In this episode of The Flower Podcast, Scott Shepherd talks with Carole Patilla of Tuckshop Flowers and co-founder of The Farewell Flowers Directory. They explore the growing movement toward sustainable and foam-free funeral flowers. Carole shares practical tips for florists ready to shift away from floral foam, embrace compostable design, and rethink traditional funeral floristry. This inspiring conversation is all about starting small, building confidence, and making meaningful change in your ...
Jun 26, 2025•1 hr 20 min•Season 13Ep. 293
In this episode of The Flower Podcast, Elizabeth Hodges, owner of Philo Floral in Greenville SC., opens up about the powerful mindset shift that helped her build a business rooted in authenticity. We explore how understanding generational values—from Gen Z’s focus on connection and transparency to older generations’ appreciation for experience—can change the way you approach wedding consultations and client relationships. Elizabeth also shares her thoughts on taking ownership of your growth, let...
Jun 12, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Season 13Ep. 292
In this episode, we welcome back Adrianne Gammie, a dedicated flower farmer known for her intentional approach to business, sustainability, and community impact. Adrianne shares valuable insights from her evolving farm, covering everything from pollinator habitat and land stewardship to profitability and professional relationships. Her candid advice is grounded in real-world experience and offers practical strategies for flower farmers at any stage. Topics Covered: -How diversification helps man...
May 29, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Season 13Ep. 291
Flowers are at the heart of so many meaningful moments—especially since Mother’s Day week just happened. This episode honors the hardworking farmers, florists, designers, and behind-the-scenes teams who make it all possible. Returning guest Diane Szukovathy of Jello Mold Farm joins Scott for a rich conversation about long-term farm planning, infrastructure investment, and the evolving role of a flower grower. As a founding member of the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market, Diane also shares the sto...
May 15, 2025•1 hr 13 min•Season 13Ep. 290
We’re chatting with Nicole Pitt, the passionate owner of Flower Hill Farm , and a popular YouTube creator, as she shares her journey in the world of flower farming. Nicole’s story is all about planting roots, both literally and figuratively, as she returned to her childhood home in 2018 and transformed it into a thriving farm full of flowers. Some of the topics we discussed: Perennials as a Foundation: Nicole emphasizes that perennials, though slower to establish, are long-term investments that ...
Apr 24, 2025•1 hr 7 min•Season 13Ep. 289
This week's episode highlights the importance of continual growth and learning in the floral industry. Our guest, Pili, exemplifies this by consistently investing in her skills through workshops and collaborations with leading designers. She emphasizes the need for exploring new trends and refining techniques to perfect one’s craft. A key theme in the conversation is Pili's ability to identify issues and opportunities, then rallying the community to fill those gaps. We dive into the flower marke...
Apr 10, 2025•59 min•Season 13Ep. 288
This week on The Flower Podcast our guest is Niki Irving, the owner and florist behind Flourish Flower Farm in Asheville, NC, where she grows a wide variety of flowers and foliage using sustainable methods. She creates beautiful, seasonal arrangements for weddings and events, leads classes and workshops on the farm, and offers fresh bouquets at her farmstand. Niki is also the author of the popular book Growing Flowers: Everything You Need to Know About Planting, Tending, Harvesting, and Arrangin...
Mar 27, 2025•1 hr 7 min•Season 13Ep. 287
Numbers are our friends! Digging deep into the data generated through the growing and selling of our flowers is an important part of creating a more sustainable business. This week, we’re chatting with Adrianne Gammie, owner of Marilla Field and Flora, along with Amelia Ihlo, founder of Rooted Farmers. We’ll take the time to meet Adrianne and discuss with Amelia how to analyze data from 2024 to evaluate the flower crops grown by both of these growers, as well as analyze the data collected by Roo...
Mar 13, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Season 13Ep. 286
Today’s guest is Meg Hutchinson, owner of The Florista, a floral and event business based in Nashville, TN. Meg is known for specializing and creating custom floral designs, bringing her client’s vision to life. Her focus is delivering the “Wow Factor” through bespoke floral experiences that exceed expectations. In this episode we had a great time discussing several aspects of Meg’s business. Never underestimate the importance in investing in yourself and mastering basic mechanics. Don’t be afra...
Feb 27, 2025•1 hr 9 min•Season 13Ep. 285
Hello everyone! This is a special episode of The Flower Podcast. This year we’re continuing a tradition that started last year with sharing something from our family’s archives. My Dad for many years has collected a wide range of old time radio shows. His collection is made up of over 30,000 different shows and of course there are several Christmas specials. So we’re excited to reshare this condensed version of Charles Dickens Classic, “A Christmas Carol” again this year. The book was originally...
Dec 23, 2024•30 min•Season 12Ep. 284
I’m excited to share this week’s episode with you! Earlier this year Jenny Love, flower farmer expert and host of the No Till Flowers podcast, asked me to be a guest on her podcast to chat about working with wholesalers as a local flower farmer. Jenny asked great questions and we had a great conversation that I hope you find helpful. Hopefully through conversation like this we can continue to grow the local flower share of our industry and bring more of the flower production to our own communiti...
Dec 17, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Season 12Ep. 283
This week, we’re catching up with Bailey Hale to dive into all the exciting developments happening at Farmer Bailey. So much has unfolded over the past two years that we had to bring Bailey back on the podcast to get the inside scoop. We’ll hear about his recent tour to the Netherlands, the latest trends in cut flower plants, and their brand-new program, Garden Club Plants, launching this week. As a floral designer, flower farmer, and plant distributor, Bailey’s expertise is unmatched. It’s alwa...
Dec 10, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 12Ep. 282
This week, I’m joined by Ashley Fox, the creative force behind Ashley Fox Designs, a full-service floral studio in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. Specializing in stunning floral arrangements for weddings, events, and editorial projects, Ashley is celebrated for her unique use of color and exceptional flower choices, drawing inspiration from the beauty of nature. With 25 years of experience and a background in horticulture and the arts, she carefully selects the finest local blooms alongside excl...
Dec 03, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Season 12Ep. 281
Our guest this week is Eleanor Lonardo and her business is called The Borrowed Garden located in Crockett, California. Eleanor’s is a small scale flower farmer that sells to florists in the East Bay/San Francisco area. It’s great to hear about her experiences as she began growing, the benefits of taking floral design workshops as a grower, the importance of photography, and so much more. There are several specialty crops that we explore, and it’s great to hear the pros and cons of these truly sp...
Nov 26, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Season 12Ep. 280
Sarah Winward is a floral artist and event designer based in Salt Lake City, Utah, specializing in destination weddings. Her work, known for its seasonal, nature-inspired designs, has been featured in The New York Times Magazine, Martha Stewart, and she has been named a top florist by Vogue. Sarah’s floral arrangements evoke the beauty of nature, often sourced locally or foraged near event locations to seamlessly integrate with the surroundings. Passionate about flowers, Sarah collaborates close...
Nov 19, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Season 12Ep. 279
Lisa Mason Ziegler, cut-flower farmer, author, educator and founder of The Gardener’s Workshop is returning to The Flower Podcast. Since 1998, she has cultivated her three-acre urban farm in Southeastern Virginia, producing thousands of flower stems weekly for florists, supermarkets, farmer’s markets, and her members-only on-farm market. Lisa has authored several books, including Cool Flowers, and she is the creator of Flower Farming School Online, which has expanded to include courses for both ...
Nov 05, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Season 12Ep. 278
My guest this week is Sarah Jo Eversole, owner of Everbloom Fields in Lancaster, TX. It might be a micro flower farm, but she produces not only exceptional quality blooms but high volume as well. She shares many of her experiences as a grower especially decisions on what to grow to be more profitable. There’s a wealth of growing and business tips in this episode, and it’s our hope that you’re inspired and encouraged that no matter the size of your business, it’s yours and has every opportunity t...
Oct 22, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Season 12Ep. 277
I’m excited to share that Charlotte Smith is our guest again on The Flower Podcast. Charlotte teaches farmers the skills they need to make money on their farms and live calm, balanced lives through mindset coaching. Going against what most of us have been taught, Charlotte coaches in 13 countries to build successful profitable farms while also getting out from feeling overwhelmed, stressed, and anxious. In 2016, Charlotte was named one of the Top 25 Most Influential Women in the World in Food an...
Oct 15, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Season 12Ep. 276
Ready to talk Dahlias? This week my guest is Kristine Albrecht of Santa Cruz Dahlias. Known for her award winning dahlia hybrids and her book, Dahlia Breeding for the farmer florist and the home gardener, Kristine is sharing her flower journey along with numerous tips and insights on her hybridizing process, cover crops, soil testing and more. She is the president of the Monterey Bay Dahlia Society and travels with her blooms to local and national dahlia shows and today we get to step into the w...
Oct 08, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Season 12Ep. 275
I’m in Ecuador this week so we’re replaying our episode with my guest Kimberlee Mitchell owner of Botanica Floral located in Atlanta, Ga. She has been a part of the floral community for over 20 years and has been fortunate to grow her business to include 5 star hotels and work within the film industry. Kimberlee has been working on many major films including the recently released new HBO movie of Father of the Bride as well as several TV series many of which can be found on Netflix. We had a gre...
