September 2018 Slow Flowers Journal: Celebrating ASCFG’s 30th Anniversary and More

For 30 years, the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers has delivered fresh, local and seasonal blooms to florists and designers. Featured in the above photo: Lennie Larkin of B-Side Farm in Sebastopol, Calif.

PERENNIAL FAVORITES

In Issue No. 14 of the Slow Flowers Journal for the September 2018 issue of Florists’ Review, we featured the people behind American- and Canadian-grown flowers, members of the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers.

In 1988, when the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers (ASCFG) was founded, most flower farmers communicated in decidedly low-tech ways. Janet Foss of J. Foss Garden Flowers in Chehalis, Wash., recalls eagerly awaiting the arrival of her favorite seed catalog by mail. There were no photographs, just enticing descriptions to help her choose which flower seeds to plant each season. “I couldn’t go on the Internet and ask for advice,” Janet recalls.

Fast-forward 30 years and today, and ASCFG boasts a diverse membership of flower farmers, farmer-florists, designers, educators and growers, based primarily in the U.S. and Canada. These high-tech agricultural entrepreneurs use digital tools and social media platforms to learn, communicate and market their crops. The term “specialty cut flowers” is now equated with “couture,” “artisan” and “uncommon” — floral adjectives that describe the trending garden-inspired aesthetic.

ASCFG is a critical hub for anyone involved in growing flowers commercially. The organization publishes The Cut Flower Quarterly, offers educational scholarships, awards research grants to both growers and floriculture academics, conducts seed, perennial, woody plant and bulb trials, coordinates a popular mentor program and educates farmers on the science and art of growing flowers for market through several meetings held each year across the country.

Download PDF of Perennial Favorite here.

GROWING HER OWN

Kirsten Bosnak and Bob Gent of Blue Morning Glory Studio embrace the farming lifestyle by growing and designing local flowers in Lawrence, Kansas; (c) Chelsea Donoho, (c) Jana Marie Photography and (c) Christian Gideon

In the early 1990s, Kirsten Bosnak was editor of a magazine called Supermarket Floral, traveling to far-off places like Holland and Colombia where cut flowers were grown for export to the U.S. She later worked in Europe for two years before returning to Lawrence, Kansas, in 1996 to work as an editor at the University of Kansas. Little did Kirsten know that 25 years later she would return to flowers, albeit in a decidedly local way, with the launch of Blue Morning Glory, a boutique floral design studio and farm.

While it may seem like she has started a second life chapter by pivoting to flowers, Kirsten thinks differently. “My work with flowers as a business is not a change, but rather a surrender to lifelong loves and practices,” she writes on her web site.

Kirsten continues to work as communications manager for an environmental research center at KU while building Blue Morning Glory into a wedding and event-focused studio and farm. In addition to ceremonies, she designs for events at the local art museum.

Download PDF of Growing Her Own here.

WILD-GATHERED

Seattle florist Kelly Sullivan of Botanique considers foraging an essential facet of her design business. She teaches workshop students the fine art of foraging for their design work. (c) Anna Peters

Based in Seattle, Botanique Flowers is housed in a freestanding studio located just steps beyond Kelly Sullivan’s family home, surrounded by a vibrant cutting garden that serves as muse.

Like many floral designers, Kelly has responded to teaching requests in the past — from CSA customers eager to learn a few skills to aspiring florists requesting one-on-one instruction. At the same time, at least in Seattle, the market has become flooded with competition for floral design education.

In response, Kelly has fine-tuned the themes of her workshops and also the way she teaches. Teaching underscores what is uniquely her brand and personal floral design aesthetic. She shares essential design mechanics with her students, but also offers content they aren’t able to find from other workshops.

Two recent courses illustrate the direction she’s taking. Last fall, Kelly taught “Grow, Harvest, Design,” an onsite workshop at her cutting garden and studio. “This appealed to people who wanted to learn how to grow flowers and design with what they grow and harvest,” she explains. “Students cut whatever they wanted from my garden and then learned how to design a compote arrangement.”

In May, Kelly’s “Forage and Create” workshop moved from the Botanique’s cutting garden in the city to a more spacious setting at Wildshoot Forest & Farm, a boutique wedding venue in Granite Falls, Wash., about 35 miles north of Seattle.

Download PDF of Wild-Gathered here.

Debra Prinzing

Debra Prinzing is a Seattle-based writer, speaker and leading advocate for American-grown flowers. Through her many Slow Flowers-branded projects, she has convened a national conversation that encourages consumers and professionals alike to make conscious choices about their floral purchases. Debra is the producer of SlowFlowers.com, the weekly "Slow Flowers Podcast" and the American Flowers Week (June 28-July 4) campaign. Debra is author of 11 books, including Slow Flowers (2013), The 50 Mile Bouquet (2012) and Slow Flowers Journal (2020). She is the co-founder of BLOOM Imprint, the boutique publishing arm of Slow Flowers.

Subscribe to SlowFlowers newsletter

Subscribe to our mailing list

Powered by Robly

Slow Flowers Journal is brought to you by SlowFlowers.com. Slow Flowers is an award-winning online directory created to help consumers find florists, studio designers, wedding and event planners, supermarket flower departments and flower farmers that supply American grown flowers. Founded in 2014, the site has grown to 850 members across the U.S.

FOLLOW US ON

Media Contact:

For more information, please contact Debra Prinzing
at 206-769-8211 or 844-SLOWFLO (844-756-9356); debra(at)slowflowers.com.