Canadian Flowers Week began in 2018, as a grassroots effort “to promote that people are growing great flowers in your town,” said Louise Warner, owner of Unicorn Blooms in Peterborough and Canadian Flowers Week board member.
With the increasing consumer demand for knowledge about local goods and processes, the organizers want to start a public conversation about the origins of our flowers like the earlier locavore and ‘slow food’ movements. “We’re catching the tail end of the farm-to-table movement…letting people know there are great local flowers in addition to vegetables,” said Warner.
Consumers are often not aware that many of the cut flowers sold in Canadian stores are grown thousands of miles away in places like Africa, South America, and Central America, often using exploitive labour practices and harmful pesticides.
Canadian Flowers Week is the brainchild of Natasa Kajganic, who also founded the successful monthly Toronto Flower Market. “She wanted to do something across Canada,” said Warner, noting that participation also builds community and alliances for flower growers when they work together to showcase their local blooms.
Some of the events planned by local growers include bouquet giveaways, flower installations in local restaurants and stores, a scavenger hunt cross-promotion with other local businesses, a farm tour, a grower meet-up, a bouquet bar at a local farmers market, and more are in the planning.
In addition to having a smaller eco footprint and supporting the local economy, local flowers are fresher than imports. The Canadian Flowers Week organizers offer these tips to ensure buyers get the maximum enjoyment of their fresh cut local flowers.
1. As soon as you get home with your flowers, trim the stems at a 45-degree angle and place them in a clean vase or container with water. Remove the foliage below the water line.
2. For flowers other than from spring bulbs such as tulips, use lukewarm, not cold, water in the vase. Use flower food and change the water every other day.
3. Place your bouquet in a cool location out of direct sunlight and away from ripening fruit. (Ethylene is a naturally-occurring plant hormone that is released as fruits ripen but shortens the life of fresh cut flowers.)
For event details, go to the Canadian Flowers Week website at: https://www.canadianflowersweek.ca/ which also features a map of local flower growers, markets, and florists who carry Canadian-grown flowers as well as a chart of when local flowers are ‘in-bloom.’
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