For many local flower lovers, Valentine’s Day can be frustrating. The mountains of generic red roses imported from faraway lands that flood stores this time of year are uninspired and toxic for the planet and the people that harvest them. Meanwhile, early February is a time when most small flower farmers are focusing on getting greenhouses and grow-lights set up for the season ahead. Few have flowers in bloom at this time of year.
But thanks in part to the increased awareness and interest in seasonal blooms, consumers have a number of creative ways to get their flower fix or otherwise show their love of local flowers…even in February.
The Floret Team and I put together a few seasonally-inspired Valentine’s Day gift ideas for the flower lover in your life:
Bouquet Subscriptions
A bouquet subscription is a great way to support local flower farms and shower someone you love with locally-grown blooms all season long. Similar to a community supported agriculture (CSA) share that veggie farmers have used successfully for years, a flower subscription or bouquet CSA involves making an upfront investment in a flower farm’s harvest for the season. As a subscriber, you receive a weekly, biweekly or monthly bouquet from a local flower farm during the growing season. Most bouquet subscriptions are available for pick-up, but some flower farms even offer delivery. Subscription rates and dates vary by region, but most run June through September. To find flower farms or floral designers in your region who specialize in seasonal flowers and offer bouquet subscriptions, be sure to check out Floret’s Farmer-Florist Collective (viewable on a desktop computer) or the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers.
