Slow Flowers Journal SUMMER 2025: American Flowers Week

B OTA N I C A L C O U T U R E | 1 0 T H

ANNIVERSARY | SUMMER 2025

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Debra Prinzing CREATIVE DIRECTOR Robin Avni COPY EDITOR Brenda Silva

PHOTOGRAPHERS Autumn Adams, Sarah Anderson, Sarah Berquist, Niesha Blancas, Alex Brooks, Peter Crane, Jenny M. Diaz, Alex Dickey, Amanda Dumouchelle, Kristen Earley, Sally Semonite Green, Matt McDaniel, Jillian McGrath, Haley Richter, Tess Schilke, Stockbridge Floral Design, Jorge Uribe ON THE COVER Fifty state-by-state floral quilt squares comprise this vibrant illustration by Jenny M. Diaz, Slow Flowers Society’s longtime graphic artist and designer.

Hand-painted by Diaz over the past several months, the 8-by-8- inch water color originals are based on a 1970s book of state quilt blocks.

Truly stunning!

COVER ILLUSTRATION Jenny M. Diaz @jennymdiaz © 2025 by SLOW FLOWERS JOURNAL and BLOOM Imprint. All rights reserved.

AUTUMN ADAMS

CONTRIBUTORS Jenny M. Diaz, Jayson Munn

summer in bloom.

Welcome to our 2025 Botanical Couture edition celebrating American Flowers Week! As the original domestic flower promotional campaign, AFW was founded in 2015. By 2016, we commissioned our first botanical couture look, a red-white-andblue floral ‘fro designed by longtime Slow Flowers member, Susan McLeary. You can read more about that iconic look, as well as McLeary’s insights about how floral wearables have evolved over the past decade, in our Q&A with her on page 20.

The looks continue, with seven floral garments created for 2025. We welcome returning botanical couture designers, Jennifer Reed, Kelly Shore, and Alanna Messner-Scholl, and are thrilled to welcome new contributors, including Andee Zeigler of Three Sepals, and students of Stockbridge School of Agriculture (University of Massachusetts), led by instructor Sarah Berquist. We love the inventiveness and we especially love Zeigler’s philosophy of growing flowers so you can “wear

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the

your garden.”

publisher.

local flowers – we’re excited to see what you grow and create!

It's a busy season for everyone, and we look forward to following our community through American Flowers Week.

Post your local blooms as we share the beauty and message of

Debra + Robin SLOW FLOWERS JOURNAL

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CONTRIBUTORS

summer.

JENNY M. DIAZ is Slow Flowers Society's longtime graphic designer who has created four inventive botanical couture looks for past American Flowers Week celebrations, including our 2024 Slow Flowers Journal cover look. Since creating the logo art for American Flowers Week in 2016, Jenny’s influence on this national floral promotional campaign has been everywhere. She illustrated our popular coloring sheets depicting the USA Map and all 50 State Flowers, which can be downloaded from americanflowersweek.com. For American Flowers Week 2025, we invited Jenny to be our featured artist. And of course, she had ideas! The finished piece includes 50 original watercolors of state-by-state quilt blocks, rendered in 8-by-8-inch paintings and assembled into a beautiful collection.

INSTAGRAM

JAYSON MUNN is based in Burlington, Vermont. Owner of Jayson Munn Design, he specializes in creating inspired arrangements for weddings, corporate events, and photo styling throughout New England, never veering far from his gardening influences. Jayson’s formative years shaped his love of botanicals, nurtured in the woods, fields, and at the river’s edge. With more than three decades of experience and a life-long passion for plants and the garden, Jayson continues to create floral masterpieces – from classic, modern, rustic and elegant, to something new altogether. Today, he is a thoughtful community builder, educator, and floral artist. jaysonmunn.com

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departments

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ON LOCATION

bloom boom.

A spring flower explosion for downtown Burlington.

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AMERICAN FLOWERS WEEK 2025

We have an inventive new crop of botanical couture looks for our 10th Anniversary.

From student life, to the field and garden,

SITE SPECIFIC

to a luxury estate, these designs demonstrate

indigo in bloom.

the versatility and beauty of local flowers.

Floral and textile artists explore the ancient use of indigo dye.

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special section

FLORAL COLLABORATION

floriography.

A grower and a designer team up to celebrate the meaning of summer blooms.

19 20 24 42

introduction sue mcleary: design evolution 10 years of botanical couture 2025 couture features

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ON LOCATION WRITTEN BY DEBRA PRINZING PHOTOGRAPHY BY PETER CRAIN

bloom boom.

Designer Jayson Munn puts his own twist on public floral art.

In 2021, we brought The Shared

Burlington, Vermont-based floral

and how to make sure there’s

Heart Project to Church Street—

designer Jayson Munn served as

enough water,” Munn laughed.

a large, floral heart created as a

designer and creative director

His personal agenda was to source

public memorial in remembrance

for “Bloom Boom,” bringing a

blooms from gardens, local

of loved ones lost to the COVID-19

bright and cheerful abundance of

flower farms, and plant nurseries,

pandemic. It was quiet, sincere

spring flowers to the Church Street

designed foam-free. Perfect for

and grounded in collective feeling.

Marketplace.

selfies and Instagram posts, “the

This year, I’ve returned with

The downtown shopping district

overflowing with flowers—bright,

named the installation and

unruly, and a bit irreverent. It’s

handled signage, promotion, and

about joy in unexpected places.

public relations. The collaboration

Munn discovered that the lip of a

A reminder that beauty doesn’t

allowed Munn and the Church

five-gallon bucket rests securely

need a special occasion or a frame

Street Marketplace to trial their

on the trash can’s opening, which

to be worth noticing. The Church

concept for a larger, future

allowed him to use the bucket

Street Marketplace is the perfect

production that will involve

as an “insert.” In addition to

place for that kind of moment.

more merchants, florists, and

placing longer cut-branches and

It’s a crossroads—full of energy,

volunteers.

stems directly into the bucket,

community, and constant motion.

It’s where daily life happens. And

A floral palette of hot pink and

that’s exactly where I wanted this

vibrant orange flowers, offset

piece to live: right here, out in the

with greenery and white blooms,

open, blooming for everyone

exploded from a trash receptacle

- Jayson Munn

JAYSON MUNN DESIGN WEBSITE INSTAGRAM

CHURCH STREET MARKETPLACE WEBSITE INSTAGRAM

in downtown Burlington for a

Street Marketplace,” he added.

