In Episode 64 of The Backyard Bouquet, flower farmer and educator Brooke Palmer of Jenny Creek Flowers returns to the podcast—one year after making the leap from part-time growing to full-time cut flower farming.

After balancing a teaching career and a growing flower farm for several years, Brooke decided in 2024 to hang up her classroom keys and pour her energy into her blooms. Now, she’s reflecting on what it’s really been like to turn her side hustle into a full-time flower farming business.

We talk about everything from launching successful workshops and peony you-picks to navigating unexpected crop failures and mindset struggles. Brooke shares the strategies she’s leaned on, the rhythms she’s found, and how she’s redefining success on her own terms.

If you're dreaming of going full-time with your farm or simply want an honest look at life beyond the leap, this episode is for you.

Key topics:

• The emotional and practical realities of going full-time
• Building a flower business around workshops and U-picks
• Managing time with intention (and being done by noon!)
• The power of mindset coaching and weekly reflection
• Letting go of comparison and choosing sustainability over scale

🌸 Connect with Brooke:
Website: jennycreekflowers.com
Instagram: @jennycreekflowers

Show Notes: https://thefloweringfarmhouse.com/2025/07/24/ep-64-brooke-palmerfrom-side-hustle-to-full-time-flower-farmer/

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New episodes every week to help keep your garden blooming!

In Episode 63 of The Backyard Bouquet Podcast, Jennifer sits down with Diane Szukovathy of Jello Mold Farm to explore the critical role of floral standards in flower farming. Diane shares how she went from planting zinnia seeds as a child to co-founding the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market and co-authoring Floral Standards — a groundbreaking guide for harvesting and handling over 230 floral crops.

We dig into:

• Growing pristine, sustainable flowers and achieving Salmon-Safe certification
• The inspiring creation of the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market, a farmer-owned co-op
• Why harvest timing and quality control are key to professional flower sales
• How Floral Standards is becoming the go-to guide for farmers, florists, and collectives

Whether you’re growing in your backyard or managing a flower farm, this episode will help you cut better stems, build stronger systems, and elevate your craft.

Show Notes: https://thefloweringfarmhouse.com/2025/07/01/ep-63-floral-standards-for-farmers/

🌿 Order the Floral Standards book: Seattle Wholesale Growers Market
📬 Connect with Diane: Visit jellomoldfarm.com and click “Contact Us”

Follow Seattle Wholesale Growers Market on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seattlewholesalegrowersmarket/

Seattle Wholesale Grower's Case Study: https://jellomoldfarm.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/2021_Seattle-Wholesale-Growers-Coop-Case-Study_final-low-res.pdf

📌 Please Subscribe to The Backyard Bouquet Podcast for more flower farming insights!

Sign up for our newsletter: https://bit.ly/thefloweringfarmhousenewsletter

If you enjoyed this episode, will you please consider leaving the podcast a review? Your review helps make the podcast more discoverable to others and allows me to continue creating more episodes. I'd love to know what you enjoyed most about the episode.

New episodes every week to help keep your garden blooming!

What does it take to grow cut flowers for over 40 weddings a season—while running a farm as a family of four?

In Part 2 of our conversation, Jennifer Joray of Eastern River Farm returns to share the details of how her family built a thriving, regenerative flower business in Maine. From crop planning to bouquet-making, and from packing systems to building in family rest, Jennifer walks us through what it really takes to succeed in growing cut flowers for weddings.

You’ll hear:
🌸 How they scaled from 8 to 65 weddings—and why they chose to scale back
💐 The top crops they rely on to meet wedding demand (think delphinium, mountain mint, lisianthus & more)
🪴 How they grow nearly everything from seed—including delphinium!
🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Their entire family’s role in floral design, prep, and packing
🌱 What regenerative flower farming means to them—and why protecting family rhythms is part of it

Whether you’re dreaming of your own flower farm or looking to refine your wedding offerings, this episode is packed with inspiration, practical systems, and heartfelt wisdom.

🎧 Missed Part 1? Listen to Ep. 61: Jennifer Joray of Eastern River Farm on Flower Farming, Lyme Disease, & Finding Healing Through Nature

Connect with Jennifer Joray:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/easternriverfarm/
• Website: https://easternriverfarm.com

Sign up for our newsletter: https://bit.ly/thefloweringfarmhousenewsletter

If you enjoyed this episode, will you please consider leaving the podcast a review? Your review helps make the podcast more discoverable to others and allows me to continue creating more episodes. I'd love to know what you enjoyed most about the episode.

New episodes every week to help keep your garden blooming!