Sustainable Floristry

The floral industry is made up of some of the most lovely and compassionate individuals on the planet. It’s been our experience that most industry professionals and clients have a deep appreciation for nature and the environment. As floral designers it’s innate to understand the seasons, life-cycles, and appreciate the miracles from nature. We understand that our work is often an aesthetically appealing way to memorialize a celebration, a new chapter, a new life, or the end of one.

It’s a simple fact that flowers make people happy. The beauty of flowers can transform a space and set a mood but the hard facts are that this industry can be ugly and very wasteful. It’s difficult to turn a blind-eye once it’s been uncovered.

At California Floral Studio it’s our hope that our clients are as thoughtful, discerning, and care about the planet just as much as we do. We want to take the beautiful gifts that nature created and return the favor. Too often the floral industry takes these gifts and returns poison, pollution, and massive amounts of waste.

If you are left with nothing else after visiting our site, our wish is that your next birthday bouquet or special event flowers are foam free/plastic free. Consumer opinions matter! Please harness that power and request that no floral foam is used when when you place your next order.

We hope that you take a moment to consider that a beautifully curated four-hour event can lead to years of destruction to the environment. Every action makes a huge impact OR a huge difference and we are here to stand up, own it, and do our part. Learn more about what we are doing below.

SLOW FLOWERS

California Floral Studio is fortunate enough to have an extensive cutting garden. In 2019 we created what we like to call our “micro flower farm” and we are expanding our space in 2021. We do not have an organic designation but we can assure you that we use zero pesticides and herbicides in our garden.

While we grow an incredible amount of specialty flowers locally, in the outskirts of Sacramento County, we are realistic about what we can produce and produce well in this climate. Some flowers and foliage do not manage the Valley heat. We utilize other local farms and work with our suppliers to find flowers that are the absolute best for our clients.

Did you know that most flowers travel on commercial airliners halfway around the globe? We believe that locally grown flowers look better, smell more amazing, and last longer. It just makes sense, right?

When a client has their heart set on a specific flower that will need to be imported, we are pleased to do so and have the systems in place to make their dream a reality but we always inform them of the process and at what cost to the environment. We understand that flowers can be an abstract idea and to most they simply and magically appear. By informing and educating our client, we believe we are returning the power back to them by truly allowing them to understand the choices they are making.

FOAM FREE FLORISTRY

In recent years floral foam has become a divisive issue in the floral industry. You may have seen this foam before but many times you do not — this is the green foam that lives under gorgeous flowers.

Floral foam is a single-use plastic that contaminates our waterways, is consumed by invertebrates and marine life, enters the food chain, and is ultimately consumed by humans. To make matters worse, the discarded chunks never biodegrade and will be in our landfills and oceans forever. You may find that there is a new foam product on the market called biofoam, this foam biodegrades at some point (maybe a few decades) but it is riddled with toxic compounds that leach even more chemicals into the earth and waterways.

In addition, floral foam should not be handled without gloves and a mask, as prolonged exposure to the carcinogenic compounds is likely not safe. We grow our flowers organically; why would we want to stick them in poison?

California Floral Studio has never used and never will use floral foam. Period. We have come up with our own processes that yield the same if not better results than using floral foam.

We use kenzans/pin frogs, chicken wire, soaked straw and newspaper, bamboo sticks, and moss to secure our floral designs. These mechanics require a little more care and time during pre- and post-production but being foam free is one of our core beliefs and we do not falter from that cornerstone.

POST PRODUCTION COMPOST & REUSE

What happens to all of the stuff after the party? Not many people think about this part but it is critical to the final and lasting impact that we will have on our natural environment.

Unfortunately, there is only one clear answer for the flowers that have wilted from the candlelight and the gum wrappers that have been discarded in the centerpieces. After pouring the green foam particulates down the drain, in a typical scenario, the florist would toss the whole lot in the dumpster along with a block of foam from each arrangement.

Some clients give the arrangements to guests or donate the flowers to a convalescent hospital, which is very kind but in the end, the foam still ends up down the drain and in the waste bin.

In our no floral foam scenario, we instead remove the flowers and foliage from the chicken wire and kenzans and put them in our compostables bin. The hard goods (vessels, wire, water tubes, and kenzans) are washed, sorted, and stowed for the next event.

Back at the garden we return the flowers and foliage to the land in our compost pile.

Our goal is to remove as much as we can from the wastestream and not to compromise our morals, ethics, and values for convenience.