During the weeks and months we spent organizing, writing, and taking photos for our new book, vancouver florist, we knew a key factor in sharing its message about seasonal flowers was timing. So right from the start, we intentionally set our schedule for a release date just before Valentine’s Day.
It’s one of the most flower-focused giving holidays of the year, but the reality is that few U.S. flower farms have blooms this time of year unless they have heated greenhouses. Most are just starting to sow seeds for the season ahead.
A quick Google search for “Valentine’s Day imported flowers” tells the story of where most holiday bouquets (some reports say 90%) come from. During the month before Valentine’s, the number of weekly cargo jets arriving in Miami from flower farms in Colombia and Ecuador climbs to the hundreds.
From Miami, millions of red roses and other flowers are shipped to warehouses across the country. In every truck and plane, from the time they leave South American farms, the flowers must be kept in refrigeration, which takes even more fuel.
There are other concerns, including the heavy use of plastic packaging. But we have to face the fact that the shipping alone, for this one holiday, creates a huge carbon footprint. The Environmental Protection Agency names transportation as the largest source of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.
We need an alternative to the tradition of red roses.
Our hearts go out to florists across the country, who struggle with this complicated situation, and we want to help. We believe that only the exposure to the beautiful alternative of local, seasonal flowers will change consumer taste and shift this industry for the better.
A Year in Flowers shows what’s possible using local flowers in season. My goal for this book has been to promote the seasonal flower movement far and wide, and that means encouraging people to think outside the box when it comes to gift-giving for this winter holiday.
For Valentine’s Day, we offer some of our favorite gift ideas that support the shift to local, seasonal flowers.