Katy Roach of Utah Flower & Foliage gardens, writes and sells flowers in Salt Lake City, Utah. From her micro flower farm she creates seasonal bouquets from annuals, perennials and flowering shrubs.
This duo met while Josh was hanging up holiday wreaths at Lindsey’s employer's office. Lindsey was determined they were going to be centered perfectl - 1/8” to the right, 1/4” up. Josh went home and told his mom that he was never going back there again. That Lindsey was way too bossy. Years later they crossed paths again at a holiday party and the rest is history. Josh & Lindsey became the sole owners of Red Twig Farms in 2019. They took off running and have yet to stop expanding and restructuring the farm. After 4 successful years, with Lindsey betting her father-in-law Karl that they could grow the annual Peony Festival, the event unfortunately was retired when Covid hit in 2020. That's when McCulloughs introduced nationwide shipping for their peonies, sending out over 1,700 boxes in 4 weeks to 48 of the states. In 2021, Red Twig Farms' peonies reach ALL 50 states. They added on "Bloom Mechanics Floral Designs" to their lineup in 2021, using foam free mechanics designed for events & weddings.
Debbie Bosworth is a gardener//florist in Plymouth, MA. She owns Dandelion House Floral Design, a boutique flower farm and floral design business.
"As long as I can remember I've loved flowers and no matter what, I've always had flower gardens. In 2012, I became impassioned with the idea of having a little flower farm but a move wasn't in the stars, so instead, I turned a large portion of my backyard into a micro cut flower garden. That first season was magical. I couldn't believe how easy it was to grow sun loving annuals for cutting. I harvested buckets of dahlias, zinnias, cosmos, sunflowers, and a variety of filler flowers that year. I shared my flowers with family, friends and neighbors arranged in simple mason jars. Before long I was asked to do an intimate wedding with my garden grown blooms and I fell in love with the entire process of creating for weddings. Fast forward seven years and I am more in love with growing flowers and floral design than ever before. My passion for gardening and growing beautiful cut flowers is my inspiration for creating designs with a wildly romantic, natural feel."
Debbie is a Slow Flowers member and founder of the New England Farmer Florist Connection Facebook group. Debbie works from her home studio servicing wedding clients south of Boston and Cape Cod , Massachusetts. When she's not " in the flowers" you'll find her recouping at the beach with her family and Figgy, the friendly corgi.
Scribe-Scout-Speaker
A daughter of the American west, with great grandparents who homesteaded in Idaho, I tagged along with my grandmother and grandfather as they gardened in the tiny town of Latah, Washington, just across the Idaho state line. I have developed a fierce passion for all things GARDEN. I grow, scout, and write about gardens. My expertise is in the Intermountain West, but I have written for Rocky Mountain Gardening, Country Gardens, MaryJane’s Farm, Fine Gardening, Leaf Magazine, the American Gardener, and newspapers across the region. I’ve designed public, private, and commercial landscapes, and gardens for flower shows. I love encouraging gardeners to get down and dirty. When not tending to my garden, I volunteer my time weeding or planting or doing garden design work at the Idaho Botanical Garden in Boise.
Kirsten Rabishaw, a fourth generation studio florist, owns Bloom Magic Weddings in Highland Park, Illinois. Entering its fifth season, BMW specializes in creative, eco-friendly wedding florals and home décor subscriptions. Kirsten is a trained horticulturist and artist, gathering and growing locally sourced blooms. She serves as treasurer of the Chicago Green Wedding Alliance.
Hannah Brannan is a Software Engineer and the Founder of Gather Flora, a web platform that connects farmers and florists to facilitate convenient, improved access to seasonal, locally grown flower sales. Hannah's lifelong admiration and visceral love for seasonal blooms traces back to her childhood memories of gardening with her grandmother in San Marcos, Texas. After finally giving in to her daily flower daydreams while working in Silicon Valley, Hannah found that she could best serve the community by merging flowers with software to overcome critical challenges that farmers and florists have in common. Hannah's deep connection to the natural beauty of local flowers is centered in the calm, clear and simple good that she experiences when sharing them. Sharing an incredible flower, to Hannah, is a deep breath in a crowded, busy, demanding, constantly changing world.
Teresa Sabankaya is the founder and owner of Bonny Doon Garden Company since 1999- a full service floral design studio, florist and botanical gift shop. Teresa holds a greatly influential position as one of the most innovative florists in the San Francisco Bay Area. Teresa has exhibited her floral art annually at the ‘Bouquets to Art’ exhibition at the De Young Museum in Golden Gate Park, the National Trust Filoli’s Estate in Woodside, and various other floral design and garden shows. Teresa’s floral designs have become highly desirable due to their unique style of arranging and elegant garden appeal. Teresa’s designs carry a chic and nostalgic feel, like a just gathered from the garden bouquet of exquisite high-end blooms. Because of their garden origin, her designs emit a familiarity to people while calibrating the soul. Her wedding floral styles have been featured in numerous wedding blogs and magazines including Smitten, Sweet Violet Bride, Ruffled Blog and Green Wedding Shoes.
Samantha Ritter is the owner of Sea Change Farm & Flower, a flower farm and floral design studio in New York’s Hudson Valley.
Deborah Barber is Director of Land Management at The Nature Conservancy Maryland/D.C., and an avid gardener and floral designer. Her team prepares natural areas around the state for resilience in the face of an uncertain climate future using land protection and ecological restoration techniques, including prescribed fire, invasive species control and sustainable timber harvest.
For fun Deborah manages the Lyon Park Virginia native plant garden in Arlington, Virginia and both competes in and designs scavenger hunts in urban and natural areas around Washington DC.