Field & Garden

Steve and Gretel Adams have become very well-known in the cut flower growing world. They went from homesteading market gardeners on a quarter-acre plot to "rock star" cut-flower producers with over 17 greenhouses and 20 employees! Have you ever wondered how they got their start? How Sunny Meadows Flower Farm came to be? In this interview they talk through the progression of their business, includi...

Today I have more "keeper clips" from Clubhouse for you! Lisa hosts a chat called The Flower Farmer Show on the Clubhouse app each Wednesday to cover various flower farming and flower business topics. In today's episode, I'm sharing clips of Lisa covering the topics of Succession Planting and the 411 on Zinnias! She offers some great tips here that can make a BIG difference for your farm or garden...

Ants on peonies…did you know they are beneficial? Ants patrol the blooms for the sweet nectar and inadvertently protect the nectar and the blooms from pests in their greediness! Why do we find ants on peonies? Because of all the sweet nectar they produce! Peonies have extrafloral nectaries (EFN) - they exude nectar from other parts of the plant beyond the inside of the flower. Ants feed on this ne...

My fascination with Ellen Frost's local flower sourcing design studio model, Local Color Flowers, began years ago when we first met. Every flower farmer needs an Ellen on their customer list! Local Color Flowers is located in Baltimore, Maryland. She buys all her flowers from growers within 100 miles of the shop, and she does it year-round. Let's walk through a year, month-by-month of what is goin...

Are floral collectives the key to the future for domestic cut flower growers? This episode features a recent panel discussion about our new on-demand online course,  Collectives 101: A guide for joining and selling through regional wholesale hubs , with Amelia Ihlo. Lisa is joined by Amanda Montgomery of River City Flower Exchange and Jonathan Leiss of Spring Forth Farm to gain insight into the wo...

Let's remember and keep in focus the big picture of what we are doing, how we are doing it, and why we are doing it. It's so easy to fall into rabbit holes and to become completely derailed from our "why" we are doing this in the first place! My big picture garden considerations aren't: How will I tear this down? How will I maintain it day to day? Will it sell easily? On the business side of thing...

An introduction to these showy greenhouse-grown spring blooms from Steve & Gretel Adams of Sunny Meadows Flower Farm. They cover lots of important topics, including: When to order corms for best selection Building relationships with your vendors When to plant (and successions) Best varieties for beginners Basic growing & harvesting tips Links & Mentions: Request the PDF: Ranunculus Harvest Stages...

In this episode, we're revisiting an interview that Lisa did in October 2020 on The Flower Podcast, with host Scott Shepherd. Scott and Lisa covered a broad range of topics, including:  Where Cool Flowers can be grown and how they can increase your farm's production dramatically  Marketing: finding your niche in "outside the box" selling opportunities  Understanding how learning via courses saves...

In this episode I am sharing the bottom line friends: you are the only one that can change the way things are going for you and your flower farming business. If we think back to why we started our own business: To be in control To do things the way we think is best  To make the choices To guide the way To do what we want to do, when we want to do it Now we have to exercise the muscle that can help...

Ellen Frost joins Lisa to discuss the unique business model of her floral design studio, Local Color Flowers, and how it has continued to evolve over time. Topics include: supporting local flower farmers, community building through regular studio events, and ramping up subscriptions. Links & Mentions: Ellen's Design Studio, Local Color Flowers:   Website     Instagram    Facebook Florists Buying L...

In October 2021 Lisa was featured on the Joe Gardener podcast. She joined host Joe Lamp'l to discuss how nature can balance itself when you incorporate flowers and native plants in and around your garden space, attracting beneficial insects and providing them with a consistent habitat. They covered topics such as: Succession plantings of flower "recipes" to overcome common pests, weeds, and diseas...

In this episode, Lisa Z and Collectives 101 instructor Amelia Ihlo discuss what it takes as a flower farmer to be ready to join or start a floral collective. They touch on common indicators for success, such as knowing your market & your customer's needs, examining your grower network & relationships, thinking about short and long-term plans, and building resources.  Links & Mentions:  Collectives...

Today, Rhonda Graves returns to join Lisa for another "Bug Talk." And beneficial creatures too! They all have a purpose in a balanced ecosystem. Rhonda & Lisa discuss how to invite and maintain these beneficial creatures in your garden or on your farm, including pollinator garden plots, native tree and shrub plantings, "Beetle Banks" and "Habitat Islands." Together they share the joy of getting to...

