Slow Flowers Podcast

https://youtu.be/qLDRA7aDbe0?si=ErpsCddUPW3DRei2

In the runup to our American Flowers Week’s annual Botanical Couture collection, I’m welcoming Caitlin Mathes to the Slow Flowers Podcast. A longtime Slow Flowers Member based in New York’s Finger Lakes Region, Caitlin has been cultivating the Tagetes species, also known as the marigold, since 2019. Her passion led to establishing The Marigold Gardens as a singular flower farm, specializing in more than 40 marigold varieties. When planning this year’s American Flowers Week floral fashions, we asked Caitlin if she would like to create a marigold garment – and she joined in the fun, growing, designing, fabricating, and modeling her playful look. Join me as we learn more about Caitlin’s floral enterprise, her love affair with marigolds, and her charming, Medieval-inspired garment fashioned with a multitude of colorful and uniquely-formed varieties. You, too, will fall in love with marigolds because Caitlin’s passion is contagious!

Some of Caitlin Mathes' beautiful marigold varieties (left) and the flower farmer, portrayed wearing a marigold crown (right)

American Flowers Week was founded by Slow Flowers in 2015 as the original domestic flower promotion campaign. Each year, from June 28-through July 4, Slow Flowers members and flower lovers everywhere are invited to showcase their flowers. Some folks post their blooms across social media as red-white-and-blue creations; others use the American Flowers Week bouquet labels to adorn market wraps or to decorate take-home arrangements from events and workshops. But since 2016, the centerpiece of American Flowers Week has been the botanical couture runway, floral fashions grown, designed, and produced by flower farmers, farmer-florists, and floral designers, as well as creative fashionistas who just love the idea of dressing a model in blooms.

American Flowers Week promotional graphic featuring Caitlin Mathes and her marigold fashion

This year, we have four distinct looks to share in our celebration, and today, we kick things off with a magical marigold design from Caitlin Mathes, owner of The Marigold Gardens.

American Flowers Week: The Marigold Look

The Marigold Gardens is an emerging flower farm with only one crop . . . MARIGOLDS! As Caitlin puts it: “The marigold has given me so much joy and inspiration that I felt the need to become a grower, steward, advocate, and cheerleader for this wonderful flower. It is high time marigolds had their praises sung and I look forward to growing The Marigold Gardens into a beautiful destination for all things marigold.”She calls herself a marigold monger, which is just one role this maker, performer, librarian, and agrarian represents. It was so much fun speaking with Caitlin about her marigold passion, one that inspires her to create and share in all types of ways. Let’s welcome Caitlin to the Slow Flowers Podcast and get ready for a deep dive into the world of marigolds.

Garlands of Marigolds

Marigold Inspiration

Download free social media badgesFlower-farming prints by Amy RiceCaitlin Mathes’ Marigold Look

American Flowers Week 2026, by Amy Rice

And head’s up, today’s episode is the first a three-part series, so join us on June 24th to learn from botanical artist and educator Françoise Weeks; followed by a conversation on July 1st with Alanna Messner-Scholl of Waverly Flower Co., as both will discuss their American Flowers week floral fashions. I can’t wait to share those wonderful conversations – and you’ll be inspired!

Thank you to our Sponsors

This show is brought to you by slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to 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 movement gains more supporters and more passionate participants who believe in the importance of our domestic cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious. I know you feel it, too. If you’re new to our weekly Show and our long-running Podcast, check out all of our resources at SlowFlowersSociety.com.

Thank you for listening! Sending love, from my cutting garden to you! (c) Missy Palacol Photography

I'm Debra Prinzing, host and producer of the Slow Flowers Show & Podcast. The Slow Flowers Podcast is engineered and edited by Andrew Brenlan. The content and opinions expressed here are either mine alone or those of my guests alone, independent of any podcast sponsor or other person, company or organization. Next week, you're invited to join me in putting more Slow Flowers on the table, one stem, one vase at a time. Thanks so much for joining us today and I'll see you next week!

