Episode Details

https://youtu.be/9HVJNoRhWgE I'm so excited this week to share the video from our March Slow Flowers member meet-up featuring author Teresa J. Speight as our special guest, along with many of our Slow Flowers members who appear in the pages of the new book Black Flora, just released by Bloom Imprint. Black Flora is a book that is long overdue and it showcases the excellence and contributions of Black flower farmers and floral designers throughout the country. Above portraits of Black floral creatives - from the pages of Black Flora This book recognizes the rich, beautiful, complex, and diverse narrative being told by African Americans in today's floral marketplace. Based in the Washington, D.C., area, garden writer, podcaster and blogger Teri Speight interviewed 25 Black floral personalities to learn how they have rooted their lives in the floral world. Black Flora's pages are filled with more than 90 vivid photographs illustrating the talent and artistry of Black floral designers and creative directors coast to coast. There are stories and images from cutting gardens and flower farms, rural acreage to urban lots.  Each profile explores family legacy and professional influences, as women and men of varied backgrounds and generations share the journey that led to careers in wedding and event design, botanical art, horticultural therapy, cut flower farming, entrepreneurship and activism. I'm so pleased to introduce you to this project, and for you to meet Teri as we discuss and introduce many of the creatives featured in Black Flora. Order your copy of Black Flora at bloomimprint.com or find it via any online bookseller! Or, ask you independent local bookseller to order it for you! This book recognizes the rich, beautiful, complex, and diverse narrative being told by African Americans in today's floral marketplace. Based in the Washington, D.C., area, garden writer, podcaster and blogger Teri Speight interviewed 25 Black floral personalities to learn how they have rooted their lives in the floral world. Black Flora's pages are filled with more than 90 vivid photographs illustrating the talent and artistry of Black floral designers and creative directors coast to coast. There are stories and images from cutting gardens and flower farms, rural acreage to urban lots.  Each profile explores family legacy and professional influences, as women and men of varied backgrounds and generations share the journey that led to careers in wedding and event design, botanical art, horticultural therapy, cut flower farming, entrepreneurship and activism. I'm so pleased to introduce you to this project, and for you to meet Teri as we discuss and introduce many of the creatives featured in Black Flora. Order your copy of Black Flora at bloomimprint.com or find it via any online bookseller! Or, ask you independent local bookseller to order it for you! I love what Teri wrote in her introduction to Black Flora: “Younger generations of Black plant-lovers are seeking inspiring examples of successful floral artists and entrepreneurs. When they see their potential -- through representation of people who look like them in farming and floristry -- the possibilities of the future enable their dreams.”teresa j. speight Find and Follow Teresa J. Speight:Cottage in the Court on FacebookCottage in the Court on InstagramCottage in the Court on Twitter Sustainable Farming News If you're interested in learning more about sustainable flower farming practices on Slow Flowers member farms across North America, check out our recent story on the topic, published in the March issue of Johnny's Advantage Newsletter. For the past several years, the Slow Flowers Society has surveyed our members on a wide array of topics. The insights gained have helped inform our annual Slow Flowers Floral Insights & Industry Forecast. For 2022, inspired by conversations with Johnny's Selected Seeds' flower experts, we asked survey-takers to share their preferred sustainable farming methods