Christy Hulsey often promotes and tags American Grown Flowers in her posts promoting her design workshops and events. Click to register for workshop!

Earning the designation of “Design Star” is no small feat in a nationwide community of talented floral designers. And when Christy Hulsey, owner and creative director of Colonial House of Flowers in Statesboro, Georgia, earned the designation of 2017 Mayesh Design Star, she admits to being overwhelmed. And deeply honored.

As she puts it, it’s not every day that an “old-school” flower shop gets this kind of recognition.

But Hulsey’s not one to sit on her laurels. She’s making the most of the honor by wowing guests who participate in the Mayesh Design Star Flower Workshop Tour – with eight stops at Mayesh wholesale flower branches nationwide featuring hands-on workshops. And along with giving students a great opportunity to network, explore floral design, and brush up on social media and marketing tactics, Hulsey is sure to talk about a topic close to her heart. The origin of flowers and the importance of using Certified American Grown Flowers in designs.

“I believe origin matters. I know what various farms do really well and what I’m going to get, so when I’m creating a flower recipe, I need to know what I’m looking for and what farm can deliver it,” Hulsey explains.

It’s thinking wholesaler Mayesh also understands and supports. After all, Mayesh is a sponsor of the American Grown Field to Vase Dinner Tour, the award-winning pop-up dinner series that’s been criss-crossing America for three years.

For Hulsey, choosing Certified American Grown Flowers is deeply personal. She recalls how Mel Resendiz of Resendiz Brothers Protea Growers took her entire family on a tour of his farm, showcasing the flowers he grows and sharing his family’s story. From that day forward, Hulsey felt it was important to incorporate flowers from Resendiz’s farm when her designs called for it. “It’s important that I use a flower from his farm and think of him. It’s meaningful.”

Christy and her family met Mel Resendiz of Resendiz Brothers Protea during their family’s trip to San Diego.

Hulsey will carry the message to her next stop on the Design Star Flower Workshop Tour on Oct. 17 in Portland, Oregon. In fact, she continually shares the origin matters message in her social media posts for the tour and her stops at Pottery Barn stores nationwide where she leads succulent workshops for consumers and uses Certified American Grown plants. She will be featuring succulents from Mellano & Company and Dramm & Echter, both Certified American Grown flower farms, during the workshop in Portland.

What does she want florists and consumers to know? Using and buying Certified American Grown Flowers isn’t hard. It is important. And it does make a difference. And yes, origin does matter.

Click on image to register.

We’re beyond thrilled to share that the American Grown Field to Vase Dinner Tour has earned the 2017 Marketer of the Year Award from the Society of American Florists’ (SAF) Floral Management magazine.

American Grown Field to Vase Dinner Tour earns front page attention in the June issue of Floral Management.

The prestigious award recognizes original, highly successful marketing campaigns that increase awareness and the overall sales of cut flowers.

What made for the winning entry? We’ve since heard that Marketer of the Year judges were impressed with the American Grown Field to Vase Dinner campaign on several fronts: its professional execution, its distinct branding and its impressive media pick up.

But what the judges really liked was the dinner tour’s smart and effective use of experiential marketing that immerses the consumer in a floral experience in such a unique way – they’re on the farm with the farmers and the designers, and then they’re surrounded by the beautifully designed flowers during the dinner, and then they leave with their own bouquet.

As one of the judges commented, “When a consumer experiences flowers in this way, it’s a win for the industry.”

For the uninitiated and the yet-to-attend, the American Grown Field to Vase Dinner Tour is a cross-country series of elegant, intimate pop-up gatherings located on flower and foliage farms from coast to coast. Seasonal, homegrown and sustainable blooming flowers dazzle on beautiful tablescapes elegantly dressed by top U.S. floral designers, while scrumptious meals are prepared by local farm-to-table chefs.

Photo by Linda Blue Photography

At each unique meal and through the accompanying farm tour and design demonstrations, guests make a personal connection between flowers and agriculture as part of America’s floral landscape. Along the way, they experience the age-old art and science of flower farming while being served platters of delicious, seasonal and locally grown fare through four courses, including specialty desserts accompanied by vintage wines, micro-brewed beers and floral-inspired cocktails.

Guests enjoyed a stunning tablescape at an American Grown Field to Vase Dinner at Jello Mold Farm in Mount Vernon, WA. Photo by Linda Blue Photography.

Each event includes a tour of the host farm by the resident farmer and a floral design demonstration with one of the nation’s premier floral designers.

As the Marketer of the Year Award winner, the American Grown Field to Vase Dinner Tour is the cover story on the September 2017 issue of Floral Management. [See the full story here.]

The recognition is truly an honor. And the attention it brings to America’s hard working flower farming families – now that’s the big news!

Repairs are underway at FernTrust. David Register shares with us the impact on his farm and the region.

David Register is a stand-up guy. Despite significant damage to his farm from Hurricane Irma, he’s promising an amazing American Grown Field to Vase Dinner Tour at FernTrust in Seville, Florida, on Nov. 18. In fact, he thinks the hurricane presented the perfect opportunity to really educate guests about how fern and foliage farmers handle whatever Mother Nature deals them – and bounce back in record time.

