Instead of hiring a florist for her October wedding, Emily Day decided to grow her own flowers in her front yard in Calgary, Canada — a creative challenge that turned into a lesson on the hidden climate costs of the global flower industry. She said her homegrown arrangements were just as beautiful as store-bought ones and cost a fraction of the price.
Day and her fiance built garden boxes out of wooden shipping containers in March and filled them with blooms like yarrow, feverfew, strawflowers and statice. They harvested and dried them in midsummer ahead of fall frosts. On her wedding day, her bouquets featured autumn shades accented by blue echinops from a local farmer and tansy she foraged from roadside ditches.
Because her flowers were dried, they’ll last far longer than a typical wedding arrangement. In total, she spent about 1,300 Canadian dollars ($925), a fraction of what many couples pay florists. Day said growing her own flowers made her think more about the environmental costs behind imported blooms — from the plastic packaging they arrive in, to the fuel used to fly them across continents.
As Generation Z and millennials incorporate sustainability into weddings and other special events, some are growing their own bouquets, picking wildflowers or using potted plants. Businesses are sourcing their flowers locally and collecting and repurposing flowers when the event’s done.
Carbon emissions from importing fresh flowers
The path many imported fresh flowers take to North America often begins in South America and involves a supply chain full of carbon emissions, said Kai Chan, professor of sustainability science at the University of British Columbia.
Flowers perish quickly when they are cut, so they are refrigerated and transported on planes, both of which require energy and release planet-warming gases. Growing massive fields of roses, or any other single plant, typically requires clearing trees and other natural vegetation. This practice, known as monoculture, harms the environment by depleting soil nutrients and making the area more vulnerable to pests.
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