A New Floral Holiday, American Flowers Week

SLOWFLOWERS.COM ANNOUNCES 2017 AMERICAN FLOWERS WEEK
A new Floral Holiday, now in its third year
Set for June 28-July 4, 2017 

SEATTLE, WA (May 1, 2017) – Slowflowers.com, the comprehensive online resource that connects consumers with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers, today announced details about the third annual “American Flowers Week.”

Since 2015, Slowflowers.com creator Debra Prinzing has staged a week-long celebration of domestic flowers to raise consumer awareness and unite America’s flower farmers with the U.S. floral industry. Last year, that effort generated more than 1.3 million social media impressions on Twitter and Instagram in a single month, demonstrating the power of images, ideas and values that promote American Grown Flowers.

Clearly, we’re experiencing a new normal marketplace in which consumers are highly conscious of the origins of the goods they purchase, and this is more evident in the floral industry than ever before,” Prinzing said. “The Slow Flowers community of growers and designers believe it’s important to raise awareness and celebrate local and domestic flowers with a new American floral holiday.

For the 2017 campaign, Slow Flowers has commissioned five Floral Style Fashion Shoots featuring iconic American-grown flowers, including sunflowers, roses, peonies and more. The wearable floral fashions designed by five Slowflowers.com member florists will be unveiled during American Flowers Week. Those designers include Amy Kunkel-Patterson of Gather Design Co., Riz Reyes of RHR Horticulture, Tara Folker of Splints & Daisies, Teresa Sabankaya of Bonny Doon Garden Co. and Arthur Williams, AIFD, of Babylon Floral. These American-grown floral looks feature flowers and foliages donated by the farmers of the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market, Stargazer Barn, California Pajarosa and The Fresh Herb Co., among others.

Many of the floral fashions will be published in the June 2017 issue of Florists’ Review magazine and the full gallery of images will be revealed and shared during American Flowers Week, Prinzing said.

In addition, American Flowers Week will be celebrated during a one-day Slow Flowers Summit, a symposium for progressive thought and action in the floral industry. Called a “Ted Talk for Flower Lovers,” the Summit takes place on Sunday, July 2, 2017 at the Surf Incubator Event Space in Downtown Seattle.

Sponsorship support from green industry partners greatly enhances the impact of the campaign, Prinzing said. Those sponsors include Certified American Grown Flowers, Arctic Alaska Peony Growers, Syndicate Sales, Johnny’s Selected Seeds and Longfield Gardens.

“Certified American Grown is excited to be part of promoting a week focused on America’s flower farming families and the flowers they grow,” said Kasey Cronquist, administrator of Certified American Grown. “Origin matters, and we believe a week like this helps drive public awareness about the quality, beauty and economic benefits of supporting and buying homegrown blooms. Buying American Grown Flowers makes a difference.”

“Johnny’s Selected Seeds is thrilled to be an American Flowers Week partner,” said Gretchen Kruysman, Johnny’s marketing director. “We encourage our customers, employees and the flower farming and gardening community to plant more flowers and help local flowers thrive.”

“Syndicate Sales is an American manufacturer of vases and supplies for the professional florist, so it’s entirely fitting to promote the vibrant American-grown floral palette from local flower farms and floral designers who fill our vases,” says Kelvin Frye, Syndicate Sales’ director of sales and marketing. “We salute American Flowers Week.”

“At Longfield Gardens, we supply gardeners with the best quality plants and bulbs for their landscapes, cutting gardens and containers,” says Jen Pfau, marketing director for Longfield Gardens. “American Flowers Week helps us shine the light on the amazing selection of flowers to plant, cut and arrange. It’s a great campaign that involves everyone from home gardeners to flower farmers and florists.”

American Flowers Week is designed to engage the public, policymakers and the media in a conversation about the origins of their flowers. As an advocacy effort, the campaign coincides with America’s Independence Day on July 4^th, providing florists, retailers, wholesalers and flower farmers a patriotic opportunity to promote American grown flowers.

American Flowers Week supporters can find more information and resources at americanflowersweek.com. Downloadable fact sheets, infographics and the 2017 American Flowers Week logo and social media badges are available for growers and florists to use for marketing and promotion efforts.

The “50 States of American Grown Flowers” contest will highlight local flowers from across the country, Prinzing said. “Slowflowers.com member farms and florists are invited to submit their designs to a gallery to be shared with media during American Flowers Week. Our goal is to showcase the botanical and seasonal beauty from flower farms and designers in all 50 states.”

Participants are encouraged to use the social media tag #Americanflowersweek to help spread the word about this campaign across all platforms.

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