When we think of weddings, a vision of flowers shouldn’t be too far off! Whether it’s the bridal bouquet, button holes, or florals decorating the venue, bright and beautiful flowers are a key feature in weddings. Florals at weddings date back to the Ancient Greeks and Romans, who wore fragrant garlands and threw floral confetti. Roses, the most famous symbol of love, have also been cultivated for just over 5,000 years. You would think after thousands of years humanity would have reached the peak of innovation, but our modern times call for modern methods.
More and more nurseries and florists are looking at ways to be more green. We may think of florals as being naturally green, but we also need to think about power and water usage in farming flowers, as well as the distance some of these florals travel. A nursery which is growing greener flowers is Porta Nova, based in the Netherlands. One of their flowers available is the “Green” Naomi Rose, which has the lowest carbon footprint of roses available on the European market. But as we are not based in the Netherlands, and no one on the team can (sadly) speak Dutch, we’ve decided to talk to one of their loyal customers based in the UK.
Today, we speak to Zoe, from the incredible Fabulous Flowers Team as we discuss all things floral and being more green! Also, all of the photographs you see in this blog feature red roses from Fabulous Flowers, so you can see how stunning they look in our venue.
Thank you very much for joining us today, can you please introduce yourself and tell us about your background in floristry, as well as the history of Fabulous Flowers?
I’m Zoe Rowlinson, proud wedding and events manager for Fabulous Flowers, I have been working alongside Matthew and Gary for over 10 years, creating memorable weddings and fabulous events for our couples and clients every day. Fabulous Flowers has been at the heart of the events world in Oxford and the surrounding areas for over 22 years, priding themselves in high level customer service and unforgettable moments.
The wedding industry is notable for its levels of waste, although couples are now becoming much more aware of this. What can you say have been the noticeable changes you have seen over the years?
Massively, I think as florists we have a duty to ‘give back’ to the ground and the environment that grows our amazing flowers! Without it, we would be nothing! Therefore we have been concentrating heavily on our composting, making sure that all our green waste (after the flowers have been enjoyed) is then taken for compost not only for our personal use within our shop but for a local charity, a wellbeing garden in Abingdon.
Many people would consider flowers extremely “green” with regards to wedding decorations, but what are some things people don’t generally know about when it comes to wedding flowers?
That sometimes, British grown isn’t always the most eco-friendly! We have to consider aspects such as water wastage, where the root or plant stock originates from, renewable energy, volume control, delivery methods and pest management, some of these major concerns are overlooked in smaller companies.
Can you please describe the “green journey” Fabulous Flowers has been on, when did it start and what did the team discover?
We have been investigating our environmental impact for a year or so, really honing in on our techniques and digging a little deeper to see improvements, with the help of undertaking our ‘Sustainable Wedding Alliance’ accreditation, more and more practises and findings are being recorded, enabling us to look back and assess our business in many aspects, even down to our electronic footprint! We have discovered that actually we are already taking larger steps in the right direction and are further in our journey to a more sustainable future than we originally had assumed.
How did the team discover the Porta Nova “Green” Naomi roses?
Whilst delving into our supply chain, we are questioning our suppliers and growers on what they are doing before the flowers even arrive at our studio. Although locally grown, British flowers are wonderful, our seasons are so short and weather dependent! We reached out to our Dutch suppliers and exporters and have come across the cutting edge technology and leaps that our growers (especially Porta Nova) are taking to be that more conscious of the environment we live in today.
How does Fabulous Flowers seek to continue its green practices and expand on them?
To always keep learning, there are new solutions to problems occurring all the time in the industry and it’s important to keep our ear to the ground and also educate all staff in our processes so they can shout about it too!
After discovering the “Green” Naomi roses do you plan to find more florals which have been farmed using green methods?
Of course! We love to know where our flowers come from, what steps everyone is taking and we want to share this all too with our couples.
Does the team have any tips for couples in selecting green florals for their wedding day?
Leave your flower choices to the experts, that’s what we are here for. Use us to recommend and show you what we can do that will still have the most Fabulous effect without the huge carbon footprint, think seasonal, sometimes local and maybe even plants! Give us your overall look you’re looking to achieve and a colour pallette and let us do the hard work!
Also, any tips for couples to reduce waste on their wedding day?
Use recommended, local suppliers that can offer their knowledge within their specific field, look out for their environmental credentials too. We’ve all worked so hard to achieve them and we work off each other too.
And finally, a fun question to finish with! At the Bodleian we have weddings all year around, so for each season can you recommend some seasonal flowers for our couples?
Winter, think spring! ( We know that sounds bonkers!!) All the beautiful, delicate, scented flowers such as Hyacinths, Narcissi and blossoms are readily available to us as early as November. Of course Peony season and sweet peas come into play in May/June and then as we head into late summer, hydrangeas, delphiniums and roses are at their best. