3 Reasons to Buy American Grown Flowers
I’m passionate about Alaskan grown flowers. When spring arrives our tiny farm bursts with blooms from May through September. If I need extra flowers for an event, my go-to are other Alaskan flower farmers. I have a few favorites in the Matanuska Valley!
But lets face it: during our cold winter months, it’s just impossible to get locally grown flowers. So we can go without OR we can buy flowers from the next best source: other American farmers.
Here’s 3 reasons why buying American grown is an awesome way to spend your hard earned cash:
1) Lower carbon footprint. Flowers are a perishable item. Once they’re cut, they start dying unless the process is slowed through refrigeration. Buying flowers from closer to home guarantees that less energy was spent getting the flowers to you fresh.
In addition to less time in the fridge, the flowers are less traveled. Less traveled means less fossil fuels to ship them about. As an Alaskan, for half the year we must ship in our flowers! But we can choose whether they come from CA or from South America. The latter being over twice as far.
2) Support American farms. I am not a MAGA American. I do, however, want to support local and keep money in the hands of small family farms and businesses.
Suburban sprawl is a huge threat to our farmland. Buying from other American farmers helps put money into rural hands to keep communities thriving without having to sell out to development.
Help keep farmers on farms. Help keep rural America alive.
At this time only 20% of all flowers sold in the US are American grown. WOW! We have lots of room to grow this market. There’s room for other small farmers to get in on this action. Farm on!
3) Less harmful chemicals. We grow all our flowers without the use of chemicals. We don’t spray. We fertilize only with compost and naturally occurring amendments like bone meal.
I want to be able to toss all the expired flowers I grow straight into the compost without worry of chemical leaching.
Imported flowers have less stringent environmental regulations. This means, questionable chemicals may be gracing your table alongside that gorgeous supermarket bouquet.
While “American grown” does not guarantee a chemical-free bloom, it does guarantee that farmers must follow our environmental guidelines for which chemicals to use. And although I don’t condone chemical use on farms, the chemicals used in other countries can be much worse.
And don’t take it from me: follow these links to learn more about American Grown and the Slow Flower movement.
Tablescape Inspiration for your Holiday Table
Let’s be honest: the holidays are going to look a little different this year.
Most of us are usually looking forward to slowing down, and heading inside with big gatherings of family and friends. Instead I’m hoping this year we’re all going to heed advice from health experts and keep our gatherings small and within our “bubbles”.
Since there’ll be less family and friends, maybe we can instead focus our effort on bringing our creativity to the table.
Leaves, fruit and mini pumpkins make for simple and lovely decoration.
Here are some simple ideas I’ve come up with to bring your table to life.
Hang things. This is a great trick if you’re in a pinch for extra table space. Use clear fishing wire to hang natural items from above: flowers, grasses, pine cones, etc. Just be sure nothing is going to fall on your delicious food. Give it a good shake before hanging to make sure it’s secure!
Mix vintage and modern. Don’t fret if nothing you have in your home “matches”. Use a mix of new and old, vintage and modern. Then use color to bring everything together.
Mix tall and short. Create variety for the viewer by using taller arrangements mixed with low arrangements or simply items artfully set on the table.
Use twigs and sticks. Almost all natural objects look cool and funky when brought inside. Place twigs in a glass vase or arrange them on the table. The best part is they don’t need water. My faves? Spruce and birch. But get creative! Can you find colorful twigs this time of year??
Use bud vases (or my favorite - empty glass spice jars). Your flowers or other gathered items will go way farther if you divide them and place 1-3 stems in a bud vase or jar. You can then artfully arrange items all the way down the table so that each diner has a nice view of something beautiful.
Use fruit. Whole or cut open fruit looks gorgeous and really gets the taste buds primed :) Grapefruit and other citrus, colorful apples, papaya, etc. Play around with what you think might look interesting.
Buy some flowers. Nothing brightens up the home like flowers! This winter we are partnering with other American farmers to bring you a fresh, gorgeous and seasonal bouquet for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. These will be for pre-order only and will go on sale the week of October the 26th. I can’t wait to share these with you!!
For additional ideas and some fun inspiration photos go here!
And lastly, after your holiday celebrations send me a photo of your table: turnstonefarm@gmail.com or tag me on Instagram @turnstonefarm! Can’t wait to see what you create :)
Take apart your flower bouquet and place in bottles! This is a great way to make your flowers go way farther.
Find a fun goblet to arrange your flowers in.