Flower farmers from around Ireland are urging consumers to seek locally grown flowers and foliage instead of imported blooms. The call comes as the Flower Farmers of Ireland organization, representing over 80 Irish growers, prepares to celebrate Irish Flower Week, which gets underway tomorrow.
Citing a Lancaster University study from 2018, which looked at the environmental impact of Dutch and Kenyan cut flowers, it says the carbon footprint of an imported bouquet is over ten times that of a locally grown bouquet.
Anna Browne, a flower farmer in Mullingar, Co Westmeath, has been planting flowers since she was a teenager. She began growing them to sell in the last four years.
Anna sells her bouquets locally and delivers them on her bicycle
She said: "I thought it was a good idea because people should have access to local flowers. "I don't think people realize the carbon footprint of imported flowers. Those bouquets are cheap in the supermarket, but that 'cost' is not true.
Read the complete article at www.rte.ie.