Why Local Flowers Matter
Following on the heels of the farm-to-table movement, consumers now question more and more the origins of products they purchase and their global impact. That, combined with the increased popularity of flower farming on social media, locally grown flowers and flower farmers are having their time in the spotlight! So why should you support local farmers and buy locally grown flowers?
Compared to imported flowers, locally grown flowers have a longer vase life. The flowers are often cut the same day (or maybe a day before) they end up in your hands. This means they haven’t spent multiple days being harvested, packed, and traveling on a truck, train or plane to get to you. Our bouquets include flowers that are cut just for you, with some flowers having up to two weeks of vase life!
Imported flowers are often bred to survive the journey to get to you, taking away many of their natural properties like their scent. There are also fewer restrictions on what chemicals can be used on them since they are grown outside of the USA. This impacts you as the consumer and the people working on the farms where the chemicals are being used. There is also a large amount of fuel to get them to you and additional packaging to keep the flowers safe on their journey to you that ends up in the trash.
Most local growers use responsible farming methods keeping the health of people and the land in mind. We do not use chemicals on our flowers and if pesticides are necessary they are all-natural, making them people and pet-safe! Flowers are cut and placed in fresh water immediately, we use minimal packaging, just enough to keep your flowers safe until they are in your hands and we use materials that can be easily recycled.
Just like purchasing produce or meat at the farmer’s market to support a local farmer, your purchase of a bouquet of flowers helps support the local flower grower and the community. Local farmers are small business owners and many depend on sales from the nearby community to support their business and family.
If you’d like to take a deeper dive I recommend reading The 50 Mile Bouquet Seasonal, Local and Sustainable Flowers by Debra Prinzing. A leader in the slow flower movement, she is an advocate of the “eat local, buy local” concept and you’ll find a lot of great info along with beautiful photos throughout the book.
