Giving Thanks

Floret

Who knew that a creative little dare between two friends would lead to such an amazing outcome! In seven short months, 64 artful bouquets were created between the two of us, using only locally grown flowers and foliage, the vast majority gathered from our farms. If you count all of the lovely creations posted by other weekly Seasonal Bouquet participants around the web/globe, the total soars to around 600. Add in all of the beauty that was crafted during our three floral workshops in Philadelphia and the inspiration of The Seasonal Bouquet Project is undeniable.

Love 'n Fresh Flowers

During our SBP workshops, there was so much talk about the future of the industry and how we as growers and floral designers can help rally for a change. The floral industry is a global one and often horribly toxic. If you do any amount of digging into how it operates, you’ll surely have your heart broken. For many years, it has been a real uphill battle for local growers to sway the hearts and minds of the consumer masses. But after a long struggle, we will be the first to declare that real change is underway!

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There is a swelling grassroots movement taking place in the fields, backyards and flower shops all over the globe. Florists are tilling up sunny spots in their lawns to plant little cutting gardens; passionate seasoned farmers are increasing their variety selection, field size and taking on weddings; famous floral designers are buying farms to grow their own product, and so many brave souls are finally diving into their long-held dreams of working with flowers. It is such an amazing change to witness first hand!

Love 'n Fresh Flowers

And so we come to the final chapter of this one particular (and incredible) project! It’s been quite a ride, but The Seasonal Bouquet Project was only meant to be a one season gig. We never planned for it to take on such a life of its own, though we are ever so grateful it did. We’ve been asked repeatedly, by others and ourselves, what’s happening next. As it turns out, after much careful consideration, we are both keen to pursue independent projects of our own. To be most effective on the quest to transform the floral industry at its core, we’ve decided to take a divide-and-conquer approach going forward. We each have different strengths and expertise to offer and there are just so many things that we each want to do to help this movement gain momentum. Of course we’ll continue to support and collaborate with each other. We’re just taking different roads to the same final destination: a floral industry that’s firmly reconnected on all levels with the local seasons and local farms.

Floret

This project has been such a tremendous gift for us both on so many levels. While it is with heavy hearts that we close out this amazing little project, you can be certain we’ll be inspiring in new ways in the coming season. Thank you, thank you, thank you for joining us on this fantastic journey!!! It is a bittersweet farewell.  Of course, the site will remain up as an image library and reference for locally-grown designs.

Thank you a million times for inspiring us!

So much love,
Erin + Jennie

Love 'n Fresh Flowers

To continue following along with our flower-filled adventures, please visit us on our individual blogs:

Jennie :: Love ‘n Fresh Flowers :: http://www.lovenfreshflowers.com

Erin :: Floret Flower Farm :: http://www.floretflowers.com

The Workshops!

The Seasonal Bouquet Project

The following are just some of the many, many beautiful moments during the incredible Seasonal Bouquet Project LIVE workshops in late October in Philadelphia at the Love ‘n Fresh Flowers farm and the Woodlands Estate. Photos in this post were taken and graciously shared by Brooke Courtney (www.brookecourtney.com) and Emily Wren (www.emilywren.com).

Erin wrote a workshop re-cap post on her blog here, and Jennie wrote a workshop re-cap post on her blog  here.

While knee deep in the workshop series, author Debra Prinzing interviewed us for her Slow Flowers podcast series.  She asked us lots of fun questions about the local flower scene, The Seasonal Bouquet Project and the new and growing movement of farmer florists coming onto the scene.  If you didn’t get a chance to listen yet, make sure to head over there:  Slow Flowers Podcast: East Coast / West Coast meet Jennie Love and Erin Benzakein

The following photos were taken by Brooke Courtney.

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The following photos were taken by Emily Wren. 

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10.22.13

Love 'n Fresh Flowers

Today has been an amazing day!  One of several amazing days lately.  Erin and I have been gathered with wonderful groups of passionate, creative, thoughtful souls for our Seasonal Bouquet Project LIVE course.  Instead of our usual Tuesday two photo format, today I leave you with a few images of the magic that is happening here.  These are just a few of the smiling faces and crazy beautiful designs that have been part of this amazing experience!  A longer re-cap to come in the future.  For now, I’m off to bed to catch up on some much needed rest!!

xo
Jennie

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10.15.13

Floret fall bouquet

Erin {Floret}
weigela foliage, viburnum foliage, chrysanthemums, dahlias, rosehips and amur maple leaves

