Episode 759: “Beautiful Roses,” with author Janice Cox of Natural Beauty at Home

This is Slow Flowers.

Everyone loves roses, and Janice Cox proves why in her new book Beautiful Roses,

a guide and workbook for growing, using and enjoying America's favorite flower.

The book covers rose growing, but also the endless ways you can integrate roses into cooking, crafting, and wellness.

A nationally recognized expert in natural beauty, DIY skincare, and gardening for health and wellness,

Janice's author of five books, and she has created a series of hands-on workbooks focused on

growing, using and enjoying herbs and flowers.

A longtime self-hours member, she shares her newest book with us today,

combining the beauty, fragrance, and creativity that roses, rose gardening, and cultivation

can bring to your life and your floral enterprise.

I love that. That's my mission, is use your plants, grow your plants, enjoy your plants,

you know, in a new and different way, maybe that you hadn't thought of.

Or you used to do, I get that a lot of times too.

Oh, I used to do that.

We're going to do dine. We're going to do a couple of different techniques,

you know, the steaming process, where you can see the flowers, but the natural plant dies.

It's amazing, and it's fun to play around with it, because, you know, you might think,

oh, lavender is going to be the most beautiful shade of purple.

Well, no, it's actually kind of a green tint.

Oh wow.

So, it's a fun way to use your flowers and experiment, and then, in just enjoy,

I mean, you can do tablecloths. I did one year, I had a bunch of marigolds,

and I gave everybody a set of napkins that I had dyed from my garden.

This is why you need that marigold border.

I know. I'm kind of going back to the marigolds.

And then, but I'm never given up the roses, but I did, we're going to do that.

We're going to do, you can make watercolors with it, and do painting.

If you're an artist, you can, so it's a fun way to make paints.

I even saw a recipe, I'm kind of playing around with it, where people are making the pastel chalk.

You make your own chalk with your plants. You're, you know, making your own pigments.

And so, plants really can add a lot of color to your life in more ways than none.

Hello again, and welcome back to the Slow Flowers Podcast.

I'm Deborah Prinsing, and this is episode 759.

This is the weekly podcast about Slow Flowers, and the people who grow and design with them.

It's all about making a conscious choice, and I invite you to join the conversation

and the creative community as we discuss the vital topics of saving our domestic flower farms

and supporting a floral industry that relies on a safe, seasonal, and local supply of flowers and foliage.

This show is brought to you by SlowFlowers.com, the free online directory,

to more than 700 florist 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.

And thank you to our lead sponsor, flowerbulb.eu, and their U.S. Lilly Bulb vendors.

One of the most recognizable flowers in the world, the Lilly is a top-selling cut flower,

offering long-lasting blooms, year-round availability, and a dazzling pedal palette.

flowerbulb.eu has partnered with Slow Flowers to provide beautiful, Lilly inspiration,

and farming resources to help growers and florists connect their customers with more lilies.

Learn more at flowerbulb.eu.

Today's interview is the third in our series of four conversations filmed and recorded in February,

at the Northwest Flower and Garden Festival in Seattle, where Slow Flowers has long been involved

in producing floral education and programming.

I'm so happy that we can learn today from Janice Cox, Oregon-based author,

an expert on the natural use of many beloved plants.

She calls herself the original DIYer, meaning that long before DIY was even a term,

Janice turned to plants, nature, and the garden to make what other people purchase

in plastic bottles and jars, as well as to cook with and make functional everyday items.

I love how she has created a meaningful plant-filled and flower-filled life and career.

In her conversation, you'll learn not only volumes about America's favorite flower, the rose,

but also surprisingly about lufus.

The common thread is that both the rose and lufa plant can be grown and harvested for many uses.

And sprinkled throughout this episode are delightful plant facts,

stories of history, symbolism, and tradition,

along with practical tips for preserving blooms, petals, stems, and fruit.

So let's jump right in and welcome Janice Cox to the Slow Flowers Podcast.

Welcome back everyone to the Slow Flowers Podcast.

We're here for the third day of Slow Flowers Podcast Live at the Northwest Foreign Garden Festival,

which has been so fun.

And the live part is the live audience.

We are pre-recording this.

So thank you so much Janice Cox for joining me.

Thank you, Denver, for having me.

It's so great.

Janice is a longtime Slow Flowers member and has a really unique niche in the flower culture world.

And I'm just going to read your bio and we can share that with people.

Janice is a nationally recognized expert in natural beauty, DIY skin care,

and gardening for health and wellness.

She's the author of five books, most recently, Beautiful Roses,

Made Easy, which we're going to talk about.

And this is why you're here.

One of the reasons you're here to speak at the show.

Yes.

She also created a hands-on workbook series focused on growing, using, and enjoying plants.

With more than 30 years of experience, Janice shares her expertise through writing,

speaking, and live demonstrations at gardens and events nationwide.

And she has service education chair for the ERP Society of America and lives in Southern Oregon

where she continues to grow, create, inspire others every day.

