Canada's The Globe & Mail highlights Slow Flowers Summit
Published on May 3, 2024, The GLOBE AND MAIL'S Gayle MacDonald recently interviewed us about women flower farmers across Canada.
She writes: . . . Debra Prinzing, founder of the Seattle-based Slow Flowers Society, says the seasonal flower movement – not just on this continent but around the globe – is being powered by women who are reshaping what a traditional flower farm used to be. “The appeal to women is obvious,” she says. “You can make a living by growing off a quarter of an acre, or less, in your own yard. You can start without a lot of infrastructure, so it has a low-cost entry point.”
“And these boutique microfarms can accommodate a woman’s busy life, whether that is caring for elderly parents or young children,” says Prinzing, author of two books, The 50 Mile Bouquet and Slow Flowers. “These women come from all walks of life. Some live in rural areas, others in big cities. It can be a full-time, or a part-time gig. I recently met a policewoman who started growing dahlias in her backyard to help ease stress related to her day job.”
For a long time, women who wanted to work with flowers became florists. Flower farming wasn’t considered a feasible option in the male-dominated world of commercial growing. Then in the early 2010s, the slow-flowers movement – a philosophy similar to the slow-food movement, encouraging consumers to purchase stems grown locally, seasonally and ethically – started to gain momentum."
The story also mentions the Slow Flowers Summit coming to Banff, Alberta, Canada -- our first-ever international conference!
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