Episode 781: Meet Floramama’s Chloé Roy as we kick off Canadian Flowers Week and discuss the English-language edition of her new book

https://youtu.be/SqVoGI3RoGU?si=IZrA4gsWPLOOIDz4

In her new book, Floramama, flower farmer Chloé Roy combines ecological growing practices, proven business strategies, and the artistry of floral design into a visually rich guide to small-scale floriculture. This Quebec-based farmer-florist originally published Floramama in her native French language in 2023, and now, New Society Publishers has translated it into English for the rest of us to savor and absorb. Chloé is a biointensive ecological flower grower and flower farming educator. She learned market gardening from expert vegetable growers and then leveraged her skills and knowledge to turn Floramama Farm’s 1.5 acres into a thriving, six-figure flower business. We’re thrilled that the Slow Flowers Movement is featured in the book’s opening pages, where Chloé writes: “I discovered the Slow Flowers movement, inspired by the Slow Food Movement. American author Debra Prinzing published her 2014 book Slow Flowers (and) her work helped create a wonderful flower-growing community in the United States and eventually around the world.” It’s the Slow Flowers journey that connected me with Chloé and her work, and you’ll love our conversation today, which includes a deep dive into Floramama, the book.

Floramama’s Chloé Roy

A message from Floramama

In the lead up to Canadian Flowers Week, taking place August 17-23, we scheduled today’s episode to shine a light on one of Canada’s inspiring floral stories. Chloé Roy is a successful ecological flower grower, flower farming instructor, and founder of the ground-breaking start-up Floramama. After working with Jean-Martin Fortier at Les Jardins de la Grelinette for two years, she was inspired to apply her skills in human-scale agriculture to floriculture. Chloé launched Floramama, Quebec’s first biointensive flower farm, in 2014.

Floramama Farm

Tulips from Floramama Farm

Since then, Floramama has grown to provide full-time employment for several women while delivering bouquets to over 550 annual subscribers and selling to the public through farmers’ markets, to florists and designers, to small local shops and a large organic grocery store chain, as well as arranging flowers for weddings and events, turning Floramama’s 1.5 acres of flowers into a $380,000 annual business. Chloé lives and farms in Frelighsburg, Quebec.

Floramama, the book - available in French, and now, in English, too!

Flora Mama bouquet wrap

Table of Contents, Floramama Book

CSA Bouquets