Munn divided potted azaleas and begonias into sections, wrapping the root balls, kokedama-like, before placing them into the composition.

This marked Munn’s second

to be viewed from all angles, the

large-scale downtown installation,

piece featured raucous, color-

following his 2021 floral heart

blocked sprays of rhododendrons,

memorial. It speaks to his growing

begonias, tulips, foxgloves, and

dedication to filling public spaces

ranunculus, which cascaded from

with flowers—brief, unexpected

the can’s opening.

moments of beauty for anyone

actually put flowers in a trash can SUMMER 2025

my social media and for the Church

one-day spring event. Designed

“I learned a lot about how you

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project had a magnifying effect on

something louder: a trash can,

who happens to walk by.

SITE SPECIFIC BY DEBRA PRINZING PHOTOGRAPHY BY JORGE URIBE

indigo in bloom.

Floral and textile artists explore the ancient use of indigo dye, while highlighting traditions and techniques.

FOR YEARS, JIM MARTIN DREAMT OF BRINGING HIS FRIEND AND mentor Hitomi Gilliam, AIFD, to Charleston, S.C., to collaborate on a large-scale, public art installation. As the director of horticulture and landscapes at Magnolia Gardens, and a longtime cut-flower grower and floral artist who owns Compost in My Shoe, Martin achieved his dream this past April. He produced Indigo in Bloom, a breathtaking fusion of horticulture, history, and artistry set against the timeless beauty of one of Charleston’s most storied landscapes.

For centuries, indigo has represented more than just a dye; it has been a symbol of creativity, resilience, and transformation.

Martin invited two guest artists to lead designers, staff, and volunteers in creating multiple installations across Magnolia Gardens, paying homage to indigo’s rich botanical and cultural heritage. Hitomi Gilliam, AIFD, and Arianne King Comer are both well-known in their respective creative communities. They came together to teach and explore connections between art and nature using craft, place, and storytelling.

“Indigo is something like 3,000 years old,” Comer said. “I’ve learned that there are 32 kinds of indigo in the world—from Oshogbo, Nigeria, to Japan, to South Carolina. A lot of crafters grow indigo because we are intrigued by its story. Indigo was a portal for

DETAILS JIM MARTIN, COMPOST IN MY SHOE WEBSITE INSTAGRAM

MAGNOLIA PLANTATION AND GARDENS WEBSITE INSTAGRAM

REBECCA RAYMOND REBECCA RAYMOND FLORAL WEBSITE INSTAGRAM

JORGE URIBE, URBAN FLORAL LLC WEBSITE INSTAGRAM

NYUGEN SMITH WEBSITE INSTAGRAM

PRECIOUS JENNINGS WEBSITE INSTAGRAM

OSCAR KING IV ARIANNE KING COMER WEBSITE INSTAGRAM

HITOMI GILLIAM AIFD WEBSITE INSTAGRAM

each of us, and it brought a lot of people together to explore and create. When you think about something coming from a plant that can turn cloth blue—that is magical!”

As the landscape manager at Magnolia Gardens, Martin envisioned a series of installations throughout the expansive grounds. The

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INDIGO IN BLOOM exhibition was open to visitors April 5-May 4. Rather than using cut flowers and fresh botanical materials, the artists designed textile and fiber pieces to showcase indigo in and among the garden’s abundant plant life. In anticipation of the exhibition, Martin and Magnolia Gardens’ horticulture staff planted with the blue palette in mind, including delphiniums, blue fescues, pansies, and plants in analogous purple colors.

Martin introduced Comer and Gilliam, kindred spirits from different disciplines. Comer is a visionary textile artist and cultural historian whose passion for indigo is rooted in the traditions of the African diaspora.

Gilliam brings Japanese heritage and influences to her floral art and multimedia work. “Indigo has connections everywhere, and I loved the idea of indigo-dyeing with both the African-American connection and the Japanese connection—and helping these two artists collaborate was a beautiful experience,” he said. “They both had an idea of the pieces they wanted to create. Essentially, this was a collaboration with the landscape, so my interest was making sure we produced pieces large enough to show well in the garden.”

Rebecca Raymond of Rebecca Raymond Floral, and Jorge Uribe of Urban Floral LLC, who both have collaborated with Gilliam and Martin for years, joined the design team, while Comer invited several local indigo artists to contribute, including Precious Jennings, Nyugen Smith, and Oscar King IV. Comer produced several textile pieces, including a signature work that featured an image of a blue egret. “I had egret stamps made out of wood for people to use on their banners. I also hand-

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INDIGO IN BLOOM painted textiles using a watercolor technique,”

idea led to a trio of maypoles draped in indigo

she explained.

“ribbons.” That installation coincided with

Gilliam produced sculptural pieces and her signature headdresses using the dyed fiber, yarns, basketry reed, and botanicals like dried pods and Spanish moss. In the garden’s Bamboo Grove, the designers hung indigo fabric strips with messages on them, inspired by something that Gilliam and Martin

May Day and reflected agricultural traditions at the beginning of a growing season. Elsewhere, Hitomi displayed her signature headpieces on two mannequins, integrating fiber and fabric.

Installed on six-by-six-inch posts, the fanciful headpieces were displayed for people to see at eye level.

remembered from their trip to Japan earlier

Martin worked with Comer to replicate the

this year.

indigo dye process on a large scale. He sunk a large agricultural trough into the ground, with

“We saw how the Japanese wrote their wishes

the rim at ground level. From that emerged

on folded papers and hung them from plants in

sail-like textile panels dyed by Comer to

a garden. We couldn’t do paper here because of

express various intensities of indigo, as if they

“Essentially, this was a collaboration with the landscape, so my interest was making sure we produced pieces large enough to show well in the garden.” the environment, so we put messages on long

had been dipped in a vat. The pieces were

strips of indigo-dyed fabric and tied them into

draped over a rebar armature fabricated by

the bamboo. There were literally thousands

Martin and Uribe, which soared upward from

of them hanging from the branches,” Martin

the vat to the tree canopy above. “I wanted

noted.

to show how indigo moves from the dye bath

Gilliam led the production of a conical sculpture measuring more than 20-feet in length, made from bamboo poles, wrapped

into cloth,” Martin explained. “As the dye moves higher and higher, the colors change as they are drawn into the fabric and fibers.”

yarn, and other textile elements. Suspended

He praised both Comer and Gilliam for

from an oak tree in a secluded area of the

creating art that harmonized their individual

garden, it sparked the imaginations of visitors

points of view while also engaging garden

who marveled at the dynamic, tornado-like

audiences. Indigo in Bloom’s opening event

piece. “It almost looked as if it was growing—

invited guests to meet and talk with the artists

and that’s the vision I wanted to create,” she

before touring the installations. “This was

said.

one of the best experiences of my career. It

Martin suggested adding a maypole exhibit at the garden’s main display area and the

was a culmination of working with wonderful people, getting to create some of my own art, and sharing it.”

