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Ep.1: Introducing the Backyard Bouquet Podcast: Celebrating the Beauty of Local Flowers
1.9k Plays2 years ago
In this first episode of the Backyard Bouquet podcast, host Jennifer Gulizia shares her background in growing cut flowers and how the podcast came to be. She recounts her childhood love for flowers and her dream of growing her own flowers to fill her home with bouquets.
Jennifer started her floral journey with a small cutting garden in her backyard in 2007 and eventually moved to Hood River, Oregon, where she had more space to grow flowers. She shares how her farm, The Flowering Farmhouse, started with small beginnings and has grown to over an acre of cut flowers.
Inspired by the stories Jennifer has heard from the local flower community, she decided to start the Backyard Bouquet podcast to share the stories of backyard gardeners and flower farmers.
Grab your gardening gloves, garden snips, or your favorite vase because it’s time to grow your own backyard bouquet.
Be sure to click to listen!
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Transcript
Introduction to Backyard Bouquet Podcast
00:00:02
Speaker
Welcome to the Backyard Bouquet podcast, where stories bloom from local flower fields and home gardens. I'm your host, Jennifer Galitzia of the Flowering Farmhouse.
Journey into Flower Farming
00:00:12
Speaker
I'm a backyard gardener turned flower farmer located in Hood River, Oregon. Join us for heartfelt journeys shared by flower farmers and backyard gardeners. Each episode is like a vibrant garden, cultivating wisdom and joy through flowers. From growing your own backyard garden to supporting your local flower farmer,
00:00:32
Speaker
The backyard bouquet is your fertile ground for heartwarming tales and expert cut flower growing advice.
Community and Flower Growing Advice
00:00:39
Speaker
All right flower friends, grab your gardening gloves, garden snips, or your favorite vase because it's time to let your backyard bloom.
00:00:56
Speaker
Welcome flower friends to the Backyard Bouquet, the podcast that's all about celebrating the simple joys and beauty that comes from growing and enjoying local flowers. I'm your host, Jennifer Galitzia, the farmer and cut flower gardener behind the flowering farmhouse.
00:01:15
Speaker
I'm thrilled to have you here for our very first episode of the Backyard Bouquet.
Personal Flower Journey
00:01:20
Speaker
Welcome. In this first episode of the Backyard Bouquet, I'm going to share a little bit about my background and cut flowers, as well as how the Backyard Bouquet podcast came to be. I'm also going to share with you what you can expect to hear from future episodes of this show.
00:01:39
Speaker
But first, let's get to know me a little bit better. I'm going to share my journey into the world of flowers and why I'm so passionate about sharing their beauty with all of you. I have loved flowers since I was a young child.
00:01:55
Speaker
I remember growing up in a home where my mother had our yard beautifully landscaped with lots of flowers blooming all summer long. Perhaps though, one of my earliest memories of cut flowers is visiting my cousin's house up in Seattle, Washington.
00:02:12
Speaker
My aunt and uncle had a gorgeous garden full of flowers that they would cut and fill their home with beautiful bouquets from their backyard. I remember as a young child telling myself that someday I too would grow my own flowers that I could cut and bring inside and fill my home with bouquets from the backyard.
00:02:36
Speaker
Fast forward to graduating college and I moved into my first house in Portland, Oregon in 2007. I had a modest backyard and I had enough space to grow an eight by eight small cutting garden. I went to my local nursery and purchased some plants on clearance.
00:02:57
Speaker
It was the end of the season and I also bought some cheap seed packets. I scattered those seeds and I grew my very first cutting garden. Over the years, I tended to that garden and eventually found my way to Hood River, Oregon with my husband, TJ. In 2014, we built our first house together where I had enough space to grow my own garden. We had raised garden beds and a yard where I could fill it with my own flowers.
00:03:26
Speaker
I went crazy.
00:03:28
Speaker
I bought 64 Dahlia tubers. Most of them filled my garden beds and the rest I tucked around the yard wherever I could find space.
Becoming a Flower Farmer
00:03:39
Speaker
That summer I had so many flowers I didn't know what to do with all of them. Our house was constantly full of flower bouquets and I found myself delivering bouquets of flowers to local neighbors' doorsteps. Fast forward to 2018
00:03:57
Speaker
And my husband and I once again found ourselves building a new home where I was going to move my photography business into our house. The place where we were building had a third of an acre, just enough space for me to grow some cut flowers. We had this unique space in our front yard that was shaped almost like a triangle where all of the neighborhood utilities were buried.
00:04:21
Speaker
I could not plant anything permanent there, so I decided to take my 64 dahlia plants from our last house. I divided them, and I planted over 200 dahlias in our front yard. Since it was the end of the year, I didn't know what I was going to do with the rest of our yard space. So I scattered some seeds. I planted some zinnias and some cosmos, and I had flowers everywhere. I started selling some of my flowers to the local florists.
00:04:49
Speaker
It was then in 2020 that I decided to enroll in florets online learning course. I learned what it would take to become a backyard flower farmer. Little did I know that it was the perfect time to start a flower farm.
00:05:07
Speaker
It was right as COVID happened and the world shut down. I was able to sell so many bouquets that first season and subscriptions to my CSA.
Podcast Launch and Future Plans
00:05:18
Speaker
CSA stands for community supported agriculture. You may be familiar with it as some people subscribe to vegetable CSAs. Well, in the flower world, we also do CSAs where you can purchase a subscription to your local flower farm and receive fresh local flower bouquets.
00:05:37
Speaker
That first year, I think I had almost 20 subscribers in my CSA. I couldn't believe that I was able to move so many flowers in one season. After that, I was able to expand our farm and slowly over the years I've gone from growing on a quarter acre to half an acre to this last season, I grew on over one acre.
00:06:01
Speaker
Because of the unique location of our farm, I've been able to hear countless stories from people passing by on the streets. I've also had the opportunity to connect with growers from around the country. I've realized that the stories of these backyard gardeners and flower farmers needs to be told. Thus, the Backyard Bouquet podcast was born.
00:06:23
Speaker
Now that you know a little bit more about myself, the flowering farmhouse, and the idea behind the backyard bouquet, I want to give you a sneak peek of the exciting topics that we'll be exploring in future episodes, from the stories of local flower farmers, to tips to growing your own flower garden,
00:06:44
Speaker
and so much more. In each episode of the Backyard Bouquet, you'll hear from local flower farmers as well as backyard gardeners. Each episode will tell the story of local growers who are cultivating flower gardens and inspiring others to do the same.
00:07:01
Speaker
You'll walk away from each episode with valuable life lessons from the garden. New episodes will be available every Tuesday on your favorite podcast platform. Please be sure to subscribe to the show or sign up for my newsletter so you don't miss out on any future episodes. I'd also love for you to be a part of the Backyard Bouquet community. If you'd like to share your own flower stories, or if you know of someone who'd be a great guest to feature on the show, please reach out to me
00:07:31
Speaker
you can find me at hello at thefloweringfarmhouse.com or on social media under the handle thefloweringfarmhouse. Thank you for joining me today for our very first episode of the Backyard Bouquet. I can't wait to share more episodes with you where you'll be hearing blooming stories that will inspire you to grow your own gardens and fill your home with local flowers. Until then, keep blooming
00:08:00
Speaker
Keep growing and remember that every beautiful bouquet can start right here in your own backyard.