Why we Love to Use Local Flowers
Do you ever choose locally grown FOOD over imported?
Okay, so have you ever walked in to the grocery store to grab your groceries and walked past their flower counter and thought, “I might as well grab a pretty bunch of flowers for my kitchen table”? You grab a bunch, because they’re colorful, they’re cheerful, and they’re (likely) pretty cheap.
Then you walk past a display of blueberries. One display touts “locally grown blueberries", with blueberries grown at a farm one county over. The other display doesn’t shout about where their blueberries are from, so you do a quick check. Grown in Mexico. No problem, really, but because you have the choice, you choose the locally grown berries.
Why?
Do you think the locally grown blueberries are better than blueberries imported from another country? If so, why? Do you know why grocery stores (and also florists! we’ll get to that) offer locally grown when they can, even if the product may be slightly more expensive to consumers than something imported?
What about locally grown FLOWERS?
Let’s go back to your bouquet of flowers you purchased. First of all, you are hearing from a girl who buys flowers just about any time she can. There are studies that actually show that having flowers in your home can increase your joy in life. It’s something we support FULLY here at our flower shop. As a business, we use both imported and locally grown flowers, and for good reason. Imported flowers offer a few VERY key traits that local flowers don’t, and I’m a gal who likes folks to have ALL the information, so let me fill you in on the benefits of imported flowers. I won’t judge you, even a little bit, for grabbing a quick bouquet from the grocery store. But maybe, if you’re able, you’ll think about also looking for some locally grown options when you are able.
What is an “imported” flower?
For this blog post, let’s say an “imported” flower is anything not grown in the United States. Truthfully, in our shop, when we are using “locally grown” flowers, we’re referring to flowers grown in Indiana, Michigan, or Illinois. Sometimes the flowers are even grown in Granger, less than 5 miles from where our shop sits (those are some of our favorites!). So we’ll say the term “imported flowers” refers to everything grown outside of our country.
In the United States, roughly 80% of flowers sold are imported from another country. Most commonly those countries include Ecuador and Columbia, to be specific. The flowers are grown on commercial flower farms, then cut, packaged, and sent to the states over a period of a few days to a week, depending on the farm and the flower variety. They arrive to florists dry packed (meaning out of water) in long boxes, and the florists will “process” the flowers, giving them a fresh cut and placing them in water to hydrate to look their best before they go to our customers.
A Few Positives of Imported Flowers
No major issues yet, eh? Okay by me, let’s talk about some of the GOOD about imported flowers (because there really are some selling points they offer):
They’re inexpensive. This one is fact we just can’t get away from. Imported flowers tend to be less expensive than locally grown on the whole. Guess why: commercial growers have not only gotten their production down to a SCIENCE (which is a GOOD thing!), but also many commercial growers in countries outside the United States aren’t well known for their treatment of their laborers.
They’re available year-round, with nearly unlimited varieties. Another point that makes imported REALLY convenient. At our flower shop we LOVE a seasonally-inspired floral design, but we also want to have roses available every single month out of the year. Commercial South American flower farms use greenhouses to grow their flowers AND are located in a growing region that allows them to produce flowers year round with no interruption for snow or frost (sorry, Midwest friends).
They last a LONG time in a vase. Another banger here. Imported flowers are almost exclusively varieties that have been selectively bred FOR their vase life, although that has often come at the expense of their scent or texture. It’s a direct genetic trade off. AND (and this is likely my LEAST favorite thing about imported flowers) they are coated in chemicals when grown and again when shipped to preserve the flowers and maintain a stellar vase life (again we go back to thinking about that produce section, and organic vs. regular produce, and which has the best shelf life).
So clearly imported flowers have some benefits; it’s why we as a flower shop still use them daily! We love the selection we can offer customers, and the super long vase life. It’s likely we will never fully move away from our favorite imported flowers, but let’s dive into why we want to combine those blooms with locally grown stunners for the BEST flower arrangements in Granger.
My Own Love Affair with Locally Grown Flowers
I have always grown flowers in my yard. I just love them. I have killed WAY more than I have had survive, but don’t you know I’ll still hit the perennial rack each time I’m at Lowe’s or pop in to my favorite plant shops in the area (shout out to our neighbor Ginger Valley whom we love, as well as Vite’s Greenhouses up in Niles, Michigan where I can literally spend hours wandering the aisles and dreaming of blooms).
When 2020 and COVID hit and I felt leery of visiting plant shops, I found my way into seed-starting and was AMAZED at the varieties I could order. My love of growing took off like never before, and before I knew it, we had expanded our small vegetable garden into a medium (and now large) cutting flower garden. I began to learn about the differences in the flowers I was growing on our farm in Granger vs. flowers at the grocery store that had come up from South America.