Thank you.

Thank you for joining me.

I've been wanting to have you on the podcast for so long.

And doing it together rather than over Zoom is so much better.

I like that.

Yeah.

So Janice, you are kind of a unique in that you're not a flower farmer,

and you're not a floral designer, but you're using plants for their,

or educating people about the usefulness of plants.

Is that sort of how you define yourself?

Well, I think that's my mission statement is to get people to use and enjoy their plants.

I do have a farming background because I grew up in a farming family.

My grandfather's were citrus growers, and my dad was a farmer.

So I know the farm life.

And I'm afraid of that.

No, it's not as glamorous as we all see on social media.

But I also, when I started out, you know, I really like teaching people how to enjoy

and really use their plants beyond, you know, just growing.

And that's in itself.

And sometimes it goes hand in hand.

Like if you like a flower, then maybe you want to grow it.

Right, or you've been attracted to one, or you want to start a project like plant dying,

or a natural beauty, or so I've kind of, I used to, I started out teaching everybody

how to make your own body care products using plants.

And natural beauty at home is sort of your business thing.

Well, that's my original book that came out like maybe over 30 years ago.

Oh, okay.

And it was a cookbook.

And people would come up to me, and it would be all written in,

and which I loved because it meant they were using the book.

You mean they were like writing in the margins?

Yes.

And sometimes they would give me tips and ideas that worked better.

Because, you know, I don't know everything.

Right, it's also objective.

Right.

About six years ago, I started doing workbooks.

And that's what beautiful roses is.

It's a workbook style where you can...

And we'll dive into this a little bit.

Yes.

Where you can write in the book.

Okay. And these series are all, they all published by Ogden books.

Yes.

My publisher is the same one that does Mother Earth News magazine,

Ogden Publications in Topeka, Kansas.

Wow.

What a connection.

Yes.

So how did that happen?

Did they just ask you to do a workbook for them or had you...

Did you have the idea based on all your speaking?

I think it...

How it kind of just...

Like everything, it just kind of grew.

Yeah.

So I spoke at a lot of their live in-person fairs and events.

I've written for the magazine for years.

And then we did some of my original books.

But again, people were writing in them.

So I said...

Write in my books.

I think that's really a compliment.

It was.

So I said, we've got to do kind of like an interactive book, a workbook.

And the first one we did six years ago was on Lufa.

And so that then I left...

You know, there were...

It's not an original idea.

There's always been books where have no pages in the book.

Sure.

In each section, we would have a section where you could write down.

So everything was in one place, like where you got your seeds or what happened,

what you did right, what you did wrong.

And it just really worked.

So then I went on and did it with other plants and roses is one.

When I pick a plant, you have...

It has to be kind of a multi-use plant because that you can grow.

But also you can cook with.

You can craft with.

You can use for health and for wellness.

Yeah.

So if it meets that criteria, it can be a workbook.

Well, let's talk about some of the categories in here.

I mean, I see...

The reason I'm so fascinated with this is that I think we're seeing

through the slow flowers, you know, excitement of people connecting with flowers and plants

that florists and flower farmers, farmer florists, you know, people who have a public audience

when they add workshops, when they add these experiences,

these one-offs, festivals or tours that have a takeaway and a lesson.

There's so many things that are accomplished.

You know, their customers connect with them.

Their customers maybe have more appreciation for buying local flowers.

And it's sort of like something that anyone who is in our community could pick up your book

and get a whole menu of ideas and maybe just do a workshop with their students.

And that's a lot...

I know...

That's why I love being a slow flower's member because I'm not a flower farmer,

but I do get when I go to the summit where I read, you know, your blogs or your book.

I love your book.

You get ideas on how to use flowers in different ways.

And even some of the ideas I'm going to talk on plant dine,

you had a florist on last year in San Francisco that I think at the end of the day

she sweeps up her buds and flowers and brews up natural dines.

Yes, yes.

And so I love that idea that she had these rainbow of ribbon.

I think it even became a trend.

It was creative waste.

And it's actually a flower shop down in Central California.

Yeah.

And that's just...

But see, and there's another flower farmer you had that does the...

It extends like drying the flowers or crafting with a...

You can do workshops, people like to do them in the field, but also in the winter

when we don't have the bright growing flowers.

Well, I love that you're telling people all the things they can do with roses.

So tell us some of the...

Find a couple of the works of the activities that you love.

A few things jumped out of me like the beauty products, but then also the cooking product.

Okay.

I'll do each section.

So wellness, roses are an age old member.

My grandmother used rose water.

Oh, right.

And so rose water, and that's a worldwide thing.

It's still popular today.

And it's easier to find than...

I used to have to go to a liquor store because it was used in a lot of drinks.

Or go to a Persian market.

Right.

Now you can find it a lot easier.

So is it just the extraction of rose petals?

Well, you can make your own rose water.

It's not...

And it really depends out of your own garden roses.

Just make sure you haven't been spraying them.

