia will share how she developed an online course, The Eco-Friendly Cutting Garden, to teach students how to plant a backyard flower garden that benefits the environment. The course evolved from a series of in-person , on-farm workshops, adapted to an online format to serve a wider population of cutting garden students. Xenia will discuss how she developed the course, the demographic of her students, and the ways this course reinforces her brand as a sustainable cut flower grower and designer. This meet-up is free to attend, but you must pre-register. Join us to discover new, creative ways to teach home gardeners and share your expertise with a new population of customers. The signup link can be found in the linktree bio on our @slowflowerssociety page on Instagram. Or, click below to RSVP: RSVP for our April 10th Slow Flowers Member (Virtual) Meet-Up Thank you to our Sponsors This show is brought to you by slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 700 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow
- Apr 1, 202642 min
Episode 762: Sarah Nayani of Grow Girl Seattle on teaching gardeners how to plan and plant their backyard cutting gardens
https://youtu.be/tRuXU20m9Dc?si=eR5fwa5ZiZKdsiTf After several years of farming in an urban space – including on the paved driveway, sidewalk strip, and backyard at her Seattle home – Sarah Nayani has carved out a niche teaching gardeners how to grow a bounty of cut flowers, herbs, and foliages in residential environments. The founder of Grow Girl Seattle, Sarah encourages workshop students to create a thriving home cutting garden by focusing on sustainable techniques and small space growing. She shares the rewards of connecting with the seasons’ rhythms and how flower-growing helps people appreciate the role of pollinators up close. My conversation with Sarah includes the numerous ways her business has transitioned to fit her lifestyle, how she focuses on the parts of farming and floristry that give her the most joy, and income-generating tips for the farmer-florist side hustle. Sarah Nayani of Grow Girl Seattle We have been focused on an inspiring theme here at the Slow Flowers Podcast! For the early weeks of 2026 we’ve been highlighting members who serve not only the professional floral market, but the home gardener in search of cut flowers, flower seedlings, education, and inspiration. Capturing the attention of this often-overlooked population is not hard these days. Home gardeners and flower lovers are avid followers of social media’s influential growers and designers. They are the principal buyers of books about cut flower gardening and about growing specific types of flowers, as well as the shoppers who eagerly line up to buy cutting garden plants at retail prices not always seen at garden centers. Garden bouquet by Sarah Nayani Since the first of the year, we’ve highlighted the voices and stories of a number of people tapping into this major consumer shift. In March alone, we featured Growing Flower Seedlings for Profit, with Kate Skelton of Gratitude Flowers, Carol Wetzel of The Little Farm on Olga Road, and Fawn Rueckert of Sego Lily Flower Farm and Snuck Flowers; and The Beginner’s Cut Flower Garden,” with author Elizabeth Brown of Foxglove Farmhouse. Our upcoming April 10th member meetup will feature Xenia D’Ambrosi of Sweet Earth Co., on how she has developed a course called “The Eco-Friendly Cutting Garden,” and you’ve all heard me promote the upcoming May 3rd Ultimate Cutting Garden Plant Sale, scheduled to take place in partnership with the Seattle Growers Market. Scenes from a petite "driveway" cutting garden with volumes of blooms Today’s guest is situated at the convergence of all these topics, as well. I was delighted to recently sit down with Sarah Nayani of Grow Girl Seattle. She is an urban farmer-florist who teaches home gardeners, including members of local garden clubs and horticulture societies, all about starting flowers from seeds and planning their cutting gardens. Sarah enhances the workshop experience by offering her seedlings of hard-to-find, hard-to-grow, and uncommon cool and warm-season annuals. These revenue streams help fund her garden expenses and these events keep Sarah connected with her community. Raised beds on the sidewalk strip at Grow Girl Seattle's residential property I joined the audience at Sarah’s fantastic recent workshop sponsored by the Northwest Horticultural Society and held at Seattle’s Dunn Gardens, an exquisite garden whose origins date to 1915 as one of the unique Olmsted-designed landscapes in the Pacific Northwest. Thank you to both organizations for permitting me to attend and use the Dunn Gardens classroom for our recording. An urban field of flowers Thanks so much for joining me today. You’ll want to watch the replay video of this session under Episode 762 at slowflowerspodcast.com or on our YouTube channel. If you're interested in learning more, register for future email notices about events and classes, including how to register for Sarah’s May 30th workshop at the University of Washington’s Center for Urban Horticulture called “Grow a Cut Flower Garden at Home.” Find and follow Grow Girl Seattle on Instagram Slow Flowers NEWS And don’t forget to RSVP to attend our May 3rd event -- the Ultimate Cutting Garden Plant Sale, produced in partnership with the Seattle Growers Market. This is a free event – just bring your wagon and boxes to transport your purchases. Click to RSVP to Shop or Vend Thank you to our Sponsors This show is brought to you by slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 700 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers. Thank you to our lead sponsor, Flowerbulb.eu and their U.S. lily bulb vendors. One of the most recognizable flowers in the world, the lily is a top-selling cut flower, offering long-lasting blooms, year-round availability, and a dazzling petal palette. Flowerbulb.eu has partnered with
