Organic Floristry? Thread

In other industries "green" is taking off - green bags, green friendly business, green fuel, green water, green this and that..... People are becoming more aware of our footprint in this world, and of the damaging habits we have learnt from our (perhaps ignorant) forefathers, and are only just now making changes....

I began researching about organic floristry a few months ago, after a conversation with someone about a butcher who, unawares, was absorbing hormones and chemicals through his hands when handling the meat in his shop. He was only made aware of this fact after many years and the fatty deposits where visibly building up in his glands and joints. It's a fairly repulsive thought, mainly because it's a food that is commonly eaten and it's close to home that consumers shouldn't be put at risk by actually eating the chicken, let alone just handling it..... and so it got me thinking... now there is legislation forming about the levels of chemicals and hormones in meat and some foods, and a lot of people are choosing to eat organic foods (or have been for years).....But what about us? What about me? What about our industry?

What about the plants I handle every single day?... stripping flowers, bunching, unpacking...in every single thing we do as a florist we are making contact with plant material that has been exposed to some form of fertilizer, pesticide, growth enhancing chemicals etc. So are we being affected?

My research didn't yield much in my Australian searches... (So if there are florist/grower organizations in Australia that are organic already -advertise your great quality of organics, because I couldn't find you!)

However, there was plenty of information about farmers and field workers being exposed to the chemicals at the application stage suffering from lung damage, chemical burns, infant methemoglobinemia, elevated risks of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, acute and chronic neurotoxicity, hematopoietic cancers, Immunologic abnormalities and adverse reproductive and developmental effects.

How much of this residue is left on the flowers when it gets to us handling them? (this is not a rhetorical question- I actually would love to know if there's info out there somewhere!)

Americans seem to have a reasonable grasp of the organic floristry idea, and they have several leading "pioneers" in the industry who are campaigning for organic floristry. Not only are they finding it a good marketing pitch (all of a sudden being wholesome and ‘back to nature' is selling), but their customers, staff, suppliers, growers and field workers seems to have only positive things to say about non-chemical flowers. It makes sense to me - "green flowers"

So - who out there knows of a wholly organic cut flower grower? Will this be something we wished we'd changed long ago? Should I wear gloves all day?

I'm only dipping my toe into the water with this one - I hope that there are people out there more informed than me who might know about this... or did I waste my precious Christmas break swinging in the hammock worrying about pesticide poisoning for naught...am I safe!?

I'd love to hear from anyone, against or for, or as curious and blind about organic floristry as I am!

Edited by: bella

thanks for your reply lou-lou, its a bigger issue than I thought, I think! the land, the farmers, us, customers.... if we could all absorb the cost of changing to orgaincs (initailly) then i'd say it would be a profitable and healthy way of leading our industry.

Your dad or family might know of any organic growers out there in australia too if the've seen the farming industry for years...i'm amazed i couldnt find any already.

I too occasionally get rashes or reactions for flowers- but normally its a quality of the plant itself (like you said, furry kanga paw or the juicy stems of bulbs sometimes get me) but the small trace amounts of chemicals absorbed by my skin daily must go somewhere...?

Well, i'll keep posting if I find out anything more of interest

I know of a teacher of mine and a grower who have been affected and have been very ill due to the chemicals that are applied to flowers.  Cut flowers do not have a withholding period after spraying, like fruit and vegetables do.  The itch we get from imported roses is from the 'round up' that they spray on they before they get packed up and shipped.  I also worked in the garden & nursery industry for several years and one particular type of pesticide chemical does not breakdown in the body - it attaches to the fat cells in our body and there is stays.  this is the chemical that made the grower sick , i cannot think of its name at the moment, after he was well enough to get back to work he went totally organic fertilizers and pesticides and he was amazed at the result -  frogs and ladybeetles returning to his farm. Natural predators.  

Also all flowers that come into australia from overseas, are fumigated, these flowers only have to sit until the gases in the chamber disperse and then they are brought to the wholesalers, when i worked in a wholesalers and so did my husband - he had to pick up flowers from the airport that had just come out of the fumigation and he was not well when he got back from the airport and he said he was feeling dizzy and disorientated on the road while driving the truck. 

I have tried gloves - but cannot work with them on. 

another thing we can do is use eco friendly wrap - bio degradable wrap that breaks down in 12 - 24 months.  Available now in Australia.

When I remember the name of the chemical - I'll let you know.

Edited by: Lily01

when i said that flowers do not have a withholding period, I meant that for example - fruit and veges cannot be picked for consumation for up to 5 days after being sprayed with chemicals, flowers can be sprayed one day and picked and sent the next day.  I still haven't remembered the chemical I will have to phone a friend.  the grower at the time grew Chrysanthemums for florists, not sure if he is still growing - i went to college with his daughter.
the Biodegradable wrap was supplied by Temples - now Apack, i was going to get some but I want to clear out all my old wrap first.