But the real high-end rose oil and rose water is distilled.

Okay.

And it's part of that process.

So you're telling people...

An easy home away.

And if you want to boost up the scent, you can use a store by...

Oh, so you can either make your own or you can buy the distilled and get different kind of...

Right.

You kind of can play around with the result.

But you can make your own creams, lotions, bath products.

Even popere has come back.

It used to be, right, a medieval thing to keep the house smelling great.

And then it kind of took on a bad look with all those wood shavings.

Well, popere is back.

I'm here to tell you.

Popere is back.

But without the wood.

Without the wood shavings.

I love it.

I think I saw one.

There was an idea where you go to the pet store and you get all the hamster shavings.

Yeah, I would want that in my house.

And you use it with essential oils.

No, do not do that.

But the popere is a lovely way to use fresh and dried flowers.

And then add, like if you have a figurine or a special stone or...

Yeah, it's a nice gift in a way, a garden thing.

Then culinary people love roses aren't edible flower.

And now some taste better than others.

Like I know in my yard I have a really sweet little yellow one that tastes...

It is nice.

And when you're saying the petals...

Well, every part, the rose hips are the apple of the rose or the fruit of the rose, right?

Rose hips, the leaves actually are edible also and the petals.

But you know, I just always make sure not all roses taste some.

I have a pink one that is so beautiful but it tastes like an artichoke when I cook with it.

So you don't want that one.

But you can make jams, jellies, cakes.

And there's... I'm sure there are.

I know people in slow flowers even that have saved buds and sell them as edible flowers.

Right.

And so edible flowers is a big trend.

And it just elevates everything.

Even I know at home if I make my breakfast cereal and I put some rose petals on top...

It's a good day.

Shannon, you are so inspiring.

And then the last way is crafting.

And this way is just a fun way to use your flowers.

Especially after you've enjoyed them in a beautiful bouquet.

They might be wilting but you could create a dye or a watercolor with them.

You can dye your fabrics.

Excuse you, don't care how they look.

You're cooking them up.

You can make beads.

That's the rose or bees came from...

Beads made from rose petals.

Rose petals or roses or something.

Right. So that is just in a slow cooker and you just make kind of a paste

and you're making flower beads.

You know what I like too.

A lot of times we focus on the flower.

And it's beautiful flower.

I mean, just looking at rose, right?

Rose is beautiful.

But the canes...

This is a great time of year to harvest your rose canes when you're pruning.

And that's a really sturdy stick that you can use in your garden as a trellis.

Oh wow.

Also, when they're green, I will wrap them around buckets and make a wreath faces with them.

Where gloves.

Yeah.

But a lot of those runners, especially the ones that come all the way from the root up,

don't have real strong thorns.

See, they're kind of pliable.

You can wrap them around a bucket.

People do with willow.

Oh wow.

You can wrap that and then you have wreath forms.

I made, I don't know when I did my pruning this year.

I probably made about 12, 15 wreath forms that you can use year round.

I love it.

They're all cut up in my compost bin this year.

But next year, I'm going to try that.

Yeah, the canes work well.

And even, I might talk, I'm going to show, even you can make little paint brushes using the little rose sticks and natural endings.

Well, talk about, talking about zero waste.

Like you found a purpose for all parts of the plant.

Even if it's even fresh or dried.

So I love that.

Yeah, I think that.

And so, yeah, there's just all kinds of projects, old-fashioned ones.

I mean, using, there's no new ideas, just improved upon ideas.

And so people have worked with nature and crafts.

They used to be out of necessity, right?

Like we had to dye our fabrics with plants.

Right.

We didn't have a synthetic option.

And who wants that, right?

Right.

Now, it's a lifestyle choice.

Because people are going back to the natural and the reusing.

It's, you know, the no waste.

I think that's one of your trends too.

Well, we talked about that a couple times.

And I have to say, when we do those forecasts, we, or those insights,

we robbing Avani and I draw from what slow-flowers members are doing.

So, roses are probably going to be in the 2027 forecast because of you.

Because you're more so inspired by this.

Well, roses are, it's the oldest flower.

They found it back in dinosaur times.

There's fossils that have roses.

It's, you know, it's the flower of, it's our national flower.

Right.

And roses just have, I did an article once for, I think it was 1-800,

well, I don't know if I can blur, but it was all on rose facts.

And roses have gone to space.

I mean, roses are just a flower that, it's probably the first flower.

People identify or can identify, even as a small child.

Right.

It's so true.

People have such nature blindness, but they do know what a rose is.

And it's part of, like, your whole life.

I mean, from, you know, birth to, you know, funeral flowers.

I mean, roses seem to find their way at every celebration along the way.

I just want to eat a whole meal out of your book.

And this is so cooking with roses.

Well, then you've got rose infused water or tea.

And truffles and ice cubes.

But, you know, you can make a simple tea.

I mean, you know, a tea, a tincture, an infusion is basically all the same thing.

