Botanical Brouhaha Podcast

How Alex Vaughan Built a Beloved Flower Shop
Alex Vaughan of FLWR Shop 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 business — and a life — she's genuinely proud of.
Join us as we chat with Alex about:
Growing up in Miami with zero exposure to flowers
Falling in love with flowers at a tiny flower shop
Seeing a peony for the first time
Working her way through flower shops in Boston, LA, and New York
Meeting her partner Quinn through a shared courtyard
Why they chose Nashville
Moving to Nashville with $3,000 in a shoebox
Opening their first shop: a Victorian four-square in East Nashville
Renovating a shop while living upstairs
Building a brand, not just a flower shop, in a city that didn't yet have one like it
Losing visibility after losing their retail location to a tornado
Why physical presence matters for a flower business more than most people think
Letting go of weddings and why that was the right call
Why running events and retail simultaneously is really running two different businesses
Connect with FLWR Shop:
Website
Instagram
This episode of the Botanical Brouhaha Podcast is brought to you by:
Madrid Flower School
You can find show notes and more episodes of The Botanical Brouhaha Podcast at botanicalbrouhaha.com, and you can find Amy on IG at either @botanicalbrouhaha or @bloomtrustco and Natalie at @hey.nataliegill or @native_poppy
This episode of The Botanical Brouhaha Podcast was produced by Joel McGee. Original music by Landon McGee.

We've waited so long for today's episode to drop (Ep. 149)! We're chatting with Sophie Felts, Founder and CEO of Sophie Felts Floral Co, 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 proud of.
In this conversation, they talk about how they built the business from the ground up, why they said yes to CIRCLE Weddings, and what they're hoping to give back to the floral community that poured into them when they were just getting started.
CIRCLE Weddings isn't a traditional mastermind or course, but rather a small group of ten people that will learn together in real time every Tuesday in July and August 2026. After years of hosting CIRCLE sessions, we believe in building a safe space where confidentiality within the group allows for vulnerability and open discussions about the realities of running a wedding/event flower business. We'd love for you to join us if that sounds like the space you've been yearning for.
Registration is open for the 10 available seats in 2026
CIRCLE Weddings 2026
July & August 2026:  Click here to grab a seat or learn more.
You can find show notes and more episodes of The Botanical Brouhaha Podcast at botanicalbrouhaha.com, and you can find Amy on IG at either @botanicalbrouhaha or @bloomtrustco and Natalie at @hey.nataliegill or @native_poppy
This episode of The Botanical Brouhaha Podcast was produced by Joel McGee. Original music by Landon McGee.

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, Mountain Flower Farm 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 why the relationship between farmers and florists matters more now than ever.
Join us as we chat with Walt about:
Why Mountain Flower Farm shifted away from annuals and now grows more hydrangea by volume than any other crop
The ecological balance that comes with decades of organic farming — and why the first five years are the hardest
What it's really like to farm with a family: the postcard moments, the missed dinners, and the real sacrifices
How he keeps the farm manageable year-round
Growing peony roots as a secondary business and the ripple effect of helping new farms get established
Consulting services Walt offers for aspiring flower farmers, and the free Peony Blueprint resource on the Mountain Flower Farm website
How to order from Mountain Flower Farm — and what floral designers can expect from the process
Shipping logistics: why Walt only ships Mondays and Tuesdays, and the case for air shipping as an alternative to FedEx
Why floral designers who build direct relationships with growers tend to see their businesses grow
The most popular peony varieties right now for wedding florists, including a surprising answer about what outsells everything else
Tips for conditioning peonies after arrival
This episode of the Botanical Brouhaha Podcast is brought to you by:
Madrid Flower School
You can find show notes and more episodes of The Botanical Brouhaha Podcast at botanicalbrouhaha.com, and you can find Amy on IG at either @botanicalbrouhaha or @bloomtrustco and Natalie at @hey.nataliegill or @native_poppy
This episode of The Botanical Brouhaha Podcast was produced by Joel McGee. Original music by Landon McGee.

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 a business that can run without you.
Join us as we chat with Sarah about:
Starting a business with no industry experience and a "figure it out" mindset
Growing from a pop-up model to a brick-and-mortar shop
Listening to customers to decide what to offer next
Building and sustaining a team — hiring, firing, and building culture
Launching national flower shipping
Competing with large floral brands in the online marketplace
Balancing entrepreneurship with marriage and children
The long-term vision: satellite shops in Chicago, LA, NYC, and Austin
 
Connect with JJ's Flower Shop:
Website
Instagram

You can find show notes and more episodes of The Botanical Brouhaha Podcast at botanicalbrouhaha.com, and you can find Amy on IG at either @botanicalbrouhaha or @bloomtrustco and Natalie at @hey.nataliegill or @native_poppy
This episode of The Botanical Brouhaha Podcast was produced by Joel McGee. Original music by Landon McGee.

Building a Sweet Pea Seed Brand
In this episode (Ep. 146), we sit down with Colleen Raney, founder of Songbird Seed Co and Diadem Flower Co. 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 humor!
Colleen shares how a season of burnout and big life shifts led her to the garden—and how a simple fascination with sweet peas slowly grew into a thoughtfully built seed company. Our conversation wanders through topics like creativity, business strategy, and the realities of building something in the floral world, all anchored by the sense of wonder that keeps pulling us back to flowers.
Join us as we chat with Colleen about:
Starting a flower farm in Maine and building a thriving local floral business
Moving back to the West Coast and adapting to a different flower market
Why sweet peas became the foundation of her seed business
The process of researching and launching a niche seed company
Branding, packaging, and storytelling as marketing tools
Growing seed stock and preserving rare varieties
Identifying your ideal customer and staying focused on a narrow market
Managing comparison, visibility, and self-doubt as a creative entrepreneur
Shifting away from "content creation" toward documenting real work on social media
Building authentic community around a niche product
This episode of the Botanical Brouhaha Podcast is brought to you by:
Bloom Trust Co. Circle Retail 2026
Simple -- Soulful -- Connection.  Click here to learn more.
You can find show notes and more episodes of The Botanical Brouhaha Podcast at botanicalbrouhaha.com, and you can find Amy on IG at either @botanicalbrouhaha or @bloomtrustco and Natalie at @hey.nataliegill or @native_poppy
This episode of The Botanical Brouhaha Podcast was produced by Joel McGee. Original music by Landon McGee.