Continental Floral Greens is always looking for ways to improve, and sometimes the best ideas come from outside our own farms. That's why Continuous Improvement Manager Steve Devry recently represented CFG at a Jungle Talks Mastercourse Meet Up in Kenya, a program that brings together emerging leaders from across the global floriculture industry. Meet Ups are reserved for program alumni, and Steve spent the week alongside leaders from Colombia, Chile, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, China, Kenya, and the United States.

The trip reflects something CFG values as a company: staying curious, learning from growers and partners around the world, and looking for ways to help move the floral industry forward, not just our own piece of it.

First on the itinerary was Maasai Flowers, part of the Sian Flowers group and Kenya's largest grower of spray roses. The farm covers about 113 acres outside Nairobi and employs about 800 people. The group met with Chris Kulei, Sian's CEO and chairman of the Kenya Flower Council, who spoke about some of the challenges facing Kenyan growers industry-wide, from strict import rules in key export markets like the EU, to climate pressures on crop health, to the ongoing balancing act between consumer expectations and the realities of large-scale growing.

Next was Sun Floritech, a nearly 190-acre farm near Lake Naivasha built around the idea that soil health drives everything else. The farm produces its own compost and natural fertilizers on site, treating soil as a long-term investment rather than an afterthought.

At Equinox Horticulture, an 80-acre farm at high elevation near Mount Kenya, the conversation turned to the pressures growers everywhere are feeling around shipping and logistics, and how a farm stays competitive when so much is out of its direct control.

The final stop was an export hub outside Nairobi, where the group saw how flowers are cooled, packed, and prepared for the journey to buyers around the world. The week closed with the Kenya Flower Council's 30th anniversary celebration, a fitting end to a week centered on where the global flower industry has been and where it's headed.

Across every stop, the throughline was the same: growers everywhere, whatever their size or location, are working on shared problems like sustainability, quality consistency, and getting a fresh product to market efficiently. Trips like this one are part of how CFG stays connected to that bigger conversation and keeps bringing new thinking back to our own operations.