Field to Table Flowers

"Know your food, know your farmers, and know your kitchen"
                                                                                        -Joel Salatin

Do you know where your vegetables came from? Do you know who brewed your beer or made your wine? These days the answer is typically “yes.”  In a world where it often seems we are racing to mediocrity, I am thrilled to watch the “farm to table” and “field to fork” food movements continue to grow.

Field to Fork, with flowers!

According to the USDA, there are currently 8,268 Framers Markets in the United States, up from 3,706 in 2004. People are demanding access to fresh, seasonal and local foods; and retailers, farmers and all sorts of individuals are responding.

Right next to the produce section in the grocery store, and the most colorful booth at the farmers market is the flower section.  The same trend effecting fruits and vegetables is finally coming to flowers. It might surprise you to learn that 80% of the flowers sold in the United States are grown in far flung places like Columbia and Ecuador. The top three biggest sellers; roses, carnations and alstroemeria, are grown almost exclusively in South America.

Fall Flower Bouquets

This trend is changing as flower lovers “think outside the rose box” and explore the vast array of flowers grown domestically.  Just like with your food; once you start to look for flowers grown closer to home, you find a deeply rooted subculture of flower connoisseurs. These folks know where to find sunflowers from a farm stand on the edge of town or lilies from an artisanal greenhouse grower a few exits up the freeway. They know soil grown tulips are better than hydroponic, they know the heirloom varieties, as well as, the flashy new hybrids.

Classic iris and mason jar arrangement

Whether you live in the city or in the country, fresh flowers grown in America are becoming “a thing.” Author Debra Prinzing found that many people want to buy local flowers, but didn’t know where to find the blooms.  So she started a website called, Slow Flowers, which is basically a vast data base of small, regional and national flower farms. Just put in your zip code and learn about a flower farm near you. This is sort of like the secret hand shake to get in the local flower club.

Hold onto summer, with this early fall arrangement.

The movement has been dubbed “field to vase” and one of the most vibrant and beautiful blogs about finding local flowers goes by the same name.  CAUTION: this blog will make you want to quit your day job, and become a flower farmer!

Even though Sun Valley is a pretty big operation, we are proud to be a part of the field to table movement.