Cut Flowers and Sustainability – Grown Not Flown

In 2017 Australia imported 5.22 million roses for Valentine’s Day, mainly from Kenya, which became approximately 217,500 bouquets. It is estimated that if each of those bouquets was wrapped in 75cm of plastic, that adds up to more than 163km of plastic wrapping used just for roses, just in Australia, just on Valentine’s Day. Multiply that by the whole year or apply it to a larger country (for example the US’s estimated 100 million for Valentine’s Day) and that is a colossal amount of waste. And add to that the carbon footprint!!

So, we urge people to support their local flower farms. Local flower farms are mainly small businesses run with a staff of less than five people. They follow seasonal growing and are normally very environmental aware. Flowers from these growers are not only high in quality but are superior in scent as the flowers aren’t grown in a sterile environment.

In Australia, we are lucky to have industry support in the way of Flowers magazine #flowersmagazineaustralia . It is a very affordable bi-monthly magazine. As a horticulturist I have been very impressed with it.

We are members of Consortium Botanicus

#consortiumbotanicus which is a group of like minded people in the floral industry. "Our florals are 100% grown not flown. We farm holistically from the soil up. We are inspired by and work mindfully with the seasons. We grow quality not quantity."

There are also wonderful groups on Facebook that provide an excellent networking opportunities. I have found flower farmers and suppliers like ourselves to be extremely welcoming and supportive.

If you are a flower farmer, in the comments please post a bunch of your flowers or a photo of your farm along with your contact details. This post is also on our Instagram and Facebook pages.