My Gardening Bookshelf + Other Resources
I like to keep a running list of resources on my Notes app which I reference as a starting point anytime I have a question about anything. Before I bring my questions to another farmer whose free time is more limited than most, I try to do my due diligence and research as much as I can about the topic before hitting “Call A Friend”. It’s a rule I like to live by out of respect to the people who are doing me a favor by taking the time to answer my questions and also because in the process, I find answers to questions I hadn’t even thought to ask in the first place.
So here’s where I start!
Floret and Erin Benzakein
Before I actually start, I thought this would be a great opportunity to address a question I’ve gotten a lot from people who have visited my website and see the “Floret Workshop Class of 2022” sticker at the bottom of my About Me page. What did I think about the Floret Online Workshop and did I think it was worth it? The long answer is that Floret and Erin Benzakein were my gateway drug to all things gardening and farm related. I devoured her books Cut Flower Garden and A Year In Flowers when I started to seek out local flowers to design with as a florist in Brooklyn. It’s really where my farming journey began!
So the big question is always: do I think it’s worth it financially? I know the price tag is high. It was why I applied to the scholarship program. In the end, I was lucky enough to be a recipient of a partial scholarship of $1K - about half the tuition at the time. I can only speak for myself but yes, for me it was totally worth it. When I decided I wanted to be a farmer, I had never actually kept a garden in my life. I had never worked on a farm and I had absolutely no idea what growing flowers at any sort of scale entailed. My entire experience with flowers was through the lens of floristry and design - post harvest. So for me personally, investing in some sort of education that focused on growing and cultivating was a no-brainer.
So if you are starting out with absolutely no growing experience like I did, it could definitely be beneficial! For someone who has a couple years of farming under their belt, “rehashing the basics” might not be worth it and is often the complaint I hear from people who decide to splurge on the online course and come away disappointed by what they didn’t learn.
I will say, I still utilize many of the resources that came with being a workshop student. In addition to the course videos which were incredibly useful for a visual learner like myself, I also regularly reference:
Online Workshop Course Book (which contains all the diagrams, charts, lists, and resource page associated with the course)
1/4 Acre Plan (an example crop plan with exact flower varieties and quantities of plants for a diverse and well-rounded 1/4 acre)
Learning Community (online forum accessible by current students and workshop alum. Marina Micahelles of Shoving Leopard Farm is the moderator of the Northeast region and we are so lucky to have her share information and her experience so generously. I have a whole screenshots folder titled “Marina” on my desktop which contains her answers to a variety of other growers’ questions and are entirely applicable to my own farm.)
On my newsletter poll from last week, a lot of people voted on the topic of how I choose what varieties to grow. I’m still working out how to answer that question but I will say that Floret’s curated variety lists are where I often start. I appreciate that the varieties chosen have been trialed for stem length and usefulness in design work which is how I determine my crop plan, as most of my income is through wholesale orders for local wedding and event designers. These lists are free and come in downloadable PDF format. They are often released seasonally via their emailed newsletter- so if you aren’t subscribed already, I would recommend subscribing on their website. I know Erin’s already created lists on tulips, daffodils, ranunculus, dahlias, chrysanthemums, bearded irises and even ornamental squash. I look forward to her list on lilacs!
ASCFG
I have benefitted tremendously from the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Grower (ASCFG)’s enormous online library and database. This includes a video archive of all of their past recorded Ask An Expert series which covers a broad range of topics such as growing specific crops to the basics of irrigation, high tunnels, grant writing, succession planting, floral photography, and even branding and logo development. Whatever you can think of, they’ve probably covered it and if not, there’s probably an upcoming webinar about it. Like the Floret Learning Community, the ASCFG runs a member’s only Facebook Group where you can have your questions answered by experts in our field (like serious flower farmer icons). They also have an incredible trade publication which I talk more about below.
There are also a ton of ASCFG resources I haven’t even had the chance to take advantage of yet. I look forward to being able to attend their annual conferences and especially their farm tours. I’m feeling some serious FOMO this year already.
