- Story by Jane Zatylny Photography by Lia Crowe

The slow-food movement awakened us to the benefits of eating local, seasonal food. Now the same passion is sweeping through the floral industry, and it91裸聊视频檚 based on a similar principle: sustainability.

91裸聊视频淕iven the climate change crisis, as well as global social and environmental justice issues, sustainability is here to last91裸聊视频攁nd not just in floristry91裸聊视频攂ut in all aspects of our daily lives,91裸聊视频� says Becky Feasby, Canadian ambassador for the Sustainable Floristry Network, a global organization dedicated to sustainable floristry practices.

You may wonder how flowers could possibly be harmful to the environment. After all, aren91裸聊视频檛 they organic by nature? Well, yes and no. Consider the last floral arrangement that was delivered to your door: more than likely it arrived in a box, with the flowers themselves planted upright in a large block of green floral foam and shielded by layers of cellophane and tissue paper.

In all that excess packaging, those foam bricks are by far the most controversial by-product of traditional floral design. Not only is it non-compostable, the foam is also known to contribute to micro-bead pollution. Then, of course, there are the cellophane and other packaging materials to contend with.

In addition, the flowers in many arrangements, as beautiful as they may be, are sometimes far from carbon neutral. They may have been sprayed with fungicides, imported from South America, flown to Holland and then Seattle, and driven by refrigerated truck to a wholesaler in Vancouver.

91裸聊视频淲hen I worked at a flower shop at the beginning of my career, I saw for myself how much waste was created,91裸聊视频� says Kamila Alikhani, owner and creative director of Bloomi茅r, a zero-waste flower studio in West Vancouver.

91裸聊视频淔lorists are under a great deal of pressure to keep their stock filled and fresh. If customers don91裸聊视频檛 see a lot of variety, they might feel that a store91裸聊视频檚 flowers aren91裸聊视频檛 fresh. The result is that many flowers are just thrown away.91裸聊视频�

Today, Kamila lives and breathes sustainability in her work, purchasing most of her flowers locally, particularly from River and Sea Flowers, an organic specialty flower farm in Delta.

91裸聊视频淚 am very cautiously hopeful that there is a trend for local flowers,91裸聊视频� she says. 91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檓 hopeful because we91裸聊视频檙e starting to see more local flower farmers.91裸聊视频�

Julie R茅my has seen that growth close-up. She is a local flower grower as well as the owner and lead designer of Fleuris Studio & Blooms, a small floral design studio in Victoria. Julie is also a member of the Island Flower Growers, a cooperative that offers a wholesale flower market and distribution hub for local florists and floral designers. The cooperative recently expanded to include eight sustainable specialty cut-flower growers and a few casual growers.

91裸聊视频淨uite frankly, growing flowers is a lot of work, especially when we also design them,91裸聊视频� Julie says. 91裸聊视频淏ut knowing that I91裸聊视频檓 doing something good and I91裸聊视频檓 giving back to the environment is a great reward.91裸聊视频�

As it turns out, even the pandemic has contributed to the demand for locally grown flowers, says Becky.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 provided an increased sense of seasonal relativity for both flowers and food. Climate pressures in the global south have also created supply chain issues, which makes locally grown flowers more attractive for many florists.91裸聊视频�

Nine ways to go slow and sustainable with your next floral purchase

Forget the foam

The number one thing that all consumers should do is ask for their floral arrangements to be made without floral foam, says Becky.

91裸聊视频淭he planet will thank you.91裸聊视频�

Floral arrangements can be created instead with bundled chicken wire, old-fashioned pin or glass 91裸聊视频渇rogs91裸聊视频� or Agra Wool, a new product resembling floral foam made from biodegradable basalt and sucrose. Using chicken wire allows for more gracious, garden-inspired arrangements, says Julie: 91裸聊视频淚t allows the flowers to dance a lot more.91裸聊视频�

Just say no to cellophane

Be brave, and say no to wasteful packaging like clear cellophane wrapping, says Kamila. Opt instead for kraft paper or tissue paper and fabric ribbons to wrap bouquets.