Music credits:

Drone Pine; Gaena; Talens Balby Blue Dot Sessionshttp://www.sessions.blue

Lovelyby Tryad http://tryad.bandcamp.com/album/instrumentalshttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

In The Fieldaudionautix.com

https://youtu.be/yJlU-Ca9W3M?si=5Q5zGfnc51bXKSDS

Niki and William Irving are proud stewards of Flourish Flower Farm, a 9-acre farm in Asheville, North Carolina. Nestled in the heart of old tobacco country, they love nurturing their beautiful slice of paradise in the Blue Ridge Mountains -- a dream come true after many years of farming on leased land. They achieve their priority of growing specialty varieties of flowers and producing high quality, organic, fragrant blooms by focusing on intensive planting, soil fertility, plant health and succession planting. As Niki likes to say, ‘Flourish’ as a verb means: “to grow or develop in a healthy or vigorous way, especially as the result of a particularly favorable environment.” Wanting a simple and meaningful business name that fit their values and lives, and thanks to a suggestion from Niki’s mom, they started the farm-based venture during a time of transition and deep personal longing for something more in our lives. “We wanted to be flourishing as people and to be doing something heartfelt and important,” Niki explains. Their goal is not only to provide a favorable environment for plants to flourish, but also for employees, customers, workshop guests, wedding clients and everyone who is a part of Flourish Flower Farm to flourish.

Niki Irving in the ranunculus patch at Flourish Flower Farm

Flourish Flower Farm was established in 2016 is owned and loved by Niki Irving. Niki turned her dream of becoming a farmer-florist into reality and she is the creative force behind Flourish’s designs. As farm manager, she loves growing, nurturing and creating beauty through flowers; her love of plants runs deep, beginning with her family’s landscaping and tree farming businesses. Though he has a full-time job off the farm and is also a small business owner, her husband William enjoys balancing his office job with farm life. Niki and William share a love of nature, hard work, creating beauty and spreading joy at the farm. They believe that flowers make the world a more beautiful, enjoyable place and are inspired by the way a fresh bouquet of flowers lights up someone's entire face.

Wedding party bouquets, grown and designed by Flourish Flower Farm

Countless varieties of flowers and foliage are grown at Flourish Flower Farm using sustainable, natural practices. Niki and the Flourish team create lush, seasonally-inspired arrangements for weddings and special events, host classes and workshops on the farm and offer seasonal bouquets at the Farmstand. 

Flowers by Flourish Flower Farm -- in Niki's favorite palette of "pink and peach"

Niki is the author of Growing Flowers: Everything You Need to Know About Planting, Tending, Harvesting and Arranging Beautiful Blooms, published in Spring 2021, for which I was honored to write the foreword. We’re delighted that Niki is a longtime Slow Flowers member. She serves as the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers’ Southeastern Regional Director and Flourish is a Certified Local business through the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project.

Boutonniere by Flourish Flower Farm

When I ran into Niki this past January at the ASCFG winter conference, I asked if she would return to the Slow Flowers Podcast to share an update. Much of our conversation that you’ll hear today focuses on the full curriculum of flower farming and floral design workshops held on the big, wraparound, covered porch at Flourish Flower Farm – options from just a few hours to two full days of immersion. Niki’s insights about juggling education with flower farming and wedding design are worth your attention – I am so impressed with her approach to this sustainable operation. Let’s jump right in and welcome Niki Irving back to the Slow Flowers Podcast.

