What Do Local Flowers REALLY Mean?

Over the last three and a half years I have met so many incredible people in our area. I have started providing my flowers in wedding and design work and make bouquets not only to sell every week but also for custom orders.

One of the challenges I still face are meeting the wants of customers with what I am able to provide. One thing I have noticed (hence the reason I am writing this blog article) is a request for out of season flowers.

Yep! It is true that flowers have their own preferred season to bloom. That concept has gotten lost along the way over the years because so many blooms are imported from places like Columbia and Ecuador. So anymore it is not uncommon to see an Anemone in August or Sunflowers in May.

Enter your local flower farmer.

He or she is not able to provide all types flowers all season long. Flowers have their own growing preferences. Just like people have their own preferences in music, hair color, favorite season etc. Flowers have their own temperature preferences for growing conditions. Many of us are aware that a peony bush only blooms in the very late spring/early summer here in Central PA, so it is no feasible to provide peonies for a September wedding without having them shipped in from somewhere north of here.

Tulips, Anemones, Ranunculus, Bells of Ireland, Snapdragons, Poppies are just a few of the gorgeous blooms that love and crave the cool weather and are happiest to show their face in the spring.

Zinnias, Celosia, Cosmos & Dahlias on the other hand crave the heat and I can't typically even plant them out until early June for bloom in July, August & September.

Sunflowers are another flower that is oh so popular and I have had several requests for May weddings with Sunflowers. These guys like the long warm days as well and it just is not feasible for me to grow them that early in our zone.

I have ordered flowers in wholesale for a few weddings but again you have no control over your product or what it is going to look like. This drives me to be sure that long term as our farm becomes more established that I am only using blooms from our farm!

Do not despair because this is the ABSOLUTE BEAUTY of local seasonal flowers! You are getting the best and the freshest blooms that are growing that week. Seasonal flowers have movement, they have fragrance and freshness that imported flowers just cannot compete with!

Finally seasonal flowers cannot wait to land on your table in their own time!!