You take your dried or fresh flowers and just cover them with some

to let them steep in boiling water.

And a lot of people enjoy, like, there's a nice tea blend,

it's like rose and lavender and chamomile.

That's so soothing.

Yeah.

And if you have your roses, I mean, I just make sure when you're growing your roses,

or if you're getting them from a friend that they haven't been sprayed.

Now, for crafting, that doesn't matter.

But, like, in my yard, even sometimes I'll tie a ribbon around certain plants

that I want to make sure they don't get any insecticide or, you know,

make sure they stay organic.

They stay organic.

Yeah.

And so that's my big tip is make sure you kind of know your source.

And if you're foraging, you know, kind of know, you know, what's going on.

I think that's really a good point, that whenever there's an edible component

to gardening, it kind of forces people to be organic in their practices.

So you're just showing another application that even if you are putting it on your body,

you might, you know, want to not be treated with any chemicals.

I always say, because our skin is our largest organ.

So, yeah, what goes on, you goes in you.

And, but if you, if you can eat it, it's pretty sick for, you know, cosmetic use.

Right.

However, with that say, or whatever.

Yeah.

You know, I don't know your body, and if you have a known food allergy, then, you know,

if you, when you eat tomatoes, you break out, well, then don't do a tomato mask.

This is Janice's stuff.

And that's my PSA.

Yeah, it's exactly.

Well speaking of which, and we're going to try to get a PDF of this so I can show some.

Oh, okay.

On our show notes, something more close, close for people to look at.

But glowing body scrub, which I want you to talk about.

And then shower bouquet.

Oh, I love a shower bouquet.

Well, these are so creative.

It's a wonderful way to, if you have somebody coming to your, as a guest,

to give them a shower bouquet, they don't last forever.

And I've seen these sold, they're, they're kind of expensive.

But you can just go out in your yard, gather up the fresh herbs, lemon bomb, mint, lavender, roses.

Anything aromatic.

And just hang it in your shower.

And then, you know, let the steam, because showers have kind of replaced the bath,

even though the bath, a good bath soak is still, I think, a very indulgent self-care thing.

Yeah.

But for a quick shower and just looking at the colors, it gives you an energizing boost.

So sweet.

Yeah.

And then, but it does the, the steam will create that aroma therapy.

Exactly.

But after a while, it does, they do kind of, if you're, especially if you're using fresh,

there are, you can do dry, but just make sure, if you are, it, it's a limited time,

because you don't want, you know, the shower environment, yeah, will.

Oh, I love it.

So you've got the bath salts, but then you have the salt.

So that's salt.

And then you've got the body scrub, which is sugar.

So you're, these are kind of easily accessible ingredients.

Oh, so easy.

I always say that if you can mix together, if you can cook, you can make body care products.

And if you can just mix together a few things, I try to say,

I wish it was more difficult, but it really isn't.

But they still need the book.

They still need the book.

But it makes you, I do know making your own things like anything, it makes you a label reader.

So that's kind of how I started.

Well, I started because we lived way out in the country.

And so it was kind of out of necessity.

I, you know, as a young girl, I wanted to make facial mask and body cream solutions.

Really?

And, you know, we didn't have a boat, a body shop.

A store in your body.

Yeah.

We're mail order events.

Right.

I live the DIY lifestyle, not knowing it.

Right.

So it's now everybody's time.

Well, I'm just going to pause here and ask you about that path to flowers

and to your current profession.

Yeah.

Did you grow up in Southern Oregon?

Yes, I did.

Okay.

Yes, I did.

So Oregon native, you grew up in, in a farm.

Yes.

What did you think you were going to be when you grew up?

Because your path is like-

Well, I can tell you what I'm doing.

Yeah.

Give us, give us the resume.

I've always loved crafting and beauty and working with my, you know, sewing, doing, like I said, you know,

all my friends and I, we were probably DIYers, not realizing it.

We just had to do that way, right?

You'd see somebody at school, what pattern is that, right?

Not just like, well, where'd you get that dress?

I think we're kind of from the same era.

But then I went to University of Oregon, GoDex, and I ended up being a political science major.

And then I went on and I became a computer science major.

Oh, my goodness.

And so I went for IBM as an engineer for several years.

Oh, my God.

Total left frame.

Yes.

So I, I think that helped me learn perk charts and processes.

And so that kind of helped me when I was putting together how to do things.

Like writing instructions.

Yes.

But then I, you know, I think what are we supposed to have, that book passages, we're supposed to have seven careers in our life?

Okay.

So that career kind of took a change when we moved to Australia.

And I really got into the natural world there.

And we came back to Oregon.

And my husband went to, I had, there was a, the body shop was there.

Yeah.

And I really liked their grapefruit.

So, and my husband went to buy it for me.

And he came home and, okay, no, I'm sorry if you're watching this.

But he complained about the price.

And so, you know, I love you, but that's kind of expensive.

And so, he goes, can't you make this?

Because I make a lot of other stuff.

