or Why bother with buying local flowers?

Such a good question! After all, you can pick up flowers nearly anywhere–at the local Wally World, from florist shops in every town, heck! even at grocery stories and gas stations!

Here’s something you may want to consider:

Though flower farming is the fastest-growing form of agriculture in the U.S., and there are new flower farmers putting out their shingles every year, still 90% of all cut flowers sold in the U.S. and Canada come from just three places: Colombia (70 percent), Ecuador (10 percent) and California (10 percent.)

When you buy flowers from your local flower farmers, you are not only buying the freshest flowers you can get, and more varieties than you’d ever find at the florist or the grocery store, most importantly you are supporting a small, local business. That farmer can then opt to support other local businesses.

You are also supporting the notion that small businesses should survive, grow, and thrive. In a day and age where gigantic businesses are gobbling up all the little mom and pop businesses, you are taking a decisive step to say that small businesses are worth supporting. Every small business owner would thank you for this!

Local flowers are a delight that you don’t even know you’re missing, because when you buy flowers locally, you’ll learn about flowers that you have never seen before! Your local flower farmers can grow blooms (like dahlias, sweet peas, nigella, ranunculus) that are too delicate to ship. And a bonus: Here at Old Depot Flower Farm, we personally grow our flowers without using synthetic sprays or powders, so you can keep them on your kitchen counter or table without worrying about harmful chemical residue.

Since we cut the flowers within 24 hours of making your bouquets, local blooms should also last longer than bouquets made up of imported flowers, which have been in a shipping box for a few days before they even make it to the florist shop or grocery store!

So the next time you want to buy flowers, consider reaching out to your local flower farmers. They will love you for it, and you will be delighted by what you find available there!