From Seed to Centerpiece: A Master Class Series is for farmer-florists and floral designers alike. Since 2014, this master class series has helped launch and bolster nearly 100 notably successful floral enterprises across the U.S. and Canada. Equal parts horticulture intensive and business brainstorming, these topic-specific, concentrated courses enable students to connect more deeply with the nature of flower farming, their entrepreneurial goals, and their customers’ desire to support a unique and authentic business. During these farmer-florist focused courses, students learn to tell their story with grace and passion through powerful photography, elevated floral design, and nontraditional marketing. Courses connect an amazing group of kindred spirits as well. Alumni from these courses often become fast flower friends who support each other throughout the growing seasons.
MASTER CLASSES ARE TAUGHT IN-PERSON AT OUR FLOWER FARM IN PHILADELPHIA. Jennie does occasionally travel to teach to groups in Canada and other distant locations. Our Master Classes are seriously soul-enriching. They require you to take time out for yourself and to focus on your dreams in a way no online course could ever do. We know it’s a big commitment, but it’s so very important to invest in gaining and perfecting skills that will enable you to continue to design and grow your business with confidence and ease.
Each intimate Master Class is led by Jennie Love, owner of Love ‘n Fresh Flowers and a pioneer in the farmer florist movement. Jennie has designed and led numerous workshops over the past decade, including the sold-out Seasonal Bouquet Project LIVE series in 2013 (arguably the very first farmer-florist master class ever) and classes for Longwood Gardens’ Floral Design Certificate program. Jennie and her work have been featured in the New York Times and in Martha Stewart Weddings (Spring 2015 and Summer 2016 issues), as well as numerous other publications and websites. Her distinctively lush, textural, “earthy elegant” floral designs have been featured in hundreds of weddings as well as photo shoots, magazines, style blogs, and books.
All classes are kept to an intimate size of no more than 10 students. Jennie has just one assistant on hand so that students get a lot of direct one-on-one time to ask as many questions as they want!
~~~
2020 Master Class Schedule
Our Master Class offerings for 2020 are more limited than in years past as we explore creating online courses through the Farmer-Florist School Online. The Wedding Process is our first online course available in March 2020.
FLOWER FARMING 101: From the Ground Up | APRIL 19, 2020
Are you an innovative floral designer ready to elevate your work with exceptional and unusual botanical elements grown in your own garden? Tired of hoping your wholesaler will have that “special touch”, just to be disappointed? Or perhaps you’re just beginning to dream about being a flower farmer or a farmer florist? Or maybe you’ve got a season under your belt but you realize how valuable it would be to skip all the “trial and error” and learn proven processes for managing a small intensive farm right from the start?
This beginners’ boot camp is the perfect way to hit the ground running and build a successful flower growing operation, no matter what the scale!
Guided by Jennie, we’ll hunker down for a very full day of learning in the living classroom that is the Love ‘n Fresh Flowers’ urban 2 acre farm. We’ll tackle a number of important “beginner” growing topics in-depth, including:
– understanding and implementing no-till and regenerative farming practices
– developing your detailed planting plan
– staying organized for greater efficiency
– properly sowing seeds and handling seedlings at planting time
– finding the right suppliers for all your growing needs
– selecting the best crops for small spaces
– determining the best scale for your operation, now and in the future
– discovering outstanding foliages and vines to grow for designers
– harvesting quickly and properly for greater productivity
– controlling weeds
– watering with irrigation
– fertilizing with organic methods
There will be several hands-on demos to help students learn more effectively. A detailed class workbook, including Jennie’s own seeding schedule used at Love ‘n Fresh Flowers and her top 10 crops to grow to make your enterprise profitable from the start, is provided to each student with plenty of space to take notes throughout the day. The class is very intimate. Jennie will lead the entire class with the help of just one assistant so you’ll have lots of individual time with her to ask all your important questions.
Students will go home with a goodie bag of some of Jennie’s favorite, easy-to-grow seeds and vendor coupons. Students also take with them a tray of 30 beautiful, organically-grown transplants to immediately dive into planting their own cutting garden for the 2019 season!!
*This class is a one day intensive starting at 9AM and running through the day until we answer everyone’s questions so plan to arrive in Philadelphia the night before and stay late on the 19th!
For more details, head over to our Online Shop!
