From Jennie:
I’ve really enjoyed teaching many students in workshop and master class settings, but I wanted to connect a bit more deeply and mentor some newer farmer florists on a longer-term basis. I also wanted to broaden my own knowledge a bit and learn about flower farming in other parts of the world. Thus the idea of a flower farmer exchange program, or what is now officially dubbed the Love ‘n Fresh Flowers “Flower Farmer Fellowship” was born. This season we have had three Fellows coming to spend time with us at the farm.
Lindsey Brown — or Lindsey Myra as she is known in the flower world — was our second Fellow this season. She came all the way from Melbourne, Australia! She landed mid-July and departed mid-August and every moment of the four weeks she was here was such a gift. Kindred spirit right here, people!!!
Lindsey is an incredibly talented designer with a serious passion for preserving and promoting flower farming “down under”. Hopefully she won’t mind me saying: I felt like I was watching Lindsey emerge from her cocoon while she was here, spreading new shiny delicate wings after a metamorphosis and learning how to fly. I felt incredibly lucky to witness that pivotal moment in her journey. Watch out world! You are going to be seeing a lot more of this woman!

I might have spoiled her a bit while she was here with some really amazing adventures, including exploring Longwood Gardens, an amazing plant nursery, and glorious Terrian. We also had a lot of fancy events and general good fun while she was here, including having another awesome Aussie, beautiful Amy of Henry Hudson blog, here for a weekend. What a wonderful whirlwind of a month!!
I can not wait to visit Melbourne this winter and reconnect with Lindsey! But in the meantime, here’s a little Q&A we did so you can learn a bit more about her and the local flower scene in Australia.

Meet Lindsey!

Q. How long have you been growing flowers and how did you initially get involved with them?
A. I have been growing flowers for two years now. The first year was a bit of a test run, I started growing on 30 square meters in my boyfriend’s suburban back yard; whilst still working my “real job”. My “real job” was floristry, but I became motivated to start growing my own flowers for 2 main reasons: firstly, the more I learnt about our industry, the more I became concerned about the impact of the conventional floral industry upon the environment and upon our health. Secondly, I had a burning desire to design with more interesting flowers than were available within our local market. I knew that there was a planet full of intriguing, spectacular and delicate botanicals out there; I wanted to work with them and share them with others.

Q. Tell us a little about your own flower operation now: Where is it located? How big is it? Where/how do you sell most of your flowers? Do you work with anyone?
A. My little flower farm is located on the side of a mountain, one hour directly north of Melbourne, Australia. It is a humble 1/2 acre – including shed, compost piles etc – on rich, red soil. The space is divided up into approximately 70% annuals, 20% perennials and 10% bulbs. Thus far I have wholesaled nearly all of my flowers to other florists in the city – they too wish to see a change within the local market and are eager to support my endeavor. This year I plan to set up a CSA subscription, deal more directly with the public and do more design work with my own flowers. I am a one woman band at the moment, I do nearly everything myself. Once a week I have a home-schooled local teenager come for a couple of hours and from time to time volunteers will pop up to help out.
Q. Tell us about the flower farming “scene” at home.
A. The whole flower industry is completely different! Overall, it is a tiny industry in comparison to yours. While we are a big country we only have a very small population {23.5 million compared to your 318.5 million} and Australians, as a rule, are not big flower buyers – flowers are not a traditional part of our lifestyle and culture.
Generally, our flower markets are still very localised but the flower scene varies enormously between our 6 states. Where I come from, down in Melbourne, we are fortunate to have a “Mediterranean” climate and a brilliant local flower growing scene. Until recent years the majority of our flowers were all grown within a couple to hours of the city. I fear, however, that the huge increase in imported product over the last few years has tipped the balance and is a significant threat to our local growers. This was another reason for me getting into the growing game – to raise awareness about where our flowers come from and hopefully encourage support for our existing growers.
The flower farming scene is a bit of a closed one back home – you are usually born into it. Growers tend to focus on 2-5 main crops per season and do them on a LARGE scale. There are still many growers who only do 1 or 2 specialty crops a year. I am one of the first to attempt to grow holistically and on a small scale, like you do, Jennie; to grow organically and to have a diverse range of flowers to arrange with at any given time. The “farmer florist” concept is entirely new to Australia.