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FLORAL COLLABORATION BY DEBRA PRINZING PHOTOGRAPHY BY AUTUMN ADAMS

the art of floriography.

A grower and a designer team up to celebrate the meaning of summer blooms.

During peak peony season at Joy

Drawing from the many traits

The peony also symbolizes “grace,

Bloom Farms, a boutique flower

associated with Paeonia lactiflora

happiness, and good fortune,”

farm in Preston, Washington,

and its cultivars, Bryan designed

prompting Bryan to create a

owner Laura Morimoto was joined

two seasonal arrangements.

large arrangement of peonies,

by Parsley & Rue’s owner and lead

“Laura’s beautiful flowers and

foxglove, lady’s mantle, orange

floral designer Kimberly Bryan,

foliage inspired our two themes,”

and pink roses, Agrostemma, and

who is Seattle-based. Together,

Bryan said. “Romantic Love” is

other textural elements. To her,

the women explored their interest

the peony’s primary meaning.

the overall design communicates

in the language of flowers,

Bryan paired a generous harvest

“Encouragement and Empathy.”

collaborating with the dazzling

of peonies with ladies mantle,

peonies and other ingredients

blueberry and raspberry foliage,

from Morimoto’s fields and

geum, snowberry, apple mint,

Bryan’s seasonal garden aesthetic,

rose, and foxglove. This created

which offers clients floriography

an arrangement which provided

arrangements designed with age-

the meanings “romantic love,”

old meanings imbued in each floral

“comforting love,” “love at first

variety.

sight,” and “enduring love.”

“It’s really important to tease out the emotions involved in the language of flowers,” Bryan explained. “I’m often asked to create floral themes that communicate empathy and encouragement, which I think is a reflection of our times. I’m careful to deliver a design that truly expresses the sender’s intended message, even with something that has numerous meanings, like peonies. I want to educate both the sender and the receiver about the language of flowers, so that they remember its attributes in the future.”

This Slow Flowers collaboration, which took place in early June, has given Morimoto a newfound

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FLORIOGRAPHY DIFFERENT KINDS OF LOVE

appreciation for the luxury flowers she

Peony ‘Duchesse de Nemours’ (white); ‘Sarah Bernhardt’ (light pink); ‘Paul Wild’ (dark pink); and ‘Felix Crousse’ (raspberry pink): Romantic Love

grows. “Using my flowers to convey

Rose ‘Plum Perfect’: Love at First Sight

people to know they can explore these

Geum ‘Scarlet Tempest’: Passion, Enthusiasm Foxglove ‘Camelot Rose’ (dark pink) and ‘Camelot Lavender’ (light pink): Insincere Love Apple Mint: Sincerity and Respect Raspberry: Kindness Lady’s Mantle: Comforting Love Snowberry: Protection

meanings gives floral designers and their customers something extra. I want more floral meanings more deeply.”

Morimoto and Bryan live about 20 miles from one another, but they met virtually in a group chat during the 2025 Slow Flowers WORLDWIDE Summit in January.

During the online conference, Morimoto introduced herself, mentioning that she was located 30 minutes outside of Seattle.

“It made my antenna perk up,” Bryan recalled. “I’m always looking for more material—more and more flowers for my

PARSLEY & RUE

designs. We met last winter, when I really

WEBSITE INSTAGRAM

wanted to cultivate more relationships

JOY BLOOMS FARM

with flower farmers, especially ones who

WEBSITE INSTAGRAM

are close enough to visit in person.”

The women’s face-to-face meeting occurred soon after, triggered by Bryan’s need for a large number of tulips to hand

ENCOURAGEMENT Peony ‘Garden Treasure’ (yellow) and ‘Canary Brilliance’ (peach): Happiness and Good Fortune Rose ‘Crazy Love’ (orange): Enthusiasm, Energy; ‘Princesse Charlene de Monaco’ (pink): Gratitude, Affection

out at an upcoming event. “I was able to supply Kim, because I was growing 6,000 tulips that season,” Morimoto laughed.

“Too many!”

In her fourth growing season, Morimoto was encouraged by Bryan’s enthusiasm

Foxglove ‘Dalmatian Peach’ (peach) and ‘Camelot Lavender’ (light pink): Healing

for the variety and quality of Joy Blooms

Agrostemma ‘Ocean Pearls’: Innocence, Grace, Simplicity

to retail customers, but I love working

Raspberry: Kindness

honing in on what my florists want, how

Blueberry: Promise of New Beginnings Flowering Currant: Renewal, Rejuvenation

Farm’s crops. “I don’t sell many flowers with florists,” Morimoto observed. “I’m they want it, and when they want it, not to mention keeping up with floral colors and design trends.”

Lady’s Mantle: Empathy, Caring Snowberry: Protection

SLOW FLOWERS JOURNAL

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THE AMERICAN FLOWERS WEEK COLLECTION

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REDWHITE

&

BLOOM _

A D E C A D E O F B O TA N I C A L C O U T U R E Ten years ago, SLOW FLOWERS asked Ann Arbor, Michigan-based floral designer Susan McLeary to create a signature floral headpiece to celebrate American Flowers Week. Her eye-catching flower ‘fro, modeled by Monique Montri, was creatively satisfying to produce.

“I spent about 30 minutes making a heavy-duty flower crown, for which I had to wire each stem to make sure it was sturdy enough. Then, I spent another 40 minutes adding individual flowers to Monique’s hair. We teased out her hair so it had more structure to hold the flowers,” McLeary told American Flowers Week at the time.

Photographed by Amanda Dumouchelle and styled by McLeary, the project became an iconic image across our American Flowers Week promotions. Her impeccable look inspired a decade of botanical couture looks that followed: Garments, ensembles, and accessories created by Slow Flowers members and farmer-florist teams across the U.S. Since 2016, we have celebrated an impressive lineup of 48 American Flowers Week botanical couture looks, designed by our members with domestic flowers and foliage as the inspiration. Hawaii; Maine and Florida; Missouri and South Dakota and beyond.