Today I have more "keeper clips" from Clubhouse for you! Lisa hosts a chat on Clubhouse each Wednesday to cover various flower farming and flower business topics as well as answer listener questions. This episode has some great clips covering the topics of Early-Season Sunflower Growing and Prepping your Beds for Weed Prevention. Lisa offers some great tips here that can make a BIG difference for...

In this episode, I am exploring the question: "What is a floral Collective, and how is it different from a Co-op?" I discussed this and so much more with Amelia Ihlo of Rooted Farmers. Amelia lays out the ins and outs of this flower selling model that I believe is a key piece of the future locally-grown cut-flower industry.  Amelia has plenty of boots-on-the-ground experience with this business mo...

Friends,  Lynn Byczynski's book, The Flower Farmer  is what redirected my life path. While Lynn and I have come to be friends through the years, it was a surreal moment to chat with her about the book that changed everything for me.  I also loved hearing about her other major contribution to the farming world, founding  Growing For Market  over 30 years ago. It is a magazine for farmers by farmers...

Hello and welcome to the Field & Garden podcast! I'm Jessi Graven with  The Gardener's Workshop . Today I'd like to share some clips from an interview that Lisa recently did on The Urban Farm Podcast with host Greg Peterson. Here they discussed Lisa's book Vegetables Love Flowers and also covered topics such as beneficial insects & creatures, the importance of native plants, succession planting, a...

We are so hard on ourselves when we hit a wall or fail. I've found that the reality so often for me is that my expectations weren't based on any facts or experiences, just hopes, and dreams. No wonder it didn't work out!    Stepping back and rethinking the process can change it all. Hopes + Dreams + Experience + Knowledge = a smoother and straighter road to success.    I hope this episode meets yo...

Listen as Jennie Love of Love n' Fresh Flowers in Philly and I discuss the evolution of her flower farm and business. From starting a cutting garden in a community plot to blazing the way as a pioneer in the farmer-florist industry. Named by Martha Stewart as one of the top 10 Farmer-Florist.   Jennie shares the changes to the way she farms and to her business -- all-natural evolution to staying r...

Hello and welcome to the Field & Garden podcast! I'm Jessi Graven from The Gardener's Workshop. Today I'd like to share a chat between Jennie Love of Love 'n Fresh Flowers & Ellen Frost of Local Color Flowers , in which they discuss their top books for flower farming, floristry, and business. As you may know, both Jennie & Ellen are online course instructors for The Gardener's Workshop , but they'...

Friends, I don't know if anyone has noticed it yet, but I have been trying to bring to the forefront that farming is the root of many good things. This episode with Andrew Mefferd of Growing For Market is another example of the many opportunities that farming affords us. There are many roads less traveled from the farming world that may be a fit for you too. I came to know Andrew after reading his...

Warning friends, this is an episode that may change the way you garden, farm, and view it all.  Meet Rhonda Graves the warehouse manager here at The Gardener's Workshop. But more importantly, Rhonda has a passion (truthfully an obsession) for all that is happening out in the garden, and friends you won't believe what is going on out there. Rhonda is a lifelong gardener, an active master gardener,...

Hello and welcome to the Field & Garden podcast! I'm Jessi Graven from  The Gardener's Workshop . Today I'd like to present a conversation between Lisa Mason Ziegler and Dave Dowling from 2019 in which they tackle some of the most common challenges that people face while working to become a flower farmer. There are also some great stories in here about when Lisa and Dave were first starting their...

A part of building a successful long-haul business is not putting all your eggs into one basket. Adding workshops and experiences to your business may be the perfect profitable next step.  Listen as Jennie Love of  Love n' Fresh Flowers  in Philly and I discuss the ups and downs, the how-to and how-not-to add workshops to your businesses lineup. Jennie has years of workshop experience on her farm...

Friends, I hope this episode inspires and encourages you! Seed starting is a challenge and our first tries don't always work out. My experience sure didn't.  I hope this reminds and helps you. Lisa The Field and Garden Podcast is produced by Lisa Mason Ziegler, award-wining author of  Vegetables Love Flowers and Cool Flowers , owner of  The Gardener's Workshop , Flower Farming School Online, and t...