Big energy. That’s what my sister in-law Robin said in her response to a long, super enthusiastic (and slightly rambling) text I sent to her after diving deep into my favorite gift of this past holiday season: a beautiful book she gave me called Floret Farm's Cut Flower Garden by Erin Benzakein.
This book isn’t just any book about flowers—it’s a gorgeous and inspiring educational tool filled with incredible photography that is laid out in a balanced and harmonious way, with organized, detailed, and easy to follow planning and growing resources, AND directions for how to arrange the gorgeous things you grow after following the instructions in the book. Two beautiful seed packets and a stunning bookmark fell right out of the book and into my lap as soon as I opened it. I immediately went right down the Floret rabbit hole, as I am inclined to do when my mind latches onto something. I guess you could say I become a bit obsessed. My brain just goes into overdrive, and I get so many ideas! Once I found Floret Farms on Instagram (@floretflower) and saw that there is also a docuseries called Growing Floret about Erin and her flower farm currently streaming, it was game over.
Watching the Growing Floret docuseries has been transformational for me in ways I am having a hard time articulating. It is visually stunning (as expected), with its sweeping wide shots of the flower fields, the farm, and the gorgeous Washington landscape smattered with interviews, tight shots of things like dahlias with frost in the winter (indescribably beautiful), and many things in between: shots of kids, chickens, cats, Erin and team working on creating the beautiful books I now happily possess; all punctuated with voice overs by Erin, explaining her processes and how she got herself and her family to this point. It was as if by talking about her own life and experiences in this very organized way, she was able to unscramble my own crazy brain and give me some much-needed structure as I charged into 2023.
Here’s the text I sent to Robin immediately after binging Floret's docuseries on HBO Max:
"Hi! I am watching the Growing Floret docuseries and I have so many thoughts...can't wait to talk about all the things with you! You have given me so many amazing gifts, starting with you just being in my life...as well as so many thoughtful and amazing things, like all the symbolic elephant gifts, books and journals, little things you knew I would love...so many things...and most recently the book and seeds you just gave me.
I really think you and I can build something together, even if it's just for us and our kids. And fam.
MULTI-FAMILY FARM WITH DOCUSERIES!!!!! You know you want to…we could have chickens! And veggies! And flowers. And baby goats!!! but seriously, we can start small. With a podcast called "The Gift" (if you like that idea! or we can call it something else!) and we can interview Erin, the Floret Farms chick and other amazing women (and people). But seriously, we can just talk about being moms, being super smart women with crazy fams, and how we were brought together by fate, coffee, and a baby brother that I love madly.
This is why I needed to stay home alone tonight. To process ALL THE THINGS! Thanks for planting such amazing seeds!"
Robin’s amazing (and very succinct) response to my text:
"I love you and your big energy. You inspire me to be creative. And I'm so thankful that you're in my life. Also, I sent the boys home with a meal for you."
I’m so lucky to have such an amazing sister in-law who indulges my big energy dreams and feeds my soul (and also my belly). As for my obsession with all things Floret, I am happy to say, it’s becoming a family affair! For Mother’s Day, my husband and son built me a huge raised bed for the flower babies I’m growing from seed (Floret seeds, of course!) and I’m turning as much of my current yard as I possibly can into usable flower bed space. The multi-family farm with docuseries, farm animals, podcast, etc. will just have to wait (for now). As long as I can at least carve out the time, space, and energy to have my flowers, I’m good, and I’ll keep building on my big energy dreams.
I am eagerly anticipating Season 2 of Growing Floret—it premiers on May 23rd and is available to watch and stream on the Magnolia Network, discover+, and HBO Max. Being a documentary filmmaker myself, I absolutely love the way this series is put together in so many ways. Do yourself a favor and watch it! The cinematography alone is worth it.
Also, be sure to check out Floret Farm’s Cut Flower Garden and Erin Benzakein’s other books, A Year in Flowers, and Discovering Dahlias, on her gorgeous and hugely informative website, packed with tons of resources and an absolutely amazing searchable library. I highly recommend buying books directly from Floret—I bought one on Amazon and it definitely did not come wrapped beautifully in brown paper, nor did it come with the seed packets, or a bookmark or postcard like the one I bought directly from them.
To quote Erin in Season 1, Episode 1 of Growing Floret, “Flowers are beautiful. The act of planting them, caring for them, watching them grow, is an act of love. Their beauty is a gift to everyone who sees them. It’s also a gift to yourself.”
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