THE AMERICAN FLOWERS WEEK COLLECTION

2016 design evolution q, & a.

S_3S_4

Susan McLeary reflects on her botanical couture style over the decade.

In considering the important influence that McLeary’s flower ‘fro

brought to this campaign and to the floral artists who followed in her footsteps, we invited the Slow Flowers leader to discuss the evolution of her style. McCleary is the author of The Art of Wearable Flowers (Chronicle Books, 2020) and she teaches extensively through her online platform at susanmcleary.com.

SFJ: Sue, tell us about your first wearable floral piece and what inspired you to design it?

SM: I think it was probably with Françoise Weeks in California at a Chapel Designers Conference where she was teaching, 2012 or 2013. It was something beyond a corsage or beyond a crown.

SFJ: What did that experience reveal to you, or unlock in your imagination?

SM: I started figuring out that I could use the techniques I used to make jewelry—very simple techniques. Françoise showed me the example that you can really express yourself in whatever way you want with flowers. I was new in my learning and this was really exciting to see someone making things that really don’t have a lot of commercial purpose. It was art. And that was the purpose. And that,

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SUSAN MCLEARY Q&A obviously, was hugely valuable to me.

SFJ: You’ve been redefining wearable florals ever since!

flowers in midair.

SFJ: How did you approach this challenge?

SM: I’ve always loved armature work.

minimal, light, and kind of Ikebanainspired.

SFJ: That seems to be where you are now, right?

SM: I love to take a topic or

But armatures, as they were taught

SM: Yes, I really enjoy working with

something that is either a pain point

to me, always felt like they weren’t

negative space and transparency,

or a stumbling block and try to think

commercially relevant or aesthetically

using the least amount that I need

through all the possible iterations

relevant. So I wanted to test out my

to get the point across, to get the

until I can come up with something I

concept and take away as much of

impact, I guess. And then, thinking

think is a useful improvement. With

the bulk of the mechanic as I could,

about the forms and the lines that

wearables, I guess the purpose for

leaving enough support to show the

flowers create. I think the exciting

me is that I want people to just enjoy

flowers. This was how my obsession

thing that’s going to be explored

the flowers while they’re here and

started, and it continues! I am

more and more is form-linear work,

kind of detach from the obsession

thinking about how to get rid of glue.

as opposed to the vegetative, uber-

with longevity that I think has done

How to get rid of tape. Corsage tape is

natural design style or the mass

damage to our industry. Like the

plasticky, a throwaway item. Florist’s

decorative design.

whole vase-life conversation and the

wire, as it is sold, is also plastic-coated

consumer thinking that a flower is

and it’s not good-looking on its own,

only valuable if it sits in a vase for

so I’ve found it really exciting to

10 days. I want to throw that all out

think of armatures and supports that

SM: It’s very spare and it’s all about

of the window and say: “Enjoy this

can eliminate those products.

the forms in nature and about

right now for art’s sake. For joy.”

SFJ: Clearly your thinking has

SFJ: Can you tell us about one of

evolved over the past decade. How

your most recent wearable floral

might you approach designing

designs?

your Flower ‘Fro today, in 2025?

SM: There’s kind of a pattern where I like to fix on something and I’m there for a while! What happened

Would you want to find a way to “float” those red-white-and-blue flowers above Monique’s head?

SFJ: Can you describe form-linear a little more?

asymmetry. In form-linear, the materials are selected and they’re placed in a way so you can see the form and line of each element. And there’s a lot of negative space around them. You could say that Ikebana is form-linear design, too.

SFJ: We watch your Instagram feed

recently was (when) I was designing

SM: The Afro is a mass design

my daughter’s prom flowers. She

because all of the flowers are cut

didn’t think she wanted a corsage;

and manipulated to make one form.

she thought she wanted a bouquet,

I think we swing back and forth as

but she had this really cool dress with

florists. Sometimes, we go really

SM: Definitely! It’s exciting for me

lots of handmade details. So I wanted

dense and decorative—that’s a mass

to think of ways to teach armatures

to make a light armature that held

design—and then we swing to really

that are approachable for a new

where you’re showcasing wearable flowers with beautiful, formlinear techniques!

the flowers, but didn’t feel heavy.

florist, so they can see the breadth

I wanted to make a little accessory

of what’s available to them and put

like a jewelry piece. That led me to

all of these ideas in their toolkit. It’s

testing out various ways to float

an approachable technique, not one

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SUMMER 2025

where you’re wiring and taping for three hours to make a bridal bouquet, but instead, you have this simple armature that you know how to make. It creates an impactful result, without the extraneous waste.

SFJ: If you were to redesign the 2015 Flower ‘Fro with today’s Sue McLeary armature techniques, I could see it still framing Monique’s head like a beautiful halo, but in a form-linear style, right?

SM: (Laughs) I think it would be more transparent! I want more negative space. I want the flowers to each have their own spatial plane, with movement and interest.

Remember, the Flower ‘Fro was for a photo shoot, so Monique didn’t have to walk or be on a runway. I’m more conscious of things being practical or wearable these days, more than just for a photo shoot setting. So I would want the headpiece to have a little more underneath structure if I recreated it.

SFJ: What else can you share about your philosophy of wearable flowers or botanical couture?

SM: I want my pieces to have a lot of motion. I don’t like anything to feel dense or heavy, typically. I take a lot of videos now. I take photos, of course, but in my daily sharing, it’s always video, because motion is so interesting to me.

THE AMERICAN FLOWERS WEEK COLLECTION

2 0 1 7 S_1 it's a wrap.

DESIGN + CONCEPT: Tara Folker, Splints & Daisies, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, splintsanddaisies.com, splintsanddaisies FLOWER PALETTE: Bulb flowers, including iris, tulip, calla lily; Foliage, including ornamental cabbage, sword fern and wild huck SOURCES: Stargazer Barn, Arcata, California PHOTOGRAPHY: Jillian McGrath, @jillianmcgrath MODEL: Ashley Garner, @ashleyggarner HAIR: Stefani Burket, The Bonafide Ginger VENUE: Hingework, @hingework

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THE AMERICAN FLOWERS WEEK COLLECTION

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into the woods.