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Love 'n Fresh Flowers

Jennie {Love ‘n Fresh}
dahlias, dogwood foliage, artichoke foliage, mums, bronze fennel, hydrangea, millet, amaranth, pampas grass, euphorbia

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You too can participate in the Seasonal Bouquet Project! Click on the little blue guy below to go to a page where you can add a link to a photo of your own locally-grown, seasonal bouquet. Same rules apply to you as they do to us. All the ingredients in the bouquet must be sourced within 25 miles of your home, ideally including flowers you grew yourself. Please link directly to one specific photo, not a general website or page. We reserve the right to remove any bouquets that are obviously not all locally-grown and to remove any generally inappropriate content.

Be sure to click through and view what everyone is sharing!

10.8.13

Floret fall bouquet

Erin {Floret}
crabapples, rosehips, forsythia foliage, viburnum foliage, dahlias, yarrow, ‘persian carpet’ zinnias, solidago

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Love 'n Fresh Flowers

Jennie {Love ‘n Fresh}
dahlias, gomphrena, cosmos, pampas grass, broom corn, crabapples, northern sea oats, bronze fennel, sage

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You too can participate in the Seasonal Bouquet Project! Click on the little blue guy below to go to a page where you can add a link to a photo of your own locally-grown, seasonal bouquet. Same rules apply to you as they do to us. All the ingredients in the bouquet must be sourced within 25 miles of your home, ideally including flowers you grew yourself. Please link directly to one specific photo, not a general website or page. We reserve the right to remove any bouquets that are obviously not all locally-grown and to remove any generally inappropriate content.

Be sure to click through and view what everyone is sharing!

10.01.13

Floret wild fall bouquet

Erin {Floret}
crabapples, rose foliage, dinner-plate dahlias, rose hips, phygelius, ball dahlias, seven son’s flower, copper beech foliage, oregano seed-heads 

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Love 'n Fresh Flowers

Jennie {Love ‘n Fresh}
dahlias, cosmos, David Austin roses, porcelainberry/wild grape

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You too can participate in the Seasonal Bouquet Project! Click on the little blue guy below to go to a page where you can add a link to a photo of your own locally-grown, seasonal bouquet. Same rules apply to you as they do to us. All the ingredients in the bouquet must be sourced within 25 miles of your home, ideally including flowers you grew yourself. Please link directly to one specific photo, not a general website or page. We reserve the right to remove any bouquets that are obviously not all locally-grown and to remove any generally inappropriate content.

Be sure to click through and view what everyone is sharing!

09.24.13

Floret green bouquet
Erin {Floret}
hydrangea’ limelight’, ferns, hosta, scented geraniums, zinnia ‘giant lime’, celosia ‘sylphide’, black queen anne’s lace, cosmos, porcelain berry vine, trumpet lily, seven son’s bush

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Love 'n Fresh Flowers

Jennie {Love ‘n Fresh}
dahlias, bronze fennel, gomphrena, feverfew, lisianthus, antique hydrangea, dusty miller, mint, zinnias

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You too can participate in the Seasonal Bouquet Project! Click on the little blue guy below to go to a page where you can add a link to a photo of your own locally-grown, seasonal bouquet. Same rules apply to you as they do to us. All the ingredients in the bouquet must be sourced within 25 miles of your home, ideally including flowers you grew yourself. Please link directly to one specific photo, not a general website or page. We reserve the right to remove any bouquets that are obviously not all locally-grown and to remove any generally inappropriate content.

Be sure to click through and view what everyone is sharing!

09.17.13

Floret pink dahlia bouquet
Erin {Floret}
dahlias, delphinium, ninebark, atriplex, scented geranium, cress, black queen anne’s lace, amaranth, zinnias, celosia, grapes, japanese anemone

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Love 'n Fresh Flowers

Jennie {Love ‘n Fresh}
dahlias, viburnum berries, prince’s feather, celosia, cosmos, scabiosa

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You too can participate in the Seasonal Bouquet Project! Click on the little blue guy below to go to a page where you can add a link to a photo of your own locally-grown, seasonal bouquet. Same rules apply to you as they do to us. All the ingredients in the bouquet must be sourced within 25 miles of your home, ideally including flowers you grew yourself. Please link directly to one specific photo, not a general website or page. We reserve the right to remove any bouquets that are obviously not all locally-grown and to remove any generally inappropriate content.

Be sure to click through and view what everyone is sharing!

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