Surveys show that more than half of consumers try to spend with brands that take a stand on social or environmental issues. And while it’s become increasingly common for the average person to be curious about the production of their food or clothing, flowers aren’t often consumed with the same level of discernment.

But, as the old saying goes: A flower cut in a field with no end consumer around to see it does, in fact, make the climate crisis worse. The U.S. is the world’s largest consumer of cut flowers, and in 2018 alone, our nation’s flower imports from Colombia—one of the world’s largest flower exporters—for Valentine’s Day resulted in 360,000 metric tonnes of CO2. And because flowers aren’t beholden to the same pesticide regulations as, say, food, they are often doused in dangerous chemicals which laborers and local bodies of water (including drinking water) are exposed to.

The good news is, there is a better way to get beautiful florals—buying local.

As spring ushers in warmer weather, Richmond can look forward to the start of the flower season and the fifth year of River City Flower Exchange, the grower-owned cooperative that opens for the season on March 15. There, shoppers can get to know the beauty of an ethical bloom (they also offer a full schedule of workshops from home gardening and herbalism to floral design and farm tours, accessible via their website).

Here, flower farmers, educators, and florists from River City Flower Exchange, Hazel Witch Farm, Old Time Feeling, Secret Flowers, and Warm Flowers discuss how you can be a more responsible flower connoisseur, what flora to look out for, and what goes into a beautiful arrangement:

Flowers to watch

Among countless blooms, members of our local flower community are looking forward to ranunculus (the spring’s answer to a rose), heirloom narcissus (otherwise known as fancy daffodils), anemones, and tissuey Icelandic poppies, followed by the flowering branches of cherry and crabapple trees.

Further into spring come tulips, and beyond that, look out for plant life like dahlias, cosmos, bearded irises, sweet william, agrostemma, larkspur, and the particularly fragrant stock.

If you’re interested in plants that are native to Virginia, look for the vibrant, alien beauty of purple passion flowers later in the year and goldenrod flowers in the fall. There’s also the Sweetbay Magnolia and Joe-Pye, “this towering, seven-foot-tall swamp plant that makes beautiful fluffy lilac inflorescences,” says Ash Hobson Carr, the farmer behind Hazel Witch Farm, a Mechanicsville farm focused on specialty cut flowers, medicinal herbs and seeds and one of many farms offering workshops through River City Flower Exchange. “Mountain mint is a favorite native foliage, and the pollinators just go bonkers for it.”

How to buy ethically

It’s dramatically easier to buy ethically and sustainably when you buy local. With direct access to the folks who grew your flowers, you can get a first-hand account of how the seed, resulting flowers, land, and people involved were treated throughout the process—and you’re getting a much fresher product.

“Our flowers are in the field 24 hours before they’re at your house, and you can stick your face in them without worrying about what pesticides were used and if any workers were harmed along the way,” says Amanda Montgomery, owner of the flower farm Hummingbird Flower Co. and co-founder of River City Flower Exchange. “Locally grown gives you a very direct line of communication and you can find out immediately how we grow things, what we use or don’t use, and what our values are.” You also have the opportunity to find out how the business you’re supporting handles waste—in the case of River City Flower Exchange, leftover stems, leaves, and paper are composted, and leftover bunches are either dried or donated to the Reinhart Guest House.

If grocery store flowers are most accessible to you, there are still ways to make sure you’re purchasing smart.

“Everyone deserves beauty and luxury in their lives, so if what’s at a grocery store is what works best, the first things folks can do is look on the back of the flowers—there’s a law that says that there needs to be something indicating where they’re from,” Carr says. “Look for ‘grown in the US’ or even just ‘assembled in the US.’ As a first step, American-grown is going to ensure a higher standard of work safety and consideration for folks that are growing the flowers and folks who live downstream from where those flowers are grown.”

And there is, of course, getting your flowers for free—that is, by honest foraging, as opposed to robbing a local backyard. If you’re interested in foraging, make sure to educate yourself thoroughly before cutting, say Meredith Wheeler and Nina Chenoweth of floral design studio Secret Flowers, which recently opened its first studio space at 207 N. Davis Ave. The co-founders emphasize that making sure you’re identifying plants correctly, knowing how much is too much to cut, and disposing of different plants correctly, are all key steps to making sure your foraging isn’t damaging the local ecosystem.