DESIGN + CONCEPT: Carly Jenkins, Killing Frost Folk Arts, Helena, Montana, @killing.frost.folk.arts, DESIGN ASSISTANT: Katherine Sherba, Mighty Fine Farm, Missoula, Montana, @mightyfinefarm FLOWER PALETTE: Pacific Northwest-foraged moss, lichen and pine cones PHOTOGRAPHY: Alex Brooks, alex-brooks.com, MODEL: Berkeley Danysh, @berkeleydanysh, HAIR + MAKEUP: Carly Jenkins PRODUCTON SUPPORT: Seattle Wholesale Growers Market, @seattlewholesalegrowersmarket VENUE: Old Goat Farm, Orting, Washington

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THE AMERICAN FLOWERS WEEK COLLECTION

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from the field.

DESIGN + CONCEPT: Rayne Grace Hoke, Flora's Muse, Biddeford, Maine, @florasmuse DESIGN ASSISTANT: Hillary Alger, Product Manager for Herbs and Flowers, Johnny's Selected Seeds, johnnyseeds.com, @johnnyseeds.com FLOWER INGREDIENTS: Johnny's Selected Seeds, Winslow, Maine PHOTOGRAPHY: Kristen Earley, Johnny's Selected Seeds, Chris Pinchbeck, pinchbeckphoto.com MODEL: Mary Yarumian HAIR + MAKEUP: Mary Yarumian VENUE: Johnny's Trial Gardens, Albion, Maine

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THE AMERICAN FLOWERS WEEK COLLECTION

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island orchids.

DESIGN + CONCEPT: Alison Higgins, Grace Flowers Hawaii, graceflowershawaii.com, @graceflowershawaii DRESS STYLING: Kamaehu Duldulao, Grace Flowers Hawaii DRESS CONSTRUCTON: Alison Higgins and Jade Woolford, Grace Flowers Hawaii BOUQUET: Nicole Cordier Wahlquist, Grace Flowers Hawaii FLOWER SOURCES: ACK Flowers LLC, Papaikou, Hawaii PHOTOGRAPHY: Sarah Anderson MODEL: Jasmine Kume Amari MAKEUP: Kali Rosel VENUE: G.B. Hajim’s Farm, Birdsong

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SUMMER 2025

THE AMERICAN FLOWERS WEEK COLLECTION

2 0 2 1 S_1 call me.

DESIGN + CONCEPT: Niesha Blancas, Fetching Social Media, fetchingsocialmedia.com, @fetchingsocial DESIGN ASSISTANTS: Cathy Blancas, Ana Quinata FLOWER PALETTE: Seasonal California-grown flowers in a yellow, peach, coral, orange and green color range FLOWERS: CamFlor Inc., camflor.com, @camflorinc PHOTOGRAPHY: Niesha Blancas and Ana Quinata, @anaquinata MODEL: Gloria Serna VENUE: Fresno, California

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THE AMERICAN FLOWERS WEEK COLLECTION

2 0 2 2 S_1 take flight.

DESIGNERS: Xenia D'Ambrosi, Sweet Earth Co., sweetearthco.com, @sweetearthco and Natalie Collette, The Gardenist @the_gardenist FLORAL PALETTE: Delphinium, bachelor's button, and snapdragons from CamFlor Inc. (California); muscari from The Gardenist (Connecticut); local hyacinth from East Coast Wholesale (Connecticut); and dried amaranth and miscanthus from Sweet Earth Co. (New York) PHOTOGRAPHY: Sally Semonite Green, @salstergreen MODEL: Ryan Matthew MAKEUP: Xenia D'Ambrosi and Natalie Collette VENUE: Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, Pound Ridge, New York

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THE AMERICAN FLOWERS WEEK COLLECTION

2 0 2 3 S_1 beauty among ruins.

DESIGN + CONCEPT: Jennifer Reed, Jennifer Designs Events, @jenniferdesignsevents DESIGN ASSISTANT: Jennifer Bender, @thisholidayhouse FLOWER SOURCES: Owlet Farms, Pilesgrove, New Jersey, @owletfarms, CamFlor Inc., Watsonville, California, @camflorinc. Muth Family Farm, Williamstown, New Jersey, @muthfamilyfarm PHOTOGRAPHY: Haley Richter Photography, @haleyrichter MODEL: Brooke G., @brookeitlist HAIR + MAKEUP: : Jessica Saint Beauty @jessicasaintbeauty and Toni Burke @toniburke_muah VENUE: Hagley Museum, Wilmington, Delaware, @hagleymuseum

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THE AMERICAN FLOWERS WEEK COLLECTION

2 0 2 4 S_1

california dreaming.

DESIGN + CONCEPT: Jenny M. Diaz, Jenny M. Diaz Design, @jennymdiaz FLOWER SOURCES: CamFlor Inc., camflor.com, @camflorinc PHOTOGRAPHY: Jenny M. Diaz MODEL: Kara Trukki HAIR + MAKEUP: Tanya Ferrell VENUE: Shaver Lake, California

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THE AMERICAN FLOWERS WEEK COLLECTION

2 0 2 5 S_1 golden hour.

DESIGN + CONCEPT: Jennifer Reed, Jennifer Designs, jenniferdesignsevents.com, @jenniferdesignsevents DESIGN ASSISTANT: Kelly Shore, The Floral Source, thefloralsource.com, @thefloralsource FLOWER SOURCES: Continental Floral Greens, cfgreens.com, @cfgreens PHOTOGRAPHY: Matt McDaniel, mattyphotography.com MODEL, HAIR + MAKEUP: Madison Milgard VENUE: Continental Floral Greens, Forest Grove, Oregon

SLOW FLOWERS JOURNAL

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THE AMERICAN FLOWERS WEEK COLLECTION

2 02 5 northwest narrative.

S_2

Fresh-cut branches, berries, and greenery get all dressed up.

Last fall, Jennifer Reed and Kelly Shore traveled from their east coast studios to Forest Grove, Oregon, where they taught a holiday design workshop at one of Continental Floral Greens’ satellite farms. The event was captured for Slow Flowers Journal’s Fall 2024 cover story, photographed by Matt McDaniel.

Slow Flowers asked the women, American Flowers Week botanical couture designers for past seasons, whether they wanted to create a botanical couture look using classic Pacific Northwest greens and foliage.

Owner of Jennifer Designs, Reed said yes and took the lead, enjoying the chance to design with freshly harvested conifer greens, broadleaf evergreen sprays, and berry-laded boughs. While also producing the two-day design workshop, Shore, owner of The Floral Source, found time to assist her frequent collaborator.

