eco-friendly floral design

flower sourcing

We like to keep it green around here. So what does that mean? We use tons of locally grown flowers every year. There are quite a few professional flower farms in Wisconsin and northern Illinois. Some are smaller than an acre and some are 10 acres or more. Some are certified organic and some grow with sustainability in mind, using conventional methods on a limited basis. On any given week I might buy flowers from 2-10 different farms to fulfill my orders. We will supplement these lovely Wisconsin grown products with flowers and foliage from other parts of the country, usually the west coast or Florida. Sometimes Canada. Most of the flowers sold in this country come from overseas and the vast majority are from South America (even in the summer!!). Why is this a problem? Aside from the carbon footprint associated with the shipping (yeah, I know California is far away too) there are some serious environmental and human rights issues with many of the flower farms in that part of the world. They're not all bad but I would rather support US farmers and the local economy.

supplies we use

We try our darnedest to use products that are better for the environment. Anything from glass vases made in Ohio to natural silk ribbon that is hand-dyed in Washington. But most of those fancier containers are made over seas so we reuse them as many times as possible. It saves you money and it keeps stuff out of the landfill. One thing that we will never-ever use is that green flower foam. That stuff is not biodegradable and it contains formaldehyde. Gross!

compost

Compost. We compost all of our floral scraps and waste. You would be surprised by how much garbage a flower shop can generate. We throw it all in the compost. If we clean up your event at the end of the night, we will carefully sort through and make sure we compost what we can. It takes a little longer but I sleep better at night.