My new dream was to grow local flowers and to connect them with our community. I didn’t have a shop back then, just more beautiful flowers than I could use, and a real desire to get them in the hands of my neighbors. Since then, I have begun a full service wedding flower business, as well as a retail flower shop, and STILL love local flowers for the same reasons I did back then.
The Positives of Locally Grown Flowers
Oh my, where do I start? I’m going to highlight a few of my FAVORITE things about local flowers for you, so you can start getting a sense of what makes them special.
They smell good. Okay so some imported flowers smell good, also. But there is NOTHING like the scent of a locally grown peony, garden rose, stem of stock, milkweed (yep), lilac, scented daffodil (also yep), even dahlias, heirloom chrysanthemums (one of my favorite foliage scents), mint… the list goes on and I just love it so much. Their smell is natural, unmodified, fresh, floral, clean, woodsy, herb-y (not a word) and just overall amazing. What those scents add to a flower arrangement sitting on your counter can not be overstated.
Their texture is unmatched. Locally grown flowers and foliage have textures that are just out of this world. What a stem of locally grown queen anne’s lace or mint or lamb’s ear can add to a bouquet is absolutely incredible. The bouquet no longer feels like a plastic, smooth, perfect in that oh-too-perfect way, but a natural, textural, unique arrangement that you truly can’t find in a grocery store or flower shop NOT including locally grown stems in their arrangements.
Many varieties offered can’t be imported. Did you know certain flowers can’t be imported? They’re too fragile to survive the long trip tucked in a box with no water and (oftentimes) too much heat. Flowers like dahlias (almost everyone I know LOVES a dahlia) just don’t fare well, to the point where they are either extremely expensive, arrive dead or damaged, or both.
They’re eco-friendly. Oh boy do I love a sustainable option. Sustainability is a pillar of both businesses I have started, and locally grown flowers offer one of the BEST touches toward “going green.” Not only do the flowers lack the air-miles and pollution needed to GET them to us, but many local growers have a significantly reduced use of chemical and pesticides. Many local growers (my own farm included!) also intentionally grown native plant varieties (don’t get me started on our Joe Pye Weed or Echinacea), as well flower varieties that benefit native pollinators, in addition to keeping a biodiverse farm that benefits all.
They give “seasonal” without even trying. In Granger, where our shop is located, locally grown tulips are available for about four weeks. Locally grown peonies? Same thing. Dahlias stretch out a bit more, for about eight weeks, and sometimes longer based on our first frost. While this can sound like a negative for local flowers, I truly think it is part of what makes them special. Tulips signify Mother’s Day. Peonies are in-season in early June, which for me, coincides with my wedding anniversary, making them reminiscent of our wedding flowers. Dahlias coming in means it’s time for back to school celebrations, and run through early Autumn with their warm, beautiful blooms. Those connections to the seasons surrounding us makes them even more special, as we know they’ll be gone as we head into the next season.
Sourcing locally grown flowers supports our community members. When our flower shop purchases locally grown flowers, that money goes DIRECTLY to the farmer growing them. It directly into our community. That stay-at-home Mom turned flower farmer? Let’s support her. That family-run farm with generations under their belt? Let’s support them. Money we spend on locally grown flowers impacts our community with SUCH a ripple effect it’s truly incredible.
Where does that leave us?
If you have made it to the end of this post, honestly, I’m super proud of you. This is likely a deep dive into flowers you hadn’t planned on taking, possibly ever. I LOVE thinking things like this through, and being able to make an intelligent choice based on my knowledge, and wanted to offer you that same chance.
[Cue “The More you Know” graphic across the screen]
At Bouquet of Granger, we’re proud to use locally grown flowers whenever we can. We source from my farm in Granger, and from a flower hub called Northwest Indiana Flower Hub for the majority of our locally grown stems. We often have locally-grown flowers available by the stem to purchase a la carte when you would like. Even more often, we combine these gorgeous stems and blooms with tried and true imported favorites, for bouquets and arrangements that are literally unlike any others in our community.
Our hope is when you send a flower bouquet with a locally grown snapdragon, or dahlia, it adds an extra special touch and even triggers a memory for the recipient that just couldn’t be conjured with a grocery store bouquet. We think adding locally grown flowers to your bouquets make them EVEN more amazing, and we are happy to point out the locally grown flowers we are using next time you’re in the shop!
Thanks, as always, for your support in our efforts.
—Trudi