In planning her dramatic look, Reed says she researched Oregonthemed cultural and artistic influences online. “When I googled ‘Oregon,’ the movie ‘The Goonies’ kept popping up,” she laughed.

“So my original idea was some sort of pirate look.” Fans of the 1985 cult classic may well-recall the plot: A group of young misfits called the “Goonies” discover an ancient map and set out on an adventure to find a legendary pirate's long-lost treasure. The production was filmed in the coastal fishing town of Astoria, Oregon.

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Reed continued, “I asked myself, why would a

The high-low skirt was comprised of two

pirate be on a flower farm? It made no sense.”

sections, which simplified the mechanics

Even after she moved onto other ideas, it

and achieved an important goal of Reed’s. “I

turns out that a swashbuckler vibe remained—

always want my models to be able to move in

and the look Reed created is both an ode to

my floral garments.” The underskirt, worn

the best foliage crops produced in Oregon, and

across the front of the body like an apron, had

a playful nod to some of the corseted attire

a chicken wire base with a tapestry of intricate

worn by the “Outlander” series’ lead actress,

texture and color patterns provided by

Caitríona Balfe.

branches of nandina, Ilex with red berries, and

Reed sent her sketches to Madison Milgard, brand director for Continental Floral Greens, who helped source the ingredients on Reed’s list. Milgard, whose family co-founded CFG, grew up surrounded by acres of conifer trees

branches with rose hips. Reed attached most of the pieces to the waistline, starting with a dense placement at the belt and allowing sprays to softly drape and weave together closer to the hemline.

and shrubs, so it wasn’t hard to convince her

The longer overskirt wrapped three-quarters

to model Reed’s floral garment, too.

of the way around the waist, so that the

“Madison sent me the magnolia leaves ahead of time so I could get started on the corset,” Reed recalled. She shaped overlapping layers of the leathery foliage over an actual fabric corset, exposing the soft, caramel-colored indumentum that appears on the back of each glossy green leaf. “Every single part of the leaves had to be glued and then held in position with the heat of my hand to keep their shape around the body,” she explained.

decorative underskirt peeked out from its opening. Reed fashioned the garment with CFG’s pre-made garlands, lining the skirt with extra pine branches. After Milgard stepped into these two skirt pieces, Reed added cedar boughs at the hips, cutting them short to resemble a flouncy peplum. Accessories completed this look, including a charming pair of shoes that the designer covered in magnolia leaves.

I didn’t want the edges to pop up or crack

“This was a fun way to show off evergreens

once the magnolia dried.” Little details give

without it looking Christmasy,” Shore

the garment its character, such as bits of

observed. “It really reads ‘Northwest’ and

lichen tucked into spaces between some of the

isn’t pigeonholed in the winter season.”

leaves, resembling torn lace.

The garment highlighted some of the best

It's often hard to avoid a bulky look when a

Oregon-grown options for florists, Shore

human model dresses in botanical couture,

continued. Through The Floral Source, she

but Reed’s corset fit Milgard like a glove.

supplies florists with many of the greenery,

Clasps along the back allowed for a snug

foliage, and fruiting branches grown by this

fit when worn. Botanical accents graced

farm. “I don’t think people realize how fun

the neckline, shoulders, and upper arms,

it is to explore a farm to see what it grows,”

including vibrant Oregon native vine maple

Shore raved. “There is so much cool material

and nandina, which resemble a vintage

here that many florists around the country

mantilla scarf.

aren’t used to having.”

THE AMERICAN FLOWERS WEEK COLLECTION

2 02 5 blooming bride.

S_2

Hundreds of creamy tulip petals bring romance to a bridal gown.

Growing and designing wedding florals is part of Waverly Flower Co.’s brand, so it’s no surprise that Alanna Messner-Scholl reimagined a bridal gown fashioned not from silk yardage, but with a flurry of tulip petals from her own tulip harvest.

For the Philadelphia-area farmer-florist, the character of her selected venue complements the dreamy botanical couture concept. MessnerScholl’s editorial-style photo shoot took place at Elkins Estate, a historic manor built in 1898 and situated on 42-acres in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. “It felt like we were in an elegant setting in the French or Italian countryside,” she said. The collaboration with Tess Schilke was fortuitous, because the photographer was quite familiar with Elkins Estate from previous bookings. “This location is so ornate, you almost don’t need flowers; they’re just kind of an accent to complement the rooms,” Messner-Scholl laughed, adding that she’s

DESIGN + CONCEPT: Alanna Messner-Scholl, Waverly Flower Co., waverlyflowerco.com, @waverlyflowerco FLOWER SOURCE: Waverly Flower Co. FLORAL ASSISTANCE: Elliana Haines, Waverly Flower Co., @ellianamadison PHOTOGRAPHY: Tess Schilke, @tess.schilke MODEL: Shannon McConnell and Brett Morris, @shanmcconnell, @brettmorris10 HAIR: Krystin Curry of Mane & Moon, @krystincurry_hair MAKEUP: Sarah Capizzi of Inner Glow Hair Lounge, @innerglow_hairlounge VENUE: Elkins Estate, @elkinsestate, VIDEOGRAPHY: John Feher, @johnfeher AIRBRUSH TAN: TLS Spray Tan Bar, @tls_spraytanbar

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planning flowers for a 2026 ceremony at the property.

The models, Shannon McConnell and Brett Morris, are clients of Waverly Flower Co., and they plan to marry in October. “Having already met Shannon, I imagined her wearing the silhouette of a slender, strapless gown with a neck scarf that draped over her shoulders,” Messner-Scholl explained. For the groom, rather than making a conventional boutonniere, she created an oversized botanical lapel featuring tulips, hellebores, ranunculus blooms and Pieris japonica. “It is a statement piece that reads like part of his tuxedo rather than a boutonniere.”

The gown’s production and the photo shoot were planned for peak tulip season. “I was pretty set on having our own flowers for this gown, and my vision was to use about 250 fully-double ‘Mondial’ tulips, which are a gorgeous, creamy white hue.”

“I originally thought I would fasten tulip heads with reflexed petals to the gown, but we didn’t have enough. So instead, I removed all the petals and glued on each one individually—which took a lot longer than I anticipated.“ Unpredictable weather created some. tulip production challenges, requiring Messner-Scholl to choose a second variety to round out the design recipe. “I added ‘Avant-Garde’ tulips, which are ivory with a yellow center.” The mix of cream and ivory petals added depth and dimension to the pale floral gown.

