Author Interview: Brenna Estrada

I first met Brenna Estrada in the winter of 2019 when she came to help ship orders during our big seed sale. I remember thinking, “Who is that?” as I watched her bound up and down the stairs with endless stamina, quickly and efficiently pack orders, and stay on top of all the tiny little details. She was such an encouraging and wonderful addition to the crew and, to our delight, stayed on to help permanently in the Floret Shop.

Around that time, Brenna expressed an interest in a pansy trial I had recently conducted, so I shared some seed with her to try at home. With just a few packets, Brenna was bitten hard by the pansy bug, and there was no turning back.  

After a few years at Floret, Brenna left to start her own business, Three Brothers Blooms, selling bouquets at her local farmers market, arranging flowers for weddings and special events, and packing every square inch of her garden with roses, irises, and, of course, pansies.

Brenna has become a much-needed champion for pansies and has combined her love of these special flowers and her passion for writing into a brand new book, Pansies: How to Grow, Reimagine, and Create Beauty with Pansies and Violas. 

It has been so much fun to see Brenna’s flower journey evolve over the years, first as a flower grower and now as a published author. Today, I’m really excited to share an interview with Brenna about her diverse background, her beautiful garden, and, most importantly, her very first book! At the bottom of this post, you can also enter to win one of five signed copies, plus some of her favorite pansy seed.  

You write in such a beautiful and poetic way and your words have the ability to transport readers into another world. How did you come to writing? 

That’s a very generous compliment, thank you, Erin. I’ve loved writing for as long as I can remember. I wrote countless letters to friends and loved ones when I was young. Even now, I have seven typewriters (five of which are fully restored and functioning) and a drawer filled with stationery for handwritten letters. Oddly, I have never been able to journal. I’ve tried many times, but I never return to it. 

I am also an avid reader and insatiably curious about history. Historical fiction has always been my favorite genre. Additionally, I acquired the complete works of William Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe, Jane Austen, and Emily Brontë when I was around fifteen. Obviously, at that age, there was a lot I didn’t understand due to the difference in spelling, grammar, and slang, so I taught myself to decipher everything that caused me confusion. The more I understood, the more I appreciated the formality and elegance of how they spoke, as well as their extensive and descriptive vocabularies. 

I think this was all a huge influence on my writing style. When I write, my hope is to create a clear image in the reader’s mind of what I am describing but through a new perspective or way of imagining. There are few experiences in life that equate to having your imagination wooed with a well-written book. 

You have a really unique background that may come as a surprise to most readers, myself included. Can you share more about your life before you started growing flowers?

I’ve always loved flowers. I grew them where I could in my yard as a child and then planted them around my own home as a young adult, but growing them on a large scale or as a business wasn’t something I considered until much later in life. 

After high school, while most of my friends went off to college, I decided to enlist in the United States Marine Corps. It felt like the right thing to do. Looking back now, I think I was also trying to prove to myself that I was capable of great challenges. I had so many questions about the limitations we set upon ourselves. Do we accept our limits to be where our fear of failure is greater than our determination, or is it where we meet with physical exhaustion? Or are our limits in life predetermined by something bigger than us? 

All in all, I found I was slightly stronger than I thought I was physically, but much stronger than I thought I was mentally. I served 5 years of active duty. It was an incredible experience and a big part of who I am even now. The next 16 years I spent as a 911 call-taker and police dispatcher, bringing me to a combined 21 years of public service. Dealing with the darkest of humanity and talking people through the worst moments of their lives does eventually take a toll on the human spirit. 

I’m not sure of the moment I realized I wasn’t as emotionally and mentally present with my children as I needed to be. I had begun to carry home heartache that wasn’t mine to carry. Physically, my body was beginning to rebel against the years of stress and shift work. I knew it was time to make a change. 

That is when the doorway to flowers opened, by way of a friend. Many of the precious doorways in my life were unlocked by the kindness of others or held open by friends. I jumped through the flower-filled door with optimistic intensity and determined ferocity. 

When did you first fall in love with pansies? What was it about them that put you under their spell? 

It was actually you who led me to the pansy rabbit hole. In fact, you more or less shoulder-checked me down it. 

