Today's blog comes straight from the floral industry. Brides and grooms, gardeners, vendors, florists and conscientious consumers, this is for YOU.
Debra Prinzing, award winning author, speaker and founder of slowflowers.com.
The Slow Flowers Movement was born when flower consumers started questioning the origin of their flowers. Debra Prinzing is the founder - and heart - behind the Slow Flowers Movement which supports the idea of using local, American-grown flowers. She gave the Slow Flowers concept life with the creation of an online directory of florists and flower growers who support the cause: slowflowers.com. Prinzing initiated American Flowers Week to create awareness about Slow Flowers and bring to light the many reasons why flower consumers should buy local.
The Slow Flowers path was paved by the Slow Food movement. Somewhere along the way America went from a nation relying on local crops as a main food source for it's people to importing the same foods from areas of cheap labor and lesser health standards. Flowers also joined that list and America currently imports billions of dollars of international flowers each year. The undertow of the Slow Flowers Movement is really about making a conscious choice about one's purchases. Flowers are a necessity for many events and choosing to support locally allows one to know and better appreciate the origin of their products, support the small business owners in their area and better honor the season and region where they live with flowers that are local and timely.
Prinzing is the proactive and dedicated voice that has brought to light this conspicuous but previously unspoken subject. Prinzing has a degree in design and a long history of gardening. For many years she has worked as a journalist, writing articles and speaking about gardening, architecture and floral design. With the birth of Slow Flowers and slowflowers.com, Prinzing was able to combine all of her vast experiences to not only start a revolution of flower consciousness but also find her niche. Some of Prinzing's accomplishments are as contributing writer and editor of Country Garden's Magazine, recipient of the first annual Grower's Choice Award and author of ten books. For more information on Prinzing, please see her 'About' page. Prinzing also does a weekly Podcast 'SLOW FLOWERS with Debra Prinzing' which is very informative. For more information, click HERE.
This year, June 28-July 4th, will be the 3rd annual American Flowers Week; a celebration of the Slow Flowers Movement. These dates are appropriate because as we celebrate the freedom of our country, we celebrate the return of home grown flowers and support for local businesses. Modeled after England's British Flowers Week, American Flowers Week was designed to bring awareness to any and all flower consumers.
The concept of Slow Flowers, although fairly new, is spreading at a rate that is anything but a reflection of it's name. Seed companies, flower growers, florists, wedding couples and even super markets are getting on board and making a mindful choice to keep the flower market local. Prinzing's passion and dedication to the Slow Flowers Movement is monumental in bringing change to the flower industry. Her yearning for mindfulness, and dedication to informing consumers, will ensure that the popularity of American-grown flowers will continue to rise. Events like American Flowers Week are also critical to educating consumers and raising excitement regarding the Slow Flowers Movement. Slow Flowers has already created a huge impact on the flower industry over the past few years. As consumers become more aware, the momentum of this movement will undoubtedly and thankfully be unstoppable - a guiding light for all other Slow Movements to come.
Special thanks to Debra Prinzing for granting me an interview and for being so excited and passionate about such a worthy subject.
Resources
http://multinationales.org/Where-do-our-flowers-come-from
http://www.debraprinzing.com/
http://slowflowers.com/
XOXO,
Sarah
Like what you see? To see more please like Sarah Gonia Photography's Facebook page, follow us on Instagram and check out our Pinterest page!
Contact me today and lets document all those little moments that make life beautiful