And I said, yeah, you know, I can't.

So, I started putting together all my recipes.

And that became natural beauty at home.

We had like 250 recipes.

Oh, my goodness.

Head to toe.

And I kind of, it was one of those like Julie Andrew's moments, you know, when you shut a door or windows open.

I went down and I left my job.

And I went into the world of natural beauty.

And so, that was, I don't know, over 30 years ago.

And I, you know, I had young daughters at the time.

But then it took me on a path of writing magazines, teaching people, writing books.

And sharing knowledge.

Right.

At the time I had a publisher in New York.

And so, yeah, I did a lot of that.

And then I've kind of come, it's just always been there now.

Part of what I do.

Well, it's sort of, you're right.

It was always there.

You were living that lifestyle.

Yes.

And then you were, you know, drawn into doing it professionally.

But now you're kind of, must be a little bit amusing to look back and see all the people

who think they're just discovering this sort of, you know, drying or natural products.

And, you know, kind of, there's a, there's a second movie.

Are you excited?

Yeah.

Right.

I love it.

Like I just did a talk the other day on Lufa, something that, you know, I've been talking about for years.

And there's people just now wanting to start growing Lufa.

And I'm giving them my seeds.

So it's kind of, I love that.

It is rewarding.

It is, you know, seeing, you know, that you can make these things.

Or just you can't, and even the other day I did a talk.

And there's a couple of young girls there that they're starting their own products.

And going to go out to, you know, and trying to sell them.

And there's a lot of that being done.

Yeah.

And even flower farms.

I have a book all on lavender.

And there's a lot of lavender farms that have workshops, but also have their own products.

Right.

And using their lavender that they didn't sell, you know, during their, because lavender's only an eight weeks.

So when it is a fresh product, and then there's also this after sort of secondary market.

Yes.

I just want to talk about Lufa for a minute.

When I walked into the hotel a couple of days ago, you were walking out with this clear glass vase,

like a cylindrical vase, with a cylindrical Lufa in it.

And flowers coming out.

And I thought to myself, okay, what's she up to?

Lufa, can you describe what Lufa is?

And also, was that like a mechanic or something?

Yes.

You know, that's a big trend in slow flowers, you know, no foam.

Right.

And so Lufa is a natural, could be a natural mechanic, because you can stick your flowers in there.

It retains moisture very well.

So if you are traveling with a bouquet, it's a nice way to keep the flowers hydrated.

Do you have to cut the center out?

No.

Well, I didn't on that one, you can.

You can easily do that.

You can stick some holes.

Okay.

Yeah, poke it in, just depending, you know, if you're doing like a fragile flower,

you're going to probably want to help guide it in there.

Okay.

But Lufa is a lot of people don't realize that it is a plant.

You can grow in your garden.

It's in the cucumber family, the gourd family.

So if you're growing gourds and cucumbers, you can have it.

Lufa, all you really need is pollinators.

Okay.

But you can become your own pollinator if you want.

Pollinators full sun and a place and support.

It needs to climb.

It likes to climb on, like a gourd wood.

Yes, it likes to climb on like a fence.

But I've seen, now people, you know, remember the sunflower houses,

where people are making Lufa lounges, because it is a fast growing plant.

And it will cover a trellis.

And then you could make like a little, like a little hot in the inside.

Oh, yes, yes, yes.

You know, it used to be a children's thing.

But now, you know, adults are in those sunflower houses.

Yeah.

And they're going to be in the Lufa lounges too.

It's so crazy.

Maybe drinking a rose cocktail.

Yes, there you go.

It's a whole set of all.

But yeah, I do that because a lot of people, they know it's a skin scrubber.

It's a good way to exfoliate.

That's an old practice.

I mean, back in Victorian friction bathing, people used to use Lufa.

Egyptian used Lufa.

Wow.

Lufa is an ancient plant.

Wow.

And that's a trend I noticed at the flower show this year, a lot of ancient techniques.

Yes.

And so ancient plants or another thing.

You're just on trend.

There I am.

Not even, I'm not even realizing it.

When you grow the Lufa, and you harvest it like a cucumber or something, it's fresh.

Yes.

You know, like some, or do you have, is it instantly in that tan-dried stage, stage, or do you have to dry it?

Okay.

So when you grow your Lufa, it will grow and blossom.

And you'll have male flowers and female flowers on the same plant.

And then if those get pollinated, then you will get a sponge gourd.

Oh, okay.

And then that is a green.

And you can eat, they're edible.

Of course.

So if you want to eat your sponge gourds, you know, you can do that.

They're not very flavorful.

They're kind of green, like a kind of a really green cucumber with not a lot of flavor.

Okay.

But then if you just leave it, it takes about 75, 90 days depending where you live.

It will turn this, you just want it out of your yard, because it's just this ugly brown thing.

Like a, almost like a, a long zucchini or something.

Yes. And if you shake it or hold it, it'll be kind of crispy feeling.

