Slow Flowers SUNDAY at the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival
A new in-person floral symposium debuts in Seattle
The day began with Continental breakfast and networking, as new and familiar friends connected over their shared passion for Slow Flowers.
SESSION ONE: Floral Standards, Expert Cut Flower Growing Tips from NW Flower Farmers with Diane Szukovathy of Jello Mold Farm and Vivian Larson Between them, Diane Szukovathy and Vivian Larson have more than one-half-century of experience as cut flower growers with roots in gardening and horticulture. They bring an heirloom body of knowledge to not only flower growing, but to the successful practices that ensure proper care, handling, and harvesting of both popular and uncommon botanicals loved by the region’s floral designers. Their presentation was based on the new SWGM Floral Standards book, an essential guide for successfully growing and harvesting hundreds of the best annuals, perennials, vines, bulb flowers, deciduous and evergreen foliage, ornamental grasses, shrubs, and trees for floral design. Whether our audience members were professionals or avid gardeners, each was inspired to adopt Floral Standards' best practices to up their game in the cutting garden.
SESSION TWO: Discover the Art of Paper Flowers: A Journey of Creativity and Connection
Quynh D. Nguyen, the paper artist behind Pink and Posey, shared her decade-long journey in paper artistry, from crafting her first floral arrangement to founding The Posey Box and co-creating the Paper Talk Podcast. Hear about her most remarkable projects, including fine art installations for Nordstrom, Creative Live, Fran's Chocolates, and many more, including collaborations and features like Greenwood Rising in Tulsa, Oklahoma, CBS Sunday Morning, and a recent book talk at Portland's iconic Powell's Bookstore. Quynh will also share future plans, such as her Lilac Branch workshop at the Hudson Valley Workshop in New York and how she continues to inspire creativity within the community. This presentation offers a glimpse into Quynh's artistic journey and her enduring passion for creating beauty through paper. She wraps things up with a beautiful paper flower display.
SESSION THREE: The Art of Pot-et-Fleur, A Large-Scale Design Demonstration With Plants, Cut Flowers, and Foliage
Lori Poliski presented a lecture and demonstration about reviving the lost art of Pot-et-Fleur, an iconic floral design historically defined as “living arrangements with plants, cut flowers, and foliage.” Having originated in 17th Century France and continuing through the Victorian era, the design style offers today’s florists a contemporary, sustainable, and long-lasting method of designing with local and seasonal ingredients. The method is so flexible because it uses living plants with cut flowers, including potted ferns, cut flowers, and other foliage. Lori demonstrated her approach to designing a large-scale Pot-et-Fleur, including plant sourcing, selection, and care.
THANK YOU TO OUR SUPPORTERS
Lovely way to spend a Sunday. The speakers were inspiring and I loved being in a room full of flower growers and people passionate about flowers!