Horses and Flowers with Niki Irving of Flourish Flower Farm

More Resources:Follow Flourish Flower Farm on Instagram and FacebookOrder a signed copy of Growing FlowersOn-Farm Workshop Offerings + Schedule for 2026

Slow Flowers Member Meet-Up - June 12

Gina Thresher of From the Ground Up Floral Design will teach European Sustainable Armature Bouquet Design

You’re invited to our June 12th Slow Flowers Member Meet-Up – taking place on Zoom this Friday, 9 am PT/12 Noon ET, with special design guest, Gina Thresher of From the Ground Up Floral. Gina recently taught a design workshop at the Seattle Growers Market and it was so popular that we asked her to lead a mini-session for our virtual meetup this month. Her European Sustainable Armature Bouquet elevates floral artistry by moving beyond foam. Gina will demonstrate her European-style natural bouquet armature, a sustainable design philosophy pioneered by legendary German Master Florist Gregor Lersch. A Master Florist, member of AIFD and EMC-trained, as well as a longtime Slow Flowers member, Gina Thresher will demonstrate how to build an intricate structure using only organic and biodegradable materials, allowing your floral compositions to dance within a sculptural framework.

Pre-registration is required – Click below to register and we can’t wait to see you there!

Click to Pre-Register for Friday's Slow Flowers Meet-Up with Gina Thresher

Thank you to our Sponsors

This show is brought to you by slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to 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 than 1.5 million times by listeners like you. Thank you for listening, commenting and sharing – it means so much. As our movement gains more supporters and more passionate participants who believe in the importance of our domestic cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious. I know you feel it, too. If you’re new to our weekly Show and our long-running Podcast, check out all of our resources at SlowFlowersSociety.com.

Thank you for listening! Sending love, from my cutting garden to you! (c) Missy Palacol Photography

I'm Debra Prinzing, host and producer of the Slow Flowers Show & Podcast. The Slow Flowers Podcast is engineered and edited by Andrew Brenlan. The content and opinions expressed here are either mine alone or those of my guests alone, independent of any podcast sponsor or other person, company or organization. Next week, you're invited to join me in putting more Slow Flowers on the table, one stem, one vase at a time. Thanks so much for joining us today and I'll see you next week!

Music credits:

Drone Pine; Gaena; Long and Low Cloudby Blue Dot Sessionshttp://www.sessions.blue

Lovelyby Tryad http://tryad.bandcamp.com/album/instrumentalshttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

In The Fieldaudionautix.com

https://youtu.be/6Fw4Yodu3Ww?si=9dEb1tKVamN6haAQ

I recorded today’s conversation on the final day of our recent flower and garden-inspired river cruise in Holland and Belgium. It was a spontaneous decision to sit down with Eileen Tongson, a longtime Slow Flowers member, owner of FarmGal Flowers, and one of 29 North American growers featured in the pages of The Flower Farmers book, who had joined the tour along with her cousin, Sarah Ponce. Based in Winter Park, Florida, a suburb of Orlando, Eileen’s success at growing flowers nearly year-round was once a curiosity; now it’s part of her reputation. Her students want to learn how to grow a flower garden like she has; they take Eileen’s workshops at a local botanical garden or at East End Market, an artisanal food and restaurant hub; and in small-group events at the FarmGal Flowers' cottage garden where Eileen lives with her family. I’m so thankful that Eileen agreed to record this conversation with me as she shared her story with fellow tour-goers and with our viewers and listeners. It also gave me a chance to tell the story of the origins of the Slow Flowers Movement with our fellow travelers.

FarmGal Flowers opening pages of chapter The Flower Farmers

In the pages of The Flower Farmers book, the opening lines of our chapter about FarmGal Flowers begins: “The botanical lifestyle that Eileen Tongson leads today began with a simple packet of zinnia seeds from her mother. “In retrospect, I was very fortunate, because I didn’t think much about it when I threw those seeds into some of my vegetable beds,” she says. “But they grew like crazy!”

Eileen Tongson, FarmGal Flowers

And as is the case with so many of us, those seeds planted a passion for flowers, an overflowing cutting garden, and a new career for the former nursing educator.

Twelve years ago, FarmGal Flowers was born, and through her micro urban flower farm Eileen has made a great impression on her community and beyond.