And you'll hear the seeds, every Lufa, once you start watch out,

because you'll be the head of the seed exchange, because every Lufa has about 100 seeds in there.

Okay.

But then you'll hear it and you can pick it.

And then you just peel off, you kind of stamp on it and peel off that brown.

And what you're using is the Lufa sponge is actually the plants skeleton or, you know, the fibrous inside.

Now this year I had, I had to pick a bunch in November.

And I, they were still kind of green.

So my tip there is just leave some vine, you know, and bring them in the house.

And then mine continued to...

Oh, when you cut it, have vine on it for you.

And then you put some vine on it and bring it in the house.

And then, because sometimes, especially in the Pacific Northwest,

we don't get all the way to brown stage.

But you can bring them in and then they will dry out and then you can peel them.

I saw one woman, there's a bunch of...

Lufa is a whole Facebook group and, you know...

But there is a person that I think baked it.

And that looked like it worked out.

Oh, to accelerate the drying.

I just left mine and tried to ignore it, you know.

Gardening does...

I'm not the most patient gardener,

but it does kind of teach you to have some patience.

Two more questions and then I'm going to open it up to audience questions.

How big is your garden?

And like, are you growing just for your own photoshoots and teaching?

Or do you sell flowers or Lufa?

Or do you sell locally to other crafters?

I have...

I'm just a normal house garden.

Okay.

And so I grow for my own pleasure and my own photos and crafting ideas.

And it's my repertoire.

And it kind of changes every year.

Right.

Like, I just saw a woman that did a whole border of marigolds.

And I just...

So that's my kind of...

I want to do this year.

Okay.

And so...

But no, I just have...

I do a lot of patio.

I do a lot of containers on my back patio, on my deck.

I have a lot of microclimates, I feel like.

Because there's things that do pretty well.

I did one of those bucket gardens behind my garage.

And it's still doing well because it's on concrete full sun all day.

And so...

Probably five degrees warmer.

And then I left snow.

Yeah.

So it's kind of funny.

But no, when I have lavender, I just kind of put things in.

I'm not the...

You're not a farmer.

I'm not a farmer.

You're a gardener.

I'm a gardener and I garden for myself.

Yeah.

So if you come over, you might...

I am happy to show you all my plants.

But it might not be...

I don't know.

I like...

I'll put a rose by something probably it's not supposed to be next to.

You know, it makes me...

I do a lot of experimenting.

It makes me think of Ellen's Spectre Platt.

I don't know if you ever knew Ellen.

She's deceased now.

But she lived...

She was a garden writer.

When she retired, she lived in a high rise on the East Side of Manhattan.

And somehow managed to get the permission from the Homeowners Association

to be in charge of the rooftop garden.

She turned that rooftop garden on, like, you know, East 80th Street in Third Avenue

into her laboratory for all the books she wrote and all the magazines.

And I'm thinking if she can do it on a rooftop garden in the city,

you can do it in a couple acres or, I don't know, suburban lots.

Yeah, because almost all the photos in my book I take.

Wow.

And so it's kind of...

You're a triple threat.

No, I don't know about that.

But it's...

But it's...

And so I do have those...

It is nice if you made, like, the Rose Olive Oil Cake,

then to go get some fresh roses and put on top

and to have it right there in the yard.

Yes.

But I...

So I kind of...

But I change all the time.

I remember when hops was the herb of the year.

I had a lot of hops and I haven't had hops for years now.

I...

They still poke up places, but I'm not really...

Yeah.

...you know, have the big poles.

Well, hops had to move so the Lufa could thrive.

And this year, everything was turmeric.

So...

And ginger.

And so I kind of...

You know, was experimenting with that and horse...

Wasabi, there's...

Wasabi farm and the Oregon coast that you can get.

I love it.

Tubers from.

So...

And all these sort of...

Culinary wonders that maybe our considered fringe

are kind of moving into the mainstream.

So people love these ingredients for cooking,

but they don't know how to grow them.

So that's another facet of your education.

Right.

I love that.

What's my mission is use your plants,

grow your plants, enjoy your plants, you know,

in a new and different way.

Maybe you hadn't thought of.

Yeah.

Or you used to do...

I get that a lot of times too.

Oh, I used to do that.

I used to have that, you know, and I...

Yeah.

So...

Go back.

So you're encouraging people.

I hope so.

Okay, after we finish up...

I hope so.

Well, Ash, I know.

I hope so too.

And after we finish up here,

you're going to go give a talk on the DIY stage

at the Flower Show.

And it's...

I want you to tell people what it's about

and what you're wearing,

because it's kind of related.

Well, it's all on adding color to your life.

Okay.

And using your plants for natural color.

So, yes, I...

I dyed some bandana...

Garden bandanas, which is a...

I always have a bandana.

I grew up with a mother that always had a bandana.

She always had a red bandana in her purse.

And it comes in handy.

You're always having to tie something up

or take some plants or...

You know, tie your...

And then a bandana is very...