Q. Before you came, what were you hoping most to learn while at Love ‘n Fresh Flowers?
A. I was desperate just to see a successful small scale flower farm in action! As no-one has really farmed flowers in this way back home, most of my information and inspiration has come from US and UK blogs, web sources and books. I know what I am aiming for in my head but to actually observe a fully fledged, self sustaining, experienced small scale flower farm at work has been invaluable.
The main thing that I was interested to learn was how you staggered your plantings and chose your varieties and volumes to have a consistently diverse selection of flowers to work with. I have found this the trickiest and yet most vital thing to achieve; I believe that it is the key to a business like this succeeding.
Q. What’s been the best tip/technique(s) you’ve learned so far while working with us?
A. PINCH HARD. I have been pinching out a lot of my annuals to make them more productive but as I had only read about it and not seen it in action with cut flowers, I realise now that I was being too soft on those babies. I have observed that you let the plants get considerably larger and more established before you pinch and then you take off nearly half the plant … and boy, does it work!
Q. What’s been your favorite part about the Love ‘n Fresh farm/team/experience?
A. The ducks. The camaraderie. The impromptu dance breaks. You.
Q. Is there anything that’s surprised you about Love ‘n Fresh?
A. Not so much about Love’n’Fresh as about the climate, I just can’t get over how jungly it is! I have been constantly amazed by how quickly the plants grow and re-bloom. There is so much moisture: in the air and on the ground. The dew! And the summer storms; there is water everywhere.

Q. Did you discover a new flower/plant while here at Love ‘n Fresh? Will you grow it at home?
A. I wasn’t so much about “discovering” new plants as actually getting to see things in the flesh. I am a total plant nerd and so I have looked up and read about nearly everything that I have seen on my trip at some point. As you can attest, Jennie, I have been so excited to actually see them…. it’s like mythical creatures coming to life! The sheer volume of plants and variety of cultivars available to Americans just blows my mind and don’t get me started on how pretty your weeds are… If I could pick one plant to take back and introduce at home, it would be Physocarpus (ninebark); it is just a beautiful shrub. As for what seeds I am smuggling back in my luggage? Oh, I wouldn’t dare …
Q. What’s a big difference between growing flowers here and growing flowers at home (season? timing? varieties?)?
A. I have touched on most of the major differences, I think. Climate wise we have a much milder winter – we experience frosts and though we do get snow, it is not a regular fixture. Yet we have a really harsh summer, it is much hotter, much drier and as we are under one of the big holes in the ozone layer, the quality of our light is actually very severe. Having watched how things grow throughout your summer, I now realise that back home, despite all our efforts, our plants are under significant stress throughout summer and autumn. In terms of varieties, plant options and availability of other farm and design inputs, we really have very few options; America is a grower’s and florist’s candy store to us Aussies!
Q. You’ve helped us with some weddings while here. What, if any, differences have you noticed from wedding work at home? Any trends/styles/elements you’ve seen here that you’re hoping to take home and launch there?
A. Firstly, people spend more on their flowers here in the States and I believe this allows for a greater diversity in styles and elements. I have always loved the footed vessel / compote look but it is a hard one to sell to the mainstream public, back home. Generally Australians are still quite conservative when it comes to flower design, so it has been a delight to work on such interesting briefs during my stay. I will just keep doing what I love – romantic and whimsical – and hope that people jump on board soon.

Q. Besides hanging with us at the farm while you’ve been here, what have been some of the other highlights of your #flowertripusa?
A. “World’s End”: I took the train to upstate New York for a weekend on Sarah Ryhanan’s {Saipua} farm. That was quite a surreal experience as I have followed Sarah’s growth, progress and stories – virtually – for at least 6 years now. We worked on the farm during the day and played with flowers in the evening, it was a magical side-trip and I am so glad I made it up there.
I have also been lucky to experience a pretty fantastic range of “farm related” goings on whilst here. There was the Elizabeth Gilbert event. The fruit and veg laden wedding in Princeton University. Two photo-shoots – one included spending the day with Debra Prinzing of Slow Flowers – and the amazing farm dinner that brought together so many special people. Terrain rates pretty highly too, I have to admit.
Q. We both love Instagram. Readers should follow you at @lindseymyra, right? Tell us some of your favorite feeds to follow.
A. Ooh, how to choose?!? They are all going to be flowery, of course…
Friends first: @ceciliafox @afloralfrenzy @henryhudsonblog @mikarla_bauer
Future friends: @pyrusflowers @ritualbloom @bridgetvizoso @rosehillflowerfarm @poppies_flowers @brrch_floral @misspickering @the_blue_carrot @florastarkey @thegardengateflowerco @asanderson1
Q. So do you think we should keep doing this flower farmer fellowship/exchange thing?
A. Without a doubt. *
*I’m not going to write any more than that because I’ll get all emotional again.