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Slow Flowers Podcast

Debra Prinzing
Slow Flowers Podcast
Nieuwste aflevering

344 afleveringen

  • Slow Flowers Podcast

    Episode 762: Sarah Nayani of Grow Girl Seattle on teaching gardeners how to plan and plant their backyard cutting gardens

    01-04-2026 | 42 Min.
    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 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 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 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 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; Town Marketby 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
  • Slow Flowers Podcast

    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

    25-03-2026 | 1 u.
    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 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.

    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; Paper Featherby 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
  • Slow Flowers Podcast

    Episode 760: “The Beginner’s Cut Flower Garden,” with author Elizabeth Brown of Foxglove Farmhouse

    18-03-2026 | 44 Min.
    https://youtu.be/eZ8rhWdiXGI?si=dpx4iDhOEBb3420T

    Foxglove Farmhouse is a small, regenerative flower garden in coastal Maine. If you follow the tidal York River from the sea, up along the winding salt marshes to the west side of town, there you will find owner Elizabeth Brown and her flowers. Her purpose is a simple one -- to grow sustainable local flowers, and to encourage others to do the same. Elizabeth believes flowers have the power to heal, connect, and bring joy, especially when we need it most. Through her community-based Foxglove Garden Club for home gardeners, and through her role as Resident Gardener at Cliff House Maine, Elizabeth shares her belief that the best flowers are those grown with your own two hands. Join me today as Elizabeth and I discuss her story and her new book, “The Beginner’s Cut Flower Garden.”

    Elizabeth Brown (c) Lindsay Fairchild

    Today’s interview is the final in our series of four conversations filmed in February at the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival in Seattle, where Slow Flowers has long been involved producing floral education and programming.

    In her gorgeous new book, The Beginner's Cut Flower Garden, certified therapeutic horticulturist and cut-flower expert Elizabeth Brown, reveals how growing your own show-stopping bouquet does not require abundant yard space, gardening expertise, or an overwhelming time commitment, just an eagerness to start. Introducing gardeners of all skill level to the vibrant world of floral gardening, The Beginner's Cut Flower Garden offers step-by-step seasonal advice, easy-to-grow bloom profiles, flower arranging tips, floral crafting activities, and more. 

    Flizabeth at her Foxglove Farmhouse garden (c) Lindsay Fairchild

    Beyond just teaching how to nurture florals, Brown reminds why we should, inviting all to enjoy the healing, connection, and delight derived from a hand-grown bouquet. We featured Elizabeth, a longtime Slow Flowers member and owner of Foxglove Farmhouse, in the fall 2023 issue of Slow Flowers Journal, in a beautiful story about her role growing cut flowers and providing floral experiences at Cliff House, a coastal Maine resort. You can read that story here (see pages 25-29). It was no surprise to me that a book project soon followed after we featured Elizabeth. She had already been working with photographer Lindsay Fairchild and they shared some lovely images to illustrate that story, too.

    Floral experiences at Cliff House Maine with Elizabeth Brown of Foxglove Farmhouse (c) Lindsay Fairchild

    Here’s a bit more about Elizabeth:

    She is a certified therapeutic horticulturist and Maine Master Gardener Volunteer. After growing and gifting hundreds of blooms to essential workers in her community during the pandemic, Elizabeth created Foxglove Farmhouse, a quarter-acre cut flower garden in her backyard. This garden’s mix of annual and perennial blooms are cultivated without chemicals and pesticides, providing sustainable local flowers to florists and markets. Elizabeth regularly gives workshops on cut flower garden design, floral arrangements, and seed sowing and created the Foxglove Garden Club, a year-long virtual subscription-based garden education program for beginner gardeners. Brown also works as the Resident Gardener of Cliff House Maine. In 2023, she released a curated 100% organic cut flower seed line, highlighted in the Boston Globe and Down East Magazine’s seasonal gift coverage. 

    Table of Contents by Season

    Flowers for Cutting

    Favorite Harvest Tools

    I’m delighted that we were able to sit down and record an episode for our special event, Slow Flowers Podcast LIVE. Thanks to everyone who attended – it was our best-attended session and we loved the interaction with friends and peers in the audience.

    Find and follow Foxglove Farmhouse on Instagram

    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 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 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.

    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
  • Slow Flowers Podcast

    Episode 759: “Beautiful Roses,” with author Janice Cox of Natural Beauty at Home

    11-03-2026 | 46 Min.
    https://youtu.be/aZi_o0UniTU?si=qXVttU3ViO_6wIwD

    Everyone loves roses, and Janice Cox proves why in her new book, "Beautiful Roses: A Guide and Workbook for Growing, Using, and Enjoying America’s Favorite Flower." The book covers rose growing but also the endless ways you can integrate roses into cooking, crafting, and wellness. A nationally recognized expert in natural beauty, DIY skincare, and gardening for health and wellness, Janice is author of five books, and she has created a series of hands-on workbooks focused on growing, using, and enjoying herbs and flowers. A longtime Slow Flowers member, she shares her newest book with us today – combining the beauty, fragrance and creativity that roses, rose gardening, and cultivation can bring to your life and your floral enterprise.

    Janice Cox, author of Beautiful Roses

    Today’s interview is the third in our series of four conversations filmed in February at the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival in Seattle, where Slow Flowers has long been involved producing floral education and programming.

