We recently connected with Eileen Tongson and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Eileen, thanks for joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
I have had the opportunity to meet and collaborate with some wonderful and creative people through my business FarmGal Flowers. A couple of years ago, I was asked by Debra Prinzing, founder of the Slow Flowers Society, to participate in a book she was bringing to life entitled The Flower Farmers. This book was to “highlight twenty-nine of today’s most inspiring flower farmers and their stories, how-to-cultivate expertise, and favorite new varieties in a lushly photographed guide.” I worked on the text of my chapter with the authors and I worked on the photography of our flowers and gardens with my husband. I learned much about bringing a book to fruition through this process and it was very rewarding to see the final product. When the book was released, I hosted several local events to share it and even got to go on the book tour with the authors. I never imagined that I would be on a book tour at Longwood Gardens! This project was so meaningful to me because I was able to collaborate with some amazing gardening writers, my husband (!), meet other farmer-florists from all over the United States, and share my flower growing expertise.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?
I completed the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) Master Gardener program in 2010 and began focusing on flower farming after studying at Floret Flower Farm in 2014. At about the same time, East End Market (a local artisanal food hall) opened and I began growing flowers there in the market garden. Things took off and I began selling organically and sustainably grown flowers for events/parties and teaching gardening and floral design workshops.
I am passionate about teaching others how to grow flowers. I teach individuals and groups locally, online, and I travel to speak to fellow gardeners near and far! I love meeting new flower friends and sharing my joy for flowers.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
A few months after I started FarmGal Flowers, another local business owner blatantly told me no one would care where their flowers came from. After the initial shock of this encounter, I could have let her discourage me and given up but I did not. I loved growing flowers and believed in its value so I persevered. There are so many things that flowers can do. They make people happy. They feed pollinators. They foster community and beautify our communities. I have been in business for twelve years now. I learned two valuable lessons from this encounter: 1) Believe in what you are doing and 2) Be nice. Unfortunately, that other business is no longer operating.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
Our mission is to teach others how to grow locally grow flowers and encourage them to share flowers with others!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://farmgalflowers.com
- Instagram: FarmGalFlowers
- Facebook: farmgalflowersorlando
Image Credits
Sebastian Tongson Jr. (my husband)