Floret Farm's Bloom to Seed

About the Author

Celebrated flower farmer Erin Benzakein is a world-renowned expert on growing and arranging seasonal flowers. She is the author of Floret Farm’s Discovering Dahlias, the New York Times bestseller Floret Farm’s A Year in Flowers, and Floret Farm’s Cut Flower Garden, winner of the American Horticultural Society Book Award. Her work has been featured across notable publications, including Martha Stewart Living, Better Homes & Gardens, Sunset Magazine, the New York Times, Magnolia Journal, and Country Living. She is the executive producer of Growing Floret, an Emmy-nominated documentary television series about the farm, which debuted on the Magnolia Network in 2021. She lives and farms in Mount Vernon, Washington, with her husband, Chris.

Chris Benzakein is the photographer behind the vibrant images of Floret Farm’s Discovering Dahlias and Floret Farm’s A Year in Flowers. He is continually documenting the brilliant beauty of the farm’s flowers through his camera lens. Chris has filmed all of Floret’s educational programs and contributed to the filming of the second season of Growing Floret, which received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lifestyle Program. Chris lives in Mount Vernon, Washington, where he farms alongside his wife, Erin, and uses his background as a mechanic and helicopter pilot to help manage the day-to-day operations on the farm.

Eric Budzynski is Floret’s seed specialist and heads up all aspects of seed production on the farm, including roguing, harvesting, and expertly cleaning everything that comes in from the field. Prior to his work with flower seeds, Eric spent more than ten years growing vegetable seed on organic farms in the Pacific Northwest. He lives in Anacortes, Washington, with his partner and two children.

Susan Brown is a copywriter and editor at Floret and lends her expertise to a wide range of writing projects, both in print and online. Before joining the team, Susan worked as a freelance editor for academically focused publishers such as Oxford University Press, where she copyedited nearly 500 books. She lives in San Diego, California, with her husband.