Local & British Flower Consumption

In 2019 in the UK £885million stems were sold, with retail value of around £2billiion. 14% of these were British.

My last post in my ‘eco’ series and I want to end with consumption because I think that it’s where the biggest impact can be made.

When I have asked why florists don’t use more British or local flowers, it is always availability that is the answer. This is partly because the major wholesalers buy from the dutch auctions, where they literally have everything the world can offer, but also because our British flower growing capacity has shrunk whilst demand has soured. My 90 year old neighbour has told me her uncle used to grow cut flowers on our allotment, to sell locally and at the market. A local nursery used to sell carnations in town.

In this photo: Cornish daffs and alstroemerias, Cumbrian foliage, tulips from Lincolnshire.

Consumerism used to be smaller and local. There are still clusters of large growers in Lincolnshire and Cornwall, a few in the north west and Scotland. And there is a growing number of much smaller growers rekindling the market gardens of yesteryear. Flowers From The Farm is a network of some of these, now nearing 1000 members. But florists still can’t get their hands on enough.

I hope we see British flower farming grow to meet this demand and provide an alternative, but really we need to shift to a ‘less is more’ aesthetic if we’re going to make floristry sustainable. We need to reduce the number of stems used. There is nothing environmentally friendly about corporate events and weddings that use a huge quantity of flowers to beautify a room for a matter of hours.

It may seem perverse for a flower grower to be arguing for people to buy less flowers! I’m sure it’s contentious. But one of the amazing results of the lockdown is the number of people looking to support local businesses, making a difference with what and how they buy. So I see consumers making decisions that will make a difference. We need more consumerism like this, mindful consumption, that questions the marketing and supports local. In my humble opinion, it is the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle mindset that is absolutely the way forward.