Flowers, Flowers, and More Flowers!!!!!

By Colie Collen

If you’re reading this, you may already know something about the local flower movement.

You may have seen the concept grow, from “Slow Food” to “Slow Flowers;” you may have bought or admired a bouquet at a farmers’ market or the co-op; you might even know that 75% of the flowers sold in the United States are imported, grown in Colombia, Ecuador, Kenya, and other countries, and shipped via air and refrigerated truck across the country, sometimes held up in customs, and often wasted due to freezing temperatures and wilted stems.

and interesting—there are so many incredible varieties that just can’t withstand shipping—and that they have more scent, more vitality, and foster more connection to community than anything you could find wrapped in plastic at a big box store or conventional florist.

The membership makes all kinds of decisions, including what foods and products are on the shelf, and what standards those products and their producers have to meet (think growing practices, clean ingredients, etc.). At Honest Weight, we’ve got about 14,000 members.

entry is high, and there is/has been an opening for flowers as an alternative product, bouquets and services (weddings and other events, special arrangements) are a substantial value-added product for small farms, and low-cost educational programs that are open to all, and are always looking for ways to collaborate with partners in the community. We offer many opportunities for member-owners to help with this community engagement. and there’s something very special about flowers and their place in our homes and ecosystems. There’s something experimental and emergent about the role they occupy in farming. It’s exciting, is what I’ll say!

In response to all of this, a local flower farmer movement has developed throughout the United States (the world, really), trumpeted by writers/growers like Lisa Mason Ziegler, Erin Benzakein, Lynn Byczynski and Jennie Love. But each farmer has their own reasons for focusing on cut flowers as a source of income.

I’m a flower grower myself, and I spoke with three other farmers for this article: Corrine Hansch of Lovin’ Mama Farm, Rebekah Rice of Nine Mile Farm, and Robin Holland of Goode Farm.

Who can shop here? Everyone is welcome: anyone can shop at the co-op. If you decide to become a member, you’ll purchase a “share” of the co-op, become eligible for lots of additional discounts on products, and have voting rights on decisions that affect the store. Honest Weight member-owners can choose to invest their time at the store, serve on one of our committees, or work with a program, in order to receive a bigger discount (up to 24%) on their groceries.

I had a really wonderful time talking to and visiting some of these farmers. There’s something so creative in the flower farming movement—it’s new, but based in both old traditions and experimental methods. There’s so much about it that can only be learned through experience, especially with a

What is on o er? We believe everyone in our community should have access to affordable, high-quality, natural foods and products for healthy living. So we offer things like Co+op Basics (a line of over 450 high-quality foods and household items) at Everyday Low Prices. We

What other co-ops are in the area? You can find co-ops everywhere! In addition to Honest Weight, there are several others you can check out: Niskayuna Consumers Co-op, Chatham Real Food Market Co-op, Mohawk Harvest Cooperative Market, and Cambridge Food Co-op.

While every co-op has its own distinctive vibe, we are all founded on the same basic principles:

· voluntary and open membership democratic member control homestead in Northern California, with a flower farmer mom and a dad who quizzed her on the Latin names of plants. As a young person, with just a quarter acre of land, she produced and sold enough flowers at the farmers’ market to send herself to Europe (after three years of very hard work). Her current project, Lovin’ Mama Farm started in Northern Cali and moved to Amsterdam, NY in 2016. Corinne, her husband Matthew, and their three children grow vegetables and flowers on their regenerative, no-till farm, with flowers occupying about 20% of their land. With just 2 acres, they have to maximize yields, and so flowers are useful for attracting beneficial insects, to dry for wreaths and bouquets, and to make beautiful fresh market bouquets. Corinne's farmers’ market booths have

· member economic participation

· autonomy and independence

· education, training, and information FLOWERS been spilling over with tulips in early 2023; Lovin Mama grew 25,000 tulips to supply the local demand for early spring color. You can also sign up for their CSA, buy bulk buckets to design your own flowers, and contact them about a la carte wedding florals. lovinmamafarm.com (We also carry Lovin' Mama microgreens; see Corinne's Scoop article on regenerative farming, Jan/Feb 2019 and on gardening tips, April 2022)

Before she started Goode Farm in Ballston Spa, Robin Holland had a career in interior design, and also spent time working at a high-end restaurant where farmers were treated (as they should be!) like local celebrities. She’d always nurtured gardens to satisfy her love of beauty, and so she found herself curious about how farming and design might intersect. In