Happy Mardi Gras, my darling lions!
Have you entered our contest yet? The deadline is looming, and we want to make your event undeniably, unbelievably you!
Springtime needs to hurry its sunny butt up and get here already, in my humble opinion. I miss seeing my flowers blooming and my mountains flourishing bright green!
I had some really great responses to the “pick-the-lionesses-brain” challenge about flowers in general!
Kal, who happens to be a fabulous friend, fellow musician, and all around awesome person, asked a very important question:
Hi!
Ok, so I think floral arrangements are beautiful (particularly yours!). However, I always have a guilty complex about cutting plants like flowers – I blame my Girl Scout years. So I would like to pick your brain about how one might go about using flowers and the like in some sort of recyclable way. Maybe get some ideas about how a good portion of the decor could be either re-purposed or perhaps even re-planted.
Thanks!
Kalistoga darling, that’s an awesome question. Being eco-conscious is something near and dear to my heart. Not only did I major in horticulture in college, but I’m a fellow Girl Scout alumnae (Camp Pisgah Forever, baby!) and lover of the outdoors. Sometimes it can seem like floral designs are beautiful for a time and then get tossed in the trash. Oh no, dear lions, I don’t let that happen on my watch!
Here are five easy tips for choosing your flowers wisely with the environment in mind!
1- Use potted plants for décor instead of cut arrangements.
This is one of the easiest ways to reduce your environmental impact, and one of the prettiest centerpiece ideas ever. Go to your local (and I do mean local…contact your local extension agent for ornamental plants!) nursery grower and select an array of beautiful, seasonal plants to use as your centerpieces and décor around the event.
These can range from pops of springy, retro color with gerbera daisies, to unusual Asian-inspired grasses like equisetum, to fun and funky bromeliads! Not only is this cost effective, but you can give the plants away as favors, replant them at your own home, or donate them to a local care facility for the patients!
2- Choose locally grown products.
Yet again, your local extension agent is going to come in handy for this one. There are countless nurseries out there that produce cut flowers as well as plants. If you choose locally grown products, you cut down on fuel costs for shipping and you also stimulate the local economy. Also, check local farmer’s markets and small-scale grocery stores. We have one (called Greenlife) that features locally grown flowers in their floral section.
3- Contact a local long-term care facility to ask about donating flowers.
Imagine the smile on someone’s face who doesn’t get to see family very often getting a beautiful little bouquet of flowers from your event. That, to me, is one of the best ways you can repurpose the flowers. There are organizations that can do this for you in some large cities, but all it involves is contacting the facility, asking if you can donate the flowers, and dropping them off to brighten someone’s day.
4- Flowers are compostable!
Yep, those little beauties can rejoin the life cycle as compost. Add the cut flowers (without ribbon and such) to your compost heap and turn as you normally do. After a few months, you’ll be able to use that compost to fertilize your own flower beds. That’s sustainable, ladies and gents.
5- Remember the 3 R’s?
As a child of the late 80’s/early 90’s, I remember reduce-reuse-recycle being beaten into my little permed-and-side-ponytailed head. (Captain Planet, anyone?) I challenge you to use the 3 R’s of eco-conscious flower choices:
Reduce the amount of shipped in product, un-biodegradable materials, and cut materials;
Reuse the flowers either as gifts or at another event;
Recycle the containers and compost the cut materials.
So, dear lions, here’s my challenge to you: think green in more than just your color scheme. You can make the world a better place even through your floral choices.
As always, pushing the envelope with you,
Amanda
floral + ambiance lioness
got more questions? e-mail me at amanda@dandylionevents.com
many thanks to all contestants who entered and to the friends, family members + total strangers who voted for our dandycouples.