My mom and grandmother had always liked pansies, but I was never overly fond of them growing up. Nothing about those pansies really appealed to me. The pansies you had in your seed shop were rare varieties and unique colors that I had never seen before. Then you shared how they could be grown for cut flowers, and I was gobsmacked. I had to try them all for myself. 

So, I started hoarding seed for every unique and rare variety I could find, and every year I grew more and more, experimenting further and further with their capabilities and tenacity. The more I grew them, the more questions I had, which started my intense deep dive into their history. 

When I came to really understand where these flowers came from, all they have been through, all they are capable of, that is when I became entirely passionate about them and felt the need to help shift the perspective on them and champion their future.

Can you tell us a bit about what it was like to write your first book? What was the process like? What were some of your favorite parts and what parts were the most challenging? 

Writing a first book is a whirlwind. At least it was for me. Parts of it were entirely what I expected, and parts of it I was completely unprepared for. It was a very intimidating process, and there was a lot of imposter syndrome happening. I had people tell me that I was a nobody and that no one cared about a book on pansies. I was told to stick to posts and blogs. 

There were several publishers that were initially interested, but they said the book posed too big a risk. There was no book like it to gauge its potential success, so they declined. I knew the odds were stacked against me going into it, and I knew it was going to be a hard sell to convince a publisher not only that this book had a place, but that I was capable of writing it. 

Had it not been for some incredibly kind souls and their mutual belief that this book needed to be written, it would never have made it to publication. My agent is an absolute treasure, truly invaluable. She started calling it “the little book that could.”  When I had my first call with Timber Press, I knew I had finally found my team and that this book was really going to happen. Connected Dots Media allowed me to be much more involved in the book-building process than most authors are, and I am so grateful for that because this book really is such a work of heart. 

I expected the writing process to be difficult and time-consuming, but I ended up really enjoying that part because of how much I love to write. I wasn’t, however, prepared for the difficulties I encountered when writing the history section. There was little to no fact-checking in the 19th and early 20th century, so I found quite a bit of conflicting information, including multiple spellings of names and varied dates and places. I had to find the source of the source, if you will, to determine what the most accurate information really was. It was a lot. 

Additionally, the photography was also harder than I expected. There were quite a few shots I didn’t consider taking until it was too late, and I had missed the windows. My photographer was an absolute gem and accommodated many late-night and weekend sessions to eventually get all the shots we needed. I think it helped that we’ve been friends since elementary school and that her favorite flower has always been the pansy. She was definitely willing to put up with the stressed author in me more than I think most photographers would. Flower books are tricky. You are at the mercy of so many things out of your control. I definitely learned a lot during this process. 

Pansies, like so many old-fashioned flowers, for some strange reason fell out of popularity. The preface to the book brought tears to my eyes when you wrote, “This book is a heartfelt plea. Written on behalf of the pansy, and pursued in hope and optimism, it has a single purpose: to elevate the pansy to a reimagined role of elegance and secure its place in at least a few more hearts and gardens for some years to come.” Can you share more about this lovely sentiment and your mission behind this project?  

Oh, I’m so glad it resonated so deeply with you. It took me a long time to write the preface. There was a lot of staring at the screen with my chin in hand, and my brow heavily furrowed. How could I possibly introduce this book in a way that really conveyed my intentions and allowed it to find its people? I wanted to be very honest, so I thought about what I would say to my readers if they were all gathered together right in front of me asking me what the book was really all about. 

The concept began with all those questions: Why did pansies of the 19th century disappear from favor? Where did all the beautiful and unique varieties go? Why did people stop growing them for cut flower use almost a century ago? Why are seeds so hard to source? And why aren’t pansies and violas used more often in flower arrangements? 

I bought every book I could find on the pansy, going as far back as 1835 for the first book ever written on the pansy, to 1814 for referenced use of the viola in apothecary. Then I read them all, took notes, and did months of additional research online. As I finally found the answers to all my questions, I had this whisper inside that there had to be other growers out there who would also love to know these answers. I also thought that if people who don’t really care for pansies could understand what they used to be, then their perspective of them would change. 

