Floral Art & Design at the Slow Flowers Summit
Our Speakers elevate local flowers with their beautiful aesthetic
The 2021 Slow Flowers Summit brought local flowers, sustainable design, a seasonal aesthetic and amazing creatives who inspired our audience with their sensitivity to place and time. Here are their designs – from the Slow Flowers Summit stage at Filoli Historic House & Garden.
Max Gill, Max Gill Design (Berkeley, California)
All of the botanicals featured in Max Gill’s demonstration originated from the gardens at at our host venue, Filoli Historic House & Garden. Max was drawn to the vegetable displays for cardoon, artichoke and herbal elements. He contributed clematis vines from his own garden in Berkeley. (c) Missy Palacol Photograph
Max selected a large etched metal urn for his display. Mechanics include a vintage pin frog and chicken wire (c) Jenny M. Diaz Photograph
Max calls himself a “Monochromatist,” which is reflected in his serene botanical palette (c) Jenny M. Diaz Photography
Susan McLeary, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Susan McLeary’s vibrant hanging installation set the stage and created a beautiful backdrop at the Slow Flowers Summit (c) Missy Palacol Photography
Marigolds, yarrow and citrus (left); Susan McLeary teaching sustainable techniques (right) (c) Missy Palacol Photography
Details of Susan’s suspended three-dimensional floral sculptures (c) Missy Palacol Photography
Sue taught us her “green” mechanics, including this sustainable “burrito” with foliages wrapped with chickenwire (c) Missy Palacol Photography
Susan McLeary presented her keynote: “The Creative Journey: Finding Your Artistic Voice, Truth and Expression” — demonstrating one of her favorite design “hacks” to stimulate creativity (c) Missy Palacol Photography
Inspired palette and shape, by Susan McLeary (c) Missy Palacol Photography
Teresa Sabankaya, Bonny Doon Garden Co., Santa Cruz, California
Our local host, Teresa Sabankaya, of Bonny Doon Garden Co., demonstrated her popular “message” posies and invited guests to make their own posies (c) Jenny M. Diaz Photography
Teresa’s posy incorporates flowers with meaning, as featured in The Posy Book (2019), which she signed for Slow Flowers Summit guests after her presentation (c) Jenny M. Diaz Photography
Sustainable Farming x Floral Design, with Kellee Matsushita-Tseng of UC Santa Cruz and Second Generation Seeds; Emily Saeger (Filoli Horticulture alumnae) and Molly Culver of Molly Oliver Flowers
Our fabulous panel, from left: Emily Saeger, Molly Culver and moderator Kellee Matsushita-Tseng (c) Missy Palacol Photography
Kellee discusses her botanical selections while designing (and moderating the panel!) (c) Missy Palacol Photography
Kellee Matsushita-Tseng’s floral arrangement incorporating all local and California-grown botanicals, mostly harvested from the flower beds at Filoli Historic House & Garden (c) Missy Palacol Photography
Emily Saeger, Filoli alumna and Masters in Landscape Architecture candidate at University of Washington (c) Missy Palacol Photography
Emily’s floral arrangement features a California native, wild and dried botanical palette (c) Missy Palacol Photography
Molly Culver of Brooklyn-based Molly Oliver Culver (c) Missy Palacol Photography
Molly Culver’s seasonal arrangement in a vintage container selected from a Filoli vase collection (c) Missy Palacol Photography
Pilar Zuniga, Gorgeous and Green (Oakland, California)
Pilar Zuniga spoke on the topic of “Branding the Sustainable Floral Business,” followed by one of her signature designs (c) Missy Palacol Photography
Pilar’s lush, local and seasonal arrangement (c) Missy Palacol Photography