The use of tulip petals (rather than full flower heads) created a softer, ruffled texture but avoided bulk in the bust area, the designer said. However, she found it hard to maintain the freshness of her tulip petals once they were glued to the base garment. “The tulips didn’t hold up as much as I had hoped for, but that’s part of the process,” Messner-Scholl explained. “We started constructing the gown at 8 a.m. and at noon, it looked perfectly fine. Even with misting the heck out of the dress, though, by 3 p.m., it just nose-dived.” The unseasonably warm, late-April date and a one-hour drive to transport the dress to the venue took a toll on the delicate petal shapes. “Thankfully, I’m overjoyed with the photographs,” she added. “They tell the story that I wanted to tell.”

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THE AMERICAN FLOWERS WEEK COLLECTION

2 02 5 feverfew frock.

S_2

A crop of perennials blooms into a charming garment.

Andee Zeigler owns Three Sepals, a Portland, Oregon-based studio for ceramics, floral art, and bouquets. She grows flowers to share with neighbors, occasionally selling buckets of blooms to DIY designers. She embellishes her pottery using creamy, earthy, and aqua-blue glazes in distinctive scallop patterns.

That detail appears in Zeigler’s most recent botanical creation—a ruffled skirt with sections of feverfew placed in scallop patterns, and curved sword fern scallops across the hemline. She fashioned the skirt, purely for the joy of it, collaborating with her husband Alex Dickey to photograph the look on a recent summer’s day.

“I love making botanical couture,” Zeigler proclaimed. With a “unicorn” property equivalent to four city lots that add up to just under one-half-acre, there is plenty of soil for the Three Sepals garden.

Each year at the end of the season, she harvests everything still in bloom to create wearable looks for herself, her family, and her friends.

“I spend all year growing this garden and there’s an abundance of everything here. Why not be ‘in the garden, in the garden’!”

“People ask, ‘What do you do with it?’ when they see what I have

DESIGN + CONCEPT: Three Sepals WEBSITE INSTAGRAM

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SUMMER 2025

created. Some might ask, ‘Is this a waste of time?’; ‘Is there a point to it?’ or ‘Are you wasting resources?’”

For Zeigler, the answer to such questions is that art is an essential expression of who she is. “I make a lot of art and I have never quite wrapped my head around melding my art with the world of capitalism. I grow flowers mostly to give to my community. We have a Free Library and it is like a little house with two sections. On one side are books and the other side is full of pottery and flowers. From the beginning of July until our first freeze, every Saturday, I put out free flowers for our neighbors. When I have extra pottery, or even rejects, or when my studio feels overwhelmed, I add those.” Giving away bouquets of flowers feels right, she added. “It doesn’t even look like I picked a single stem!”

Making floral fashions also feels right. When a small crop of feverfew—three varieties, including ‘Magic Lime’, ‘Virgo’, and ‘Magic Single’—expanded into a four-foot-square patch, the proliferation inspired Zeigler to make something with all those fluffy stems. She harvested the feverfew, filling three large buckets, and set up production in her pottery studio. A dress form made it easy to attach dozens of feverfew bundles to a chicken wire skirt, their downward-facing heads forming those botanical scallops. Thicker wire runs vertically through the mesh to prevent the weight of the flowers from collapsing the flared skirt form.

Zeigler attached the curved sword fern shapes as the final trimming.

It’s a detail she has used in the past, thanks to all of the fern plants inherited from her garden’s prior owner. An opening in the back of the skirt allowed Zeigler to step into it; with small twists of wire to hold it closed. Underneath, her leggings kept the mesh from scratching her skin. A dark-green top complemented the verdant look.

It's fun to dress up in your garden’s bounty, she said. “I just think there are too many people hung up on ‘What am I making this for?’ and ‘Do I need to be marketing this to someone?’ instead of doing it for themselves.” The gardener-maker has an inspiring philosophy: “Dress Like Your Garden,” and it’s one all flower lovers should embrace.

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THE AMERICAN FLOWERS WEEK COLLECTION

2 02 5 taking stock.

S_2

Stockbridge Floral Design fosters future farmer-florists.

Professor Sarah Berquist teaches farmer-florists of the future through the sustainable flower farming and floral entrepreneurship curriculum at the Stockbridge School of Agriculture at University of Massachusetts in Amherst, Massachusetts.

During spring semester, she challenged her Farmer-Florist Practicum students to join Slow Flowers’ American Flowers Week campaign with their own botanical couture designs. For many, this was their first foray into wearable florals, and like most of the projects Berquist assigns, the young floral artists and growers fearlessly embraced the opportunity to creatively experiment with local and seasonal blooms.

“The practicum is an advanced version of our retail floral design course,” Berquist explained. “We did a series of projects during spring semester—from working in the greenhouse and holding plant and tuber sales, to producing an annotated bibliography of Slow Flowers articles. When I proposed the botanical couture project, the students dove right in.”

With “Student Life” as their prompt, class members brainstormed design themes around familiar university, agriculture, and farmerfloristry themes. Four design concepts emerged: The Shirt, The Boots, The Backpack, and The Graduates. “Everyone liked the symbolism of education and creativity,” said Allison Virzi, a graduating senior and teaching assistant in the program. Added Sarah Johnson, “We kept asking ourselves, ‘how are we going to be able to do this?’ But, we obviously found the time and it was definitely worth the experience!”

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SUMMER 2025

THE GRADUATES

SARAH JOHNSON and ALLISON VIRZI partnered to “flower” their traditional capand-gown graduation attire. “The photo shoot happened during graduation week, and this project symbolized how close we all became as the Stockbridge Floral Design team,” Virzi said. “We decided to make tulip stoles and daffodil tassels with the flowers we were harvesting that week.” Graduation stoles are often decorated with symbols, colors, or text that represent the student's academic achievements or honors, so it’s fitting that the farmer-florists chose from their crops to design floral stoles.

RUBY DIGREGORIO created the tassels by threading several daffodil varieties, attaching them to the mortarboard caps.

The construction of the stoles required two different mechanics. Virzi assembled her stole with a strand of tulips (complete with bulbs), attached to a long tube of chicken wire that draped around her neck. “It has so much movement because of the drapey quality of the foliage,” she said.