Oct 02, 2024•1 hr 16 min•Season 12Ep. 274
My guest this week is Natalie Geehr and her business is theflowerfarmer.com located in Fresno, California. She grows in her backyard in addition to the 1/4 acre that she leases. Her big dream has allowed her to grow into doing weddings and events. Community has been an important part of her journey with growing flowers which let her to become one of the founding members of the San Joaquin Flower Collective that supplies local florists and shoppers with flowers that are grown in their own town. L...
Sep 17, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Season 12Ep. 273
We’re excited to have Marryn Mathis from The Farmhouse Flower Farm on The Flower Podcast this week. She shares how she’s grown and adapted her business to work with her family schedule while maximizing her product reach. Dahlias and Sweet Peas have become two of her main crops. Today, with the launch of her new book, we’re diving into growing sweet peas again. Hopefully we cover some challenges that will help you with producing this iconic cut flower. Learn more about Marryn, plus all of our pas...
Sep 10, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 12Ep. 272
We're excited to share this NEW and second episode with Brenna Estrada!! Scroll below to connect with her page and listen to her first episode with The Flower Podcast. Home gardeners, flower farmers, and florists are always looking for flowers to help set them apart in their offerings and esthetics. My guest this week found her way to growing cut flowers eventually on Camano Island, Washington. Brenna Estrada and her business Three Brother Blooms takes pride in growing a wide variety of stunning...
Sep 03, 2024•59 min•Season 12Ep. 271
Rick Davis of Amaryllis Design in Landover, Maryland is our guest this week on The Flower Podcast. Featured in publications such as Town & Country, Southern Accents, and listed as one of the Top Wedding Florists in the nation by Martha Stewart, Rick shares his transformation story that has made Amaryllis a premiere wedding and event company. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and share!! Learn more about Rick and Amaryllis with all of our past guests by visiting TheFlowerPodcast.com Subscri...
Aug 27, 2024•57 min•Season 12Ep. 270
During a recent visit to the Monroe Blooms Flower Show in Monroe, GA., I met Ashley Blackstone and Samantha Kramer from Wellspring Flower Farm. What stood out were their vibrant flower varieties and color palettes. In this episode, they discuss their farm's growth from a small plot on a horse farm to a flourishing 3-acre operation, with plans to expand further. We explore how they've optimized their space and resources, their success in serving florists across Monroe, Athens, and Atlanta, and th...
Aug 20, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 12Ep. 269
Last week when we released our episode with Henk Onings I mentioned at the end that we continued the conversation about Ranunculus, Anemones, and the Tulip bulb crop this year. So be sure to go and listen to Part 1 of our chat with Henk. So to recap, my guest this week is Henk Onings and soon after graduating school he moved to Pompeii, Italy for a couple of years to learn the floral industry with the family business. Then the opportunity to start Onings America brought him to the United States ...
Aug 13, 2024•56 min•Season 12Ep. 268
This week’s guest was born in the Netherlands into a family that started their business in 1935 and now 3 generations later, soon to be 4 generations Onings Holland is known for distributing a wide range of flower bulbs, tubers, and seeds around the world. My guest is Henk Onings and soon after graduating school he moved to Pompeii, Italy for a couple of years to learn the floral industry with the family business. Then the opportunity to start Onings America brought him to the United States wher...
Aug 06, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Season 12Ep. 267
This weeks my guests are Leandra Gollob and Daniel Mench of Cocolani Gardens located on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. Both were born and raised on the windward side of Oahu, where they’ve grown up with a love for all things nature. Together with this love and gratitude, they farm one-acre of lush tropical land with over 50 varieties of ginger and heliconia! Some species include sexy pink heliconia, kawauchi, stricta, tagami, torch gingers and an assortment of beehive gingers amongst many others. T...
Jul 30, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 12Ep. 266
We are starting off our new season with Julia Keel, co-owner of Full Keel Farm in north central Florida. Julia brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to the table as she specializes in cultivating specialty cut flowers while navigating the unique challenges of a hot and humid climate. She’s passionate about teaching, has presented and lectured at national conferences, and truly embraces the challenge of adapting production methods to Florida’s climate. This week, Julia shares techniques she us...
Jul 23, 2024•1 hr 16 min•Season 12Ep. 265
One of the most exciting trends that I believe is here to stay is flower trucks. These mobile floral shops bring fresh blooms directly to communities, markets, and special events, offering a fun and unique experience for customers. Flower trucks also present fantastic opportunities for aspiring florists and small business owners. With lower overhead costs compared to traditional storefronts, entrepreneurs can focus on sourcing high-quality blooms and building their brands on a scale that fits mo...
Jun 04, 2024•49 min•Season 12Ep. 264