Inside pages from The Flower Farmers book chapter featuring FarmGal Flowers

I’m so happy that she agreed to be part of The Flower Farmers book. Her story illustrates how to shape a flower-filled life and how to share it with others. And in our conversation, Eileen joined me in telling the Slow Flowers story, as well.

Debra Prinzing and Eileen Tongson in Holland April 2026

We recorded in the lounge of AmaWaterways’ Certo vessel, the home of our seven-day river and canal cruise in April. About 20 of our fellow tourgoers joined us to learn more about Slow Flowers and FarmGal Flowers, and it was a lively and lovely experience – and I'm so happy we can share it with you today.

Find and follow FarmGal Flowers on Instagram and FacebookSign up for FarmGal Flowers' newsletter here

Thank you to our Sponsors

This show is brought to you by slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to 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, and you can expect a commitment to excellence in return. Learn more at RootedFarmers.com.

And thank you to Johnny's Selected Seeds, an employee-owned company that provides our industry the best flower, herb and vegetable seeds -- supplied to farms large and small and even backyard cutting gardens like mine. Find the full catalog of flower seeds and bulbs at johnnyseeds.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 movement gains more supporters and more passionate participants who believe in the importance of our domestic cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious. I know you feel it, too. If you’re new to our weekly Show and our long-running Podcast, check out all of our resources at SlowFlowersSociety.com.

Thank you for listening! Sending love, from my cutting garden to you! (c) Missy Palacol Photography

I'm Debra Prinzing, host and producer of the Slow Flowers Show & Podcast. The Slow Flowers Podcast is engineered and edited by Andrew Brenlan. The content and opinions expressed here are either mine alone or those of my guests alone, independent of any podcast sponsor or other person, company or organization. Next week, you're invited to join me in putting more Slow Flowers on the table, one stem, one vase at a time. Thanks so much for joining us today and I'll see you next week!

Music credits:

Drone Pine; Gaena; Color Countryby Blue Dot Sessionshttp://www.sessions.blue

Lovelyby Tryad http://tryad.bandcamp.com/album/instrumentalshttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

In The Fieldaudionautix.com

https://youtu.be/5fCEbvjLDBc?si=L614SYdRlT9RgmFI

The cover story of Slow Flowers Journal’s spring issue – published in early May -- features an editorial-style photoshoot of a wedding at the top of Catamount Mountain in New York’s Berkshires. The florals for this beautiful production were designed by Rebekah Mindel of Meadow Wilds, today’s guest – and if you haven’t seen or read my story yet, I’d love to share it with you to it today – and introduce the creative farmer-florist who brought a botanical sensibility to her collaboration with planner Lisa Jaroscak Chin of Elegante Weddings and Events. I introduced the story as follows: As a wedding designer who grows many of her own botanicals and also sources from local farms, Rebekah Mindel’s floral vision reflects the couple’s aesthetic, while capturing the character of the ceremony’s place, venue, and natural setting. Her manifesto appears on Meadow Wilds’ website and includes this statement: “The Meadow Wilds process is collaborative and visionary. We design with an artist’s eye, pulling inspiration from the natural world, sensory experiences, all of earth’s fine details, and of course, love.” Join me in a conversation with Rebekah to learn about how the connection between place and design informs her studio.

Rebekah Mindel (c) Teresa Horgan Photography

The Catamount wedding venue featuring lavish seasonal florals by Meadow Wilds (c) Molly McCauley

Designing the florals for an editorial-styled photoshoot that portrays a spring wedding presented Rebekah Mindel of Meadow Wilds a chance to work creatively in a unique place, full of elemental power. As she told me: “The ceremony’s stunning location was literally on top of a mountain. Windblown textures and the expansive feeling of grand vistas became central aspects of the floral design.” The collaboration with planner Lisa Jaroscak Chin, Columbia Tent Rentals and photographer Molly McCauley was a rare opportunity for Rebekah to realize her vision with rare creative freedom.