    Cooking with Roses

    I’m so happy that we can learn from Janice Cox, Oregon-based author and expert on the natural use of so many beloved plants. She calls herself “the original DIY-er,” meaning that long before DIY was even a term, Janice turned to plants, nature, and the garden to make what other people purchase in plastic bottles or jars, as well as to cook with and make functional, everyday items.

    Natural Beauty with Roses

    I love how she has created a meaningful, plant-filled and flower-filled life and career. In our conversation, you’ll learn not only volumes about America’s favorite flower, the rose, but also (surprisingly) about Luffas. The common thread is that both the rose and the luffa plant can be grown and harvested for many uses. And sprinkled throughout this episode are delightful plant facts – stories of history, symbolism, and tradition – along with practical tips for preserving their blooms, petals, stems, and fruit.

    Crafting with Roses

    Find and follow Janice Cox at these social places:Instagram and FacebookOrder "Roses" and Janice's other books here

    Join us at the Slow Flowers Member Meet-Up

    In news of the week, there’s still time to sign up and attend our March Slow Flowers Member Meet-Up – coming up this Friday, March 13th at 9 am Pacific/Noon Eastern. The topic is one that’s particularly appealing to both growers and farmer-florists, but also to home gardeners. We’ve invited three of our members to share their experience, advice, and tips in a session called Growing Flower Seedlings for Profit. You’ll learn from Kate Skelton, Fawn Reuckert, and Carol Wetzel as they discuss how you can translate your expertise into a revenue stream when you grow and sell cutting garden plants to flower lovers and fellow growers. And florists will be encouraged to get in on the act and offer locally-grown cut flowers as an add-on for workshops and special events! Pre-registration is required for this Zoom meeting. Click the signup link below, or find a link in our Instagram linktree bio for Slowflowerssociety. Hope to see you there!

    Pre-Register for the March 13th 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 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 the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers. The ASCFG is a gathering place for specialty cut flower growers of all levels of experience. It is a hub of knowledge, where seasoned experts and budding enthusiasts come together to learn, share, and support one another. The ASCFG is dedicated to empowering its members with the knowledge and resources needed to thrive in the world of cut flower farming. From educational workshops and conferences to online resources and publications, they provide a wealth of information and support for all things related to growing exceptional cut flowers. Learn more about the ASCFG and how to be a part of it at www.ascfg.org!

    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; Rose Ornamentalby 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
  • Slow Flowers Podcast

    Episode 758: “Modern Floriography: Flowers, Gardens, and Gifts Inspired by the Language of Flowers,” with author Teresa Sabankaya

    04-03-2026 | 55 Min.
    https://youtu.be/nEmy-vXnxos?si=3u8-foe5nFkee7KM

    Teresa Sabankaya believes that today’s technology gives us endless ways to communicate, yet we are often left searching for words when faced with a declaration of love, the loss of someone dear, or the marking of a pivotal moment. For centuries, people have turned to the language of flowers to express their most heartfelt emotions. In Teresa’s new book, “Modern Floriography,” she honors this enduring tradition while inviting readers to discover fresh, creative forms of expression. Teresa recently joined our Slow Flowers Podcast LIVE series, held at the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival in Seattle where she spoke, taught, signed books, and met hundreds of fans. A longtime Slow Flowers member and pioneer of the slow flowers movement, Teresa shared generously with our live audience and with all of you today.

    Today’s interview is the second in our series of four conversations filmed in February at the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival in Seattle, where Slow Flowers has long been involved producing floral education and programming.

    I’m thrilled that Teresa Sabankaya brought her message of the language of flowers to this year’s festival, including at the Blooms & Bubbles workshop. Before we dive into the interview, here’s a bit more about Teresa:

    Teresa’s floral career began in 1999 when she became a farmer-florist who designed flowers that she herself grew – a practice not widely known among consumers. She added retail floristry with Bonny Doon Garden Co. in Santa Cruz, California, in 2003.

    Modern Floriography by Teresa Sabankaya

    One of the most innovative floral designers in the SF and Monterey Bay areas, Teresa has exhibited her floral art at museums and flower show, including Bouquets to Art at the De Young Museum in Golden Gate Park, the Monterey Museum of Art, and at Filoli Mansion and Gardens, where she teaches floral design regularly.

    She was a speaker at our first Slow Flowers Summit in 2017 and is a past guest of the Slow Flowers Podcast. Her first book, The Posy Book, was published in 2019.

    She was featured in Michael Pollen’s PBS documentary, The Botany of Desire and Amy Stewart profiled Teresa in her 2007 book, Flower Confidential. And so much more.

    I know you’ll enjoy today’s wide-ranging conversation that begins with designing posy gardens and illustrating those gardens for her new book, and ends with my asking Teresa to reflect on the arc of her incredible career and journey through flowers.

    Also, we have a giveaway copy of Modern Floriography, so if you’d like to add your name to the drawing, please comment here and share the meaning of your favorite flower. Or, comment on our IG account about this episode, @slowflowerssociety. We will draw the name of one lucky winner on Monday, March 9th at midnight Pacific Time.

    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, and you can expect a commitment to excellence in return. Learn more at RootedFarmers.com.

    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; Game Hensby 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

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Over 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.
Podcast website

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