Who needs flowers anyway?

What's the deal with flowers?

Valentine's Day means cut flowers are in high demand. We in Germany are such big flower fans that a good 80% of the cut flowers sold here have to be imported, simply because our demand is too big. Even though flowers might seem totally natural and green, they actually have a poor environmental footprint.
That comes down to a number of factors. Valentine's Day is, as we know, in February, still a pretty cold month in Germany. You won't find the typical bouquet flowers growing outdoors yet at that point. That means the flowers are either imported to Germany via long transport routes (roses, for example, often from Kenya). So a lot of flowers are flown in especially for the big day (and for the rest of the year, too). If they don't come from far away, but it's actually still too cold for the colourful bouquets, they're probably grown with a lot of energy input in heated greenhouses. That drags the environmental footprint right down.

Besides seasonality, you should also pay attention to how the flowers were grown and harvested. Organic and Fairtrade are important labels here. With conventional growing, there's a heavy use of pesticides and consumption of water. Not cool for the planet, and absolutely not cool for workers and local residents. A rose from Kenya uses, for example, an average of 4 litres of water before it's harvested. A resource that's especially precious right there. You should keep your eyes open for Fairtrade labels, since in this industry wages & safety usually fall short, while extreme working hours and even child labour are nothing unusual.

How to buy flowers better?

• Maybe the person would also enjoy growing the flowers themselves. This year, why not give a couple of seedbombs instead, for a lovely colourful bee meadow, for the garden or balcony. Your loved ones can then enjoy them for much longer.
• If it absolutely has to be flowers, make sure they're Fairtrade and come from organic growing.
• Support your locals and try to buy flowers from your region.
• Stick to a seasonal bouquet. If you're not quite sure what's in season in February, take a look at our wildflower calendar.
• They're guaranteed to be seasonal if you simply pick a bouquet yourself.