Register, executive vice president at FernTrust, rebounded in a matter of

If our map has a blank look on its face, it’s because we’re just getting started with identifying stops for the 2018 American Grown Field to Vase Dinner Tour.

The Society of American Florists recently announced that the American Grown Field to Vase Dinner Tour has been awarded the “2017 Marketer of the Year.”

As we ramp up for our fourth year of this wildly successful tour – bragging timeout: the tour just won Marketer of the Year from the Society of American Florists (SAF)! [“Field to Vase Dinner Tour Wins Marketer of the Year“] – we’re busy asking flower farmers, florists, wholesalers, flower designers and our sponsors where we should stop in 2018.

We’re canvassing the country, checking out locations and looking to shine the spotlight on America’s best flower farms, floral designers and communities that exemplify the growing support and movement for American Grown Flowers.

Got a suggestion for the perfect location? Email us at  info@AmericanGrownFlowers.org and tell us why the American Grown Dinner Tour should stop in.

The American Grown Field to Vase Dinner Tour has earned the 2017 Marketer of the Year Award from the Society of American Florists’ (SAF) Floral Management magazine.

The prestigious award recognizes original, highly successful marketing campaigns that increase awareness and the overall sales of cut flowers. The award includes a $5,000 cash prize sponsored by Design Master Color Tool Inc.

The official presentation of the award and prize, scheduled to take place at the SAF Annual Convention in Palm Beach, Florida, was instead made today via a Facebook Live event hosted by SAF due to the impending arrival of Hurricane Irma. SAF cancelled its convention earlier this week.

“Marketer of the Year judges were impressed with the American Grown Field to Vase Dinner campaign on several fronts. It was so professionally executed – the branding is beautiful and carried throughout all elements of the campaign so thoroughly. And the media pickup was impressive. But what the judges really liked was that it is a smart and effective use of experiential marketing,” described Kate Penn, SAF chief content and publishing officer. “The campaign immerses the consumer in a floral experience in such a unique way – they’re on the farm with the farmers and the designers, and then they’re surrounded by the beautifully designed flowers during the dinner, and then they leave with their own bouquet. As one of the judges commented, ‘when a consumer experiences flowers in this way, it’s a win for the industry.’”

“The Field to Vase Dinner Tour has certainly inspired a national conversation about the importance of buying American Grown Flowers, while providing an intriguing way for consumers to show their support,” said Kasey Cronquist, administrator for Certified American Grown. “Thanks to the vision and commitment of our flower farmers, the Certified American Grown logo is now the largest consumer-facing brand in the floral industry, spotlighting the homegrown origin of flowers.”

The American Grown Field to Vase Dinner Tour, now in its third year, is a cross-country series of elegant, intimate pop-up gatherings located on flower and foliage farms from coast to coast. Seasonal, homegrown and sustainable blooming flowers dazzle on beautiful tablescapes elegantly dressed by top U.S. floral designers, while scrumptious meals are prepared by local farm-to-table chefs.

Click the image above to watch a video created in celebration of the Marketer of the Year Award

At each unique meal and through the accompanying farm tour and design demonstrations, guests, who attend from all areas of the country, make a personal connection between flowers and agriculture as part of America’s floral landscape. Along the way, they experience the age-old art and science of flower farming while being served platters of delicious, seasonal and locally grown fare through four courses, including specialty desserts accompanied by vintage wines, micro-brewed beers and floral-inspired cocktails.

Each event includes a tour of the host farm by the resident farmer and a floral design demonstration with one of the nation’s premier floral designers.

The American Grown Field to Vase Dinner Tour is annually presented by Certified American Grown Flowers, a unified and diverse coalition of U.S. flower farmers, including small and large farms located throughout the country. Certified farms participate in an independent, third-party supply chain audit to verify U.S. origin and assembly of the flowers they grow.

The dinner tour has been featured in Sunset Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, U.S. News & World Report, Martha Stewart’s online blog and in local print and broadcast media in nearly every city it visits. The American Grown Field to Vase Dinner format was also recently adopted by a floral industry group in Canada that deemed its event “Petals to Plates.”

Previous winners of the Marketer of the Year award, now in its 24th year, include an app that drives customer loyalty and engagement, a re-imagined florist’s business in Pennsylvania and a campaign to celebrate Women’s Day in the U.S.

As the Marketer of the Year Award winner, the American Grown Field to Vase Dinner Tour will be the cover story on the September 2017 issue of Floral Management.  Read the Floral Management feature story here.

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About Certified American Grown Flowers

Launched on July 1, 2014, Certified American Grown represents a unified and diverse coalition of U.S. flower farms, including small and large entities in multiple states across the country. Certified American Grown flower farms participate in an independent, third-party supply-chain audit to verify both origin and assembly of the flowers they grow. When it appears on bouquets, bunches and other packaging or store signage, the Certified American Grown brand and logo give consumers confidence in the source of their flowers and assures them that the flowers they purchase come from a domestic American flower farm. For more information about Certified American Grown flowers, visit www.americangrownflowers.org or Facebook/AmericanGrownFlowers.