WINTER READING

Pass the time with any of these inspiring books

- MEGHAN SHINN

BLACK FLORA
by Teresa J. Speight
Timber Press, 2024

This warm and inviting book profiles 22 Black professionals in floriculture, celebrating their work and offering inspiration and encouragement to Black plant lovers who may seek a similar career. Author Teresa Speight explains in her introduction: “When we are represented by people who look like us in farming and floristry as growers, floral visionaries and florists, each of us is enabled to imagine the possibilities of success.”

The book is organized into brief sections, each devoted to one person’s story. We meet flower farmers, botanical artists, florist, activists and more. Through Speight’s writing we learn each Black innovator’s background, their point of view on their work and how they came into their career. We also see how they participate in community building, be that for floriculture, Black business or residents of their hometowns.

Speight writes each narrative in a straightforward and conversational way that’s welcoming and compelling. She includes many direct quotes from her interviewees, so we get to hear their voices. A portrait and photographs of the person’s work or workspace round out the glimpse into each life. Every profile ends with a note about the subject’s favorite flower and why. Put together, these details add up to a thorough mini-biography that leaves the reader feeling both admiring and inspired.

Very often, we read that the person landed in floriculture after a stint in another field. For instance, Gina Lett Shrewsbury, a San Francisco-based floral designer, started out as a corporate banking officer; Dee Hall, owner of Mermaid City Flowers in Norfolk, Va., founded her urban flower farm after first working as a property manager; and floral designer Bron-Zuri Hansboro, now a floral designer in Richmond, Va., once taught in special education.