Always have a bandana in your purse.

But we're going to do dyeing.

We're going to do...

A couple of different techniques.

You know, the steaming process,

where you can see the flowers.

But the natural plant dies.

It's amazing.

And it's fun to play around with it,

because, you know, you might think,

oh, lavender is going to be the most beautiful shade of purple.

Well, no, it's actually kind of a green tint.

Oh, wow.

So, it's a fun way to use your flowers and experiment.

And then, in just enjoy them,

you can do tablecloths.

I did one year, Marigold.

I had a bunch of Marigolds,

and I gave everybody sets of napkins

that I had dyed from my garden.

This is why you need that Marigold border.

I know.

I'm kind of going back to the Marigolds.

And then...

But I'm never given up the roses.

But I did...

We're going to do that.

We're going to do...

You can make watercolors with it,

and do painting if you're an artist.

So cool.

So it's a fun way to make paints.

I even saw a recipe.

I'm kind of playing around with it

where people are making the pastel chalk.

You make your own chalk with your plants.

You're, you know, making your own pigments.

Wow.

And so, plants really can add a lot of color to your life

and more ways than none.

And like here at the show,

I see that in...

You know, there's a show garden all on...

It's an interactive one

where they have these strips of dyed fabric

that you can tie and think of a loved one.

And, you know, kind of like a wishing tree.

Yeah, I love to hear about that.

I went to another talk

and they were talking all about the movie HamNet,

which I haven't seen yet,

because I hear you're going to cry.

But all the costumes in that movie were used plant dyes.

So plant dyes is now...

You know, we say all these old things

that used to be out of necessity.

Now, that's a lifestyle choice.

Again, natural colors and plant dyes are back in vogue.

It probably will be in vogue.

Well, I think you're opening up my mind

and I hope our viewers and listeners minds on ways

that they can layer these projects

onto their existing self-hours business.

Yes.

And find a new channel maybe to bring in customers,

you know, who haven't discovered flowers or local flowers.

Like I said at the beginning,

I just think it's a fascinating intersection

where you exist and you're sharing so much knowledge

and I'm so inspired.

So thank you for that.

What are you doing next?

Is this book just came out?

You gave yourself a break

or have another project in the works?

I think I'm going to just really enjoy the roses.

What is that?

Stop and smell them.

I'm just going to stop and smell the roses right now

and enjoy the roses.

And your other books are still in the marketplace,

so you're giving talks on those.

Yes.

So I have the workbooks we have on Lufa Lavender Flowers

and roses.

And roses.

Okay.

And then the natural beauty from the garden

is more of a big cookbook.

And I have natural beauty for all seasons,

which is more seasonal.

Like what do you do in the winter?

What things are out there?

And you can use.

But yeah, I think I'm just going to stop and smell the roses.

Maybe Dyson Bandanas.

I love it.

I don't have fun.

I enjoyed my flowers.

Oh, I love it so much.

Well, before you wrap up,

I want to just see if Kelly Jane has any questions.

These are our best.

Our best audience member.

We'll repeat the question.

You know, really, Lufa is like a lot of crops.

You have great years and you have bad years.

And it really depends on things that are not in your control

always, like the weather and the amount of pollinators.

So the soil, Lufa, is not too picky about the soil.

I know if you read the seed packet.

They say putting it in the ground is best.

I tend to like it starting in a flat or something.

I tend to like it in a container and a dark colored container.

Because this is a tropical plant.

It came from Egypt.

You know, I first, I remember we went on a trip to Mexico

and in the farmer's markets.

They're like this big.

I mean, I brought those home on the plane.

And everybody is, what is that?

Of course you did.

But they, so I think, you know, really trying to keep them

in a warm spot, lots of sun.

And then when you first see those male blossoms, you know,

don't, that's a good sign.

And then the females come later.

Because the males kind of set up and they're,

and don't be worried also because they'll drop, right?

If they're not used, those males just drop off.

And then, but they keep coming.

And then, but you can even kind of pollinate them yourself.

You know, like you, I don't know if you've pollinated things,

you know, just kind of brush them together.

Brush them together.

And how do you tell the difference between the male and the female?

Well, the male is easy because they're kind of flat.

And they're, they're, they run in packs.

They're, they've got a lot of of blossoms on one stem.

Okay.

Where the female is kind of fuller and a little larger.

And then she will have like almost like a baby lufa behind her.

Oh.

So they're very easy to say.

And they're both on the same plant.

And so you can just touch them together.

Kind of feel like you're, you know, matchmaker.

A lufa matchmaker in the yard.

And, and then they will develop.

And just kind of keep an eye on them.

You know, most plants,

lufas like water, but not too much water.

I mean, I feel like more plants are killed with too much water

than not enough water, which is kind of funny.

Yeah.

You know, but we like to over water.

But just keep them in a dry, sunny spot.

And then when they start to grow, you know,

give them some support.

And hopefully you'll get a sponge.

Hopefully you'll get a sponge.