- Mar 25, 20261h 0m
Episode 761: Growing Flower Seedlings for Profit, with Kate Skelton of Gratitude Flowers, Carol Wetzel of The Little Farm on Olga Road, and Fawn Rueckert of Sego Lily Flower Farm and Snuck Flowers
https://youtu.be/xnlzif1Nue0?si=60_eh0nNVHX1Gg42 The theme of today’s episode is straight from our Slow Flowers Floral Insights and Industry Forecast – an insight that identifies cutting garden plants as an important business channel. Flower farmers are translating their expertise into new revenue streams by growing and selling cut flower seedlings and starts to flower lovers and fellow growers. Last fall, we produced a report for Johnny’s Seeds’ newsletter on this trend and today, three of the growers featured in that story share more about their cutting garden plant collections. As the idea of “gardening like a flower farmer” has taken off, and as home gardeners and floral enthusiasts ask for the unique cultivars that the pros grow, we’re thrilled that more gardeners want to jump-start their cutting gardens with flowers sown by someone else. For the consumer, this means having a cut flower garden without the grit and grind of farming. For flower farmers and farmer-florists it means trading your time and knowledge for a rewarding new revenue stream. Kate Skelton, Fawn Rueckert (pictured in overalls), and Carol Wetzel It's the season for plant sales and for encouraging customers to grow cutting gardens! Today, you’ll learn from three Slow Flowers members as they discuss the market potential of growing and selling cut flower seedlings! Cut flower seedlings for profit Flower Farmers: Learn how you can translate your expertise into a revenue stream when you grow and sell cutting garden plants to flower lovers and fellow growers. Florists: Get in on the act and offer locally-grown cut flowers as an add-on for workshops and special events! As special thank-you to our expert panelists, Kate Skelton of Edgewood, Washington-based Gratitude Flowers; Carol Wetzel of The Little Farm on Olga Road in Eastsound-Washington on Orcas Island; and Fawn Rueckert of Sego Lily Flower Farm in Jordan, Utah, who is also the resident flower farmer and educator at Snuck Farm. This session was recorded as part of the March Slow Flowers Member Meet-Up and we wanted to share it today for our viewers and listeners. It's a follow-up to our November 2025 feature article in Johnny's Seeds' JSS Advantage Newsletter. Let’s dive into cutting garden plants and learn new ways you can profit from your farming expertise! LEARN MORE: Enjoy our past Slow Flowers Podcast episodes with these expertsEpisode 489 (January 20, 2021): Fawn Rueckert of Sego Lily Flower Farm, an urban micro farm in UtahEpisode 652 (March 6, 2024): Building a niche supplying flower seedlings for farmers and gardeners with Kate Skelton of Gratitude FlowersEpisode 734 (September 17, 2025): 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 FIND/FOLLOW:Sego Lily Flower Farm on Instagram and FacebookSnuck Flowers on InstagramGratitude Flowers on Instagram and FacebookThe Little Farm on Olga Road on Instagram and Facebook Join us at the ULTIMATE CUTTING GARDEN PLANT SALE 2026 Ultimate Cutting Garden Plant Sale And head’s up if you’re in the Seattle area on May 3rd, please attend the Ultimate Cutting Garden Plant Sale, produced in partnership with the Seattle Growers Market. As you heard, Kate Skelton of Gratitude Flowers will be back with her soil-block cutting garden collections, as well as annuals, perennials, tubers and seeds – and possibly a few ornamental woody plant surprises – from dozens of the Market’s member growers and more Slow Flowers members. This is a free event – just bring your wagon and boxes to transport your purchases. You can find more details and the signup/RSVP link in today’s show notes! I hope to see you there! RSVP to Shop or Vend Thank you to our Sponsors! This show is brought to you by slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 700 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers. Thank you to our lead sponsor, Flowerbulb.eu and their U.S. lily bulb vendors. One of the most recognizable flowers in the world, the lily is a top-selling cut flower, offering long-lasting blooms, year-round availability, and a dazzling petal palette. Flowerbulb.eu has partnered with Slow Flowers to provide beautiful lily inspiration and farming resources to help growers and florists connect their customers with more lilies. Learn more at Flowerbulb.eu. Thank you to Longfield Gardens, which provides home gardeners with high quality flower bulbs and perennials. Their online store offers plants for every region and every season, from tulips and daffodils to dahlias, caladiums and amaryllis. Check out the full catalog at Longfield Gardens at longfield-gardens.com. Our final sponsor thanks goes to Rooted Farmers. Rooted Farmers works exclusively with loca
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About Slow Flowers Podcast
The Slow Flowers Podcast is the award-winning, long-running show known as the “Voice of the Slow Flowers Movement.” Airing weekly for more than 9 years, we focus on the business of flower farming and floral design through the Slow Flowers sustainability ethos. Listen to a new episode each Wednesday, available for free download here at slowflowerspodcast.com or on iTunes, Spotify, and other podcast platforms.
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