“Say it with flowers” goes the saying, and as today is Valentine’s Day, it seems an appropriate subject to mull over.
We spend a lot on flowers. A quick scan of the internet suggests the spending on cut flowers nudges the one billion pound mark, with 86% of those flowers coming from abroad.
A carbon cost
Flowers are often grown in energy intensive hothouses. They are then air-freighted to keep them fresh, increasing their carbon footprint. Once here, they are usually packaged in non-biodegradable plastic. They are then stored in refrigeration units, again costing more carbon.
Flowers grown in the UK may be one step better, but the majority are again grown in giant energy-hungry greenhouses. The cultivation of bulbs such as daffodils can cause massive damage to the soil; lazy cultivation practice often leads to furrows channelling top soil off the fields and into rivers. Chemicals are used to keep flowers pest and disease free.
Because flowers have a short shelf life, many will end their days in a skip. Waste is a big issue with any kind of perishable goods, and flowers are no exception.
I love flowers, but I have to confess that even without the environmental considerations I find shop-bought flowers boring. They often have very little scent and all look the same. I can’t see the point of roses that don’t smell; to me flowers have to offer the full sensory package.
If you wish to have cut flowers, then growing your own can be very pleasurable. It is possible to manage a garden to have flowering blooms all year round. At this time of year we have snowdrops, early narcissi, camellias, winter flowering jasmine, witch hazel, viburnums, daphne, primroses, wallflowers, hyacinths and hellebores. They give pleasure twice; in the garden and in vases, and provide early sustenance for pollinators. I find planting a variety of daffodils, hyacinths, tulips and narcissi in pots works quite well, as the bulbs can stored over summer, and the pots then used for drought tolerant pelargoniums.
Charity shop vases
We put flowers in our holiday accommodation, so sometimes I need to find enough in the garden for twelve vases, twice a week. I have found that having a large variety of charity shop sourced receptacles means that I have flexibility, so if the flowers are mainly small (eg. snowdrops, primroses and pulmonaria) or large (camellias, sprays of viburnum, myrtle) I have vases that fit. Gifting a vase with your flowers offers added value; vases are never hard to find second-hand, and your purchase may benefit a charity too, so a win-win all round.
First published February 14th 2024