It was about 4 years ago that I started taking much more detailed notes and doing even more research in the hope of getting something into print that could help the pansy rise back up to where it belongs. I wrote this book for the sole reason that I felt it needed to be written. No other flower has the history, the circumstance, the inclusion, or the forgotten potential that the pansy does. 

Pansies does a deep dive into this incredibly special flower and is a treasure trove of information. Please walk us through the different sections of the book and what readers will discover in its pages.

The book starts with its hearty history section. To truly challenge and shift the popular opinion on the pansy, I felt including its history was essential. 

A good portion of the book covers how to grow and care for pansies and violas, including starting from seed, soil, pests, taking cuttings, and growing them as cut flowers. It features beautiful, full-page photos of 50 of the best pansies and violas available today, which are also my personal picks from all the pansies I have trialed. 

It gives a special nod to the black pansy—my absolute favorite flower—and it provides a bit of inspiration for using pansies in floral arrangements throughout the seasons. All the accompanying flowers in the arrangements were grown on my farm, so they really are a testament to what was blooming most beautifully at that time. 

The book ends with the mention of their exceptional culinary use and their history in apothecary. 

You’re an avid gardener and have created a beautiful little sanctuary on your property. When we visited, I couldn’t believe how many flowers you squeezed into such a tiny plot! Would you share more about this magical space? 

I don’t normally get visitors, as we are not open to the public, so I was really interested (albeit nervous) to see what you thought of it all. I’m so glad you got to see the pansies in person. We live on 2 ½ acres, but I only grow on about ¾ acre. It has evolved quite a bit, as I continue to experiment for the perfect ratio of annuals to perennials. 

I plant in very tight spacing, both because it allows me to tend to everything more efficiently and also because it allows me to hoard as many plants as possible. I have a fenced area with fifteen raised beds, 4 ft by 10 ft, and five of them are entirely filled with pansies. The fencing is 8 ft high, to keep the deer out, and climbing roses and foxglove grow all along it, making it feel a bit like a secret garden. 

I also have climbing roses around my chicken run, which provides them with shade and helps the run look and smell a bit more appealing. I grow all the annuals that are the most enticing to the deer and rabbits within the fence, along with my most precious roses. 

Outside the fenced area are some additional raised beds for more deer-resistant annuals, like strawflower, stock, snapdragons, and amaranth. 

I have a modest field with rows 50 ft long for my dahlias, marigolds, and now overflowing iris collection. I grew ranunculus in that field within a caterpillar tunnel but I’ve since removed the tunnel and added an additional row of zinnias.  Next to the dahlias are the narcissus beds, three in total. I had a pumpkin patch years ago, but that space is now where the majority of my bearded irises reside. My peonies and roses continue to spread across the property wherever I can fit them in. 

I have a few dozen lilacs and a few additional beds for perennials like yarrow, oregano, mint, geum, and poppies. I added in more gladiolas, hollyhocks, and foxglove last year, too. There’s a little bit of everything out there. Pansies aren’t your only flower obsession—you’re quite the plant collector! We’d love to hear more about the other flowers in your garden and some of your favorite varieties. 

I think I can confidently say my true flower obsessions are pansies, roses, and bearded irises. I currently have just over one hundred varieties of pansies and violas, 170 varieties of roses, and 221 varieties of bearded irises growing on my modest little farm. The book covers my favorite pansies, so let’s cover roses and irises.  

Starting with climbers, ‘Bathsheba’ is my favorite David Austin. ‘Gardenia’ is a favorite climber for vigor and health, plus its canes are incredibly flexible, which allows them to be bent into swirls along the fencing, making for a beautiful display even in the winter. For color, I love ‘Ash Wednesday’—there is no other rose like it. ‘Geschwind’s Orden’ is another uniquely beautiful rose, and it has done really well for me thus far. 

A couple of years ago, I added ‘Barock’—that one has me completely enamored. Many of its blooms open in double swirls, the fragrance is good, and it is exceptional for cutting. ‘Above and Beyond’, ‘Léontine Gervais’, and ‘Ghislaine de Féligonde’ deserve mention, as well.  