91裸聊视频淏eing sustainable doesn91裸聊视频檛 mean it can91裸聊视频檛 be beautiful or luxurious,91裸聊视频� she stresses. 91裸聊视频淔or instance, we had our own tissue paper printed up with beautiful poems.91裸聊视频�

Buy in season

Local flowers are typically available from April through October in BC, although there are many BC flower growers who use heated and precisely lit greenhouses to extend the season, says Julie.

91裸聊视频淲e have sustainable flowers available the rest of the year to a certain degree, but just a few varieties here and there, and not necessarily in the abundance required to create amazing bouquets and arrangements without having to rely on unsustainably grown flowers, local or not.91裸聊视频�

By buying in season, we can learn to anticipate them much like local produce.

91裸聊视频淭here is a season for each of them, which makes you appreciate them that much more. We don91裸聊视频檛 have dahlias in the spring, but we do have ranunculus,91裸聊视频� says Julie, adding that it91裸聊视频檚 like buying farm-grown fresh strawberries, for example. 91裸聊视频淵ou know at the end of the season that you91裸聊视频檒l have to wait until next year.91裸聊视频�

Consider a flower subscription

Flower subscriptions are a great way to bring flowers into your life in a very sustainable way. Florists typically provide you with the vase for your first order and often offer or sell pin or glass frogs.

91裸聊视频淎 monthly, bi-weekly and weekly flower service allows us to source the flowers needed for each set of arrangements. And, with no extra stock on hand, there are no unused flowers to throw away,91裸聊视频� says Kamila.

Ask your florists questions about your flowers

Ask where your flowers are coming from, advises Becky.

91裸聊视频淔lorists should know the place of origin for all of their flowers and should be able to convey this information to their customers.91裸聊视频�

Choose fresh or naturally dried flowers over bleached and dyed

Trendy bleached and dyed flowers are often portrayed as sustainable but are anything but, says Kamila.

91裸聊视频淥nce you bleach the natural stem and dye the flowers, they cannot be composted,91裸聊视频� she explains. 91裸聊视频淲hen you don91裸聊视频檛 want them anymore, they have to be thrown away.91裸聊视频�

Dried flowers, however, can be an important part of slow floristry, says Julie.

91裸聊视频淚t is a great way to extend the season sustainably. Some flowers dry beautifully and retain vibrant colours while others can be 91裸聊视频榖leached91裸聊视频� naturally by the sun, instead of using harmful chemicals. Properly dried flowers can add a beautiful texture or pop of colour in a holiday wreath, for example, just when local sustainably grown flowers are harder to come by.91裸聊视频�

Buy local from smaller growers who support farm-to-table flowers

Flowers that have been grown locally by a smaller grower who is interested in sustainability have a lot more movement and grace to them, says Julie.

91裸聊视频淭hey91裸聊视频檙e fresher; they haven91裸聊视频檛 been shipped all around the world before they came here. They may be more delicate, but they have this amazing romantic look. The stems are freer; it91裸聊视频檚 not all been standardized for the wholesalers.91裸聊视频�

Work with and trust your florist

Florists know what flowers are in season and how to work with your style.

91裸聊视频淚 like to understand a bit about who my clients are and how these flowers will make their lives more beautiful,91裸聊视频� says Julie. 91裸聊视频淔or one client, everything should be white. Another may be going for a memory or a feeling; for example, they want to recall a trip to Mexico with a bold-coloured arrangement.91裸聊视频�

Kamila agrees: 91裸聊视频淢y clients trust me to choose flowers for them. They just say, 91裸聊视频榊ou choose. They91裸聊视频檙e all beautiful.91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频�

Celebrate and support the natural world

Flowers are about bringing nature into people91裸聊视频檚 lives, concludes Julie.

91裸聊视频淭hey91裸聊视频檙e about celebrating nature and helping the bees and the butterflies and the birds and the environment as much as we can91裸聊视频�Flowers are one of the best ways we can do that.91裸聊视频�

Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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