Mother Nature Sabotages European Weddings!?!

Wow, so lately I have been freaked out by all the curve balls mother nature has been throwing at us. We've had more sizable earthquakes in the past year than I can account for in my lifetime. And our most recent event, a volcano spewing enough ash into the sky disrupting airline flights! I have never witnessed that before. It really got me thinking about our local flower growers.

I found it really surprising how the flower industry was affected by this recent volcanic activity, and how dependent we are on foreign flower exports. About 1/3 of the cut flowers sold in the European Union are grown in Kenya. Under normal circumstances, produce is same day harvested, packed, chilled, and trucked to Nairobi's international airport where it's loaded on passenger flights to Europe. Kenyan produce is typically in shops in Paris or London within 72 hours of being pulled from the fields in Kenya!

At the top of their foreign exchange earner, Kenya freights 1,000 metric tons of roses, carnations, French beans, snap peas, and other produce daily on overnight flights to Europe. Since the volcano eruption, Kenya has destroyed, composted or given away more than 10 million flowers (mostly roses). Jane Ngige, the chief executive of the Kenya Flower Council, estimated that $8 million worth of flowers had been wasted and would have to be composted.

This really got me thinking: Why are we so reliant on foreign grown flowers? Do we need those perfect red roses off season for our wedding? At the cost of our environment? 

Where are your flowers coming from? Ask your florist about what flowers will be in season locally at the time of your wedding. Why not try to incorporate them into your bouquets? And no, I am not predicting that a volcano will pop up and stop flowers from being delivered on your wedding day... But I think that this story shows us how reliant we are on foreign flower supplies. And that we should really try to support our local flower growers. They are our neighbors. We can lessen the environmental cost of freighting, trucking and shipping long distances and reduce the carbon footprint the wedding industry leaves behind. Hey, it can't hurt to ask your florist, right? Every little bit helps. 

information from: the associated press

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P.S. For all of my fellow Bmore gals, the Flower Mart is coming up on May 7 & 8 in Mt. Vernon! There's sure to be some local flower power there! http://www.flowermart.org
AND the Baltimore Farmers Market starts back up May 2nd and will run every Sunday through December. Vendors set up under the JFX at Holliday and Saratoga streets. http://www.bop.org/index.cfm?page=events&id=3