When selecting flowers for your wedding, event, or even just your home, you will likely consider the colour, form, and fragrance of a bloom. Where they were grown might not be the first query that comes to mind. Here are some reasons why we love to buy locally grown flowers and think you too should take into consideration where your flowers have been grown.
Local flowers are fresher
Flowers which are grown locally have a shorter distance to travel to their destination resulting in them being fresher and lasting longer. They are usually picked, packed into buckets of water, and sent off to the flower market for sale the next day.
Whereas flowers which come from others countries have spent many days in transit before they make it to the florist floor. They spend hours upon hours in trucks and planes just to get into Australia! Some spend up to a week in boxes not drinking a drop of water which can result in the flowers looking dehydrated, drooping and only lasting a matter of days.
Local flowers are better for you and better for the environment
With the current trend for organic and eco-friendly, you might be concerned to hear that imported flowers are heavily treated with insecticides, result in huge amounts of waste, and negatively impact the environment. Imported flowers are heavily treated with insecticide before being packaged up for export because one sign of a single insect on arrival to Australia can result in the entire shipment being destroyed or costly fumigation. This leaves a nasty chemical residue on the flowers which may result in skin conditions and other health problems for florists and others who encounter them. Locally grown flowers aren’t subject to such heavy treatment making them a healthier option.
Locally grown blooms are generally plunged into water from the moment they are picked and remain so until they are processed at your local florist. In contrast, imported flowers are boxed for easy transportation resulting in waste such as cardboard, foam, plastic sleeves, plastic tubes, tapes and bands which mostly ends up in landfill.
In comparison to locally grown blooms, internationally imported flowers have a much larger carbon footprint due to the many modes of transport, hours in transit, and fuel consumption required to get them to their destination.
Buying locally supports local farmers
The international import of fresh flowers has almost been brought to a halt due to the current world climate resulting in mostly Australian grown blooms being available at the flower markets. This has meant that florists and buyers of flowers have had no choice but to buy locally grown blooms with international imports not as readily available to them. This has been wonderful for our local flower farmers.
Buying local supports hard working members of our community. It supports their businesses, their livelihood, feeds their families and keeps a roof over their heads. Local flower farmers are also likely to provide you with the very best blooms. Their flowers aren’t jetting off half a world away to a faceless customer. Local flower farmers have built a rapport with your florist. They want to hold tight to their professional relationship by providing them with blooms they are proud of, confident the florist will come back for more time and time again. A grower proud of their product results in a happy florist and a happy customer.
Most florists will be happy to have a conversation with you regarding where their flowers are grown and help you choose locally grown varieties if that is your preference. If where your wedding or event flowers come from is of concern to you, work together with your florist in coming up with a design that includes locally grown or Australian native varieties and know that you will be receiving the freshest blooms possible proudly grown by a local flower farmer.