Catamount Editorial featuring lovely tables and florals from Meadow Wilds (c) Molly McCauley

Vendor Credits:

Planning: @_eleganteweddingsandevents

Venue: @catamountevents @catamountmtnresort

Photography: @mollymccauley_photo

Videography: @magicflutephotovideo

Rentals: @columbiatentrentals

Florals: @meadowwilds

Stationery: @hudsonvalleyletterpress

Dress Boutique: @mira_couture

Dresses: @marchesabridal 

Tuxedo: @galxndrstyle

Hair and Make Up: @bridalbyalexandria 

Stylist: @francesca_stylist.to.the.bride

Cake: @cakesbyashleeo

Shoes: @jimmychoo

Talent: @olviyaaaaa @_thomasmichael

Detail of a large-scale urn arrangement by Meadow Wilds (c) Molly McCauley

For the floral aesthetic, Rebekah drew from ornamental shrubs on her farm to create structure, volume, and texture in several stately urns and ground arrangements. Flowering bulbs and perennials from her fields, and from fellow Hudson Valley growers added to the floral recipe. A wide variety of branches, including ninebark and viburnum, created the necessary scale, while an ephemeral, earthy spectrum of apricot, mauve, plum, and chartreuse greens added detail and interest. Allium, foxglove, lupine, tulips, peonies, columbine, and other local blooms play against baptisia foliage, while cultivated and wild-foraged ingredients reflect the beauty of place and time.

Seasonal botanical beauty by Rebekah Mindel of Meadow Wilds (c) Molly McCauley

“I think the fact that I’m a grower allows me to bring more of an organic quality to this project,” Rebekah explains. I wanted to share it with our listeners and readers – and I especially wanted to introduce Rebekah’s floral aesthetic and her collaboration with other creatives to produce a wedding photo shoot that benefitted each. Click below for the Spring 2026 issue of Slow Flowers Journal and read the story about Rebekah’s project, along with an inspiring collection of real weddings that celebrate local flowers from our Slow Flowers members.

Click to read the Spring 2026 issue of Slow Flowers Journal

Melissa Glorieux (left) and Rebekah Mindel (right)

In our conversation, you’ll also learn about Rebekah’s journey to flowers and together we remember an important mentor of hers, Melissa Glorieux of Aster B. Flowers. I’ve also added a link to the June 2016 Podcast Episode 252 – “Bouquets Grown in Massachusetts with Melissa Glorieux of Aster B. Flowers” – which introduces Melissa and her pioneering work in the Slow Flowers movement.

Thank you to our Sponsors

This show is brought to you by slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to 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 movement gains more supporters and more passionate participants who believe in the importance of our domestic cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious. I know you feel it, too. If you’re new to our weekly Show and our long-running Podcast, check out all of our resources at SlowFlowersSociety.com.

Thank you for listening! Sending love, from my cutting garden to you! (c) Missy Palacol Photography

I'm Debra Prinzing, host and producer of the Slow Flowers Show & Podcast. The Slow Flowers Podcast is engineered and edited by Andrew Brenlan. The content and opinions expressed here are either mine alone or those of my guests alone, independent of any podcast sponsor or other person, company or organization. Next week, you're invited to join me in putting more Slow Flowers on the table, one stem, one vase at a time. Thanks so much for joining us today and I'll see you next week!