Right now I like the rose.

And the crazy thing about rose is pH sensitive.

And I'm going to show that this morning,

is so if you play around with the pH of the rose,

like this is just straight rose.

But if I want it to look kind of like darker,

you can add like vinegar to it.

And it'll kind of almost be like a reddish brown.

If you want it to be really vibrant and more pink,

like add cream a tartar to it.

And then baking soda really changes the color.

So I have a color swatch from the same dye bath,

just changing the color, adding things to it.

And even mixing it with other plants.

But I would say right now, because I'm all about roses,

I like the rose.

And pink is one of my go-to colors.

Blue and pink are my go-to colors.

So I would say I probably would go with the rose.

But there is that butterfly pea.

I got some of those seeds this year.

And I'm going to try and grow that.

You know the butterfly pea too.

No.

Have you tried that?

No.

Oh my gosh.

It's from the flower or butterfly pea is a flower.

It comes I think from Vietnam.

Okay.

But it's a little blue because blue is a hard color in nature.

Yes.

And it is like if you see all these mocktails and cocktails

that are really bright, blue in color,

they're probably using butterfly pea tea.

Okay.

P is in PEA.

Right.

Okay.

And so, but it's pH sensitive.

So you put it in a glass and you have this beautiful blue iced tea.

If you add some lemon to it, it turns bright purple.

So it's kind of a magic trick.

Yeah.

So you can serve.

I've served it at lunch and stuff.

Have like a craft of the blue tea with a side of lemon.

And people just love that.

You know, because you can kind of be play with you.

It's tea.

I mean, that's what you call it.

It's just so fun to use.

Yeah.

You're showing people the magic of flowers.

Flowers are magic.

Yes.

I love it.

Well, I have been so inspired.

And I love what your personal mission is.

And you're constantly teaching people and bringing them into the world of flowers and plants.

So thank you so much.

I have a door in talking with you.

But I know you've got to go do your rest.

I do.

I do.

I'm going to go die some bad, Dennis.

Thank you so much, Shannon.

Thank you, Deborah.

I appreciate it.

Thanks so much for joining me today.

You'll want to watch the replay video of my interview with Janice, find it under episodes

159 at slowflowerspodcast.com or on our YouTube channel.

I'll also share a peek inside her book and links to her social places.

In news of the week, there's still time to sign up and attend our March Slow Flowers

member meetup coming up this Friday March 13th at 9 a.m. Pacific noon Eastern.

The topic is one that's particularly appealing to both growers and farmer Flores,

but also to home gardeners like me.

We've invited three of our members to share their experience, advice, and tips in a session

called growing flower seedlings for profit.

You'll learn from Kate Skeleton, Fawn Rookert, and Carol Wetzel as they discuss how you can translate

your expertise into a revenue stream when you grow and sell cutting garden plants to flower

lovers and fellow growers.

And Flores will be encouraged to get in on the act and learn how to offer locally grown cut

flowers as an add-on for workshops and special events.

Pre-registration is required for this Zoom meeting.

The sign-up link is in today's show notes or in our Instagram link tree bio at Slow Flower

Society.

Hope to see you there.

Now let's share some more sponsor love.

Thank you to Charles Little & Company for supplying our industry with some of the most

beautiful and sustainably grown design ingredients available nationwide through their website

at Charles Little & Company dot com.

Based in Eugene Oregon, the farmers at Charles Little & Company have been growing and

drawing flowers since 1986.

New products and dried flower collections are added to their website at the first of

each month.

Check it out at Charles Little & Company dot com.

And thank you to the Association of Specialty Cut Flowers.

The ASCFG is a gathering place for specialty cut flower growers of all levels and experience.

It is a hub of knowledge where seasoned experts and budding enthusiasts come together to learn,

share and support one another.

The ASCFG is dedicated to empowering its members with the knowledge and resources needed to thrive

in the world of cut flower farming.

From educational workshops and conferences to online resources and publications,

ASCFG provides a wealth of information and support for all things related to growing exceptional

cut flowers.

Learn more about the ASCFG and how to be a part of it at ascfg.org.

Thank you for joining me today.

The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member support endeavor.

Downloaded more than 1.5 million times by listeners like you.

Thank you for listening, commenting and sharing.

It means so much.

As our movement gains more supporters and more passionate participants,

who believe in the importance of our domestic cut flower industry,

the momentum is contagious.

I know you feel it too.

If you're new to our weekly show and our long-running podcast,

check out all of our resources at slowflowerssociety.com.

I'm Deborah Prinsing, host and producer of the Slow Flowers Show and the Slow Flowers Podcast.

The Slow Flowers Podcast is engineered and edited by Andrew Brenlin.

The content and opinions expressed here are either mine alone

or those of my guests alone independent of any podcast sponsor

or other person company or organization.

Next week you're invited to join me in putting more Slow Flowers on the table,

one stem, one vase at a time.

Thanks so much for joining us today and I'll see you next week.