This week marks the one year anniversary of the release of Floret Farm’s Cut Flower Garden: Grow, Harvest & Arrange Stunning Seasonal Blooms.
It’s hard to believe that a whole year has already flown by, but at the same time it seems like just yesterday that I was signing the mountain of advanced copies in our garage.
So many wonderful things have happened in the last year and the book was a big part of it all. To celebrate the 1 year anniversary of the book release, we’re throwing a little party here on the blog. I’m taking a look back at the past year, giving away some Cut Flower Garden goodies and giving thanks to the many people who helped make the book possible.
First, let me share a fun little infographic summarizing some of the incredible statistics related to the book:
I can’t tell you how amazing it feels to see that the book has been translated into German and to learn that a Korean and Russian version are in the works too. And it’s incredible to see the many far-flung places across the globe that this little book has traveled. That’s all thanks to you and this amazing international seasonal flower community!
The book also inspired an entire line of Cut Flower Garden gifts created in partnership with our publisher, Chronicle Books. Known as ancillary products in the publishing world, this beautiful collection of paper goods includes a daily planner, a wall calendar, a 3- pack of notebooks, notecards, an inspiration journal and even a fancy puzzle.
NEW: MARCH 21, 2018 UPDATE! I just learned that the book was awarded an 2018 American Horticultural Society Book Award! Judged on writing style, authority, accuracy, and physical quality, the honor was bestowed on just three books this year. What an incredible honor to receive this distinguished award!
Longtime blog readers will likely remember that we decided to pursue a somewhat nontraditional route for promoting the book. That was not always the plan though. The Floret Team and I originally had cooked up the crazy idea of loading everyone up in the camper (including Jill and Susan’s toddlers) to do a wild cross-country book tour.
We were going to turn our RV into a bookmobile on wheels. We even got the washi tape out and a plotted our course on a map, and planned to visit a ton of flower friends along the way.
Reality soon set in and we realized that there was no way we could pull that crazy idea off. So we scrapped our original plan and came up with a new plan that some people thought was even crazier: a book promotion tour…but without actually going anywhere. We focused the bulk of our marketing efforts on pre-release promotions.
Then, once the book was released, we launched a “virtual book tour,” and didn’t do a single in-person promotional event. Incredibly, and thankfully, our strategy worked! In fact, it was so successful, that our publisher has used it as case study.
Looking back, the entire process of creating the book was such a roller coaster of emotions.
There were so many highs. Like, the initial euphoria of inking the book deal with Chronicle Books. The excitement when ordering thousands of bulbs to grow exclusively for the book. The relief when turning in the final manuscript. The joy in holding the book in my hands for the first time. The excitement upon learning that the book had most pre-orders of any book, of any genre in Chronicle’s history. The thrill of seeing the book on the shelf of local bookstores. And the surprise when it was listed as a top seller on Amazon in the garden book category.
But I’d be lying if I said there weren’t quite a few lows too. Like, the dread of spending a beautiful day in front of the computer rather than in the garden. The fatigue and sleep deprivation during big editing deadlines. The frustration when Amazon displayed the book as backordered the day it was released because they didn’t order enough copies. Writing, planning, producing, editing and promoting the book was such a massive and difficult undertaking. But in the end, all of the late nights and 4 a.m. wake up calls were totally and absolutely worth it. No question.
But the most rewarding part of it all is learning that the book has inspired so many people around the world to get their hands in the dirt, plant more flowers and cultivate more beauty in their lives. I love hearing how the book prompted readers to grow cosmos for the first time or to try their hand at arranging summer blooms for party or to bring a little nature indoors to enjoy with friends and family.
A huge thanks to all of the independent book stores, garden shops and libraries for making this book available to local communities. Thanks especially to all who sent kind words, posted heartfelt reviews, shared personal stories, tagged #floretbook on Instagram and simply sent virtual high fives. Your enthusiastic support truly means the world to me.
Recent Instagram posts tagged with#floretbook, clockwise from top left: @fig_and_focus, @greenfingers.munich @artichokehouse, @a_simple_plot
In celebration of the 1 year anniversary we are giving away some Floret goodies including three big goodie boxes filled with Floret magic, including a signed copy of the book, a deluxe assortment of Floret seeds and brand new journal set.
To register to win, simply tell me what your favorite flower is (if you can pick just one) in the comments below.
Thank you for your steadfast support and for joining me in this celebration!
Clarisa Johnston on
Choosing one flower is hard to do! I’ve always loved the smell and the arching shape of the Freesia flower.
Does a tree count? It should for this one… the Hong Kong Orchid Tree. If I could make a perfume named after myself it would hold the smell of the flower from this tree.
And I have to put a plug in for the Ranunculus. I mean those layers!!!
I just learned about Floret and I’m excited to dig in and learn some more!