It’s the buzzword of our industry, in fact for many industries; sustainability. It is what we have always strived for and what many of our customers now want and expect. It didn’t always start out that way though. Why we are offering a new workshop: Sustainable & Eco-friendly Floristry
The birth of Blooming Green
In 2007 the idea of Blooming Green was born. Looking at the industry then, Bek and Jen saw mountains of cellophane, exotic flowers flown in from halfway around the globe and floral foam, everywhere. Few people questioned it. Educating the public and fellow florists hasn’t always been easy. They were seen as being a bit ‘hippy’ by refusing to wrap their flowers in plastic or use floral foam. Steadfastly, they have stuck to their sustainability principles. Our flowers are grown without chemicals and have a minimal carbon footprint. We are committed to improving the soil and wildlife of our plots. Our floristry designs are created without single-use plastic and we rarely use reusable plastic. However, our creations never compromise on beauty.
Floral Foam
The biggest ‘nasty’ is floral foam. Floral foam is made of micro-plastics; petroleum-derived compounds and formaldehyde and was created from a by-product of the chemical industry in the 1950s. When disposed of it breaks down into a fine powder either in land fill or is washed into our water system through our drains
Old-fashioned techniques return
In fact, the floristry industry was actually doing just fine without it. Constance Spry, the revolutionary florist, began her work in the 1930s and produced her famous abundant arrangements using chicken wire and metal floral frogs. These are the techniques we are returning to today.The push for sustainable floristry is bigger than ever with thanks to famous florists championing the cause and generously showing how they create their designs, foam-free, showing it is possible. Famously, Philippa Craddock created Harry & Meghan’s wedding flowers, in particular the magnificent, flowered arches within St George’s chapel, completely foam-free, ensuring each stem had access to water. Shane Connolly, another favourite of the royals, is also an advocate of foam-free floristry.
Going plastic-free
If we know the damage caused by using floral foam and other plastics and we know that creating gorgeous designs without them is achievable, why are some florists still reluctant to make the transition? We hear regularly: “I would, but I don’t know how”. That’s why this year we are introducing a brand new 1-day course, Sustainable and Eco-friendly Floristry Workshop aimed at budding and established florists looking to learn new techniques. We have over 10 years of plastic-foam and moss-free floristry behind us, so we speak from experience. Sadly, mainstream floristry courses still teach using floral foam, despite our best efforts! So, in the meantime, we’re happy to share our knowledge and encourage you to ditch the plastic for good.
By Laura Groves