Music credits:

Drone Pine; Gaena; Color Countryby Blue Dot Sessionshttp://www.sessions.blue

Lovelyby Tryad http://tryad.bandcamp.com/album/instrumentalshttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

In The Fieldaudionautix.com

https://youtu.be/UNpJQvGNuPc?si=BsOX2cXLaMTtF44S

Jodi Logue is a Pacific Northwest flower farmer based in Olalla, Washington. As owner of Moss and Madder Farm, Jodi believes in the power of community-building. She is known for bringing flower farmers together from across the Kitsap Peninsula, from Bremerton to Tacoma and points between. Listeners met Jodi on the Slow Flowers Podcast in October 2023, an episode recorded at one of her “Pie and Coffee” gatherings for flower farmers. That’s when I first heard Jodi voice her interest in starting a flower hub to collectively market local flowers to florists. This former health care manager knows how to make things happen. In the spring of 2024, West Sound Flower Exchanged launched as a mobile floral wholesaler serving parts of three counties – all located on the opposite side of Puget Sound from my home. West Sound Flower Exchange is not a collective or a cooperative, but it is an important hub that connects flower farmers with florists and their customers. Jodi is a solopreneur and I wanted to learn more about this unique model, because it has been cropping up more frequently, including in recent episodes of the Slow Flowers Podcast. Our interview includes a video tour of Jodi’s farm, including a new barn, two high tunnels, and the adorable vehicle called The Flower Bus – a small school bus converted to botanical delivery van.

Jodi Logue, Moss and Madder Farm

The mission of West Sound Floral Exchange is to make it convenient to shop locally grown flowers first! It’s a simply stated brand message that communicates who they are and what they believe. Essentially, West Sound Floral Exchange wants to connect local flower farmers to designers so that all can share locally grown flowers with their communities.

Points on the map for West Sound Floral Exchange

The service eliminates the pain point of traveling across the region – usually by costly and time-consuming ferry boats or via a toll bridge --  to go to Seattle for “local” flowers, or to trek to a wholesale warehouse that imports over 90% of their product from other continents.

As founder Jodi Logue writes on West Sound Floral Exchange’s website: “We started this collective because want to enable our local flower farmers to keep farming by creating a wholesale marketplace that serves local professionals. We hope the rising tide of local flowers will lift all our boats as we grow.”

In addition to Jodi, who also owns Moss and Madder Farm, I’m thrilled to note that several Slow Flowers members are part of West Sound Floral Exchange, including: Kristen Rubin of Sweetwater Stem Co. and Amy Linhart of Humming Harvest – both based in Gig Harbor; and Rebecca Slattery of Persephone Farm in Indianola – all three are past guests of the Slow Flowers Podcast. And there’s also Erin Ardoin of Ginger’s Florals in Port Orchard. I’m pretty excited to see that they are each part of this endeavor. In all, there are more than 20 flower farmers who sell their fresh, seasonal blooms through West Sound Flower Exchange.

The Flower Bus from West Sound Floral Exchange

Whether you listen or watch today’s episode, you may find it impressive that I visited Jodi on the Tuesday before Mother’s Day. For someone embarking on what is arguably the busiest floral week of the year, Jodi was calm, cool, and collected. . . a true professional!

Find and follow West Sound Floral Exchange on Instagram

Thank you to our Sponsors

This show is brought to you by slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to 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 than 1.5 million times by listeners like you. Thank you for listening, commenting and sharing – it means so much. As our movement gains more supporters and more passionate participants who believe in the importance of our domestic cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious. I know you feel it, too. If you’re new to our weekly Show and our long-running Podcast, check out all of our resources at SlowFlowersSociety.com.

Thank you for listening! Sending love, from my cutting garden to you! (c) Missy Palacol Photography

I'm Debra Prinzing, host and producer of the Slow Flowers Show & Podcast. The Slow Flowers Podcast is engineered and edited by Andrew Brenlan. The content and opinions expressed here are either mine alone or those of my guests alone, independent of any podcast sponsor or other person, company or organization. Next week, you're invited to join me in putting more Slow Flowers on the table, one stem, one vase at a time. Thanks so much for joining us today and I'll see you next week!

Music credits:

Drone Pine; Gaena; Tripoliby Blue Dot Sessionshttp://www.sessions.blue

Lovelyby Tryad http://tryad.bandcamp.com/album/instrumentalshttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

In The Fieldaudionautix.com