~
PRIVATE ONE-ON-ONE PRACTICUMS | Weekdays Year-Round
For budding or experienced professionals who can’t attend one of our scheduled group master classes or who would prefer more personal and quiet instruction tailored specifically to their needs, Jennie offers full-day, private intensive floral practicums with lots of hands-on guidance. Pricing depends on the core tract chosen for the day’s agenda: farming, business or design. The Farming and Business Tracts start at $1150/day. The Farmer-Florist Design Tract stats at $1990/day and includes heaps of fresh floral materials to create whatever designs the student wishes along with personal coaching for all wedding/event design questions. The tracts can be blended if desired, but we find it works best if students focus on one so the day doesn’t get overwhelming. Consider scheduling two days back-to-back if you feel you are having trouble picking just one tract.
Kind words from a Private Practicum participant:
“Making the trip to Love ‘n Fresh farm to spend a one-on-one day learning from Jennie was exactly what I needed to help grow my business from a scattered, startup farm and floral business, to the evolved, balance-driven, successful one it is today. As a farmer/florist with a few years of experience under my belt, I knew that I needed some tailored, expert advice rather than a workshop geared to many different levels. Through our day together, Jennie answered all my questions on topics ranging from what language to use in attracting the right clients, to how to ensure profitability and a streamlined process in wedding design. I can now truly say that I confidently run not only a beautiful farm, but a successful design business too, and am inching closer to a healthy work/life balance on top of it. Thanks so much Jennie for helping my business mature, and for sharing your gorgeous farm with me!”
Lennie Larkin, B-Side Farm & Floral Design
~
FLOWER FARMING 102: Novice to Knowledgeable | NOVEMBER TBD
This class is designed for flower farmers/gardeners who have a season or two under their belt and are now looking to dig a little deeper into farm efficiency and more specialized crops. Perhaps you’ve been a vegetable farmer who is confident in the basics of growing at the farming scale but have just started adding flowers to your crop list. Or perhaps you’re a budding farmer florist who has only provided easy DIY buckets to brides before and now want to step up your game and grow specialty crops for higher-end events.
We will build on what was taught in Flower Farming 101 for students that attend both, but you are welcome to attend without taking the 101 course if you think you’ve already got the basics down.
Guided by Jennie, we’ll deep dive into how to fine-tune and troubleshoot your existing operation to make it more efficient and productive. We’ll collaborate on a number of typical “sophomore” tasks and queries in-depth, including:
– fine-tuning your crop plans for efficiency and profitability
– kicking dead-beets to the curb
– specialty crops
– pest and disease management in a maturing farmscape
– troubleshooting weed management
– what infrastructure to invest in next
– no-till practices and cover cropping
– hoop house management
– training and managing a farm crew
– creating and using systems sheets
– where to prioritize your time
– how to realign your business to match your core values
There will be several hands-on demos to help students learn more effectively. A detailed class workbook, including Jennie’s own seeding schedule used at Love ‘n Fresh Flowers and her top 10 crops to grow to make your enterprise profitable from the start, is provided to each student with plenty of space to take notes throughout the day. The class is very intimate. Jennie will lead the entire class with the help of just one assistant so you’ll have lots of individual time with her to ask all your important questions.
Students will go home with a goodie bag of some of Jennie’s favorite bulbs and dahlia tubers and vendor coupons.
*This class is a one day intensive starting at 9AM and running through the day until we answer everyone’s questions so plan to arrive in Philadelphia the night before and stay late on the day of the class!
~~~
THE FINE PRINT
The above details are subject to change a bit, depending on weather and timing.
Classes are held at the Love ‘n Fresh Flower farm in Philadelphia, PA.
Class size is limited to 10; five students must be signed up for the class to run.
One day classes involve at least 8 hours of instruction/activity. Two day classes involve a total of at least 12 hours of instruction/activity, often much more. Detailed information will be emailed to registered students before arrival.
A light breakfast, gourmet seasonal lunch, and snacks are provided each class day. Additional meals may be provided as indicated.
Accommodations are not included in the registration fee. Shuttle service will be provided from the nearby Hampton Inn to the farm each day. Students are welcome to stay anywhere though. A list of recommended hotels and B&Bs is available upon request.
—
RESERVE YOUR SEAT IN A CLASS TODAY BY VISITING OUR ONLINE SHOP!
Past Master Classes
THE BUSINESS OF LOCAL FLOWERS SHORT COURSE | EARLY MARCH
A shorter, drilled-down, boot-camp format of our popular two-day master class for those interested in pairing this class with attending the Philadelphia Flower Show and/or picking up their plugs from Gro ‘n Sell, which is just a short drive outside of Philadelphia.