For shrubs, my favorite Kordes rose is ‘Lion’s Fairy Tale’, as it is possibly the healthiest and most disease-resistant rose I grow. ‘Abraham Darby’, ‘William Morris’, ‘Tea Clipper’, and ‘Crocus Rose’ are my favorite David Austins. My favorite Meilland rose is ‘Princess Charlene de Monaco’, as she is superb for cutting. 

For unique color, I love ‘Black Tea’ and ‘Julia’s Rose’. For fragrance, ‘Jacques Cartier’ and ‘Louis Odier’ are two wonderfully fragrant old roses. For unique flowering, ‘Perle d’Or’ would be my pick. 

As for bearded irises, every year I fall in love with at least a dozen new varieties. The ones that held at the top last year were ‘Pharaoh’s Poet’, ‘Thundery’, ‘Dash of Burgundy’, ‘Friendly Advice’, ‘Black Mirror’, ‘Caramel Macchiato’, ‘Object of Affection’, ‘Calming Effect’, ‘Haunted Heart’, ‘Ghost Writer’, ‘Power of Dreams’, and ‘As Beauty Does’. ‘Despacito’ is my favorite dwarf bearded iris.  

Your garden is nestled in a heavily wooded area and the deer population is quite abundant. Despite this added challenge, which I know many other gardeners face, you’ve managed to cultivate a thriving garden. Do you have any advice you can share?

We have so many deer. During certain times of the year, they actually bed down in the trees surrounding us. The only plants whose safety is guaranteed are those within the fences. Deer in our area can clear a 6-ft fence, so we made ours 8 ft. 

I have been testing their preferred palette for years to find what I can safely grow out in the open. Highly fragrant flowers are never eaten, like snapdragons or stock. They don’t eat my bearded irises, dahlias, lilacs, or zinnias. I have tried planting flowers they don’t like in front of the ones they do—some years this works, and some years it doesn’t. 

I have also tried planting things they do like to lure them away. They always go for roses first and foremost, especially any new growth. For the roses I have outside the fence, I will occasionally put up a protective shield of chicken wire, as I have found that fencing, whether permanent or temporary, is the only sure defense against our deer. 

Can you tell us about what you have planned around the launch of this beautiful book? Where can people order copies? How can they find seeds for your favorite varieties? Will you be doing a book tour? Anything else exciting planned? 

I will be having a small, intimate party on its pub day, as I want to thank and celebrate all the people who were most supportive during this process, but the official launch will be at Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park on March 12. It’s a free event, but they do ask that you RSVP through their website. I’ll be giving a very special talk and slideshow before my book signing there, touching on my trips to Italy and Japan, where I learned about all the work they are doing with pansies. 

I have been invited to speak on a panel at Wave Hill in New York with Ngoc Minh Ngo and Frances Palmer in March, and have some additional signing and special events throughout the spring and summer, including collaborations with amazing watercolor and paper flower artists. I’ll also be down in Austin for a signing in June. All of my events will be shared on the event page on my website if anyone would like further information. I am really looking forward to meeting and chatting with all the pansy lovers out there. 

The book is and will continue to be, available everywhere books are sold, including Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Target, etc., but most importantly through local independent bookstores, so please do support them if you are able. If you are like me and prefer all your books signed by the author, I do have signed copies available on my website. 

As for seed, I hope to have an international pansy seed resource guide up on my website very soon. I’ll be sure to post about it and put a link in my newsletter once it is up. I will be having two pansy seed sales this year, one on April 21, and another in the fall. My newsletter is definitely the best place to stay informed on everything I am working on. 

Brenna, thank you so much for taking the time to share more about your background and your beautiful garden, and for reviving this well-loved flower. Congratulations! 

To celebrate the release of Brenna’s new book, Pansies: How to Grow, Reimagine, and Create Beauty with Pansies and Violas, we’re giving away five copies. Each copy will come with three packets of Brenna’s favorite pansy varieties. For a chance to win, simply post a comment below telling us what inspired you the most about Brenna’s interview. Winners will be announced on March 18. Please note: This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only.

To learn more and connect with Brenna, be sure to visit her website and follow her on Instagram. Pansies: How to Grow, Reimagine, and Create Beauty with Pansies and Violas is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, and your favorite local bookstore.

All photos by Kelly Clare Photography.

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