Highlights from our 2024 Waste To Wild Flower event Captured by Ali & Garrett Photography
What iS sustainable floral design?
Designs Created With Local & US Grown Flowers
The Florist Composts & Responsibly Manages Waste
The Florist Composts & Responsibly Manages Waste
Local flowers are one of the most rewarding parts of supporting sustainable floristry!
Locally grown blooms are stunningly beautiful, high-quality, and good for the community! When a florist prioritizes local and US grown flowers they support our economies, reduce carbon emissions, and keep the US industry strong.
The Florist Composts & Responsibly Manages Waste
The Florist Composts & Responsibly Manages Waste
The Florist Composts & Responsibly Manages Waste
Reduce
Reuse
Recycle
This is the mantra of sustainably managing waste and at the heart of a sustainable florist's practice. All green waste is composted, reusable materials are returned to their inventory, and recyclable materials are appropriately sorted. The goal is to send as little as possible to the landfill!
The Use Of Sustainable, Reusable, & Recyclable Materials
The Use Of Sustainable, Reusable, & Recyclable Materials
The Use Of Sustainable, Reusable, & Recyclable Materials
Many sustainble design mechanics exist that reduce plastic pollution and excess waste.
Sustainable florists employ many different tools from watertubes and chicken wire, to floral frogs and alternative hydration sources like Agrawoola and Oshun Pouches.
A sustainable florist consistently reuses materials to create large-scale designs.
Focus On Reduced Global Impact
The Use Of Sustainable, Reusable, & Recyclable Materials
The Use Of Sustainable, Reusable, & Recyclable Materials
The floral industry is a large and complicated global industry.
Sustainable florists consider not only the carbon footprint of imported blooms, but also their social impact. Pesticide exposure, exploitation, and harsh working conditions are all realities of the floral industry. Florists purchasing from certified growers commited to environmental and social protections can reduce harm.
#NOFLORALFOAM
Ask for designs created without toxic floral foam
Want an easy way to make your floral purchase more sustainable? Ask your florist not to use floral foam.
The crumbly, green floral foam that you often see in arrangements contains two chemicals considered toxic to humans: Phenol and formaldehyde.
Floral foam is a petroleum based, single-use plastic product that is not compostable and does not biodegrade. Each piece of floral foam breaks down into millions of microplastic particles. Floral foam must be disposed of in a landfill. Flowers arranged in floral foam are also contaminated with microplastics and should not be composted.
Microplastic pollution from floral foam infiltrates our soil an our water systems (millions of those tiny bits of plastic go down the drain when you pour out that green water).
You can take a deeper dive and learn more about the harms of floral foam here.
Impacts of Imported Flowers
QUICK FACTS
- 58% of US farms have gone out of business since 1992 due to the low cost of imported blooms and relaxed regulations of agricultural practices outside the US.
- 78% of all flowers sold in the US are imported primarily from Colombia, Ecuador, and the Netherlands. The US is the biggest consumer of fresh cut flowers in the world.
- Approximately 45% of floral product managed by the floral industry dies before it is sold.
- In preparation for Valentine's Day 2018, over 15,000 tons of flowers were imported into the US. It is estimated that transportation emissions measured around 360,000 metric tons of CO2, and nearly 115 million liters (over 30 million gallons) of airplane fuel were used.
- More pesticides are used on cut flowers than are used in food production, and as many as a fifth of the pesticides used to grow cut flowers are actually untested or banned in America.
- Floriculture workers are exposed to these toxins in fertilizers and insecticides, as well as preservatives used to extend the life of blooms.
The supply chain issues that were brought front and center during the Covid-19 pandemic, along with increasingly extreme weather patterns across the world, have highlighted the need for more resilient local markets.
Pesticides, cold storage, and transportation of imported flowers all contribute to the global climate crisis which, in turn, is making flower growing and transportation all the more challenging.
Benefits of Sustainable Floral Design And local flowers
Support Local Growers & the Colorado Economy
Exceptional Quality + Access to Unique Blooms & Varieties
Support Local Growers & the Colorado Economy
Sourcing flowers locally supports small businesses across the state, provides living wages for agricultural workers, and keeps dollars circulating throughout the local economy.
The more the local flower farming industry grows, the more resilient it becomes, further reinforcing these benefits.
Reduce Environmental Impact
Exceptional Quality + Access to Unique Blooms & Varieties
Support Local Growers & the Colorado Economy
Choosing flowers grown within the state greatly reduces the transportation footprint of your purchase.
Locally grown flowers are treated with significantly fewer chemicals than imported blooms.
Flower farmers help to preserve farm land and green spaces across the country.
Flower farmers using regenerative practices are able to capture more carbon in their soil, nurture greater biodiversity, and ultimately eliminate their use of chemicals.
Exceptional Quality + Access to Unique Blooms & Varieties
Exceptional Quality + Access to Unique Blooms & Varieties
Exceptional Quality + Access to Unique Blooms & Varieties
Flowers cut and sold in local markets are able to be harvested at more ideal growing stages, experience less turnaround from field to vase, and undergo less stress during the transportation process.
Supporting florists and farmers who design with locally grown flowers gives you access to heirloom and unique floral varieties.
Seasonality
Connecting you to place and time
For so many of us, flowers envoke strong memories of loved ones or special moments in time. When we purchase flowers that are in season and grown locally we are building even more of those core connections to the environment we live in. Each time those flowers come around again we are able to call back those wonderful memories from the past and continue adding to their legacy.
Embrace the seasons
We have the privilege of celebrating four beautiful seasons in Colorado. Not only do we get to watch our home come to life, but we get to watch it settle down for rest as well. When you embrace what is growing seasonally you are able to truly celebrate the seasons. The joy and anticipation of coming flowers as you move through the seasons is truly special and something worth fostering!
Flowers to Look Forward to
Tulip
Ranunculus
Ranunculus
Arriving as early as February and growing through mid-May
Ranunculus
Ranunculus
Ranunculus
April-June
Peony
Ranunculus
Poppies
Typically seen late May-mid June
Poppies
Snapdragon
Poppies
May-early July
Snapdragon
Snapdragon
Snapdragon
June-September
Lavender
Snapdragon
Snapdragon
July
Cosmo
Zinnia
Zinnia
July-October
Dahlia
Zinnia
Dahlia
Late July- October