Ep. 137: How iBuyFlowers Helps You Buy Farm Direct
Release Date: 04/10/2025
Ep. 155: Inside Flower Moments with Native Poppy
Botanical Brouhaha Podcast
In this episode, Natalie (my BB podcast co-host), Meg, and Erin of Native Poppy sit down with me to talk about , their new book. We talk about everything: the 95-page proposal, the agent they emailed until she wrote back, and the publisher who came along at the perfect time. They also share what it took to write and photograph a floral design book around full-time jobs, young kids, and the two biggest flower holidays of the year. Along the way, you’ll hear about a shoot where they built every project in reverse, a DoorDashed bagel, a tour bus that no one has offered yet, and the honest...
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Ep. 154: How a Cancer Survivor Built a Floral Business With a Mission
Botanical Brouhaha Podcast
Marsha Parker is back on the podcast two and a half years after her first visit in , just before she retired from teaching high school and devoting her time to growing her floral business. A thriving three-time cancer survivor, she now runs full-time as a social enterprise, offering floral workshops for cancer survivors and social and emotional learning workshops for teens. She won the 2025 Flowering with Purpose grant from and stretched the grant money to produce flowers and education for a school workshop, a photo shoot, and a charity auction. She also shares what changed once she stopped...
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Ep. 153: Semia Dunne: The Floral Reserve's Newest Chapter
Botanical Brouhaha Podcast
We're back with Semia Dunn who first joined us on the BB podcast back in Episode 35, sharing how she bought a flower shop at 22 and later launched Flowers by Semia (which was later rebranded as ) and then , a wholesale flower company (built by a florist, for florists!). In this catch-up episode, Semia returns to reflect on what's changed and what hasn't. She talks candidly about growing her team, breaking into destination weddings, building a new e-commerce system for the wholesale business, and holding onto the values that got her here. It's a grounded, honest look at what scaling a floral...
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Ep. 152: What Actually Happens Inside Bloom Trust Co. (with Shelley O'Neill)
Botanical Brouhaha Podcast
In this episode, we sat down with Bloom Trust Co and Circle member Shelley O'Neill, a former fourth-grade teacher turned florist who recently added a retail shop called to her existing wedding flower business in Annapolis, Maryland! Shelley walks us through what pulled her into CIRCLE (we talk more about that in the episode), what's kept her in Bloom Trust Co. for three years running, and together we break down exactly what's inside: the resource library, Office Hours, meetups, a private podcast called The Back Room, and the Flowering with Purpose grants. If you're a florist (and it...
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Ep. 151: Alex Vaughan Bet Everything on FLWR Shop: Part 2
Botanical Brouhaha Podcast
In part two (Ep. 151) with Alex Vaughan of in Nashville, Tennessee we dig into the real, tactical side of her decision to step away from wedding florals. Alex opens up about the politics and power dynamics of working with luxury wedding planners, the financial reality of pivoting to retail and corporate events, and how she and her husband Quinn split the business responsibilities between them. She also gets specific about staffing, delivery logistics, website headaches, and what it actually means to lead a team well. Join us as we chat with Alex about: Why she stepped back from wedding...
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Ep. 150: Alex Vaughan Bet Everything on FLWR Shop
Botanical Brouhaha Podcast
How Alex Vaughan Built a Beloved Flower Shop Alex Vaughan of in Nashville built her shop with her partner Quinn from nothing — no family money, no connections, just a rented house, a second mortgage, and a vision for what a flower shop in Nashville could be. In Episode 150, she traces the wild, winding path that took her from a hippie commune in the forest to a flower shop in Boston to celebrity orchid maintenance in LA, and eventually to the city she now calls home. We talk about what it actually took to open a shop, survive a tornado in March 2020, and come out the other side with a...
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Ep. 149: Worth the Wait: Sophie Felts Floral Co Joins Circle Weddings
Botanical Brouhaha Podcast
We've waited so long for today's episode to drop (Ep. 149)! We're chatting with Sophie Felts, Founder and CEO of , along with her President and Director of Operations, Erica Gamble. We're thrilled to introduce them as the newest CIRCLE Weddings facilitators — and we think it'll be clear within the first few minutes of the interview that this was worth the wait. Based in the Washington DC area, Sophie and Erica have spent a decade building a wedding floral business with a team of 15 and a hard-won philosophy around profitability, sustainable staffing, and doing work they're genuinely...
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Ep. 148: Mountain Flower Farm: The Power of Knowing Your Grower
Botanical Brouhaha Podcast
Decades in the Soil at Mountain Flower Farm Walt Krukowski didn't set out to become a flower grower for life — he just wanted to grow something, make a little money, and have the winters free to ski in Vermont. Nearly three decades later, has become a thriving operation across 10 acres, known for its organic peonies, hydrangeas, and the idea that growers and floral designers succeed best when they're genuinely connected to each other. In this conversation (Ep. 148), Walt shares the honest, unhurried story of how the farm evolved, what he's learned about building something that lasts, and...
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Ep. 147: How Sarah Donjuan's Hobby Became JJ's Flower Shop
Botanical Brouhaha Podcast
Sarah Donjuan didn't set out to become a florist. In 2018, fresh out of business school and looking for a creative side hustle, she landed on a 1967 Volkswagen flower truck — and accidentally started a floral business with staying power in Atlanta. In this episode (Ep. 147), Sarah walks us through the full arc of JJ's Flower Truck and Shop: from a curtained kiosk at Ponce City Market to a 1,500-square-foot Dunwoody dream shop, and from a one-woman operation to a full, talented team. She's honest about the highs, the lows, and everything in between — including what it really takes to build...
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Ep. 146: How Colleen Raney is Building a Sweet Pea Seed Brand
Botanical Brouhaha Podcast
Building a Sweet Pea Seed Brand In this episode (Ep. 146), we sit down with Colleen Raney, founder of and If you love a great story, this one's for you. Colleen's path into the flower world is anything but conventional. From studying aerospace engineering and training as a professional actor, to performing Irish music internationally, to building a flower farm in Maine, to moving the farm to Washington—and ultimately launching a specialty sweet pea seed company—Colleen’s story is full of pivots, curiosity, and entrepreneurial strategy. And don't even get us started on her sense of...
info_outlineIn today’s BB Podcast episode (No. 137), we’re visiting with Wilfred de Wit, founder and CEO of iBuyFlowers where florists and event planners can shop online for wholesale flowers directly from 100+ farms in both the US and abroad. Will shares his background in the floral industry and the challenges he witnessed, leading to the inception of his company. The conversation covers the importance of transparency, ethical sourcing, and customer education. Will also talks about his hopes for the role AI will eventually play in personalizing orders for iBuyFlowers customers. If you’re looking for a company who believes in building strong relationships with their growers and customers, this episode will be insightful. Will’s goal is to educate his customers about the benefits of ordering directly from growers, which can significantly improve the quality and longevity of their flowers.
Special Offer for First Time iBuyFlowers Users:
Get $100 off a first order over $200. To claim this offer, use Voucher Code:
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You can find show notes and more episodes of The Botanical Brouhaha Podcast at botanicalbrouhaha.com, and you can find the BB Podcast co-hosts on IG @botanicalbrouhaha and @hey.nataliegill.
This episode of The Botanical Brouhaha Podcast was produced by Joel McGee. Original music by Landon McGee.