Flowers.  They are beautiful, natural and bring joy.  What could possibly be wrong with picking up flowers to brighten your home?

 

Around 85% of cut flowers bought in the UK are grown overseas, many in Africa and South America.  These farms typically use vast quantities of local water and are sprayed with toxic preservatives to make them last the long journey to the shops.  This has a huge impact on both local farming and populations living and working in the area.  Whilst the flowers may be beautiful, the impact of commercial flower growing can be very ugly.

 

Flowers travel around the world in refrigerated containers accumulating a huge carbon footprint.  Whilst flowers grown closer to home don’t have the same impact in terms of travel, it isn’t just the transport of flowers that adds to the environmental impact.  Flowers grown out of their natural season require additional energy to heat the polytunnels to make up for lack of sunlight.

There are still ways to have fresh blooms in your home that can have a positive impact, both on the environment and the local economy.  We have put together some thoughts on how you can ensure you are buying flowers that are not damaging the planet.

 

  1. Where were your flowers grown?  How far have they travelled to get to you?  It is not a legal requirement to declare where flowers were produced and therefore you may have to ask more questions.
  2. Who benefits from your purchase?  Cheap flowers in supermarkets usually indicate that the farmers are not being fairly rewarded for their work.
  3. Is there a better option?  Whilst supermarket flowers may look pretty affordable, locally grown flowers will last just as long (no pesky travel time wasted), have more scent because they are fresher, will often be more interesting varities as these flowers don’t have to cope with being shipped, be much better for the planet and support a local business.

 

The Local Trove were delighted to find an amazing farm growing seasonal blooms in the heart of the Cotswolds.  Chippy Flower Farm is a no-dig farm growing a stunning array of lovely and unusual flowers in a sustainable and ethical way, allowing our customers access to fresh blooms that are cut and delivered within 24 hours, that are good for the environment and the local economy.