Getting back to the pesticide verses organic side of things for a minute, I know many years ago (and it depends where you are situated) we used to get quite a few 'gardeners' call into the shop and sell what they were growing in their home gardens. All their produce was organic and they seemed to be happy with making a bit of pocket money from the garden. We had an older gentleman that had a passion for cymbids and to this day haven't seen spikes like the ones he lovingly grew, we had dahlias brought in when they were in season, gardenias, water lilies, roses etc. All these were strictly seasonal, were not supplied in large quantities, were up to quality standards (or we just didn't buy from them again) and grown with passion, not with huge dollars signs in mind. You will find most passionate 'home gardeners' don't want to use herbicides/pesticides anyway. Does anyone ever purchase Grass Roots or Earth Garden magazines because they may well have contacts or put you in contact with organic growers.
P.s Dad says they never sprayed or used pesticides. There flowers were more the old fashion bunchy type things, which may have been more hardier than the specimen type flowers we prefer today. They grew - Gladioli, Hay rakes ( a very old bulb, originating in Sth Africa), Victoria’s, Chrysanthemums, Violets, Dahlias, Jonquils and Daffodils (including a huge white bloom called Grand Monarch), Snapdragons, Stock, Carnations, Poppies, Lupins, Wallflowers, Sweet peas, Zinnias, Cosmos, Ranunculus, Easter daisy, Watsonias, larkspur, Marigolds, Asters and an old fashioned flower called Mignonette.

Alex, Congratulations on your thoughts. You are "no baby" as you put it, if you base your floristry on your emotional values and thoughts that you have described. You are well on the way to fulfilling the motto of our EFlowersAlive ie Service the Emotion, Supply the Flowers, Satisfy the Soul. Florists are very special and unique people in creating "friendships" with your customers. At your age, my advice is "steady as you go" and let the flowers do their work for you. I will write a article shortly in FlowerGoss on a scientific study on the Power of the Flower which will explain "steady as you go".
A thought to ponder, Where would LIFE be today, if their were no flowers?   Its WISE with EFlowersAlive.................best wishes with your friends wedding  cheers  Ron

I agree great to see people thinking of the future of the idustry but for all of our futures!

New York City’s First Organic FloristPosted on February 21st, 2008 by Kori Ellis in Wedding Flowers 2 Comments Everybody’s going green! I’m surprised there wasn’t already an organic florist open in NYC, but last month Gardenia Organic became the first. Gardenia Organic LLC is the first environmentally and socially conscious florist in New York.

Gardenia Organic sells individual flowers, pre-made hand tied bouquets and custom floral arrangements made only with flowers that have been produced using environmentally and socially responsible practices. All of their flowers are either USDA Organic or VeriFlora certified, whether they are grown in the US or overseas. VeriFlora is a certification program that ensures flowers have been grown using sustainable farming methods and fair labor practices.

Hannah Ling, the store’s owner, is making it her mission not only to highlight the issues within the floral industry, but also to prove that ‘green’ does not necessarily have to be more expensive.

“As consumers, we shouldn’t have to pay more to make conscious choices when making a purchase. Being environmentally and socially responsible needs to be a way of a life or it’s just not sustainable. Choosing to buy green should not be inconvenient or more expensive”, says Hannah. She also points out that organic flowers smell better and last longer.

Few people are aware that conventionally grown flowers are laden with unseen dangers. Eighty percent (80%) of the flowers sold in the US are imported from South America, where they use over 25 pesticides that have been outlawed in the US due to their carcinogenic nature. Coupled with child labor and poor working conditions for the farmers, there’s good reason to start buying organic and VeriFlora flowers.

And that’s not the only way this florist is doing her bit for the environment. The vases are made from recycled glass, the tissue paper and shopping bags are recycled and she even composts all flower waste. Ultra eco-friendly rickshaw bikes deliver flowers to anywhere in Manhattan.

Gardenia Organic also sells Fair Trade and/or environmentally friendly gifts and greeting cards for all occasions such as bamboo salad bowls, organic cotton baby clothes, hemp dog toys, candles, jewelry, body lotions and books.

Hannah moved to the US from England nine years ago. She comments that “You can buy fair trade all over London so I was surprised that so few people in New York even know what it means.”

To learn more about the organic flower concept, visit their website at gardeniaorganic.com. Gardenia Organic is located at 526 Hudson Street and can be reached at (646) 688-5753.

Google is great!

Thanks for the interest in organic roses - as far as I know we are the only company in Australia who are registered to grow organic roses. We have a wide variety of colours and styles.

We are a small rose grower - Norwood Park Roses - south of Perth. We have over 1,000 plants in production - probably going to upwards of 5,000 if the demand is there - specialising in the florabunda and hybrid teas. We only use roses which have a high degree of perfume. I have found a few problems in regard to growing roses organically - namely spring beetle - the love both leaves and buds and migrate in mass - leaf cutters - although they dont do that much harm. To rectify this we will probably have to net the roses as no chemicals are used. We had lots of mildew and blackspot which was brought in on the original plants. We have now got our own rootstock and intend to propagate ourselves. A regular spray of sulphur when they were in quarantine got control of that problem. We also found that none of the recommended fertilisers are able to be used - not organically registered - so it has been trial and error. Eventually the property will be biodynamic as the entire property is headed that way. We have other crops but they are vegetable production. Our distribution is via word of mouth at the present time as not sure where the roses will take us. We do a delivery into Perth once a week for both our roses and vegetables.In time we will have a internet site up and running but in the meantime it is word of mouth.

Wow that is fantastic Mike, Well Done. If you get the chance why don't you try and upload some of the images. If you are having trouble just ask in a forum.

What a brilliant topic!

I know that it is important to compost/recycle our green waste as florists. However, given the number of sprays and dips coating the regular flowers you get at the markets, there is NO WAY I'm putting that material in my compost heap (to eventually wind up on my vegie patch)! On the other hand, if I had bought organic flowers, I'd be happy to put the clippings in my compost heap and let them work their magic.

I have a little dream of one day buying some land on the Sunshine Coast and growing organic flowers. sigh. one day.

Cheers,
Anna.

PS: My 3 yo just called out "Mummy, there's a florist on Sesame Street. F is for Florist, mummy!" How cute.