Why Local Flowers?
In the excerpt below, farmer Kailli explains why local flowers are important to her.
With a background as a botanist, plants and flowers have fascinated me for a long time; however, until recently I had no interest in the floral industry. Why? Because I had only ever been exposed to one side of the story, the one where flowers are imported from across the globe primarily from South America where workers are exposed to poor labour conditions. These flowers are often treated with large volumes of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and herbcides (find out more here and here). I was also always quite amazed at the copious amounts of packaging and floral foam used by florists. When we started our farm, our plan for the first few years was to use the land to grow plants that could be consumed and eaten. Our farm mentor (an experienced grower from up island) suggested that we try growing flowers and showed us another side of flower growing. We learned that flowers could be grown using organic growing practices to create a diverse landscape of species welcoming pollinators and focusing on building soil biology to create strong and healthy plants.
In purchasing our flowers, you’ll be receiving a local product that has been freshly harvested often resulting in a longer vase life than imported flowers. You are also supporting flowers grown without dangerous chemicals, which is better for the environment and the people who handle the flowers.
We always try to remember that our farm is not perfect and we must strive to continually research and to stay up date on ways to make our business more sustainable over time. It turned out that growing flowers was the perfect fit for us and I am amazed at both the emotional and creative response I’ve had to flowers. They’ve brought me more joy than I could have imagined.
-Kailli
Design Style
Our design style is constantly expanding, changing and growing just as the flowers in our gardens do. We focus on the seasons, working with each of the different flowers that bloom over the course of the growing season. Arranging flowers takes us away from the daily hustle and bustle of the farm and gives us the opportunity to appreciate the beauty of the garden in a creative way. We are particularly interested in creating unique textural elements and have a lot of fun with the use of airy bits to create a look inspired by nature. Each design is hand-crafted with love, care and attention to the little details. At the end of a design, we like to add final touches such as poppy pods, sprigs of grass, vines or whatever fits best with the overall arrangement.