5 Reasons to Buy Local Flowers
by Carrie Khoury, Green Garden Mama
Who doesn’t love a vase of fresh cut blooms to brighten up their home from time to time? Whether you’re an occasional flower shopper or prefer a weekly bouquet, here are 5 important reasons to support your local flower farmer this growing season.
1. Lower Your Carbon Footprint & Reduce Pesticide Use
The conventional flower market is made up of roughly 80% imported blooms, mostly from Latin America. This means that the blooms in your grocery store bouquet were likely shipped in from overseas. Not only is the carbon footprint massive, but there is also little restriction on international pesticide use, and many flowers are fumigated to ensure all bugs are killed before transporting. Imported roses specifically can contain up to 50 times the synthetic pesticides legally allowed in domestic food production! Local flowers, by comparison, can be produced within miles of their markets and typically with significantly less (sometimes zero) pesticide exposure.
Buying local flowers is activism - saying no to the use of harmful chemicals, carbon-heavy transportation practices, and unfair labor conditions. It’s time to question the origin and impact of the flowers we buy.
2. Unique Blooms
The floral industry revolves around a handful of flower varieties that were selected for their ability to ship well; flowers like roses, lilies, and carnations can be shipped out of water and rehydrated once they reach the florist. But there are so many more beautiful flowers that aren’t often included in conventional bouquets because they are difficult to ship. Think of your grandmother’s fragrant sweet peas, colorful specialty zinnias, airy cosmos, and my personal favorite - dahlias. My favorite foliage options are basil and mint, something else you’ll rarely find in conventional bouquets. They bring such a lovely herbal scent to your bouquet, and I rarely make a bouquet without them!
I also love the seasonality of local blooms; there is something really special about locally grown flowers because they change all season long. Tulips, peonies, and ranunculus in the spring, sunflowers and zinnias in the summer, dahlias and heirloom mums in the fall… being able to enjoy different flowers all season long is a refreshing change from the repetitiveness of conventional bouquets.
3. Diverse Ecosystem
Many small scale farmers grow great flowers by focusing on the health of our soil rather than relying on synthetic pesticides. We build our soil health with compost and natural additives, understand the importance of covering our soil with mulch, and invest time and energy into cover crops. Insects are an important part of our farms’ ecosystem too, and keeping everything in balance is key. Birds can be a farmer’s best friend by keeping bugs in check without the need to spray nasty chemicals. I make sure to plant plenty of bird-attracting natives in my yard, including echinacea, lobelia, and native grasses to keep these bug hunters coming back for more. Bonus - these native plants come back year after year with little effort from me, are more sustainable than a grass lawn, and have deep roots, which also helps with drainage in my yard.
4. Grow Your Local Economy
Your local farmer is a member of your community, whether selling flowers at a local coffee shop, farmer’s market, or offering a Community Supported Agriculture subscription. I’ve lived in DuPage County for my entire life, and am as dedicated to the health of my favorite local businesses as I am to the health of my farm.
5. Local Knowledge
If you love gardening too, see what your local farmers are growing! You’ll get a great idea of what grows well in your area, and when it blooms. Some local farmers may even be glad to share their wealth of garden knowledge through workshops or private consultations. From flower arranging to home gardening, you can learn a lot from a flower farmer!
Thank you, Carrie, for sharing your knowledge with our Go Green Community! Carrie is a life-long Lombardian, self proclaimed gardening nerd, and lover of all things plants. Her company Green Garden Mama offers springtime fruit and veggie seedlings, perennial plant divisions, boutonniere/corsage/nosegays, small wedding work, and cut flowers for sale. She also teaches gardening workshops and offers personal garden consultations and bouquet bars.