THE SHIRT During the student brainstorming session, AERYN WILLINGHAM was doing what she often does: knitting. Then she heard Berquist suggest using spring tulips grown by the class, adding, “maybe Aeryn could knit something for it.” “My brain started going a mile a minute, because I love fiber crafts—I’ve been knitting since I was three and spinning since I was 10,” said Willingham, a food and farming major.

She created a hyper-local knit tunic into which her classmates inserted a riot of tulips and ranunculus. There is a lacy openness to the soft, knitted garment, the gauge of which emulates chicken wire mesh. With Willingham serving as the garment’s model, several of her classmates added tulips to the knit bodice. They devised an ombre effect with darker orange flowers blending into yellow ones, working from the base of the top to the neckline and shoulders.

THE BOOTS Two pairs of iconic farming boots symbolized the life of a farmer-florist, and the footwear was transformed with spring flowering bulbs, a beautiful embellishment that converted functional footwear into wearable art.

MELANIE MORGAN and CHARLOTTE BAYER served as designers and models for this charming agriculture-inspired floral vignette.

Staples of many farmers’ closets, the leather Blundstones and Hunter rain boots owned by these students inspired them to use the boots’ openings as floral vessels. Specialty daffodils and tulips, plus ranunculus and lily of the valley stems, emerge as if growing from inside the boots, playfully dancing around the models’ ankles. The addition of a shovel as a prop brought vibes of the painting ‘American Gothic,’ reimagined as a joyful (rather than dour) scene.

“It’s cool that this photo shoot happened inches away from our plot where many of these flowers are grown,” Berquist said.

THE BACKPACK SUSAN NADEAU chose the ubiquitous Jansport backpack to symbolize the student lifestyle. “At first, she was going to fill it with a bouquet of flowers, but then decided to design directly onto the outside surface,” Berquist explained. “She used cable ties to attach a ‘tube’ of chicken wire to the backpack; then inserted flowers into that base.” As both designer and model, Susan embraced the joy of a “just-aboutto-be-free” senior by giving her reliable accessory its own floral tattoo.

DETAILS Stockbridge Floral Design is part of the Stockbridge School of Agriculture at University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

WEBSITE INSTAGRAM

SFJ FEATURED COVER ARTIST

jenny m. diaz Fifty floral quilt blocks for the 50 states.

Slow Flowers Society has relied on the creative talents of Jenny Diaz since 2016. Her contributions to our visual brand have been essential for building the Slow Flowers Movement. Jenny has an uncanny ability to listen closely, interpret inventively, and express ideas in highly effective ways. We are always eager to see how she takes the “wish list” of what we want visuals to achieve, because they far exceed expectations.

Since creating the logo art for American Flowers Week in 2016, Jenny’s influence on this national floral promotional campaign has been everywhere. In 2016 and 2017, she hand-illustrated our USA Map and 50 States of Local Flowers coloring artwork, still used each year by our members to promote their own American Flowers Week efforts.

Jenny has also designed four botanical couture looks over the years. She’s not a florist or a flower farmer, but she’s so intimately connected to the goals and values of American Flowers Week that her creativity has prompted her “floral fashionista” to conceptualize,

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fabricate, style, and photograph a

like to use fabric that almost has a

animals. I wonder if there are state

range of wearable looks—inspired

watercolor feel to it, so I’ve added

quilt blocks?” I did some research

by her love of local florals.

variations to some of the pieces,

and discovered that, yes, there are

allowing different tones to come

state quilt blocks. There are some

through.

variations, but I actually found a

For American Flowers Week 2025,

book from the 1970s, “The United

we invited Jenny to be our featured artist. And of course, she had ideas!

AFW: Tell us about your path as an

States Patchwork Pattern Book: 50

Jenny joined Debra Prinzing re-

artist!

Quilt Blocks for 50 States.”

cently to talk about it and give us

JD: I’ve always been creative since I

a sneak peek! The project involves

was little. My mom has always been

AFW: What do you know about the

50 original watercolors of state-by-

creative and she has painted with

story of each quilt?

state quilt blocks, recaptured into

watercolors; my grandma used to

JD: Some are an obvious reference

8-by-8-inch paintings. Here’s a bit

make quilts and do paintings.

to the state. For example, New Mexico has more of a Santa Fe look

more: AFW: Did you study art in college?

and Texas has a big star. For other

AFW: Have you painted in water-

JD: I went to Fresno State Univer-

quilt squares, I haven’t been able to

color much, Jenny?

sity to become an environmental

find any story about the origins of a

JD: It’s always been my favorite

toxicologist. I love biology. I love

design. I’m hoping somebody who

medium to work with, just because

bugs and animals. What I intend-

sees our project will tell us more

in most of my other design work

ed to do as a career path was study

stories after reading about it!

everything is so precise. Watercolor

plants, insects, and animals to de-

gives me a chance to let things flow

termine if those species are safe or

AFW: How are you transforming

more organically.

endangered. But, I was still doodling

photographs of vintage quilt pieces

and doing more art in my classes

into watercolor art?

AFW: What type of watercolor paint

than actually paying attention to

JD: I’m trying to stay as true to each

are you using?

the subject. So I changed to an em-

state as I can. I’ve been scanning

JD: I was using Winsor & Newton,

phasis in graphic design because it

the image of each quilt piece and

but I also have a travel set of koi

seemed that’s where art was going.

then converting it to an 8-inch

watercolors from Sakura. I’ve been

I went more digital in my design ca-

square (and there are some round

watercolor painting outside when

reer. Lately, I’ve gravitated to work-

patches). Once I print it onto paper,

my husband and son do archery in

ing with people who love flowers;

I put the design on my lightboard

the evenings. I also need this travel

who love plants, so it’s kind of my

and I lightly trace the pattern.

set of watercolors because my son,

full-circle moment as a creative.

Then, I paint the watercolors freehand.

Dylan, has baseball practice and Ninja practice. I’ve got to take him

AWF: Tell us how you came up with

everywhere, so the painting goes

the 50 States Quilt Square Project

AFW: We loved seeing all 50 of

with me!

for American Flowers Week.

these paintings assembled together

JD: I love challenges! I was thinking

as a quilt!

AFW: How are you able to make

of traditional Americana; something

JD: Yes, it was so refreshing to

the paintings resemble fabric quilt

that might be considered old-timey,

sit down and say, “What state am I

squares?

but still carries through to today.

going to visit today?!”

JD: I noticed that a lot of quilters

My brain just started doing tumbleweeds and I thought, “We’ve done state flowers. I know there are state