During this intensive afternoon-long class, Jennie will go over in detail all the nuts and bolts of running a financially-successful and personally-sustainable flower business. We’ll tackle the nitty gritty of several specific sales outlets, including flower CSAs, grocery stores, floral design workshops, corporate events, bulk orders to individual customers, restaurant sales, funerals, proms, pop-up shops, and just a little bit about weddings. This is an excellent primer for any newly-established farmer florist. After reviewing these numerous sales outlets and the pros and cons of each, we’ll go into more detail about some business fundamentals:
– effective marketing: “pick your lane” and find “your” customer
– business plan basics and why you should have one
– scaling up or down for better balance and organization
– prioritizing expenses in the early years – what’s worth it, what’s not
– insurance, payroll, and bookkeeping overviews (boring, but necessary)
– pricing tactics and formulas for financial success
– how to manage client expectations for sanity and success
– competition versus collaboration; respecting the industry as a whole
– how to take a winter vacation
Please note this class is not focused on weddings. Students wishing to learn lots about wedding/event design should sign up for the Weddings Master Class in May.
~
THE FARMER FLORIST: WEDDINGS FROM SEED TO CENTERPIECE | MAY
For the farmer florist and floral designer alike, there’s no business quite like the wedding business.
Jennie has created florals for hundreds of large and small weddings over the years (up to 70 events per season!), taking Love ‘n Fresh Flowers from simply a small flower farm to a flourishing, high-end event design studio with an international following in less than five short years. Jennie/Love ‘n Fresh Flowers was named one of the Top 62 Floral Designers in the nation by Martha Stewart Weddings in the Spring 2015 issue and her work was featured in a four-page special “In Season” spread in the Summer 2016 issue. Driven by Jennie’s marketing expertise and passion, Love ‘n Fresh Flowers has also been featured in myriad blogs, books, magazines, and the New York Times.
Students will learn how to incorporate some of the same strategies to build their own wedding businesses and learn how to design elegant and ephemeral bouquets with all locally-grown, seasonal materials. Attention will be paid in particular to the challenges and rewards of being a farmer florist in the wedding industry.
We’ll discuss all the nitty gritty wedding-specific topics such as:
– contracts
– proposals
– pricing
– service levels
– package options
– vendor networking
– the many vehicles of marketing
– setting boundaries
– client communications
– tips for packing the van for delivery
The class is very intimate. Jennie will lead the entire class with the help of just one assistant so you’ll have lots of individual time with her to ask all your important questions.
Students will receive a printed workbook full of critical wedding materials that they can use immediately to improve their own business. Students will also watch Jennie design her signature “earthy elegant” bridal bouquet and a tablescape similar to what she would create for a spring wedding. Students will have the opportunity to design themselves for the last two hours of the day while Jennie fields Q&As from the group.
A celebratory champagne toast will be held in the flower field in the evening to cap off the class. Students signing up for this class are encouraged to plan on staying overnight in Philadelphia on the 6th so they can enjoy their sunset cocktails to the fullest.
This is an intensive, full-day class beginning at 8 AM and finishing instruction around 7 PM. Come to class fully-charged to get the most out of it!!
~
BEHIND THE BLOOM: Strategies for Running an Efficient and Profitable Flower Business | JULY
Dreaming of starting a flower business? Have a season or two under your work belt and really wondering how you’re going to steer this ship into profitability? Been in business a decade and struggling with how to evolve and avoid chronic burn-out? No matter where you are in your business journey, this intensive full-day experience, surrounded by fellow flower entrepreneurs, will be the push you need to crest the next hill.
We’ll tackle tough business questions — including how to build a business that supports you instead of draining yourself dry and how to stay afloat in a saturated marketplace — as we also outline how to run that business efficiently. Checklists, actionable items, and templates will be provided so you can go home and whip your business into shape!
During this class, we’ll talk in great detail about:
– effective marketing: “pick your lane” and find “your” customer
– website design, SEO strategies, and where to put your efforts on social media for actual sales
– communication tools that make your inbox workflow much smoother
– hiring and training, including key roles to fill if you’ve never hired help before
– self-care and valuing your quality of life
– realistic management of client expectations
– pricing tactics and general formulas
– all the ways to sell flowers to diversify and transition your revenue streams
– how to approach a new customer (i.e., florist, grocery store, etc)
– relationship building for greater sales
– competition versus collaboration; respecting the industry as a whole
We’ll tackle the nitty gritty of several specific sales outlets, including flower CSAs, grocery stores, floral design workshops, bulk orders to individual customers, restaurant sales, funerals and some of the basics of attracting wedding clients.
Please note this class is not focused on weddings. Students wishing to learn lots about wedding/event design should sign up for the Farmer Florist Weddings Master Class in May.
Each student will get a printed workbook covering the class topics, including a business plan outline and a basic formula for pricing to ensure your flower business is profitable.
This class is very intimate. Jennie will lead the entire class with the help of just one assistant so you’ll have lots of individual time with them to ask all your important questions.
~