The cost of flowers

You’ve probably noticed that bouquets at your local Kroger are less pricey than what you find at a farmer’s market, and by now, you can probably guess why.

“Fast florals are as bad as fast fashion, and there are all the usual suspects to blame,” says Kelsey Sykes, who serves as a florist, garden designer, consultant, educator and more as the head of Old Time Feeling.

Supermarket flowers were likely processed by underpaid workers and purchased in bulk, which means the buyer (in this scenario, a massive company that already makes a ton of money) can sell them at a lower price. On the other hand, your local flower farmer isn’t buying in bulk, and the cost of production further increases based on their willingness to invest in the health of their land and employees.

“Every small flower farmer I know takes their impact on the land that they’re on seriously,” Montgomery explains. “And a lot of local farms want to pay people fairly for their work. The seeds, the time, the labor, the amendments, that stuff all costs money—but in the end, what you get is a really superior product.”

And if you’re buying from a florist, expect prices to also reflect the time and effort the floral designer has put in.

“When you buy your flowers from a florist, [you’re also paying for] this huge bank of knowledge they have about things like how to rehydrate certain flowers, how to extend the vase life of others, how to force flowers open in time for an event—and that’s all before they even get to the art of actual design and arranging,” Carr says.

Lasting power

To make sure your flowers last, first resist the urge to go for full blooms and instead look for tight, firm buds—these buds will open up in your home, meaning you get to enjoy them longer.

Another tip? “After you get your flowers, they do not need any more sunlight,” says Sare Harvell, floral designer of Warm Flowers. “Cut flowers do best out of direct sunlight and in cool temperatures.” Local experts also recommended making sure both the water and the vase you’re putting your flowers in are clean and free of any debris, like leaves. You should also change the water daily or every other day. “My rule of thumb is to make sure you’d feel safe consuming the water in the vase yourself,” Harvell continued.

You can also trim the ends of your flowers daily (at a diagonal, which will help them drink up more water), but before you put them back in the vase, make sure you’ve asked your grower for care tips. Different flowers can have their own little eccentricities—for example, poppies need to have their stems cauterized after being cut in order to last, and daffodils ooze a clear sap that is dangerous for other flowers, so they need to rest for a bit in their own cup of water before being put in with other blooms.

Styling your arrangement

If you want the basic building blocks of an arrangement with depth and character, both Montgomery and Carr recommend choosing a focal flower—a flower with a larger face, like a rose, ranunculus or dahlia—alongside something with spikes or elongated lines that will “lead the eye in an interesting direction,” says Carr. These flowers can then be supported by “a sturdy foliage like a eucalyptus and a floaty flower or greenery like honeysuckle vine,” which can provide dimension and movement, Montgomery adds.

In addition to shape, you can also ground an arrangement in a particular color palette, from complimentary colors to a variety of colors within the same tone, and embrace negative space.

“Jillian [McFadyen] of The Lillie House (Sykes’ former boss and current friend and mentor) once said that, ‘air is an important ingredient in every arrangement.’ I couldn’t agree more!” says Sykes, who flora enthusiasts can meet next at her plant sale at Old Tavern Farm on April 29. “My first floral boss taught me to let the material move the way they want to naturally.”

Harvell, whose arrangements will be available at Pizza Bones’ spring market on April 30, also lets the natural state of plants guide her floral design. “I always say that nature is a patient sculptor.”

Pulling from Chenoweth and Wheeler’s process, you can choose to make arranging a collaborative project. “Each of us guides the direction of an arrangement until it becomes its own,” Wheeler says. “It’s [on opportunity] to let your personality shine through.”

Overall, the most important aspect of working with ephemeral beauty is to enjoy it while it lasts. “Beauty is super subjective,” says Harvell. “Just go with what appeals to you in terms of color and shape—flowers are going to end up pretty no matter what.”