Johnny’s Selected Seeds
You’ve probably bought their seeds but did you know their website is also a treasure trove of growing information especially for cut flowers? Not only do they provide downloadable data sheets on many of the crops they offer as seeds, they also have an incredible (and free!) section of their website called the Grower’s Library where you can find dozens (hundreds?) of instructional videos and even planning tools and calculators.
They have also hosted some wonderfully dense and informative webinars. My favorite webinars so far have been their multi-part series on Overwintering Flowers and their Introduction to Cover Crops.
Trade Publications
The ASCFG publishes an incredible trade magazine called The Cut Flower Quarterly. The articles are informative, concise, often funny and cover a diverse range of topics from marketing advice to labor management. The magazine also includes the results of their annual variety trials which I find particularly interesting.
My other favorite grower-authored magazine is Growing For Market Magazine. Every issue has at least one flower-related article but I’d also like to think I’ve learned a lot from reading articles by vegetable farmers even though I’ve never grown a vegetable in my life. I enjoy learning about different workflows and methods and seeing how I can apply them to my own farm.
Books
Here is a list of books I reference pretty much every single day. Many of these you can also find discounted on the ASCFG website if you are a member, and also the Growing For Market website if you are a subscriber and want to support them while avoiding a certain jungle-themed online retailer.
Specialty Cut Flowers by Allan M. Armitage and Judy M. Laushman
Postharvest Handling of Cut Flowers and Greens: A Practical Guide for Commercial Growers, Wholesalers & Retailers published by the ASCFG
Woody Cut Stems by Lane Greer and John M. Dole
The Cut Flower Sourcebook: Exceptional Perennials and Woody Plants by Rachel Siegfried
The Well-Tended Perennial Garden by Tracy Disabato-Aust
(I haven’t read this one yet as it’s just been released but is on top of my reading list) Flower Farming For Profit by Lennie Larkin
and just in case you like to “know things” like I do:
Botany For Gardeners by Brian Capon
Some other miscellaneous books that I just really love and inspire me and that I return to again and again:
On Flowers by Amy Merrick
A Year Full of Flowers by Sarah Raven
Wild: The Naturalistic Garden by by Claire Takacs and Noel Kingsbury
The Artistry of Flowers by La Musa de Las Flores
Growing Wonder by Felicia Alvarez
Life in the Studio by Frances Palmer
Outside In by Sean A. Pritchard
Containers in the Garden by Claus Dalby
Chicken Boy by Arthur Parkinson
Podcasts
I love podcasts, I love audiobooks, I love music too, but I love having someone talk in my ear and teach me something while I go on autopilot with my hands out in the field. It feels productive like I’m multitasking, and it also helps pass the often monotonous task of transplanting, weeding and harvesting.
To be completely honest, I’ve been listening to a lot of true crime (if you want those recommendations, boy do I have a list for you) but here are the flower/farming related ones that are so good that they have episodes worth re-listening to and also… don’t keep me up at night. I’ve also shared the title of a recent episode that I particularly enjoyed.
Growing For Market Podcast (Episode 14 - Compost science with Robert Pavlis)
No-Till Flowers with Jennie Love (S4 E39 - Storing Peonies and Tulips + How to Handle Cut Flowers After Harvest with Dr. John Dole)
The Flower Podcast (S10 E222 - Reaching Your Flower’s Potential with Dennis Wheeler of Chrysal)
Slow Flowers Podcast (Episode 524 - The Business of Selling Your Flowers to Florists - Expert advice from farmer-florist Julio Freitas of The Flower Hat)
Seed Talk With Lisa and Layne (Episode 82 - Snapdragon Bloom Order & Group Considerations)
The Backyard Bouquet (S1 E15 - From Dreams to Blooms: Niki Irving of Flourish Flower Farm)
Let’s Grow Girls (S7 E8 - Reflections of a First Year Flower Farmer with Michaela from Planting With Michaela)
And that’s pretty much it! I hope you enjoyed this list and I’d love to hear what’s on your reading and listening list if you’d like to drop a comment below. Thanks for reading!
