Episode 556: A floral conversation with Andrea K. Grist of Florasource KC and KC Bloom Hub

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDnRJ-O4dN8 I love it when I can host a Slow Flowers member on a Seattle visit, and now that travel is again opening up, I have a feeling 2022 will be a busy one.  Last month, Andrea K. Grist, a long-time Slow Flowers Society member and friend, spent a few days visiting Seattle. She is a past guest of the Slow Flowers Podcast and a wedding and event florist based in the Kansas City metro area. Five years ago, Andrea assumed the management of Florasource KC, a locally-owned independent flower wholesaler based in Overland Park, Kansas. And last year, Andrea opened KC Bloom Hub, a dedicated studio space within Florasource KC, available to florists for one-day rentals for design and production, workshops and other events.Andrea came to Seattle on a research trip -- she hopes to put a greater emphasis on KC-grown flowers through her wholesale outlet -- and she wanted to learn from what's happening here. Of course, we visited the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market, now in its 11th year as a successful farmer-own floral wholesale hub. It was early April and I let Andrea loose there to shop for local and domestic botanicals. Back in my dining room, she created a gorgeous, large-scale arrangement with her seasonal selections, which she designed during our  conversation. Andrea's selection of local PNW and American-grown botanicals. Watch her design demo in the video above. Ingredient List for Andrea's floral arrangement, sourced from the Seattle Wholesale Growers MarketFritillaria meleagris (Snakehead checkerboard fritillaria) and Leucojum 'Summer Snowflake', grown by Choice Bulb FarmsChocolate Anthriscus foliage and 'Hybrid Red' Hellebores, grown by Jello Mold FarmButterfly Ranunculus 'Charis' and Maidenhair fern, grown by Peterkort RosesTulip 'Double Brownie', grown by Ojeda FarmsSpiraea and Manzanita, grown by Oregon Flower GrowersCalifornia grown selections: Scabiosa 'Fama White', Stock, single tulips, fruiting Kumquat branches, and Grevillea Find and follow Andrea K. Grist:Andrea K. Grist on Facebook and InstagramFlorasource KC on Facebook and InstagramKC Bloom Hub on Instagram News of the Week! It's May already and there's lots of great Slow Flowers news to share! Please check out our May Newsletter, packed with details about the upcoming American Flowers Week promotions, our new Slow Flowers Journal digital magazine (launching as a quarterly in June), links to all the recent press about Slow Flowers, and other membership resources. You will also find the signup link to our May 13th Slow Flowers member meet-up, featuring two of the designers presenting at the upcoming Slow Flowers Summit! And a program note: Congratulations to the winners of our book giveaway from a few weeks ago. Thanks to Abrams and Lorene Edwards Forkner, for 2 copies of Color in and out of the Garden, going to: Cathy Rocca and Karen Faulkner -- we'll be in touch to arrange mailing details! Thank you to our Sponsors! This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 880 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms.  It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers. Thank you to our lead sponsor, returning for 2022, Farmgirl Flowers. Farmgirl Flowers delivers iconic burlap-wrapped bouquets and lush, abundant arrangements to customers across the U.S., supporting U.S. flower farms by purchasing more than $10 million dollars of U.S.-grown fresh and seasonal flowers and foliage annually. Discover more at farmgirlflowers.com.  Thank you to the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market, a farmer-owned cooperative committed to providing the very best the Pacific Northwest has to offer in cut flowers, foliage and plants. The Growers Market’s mission is to foster a vibrant marketplace that sustains local flower farms and provides top-quality products and...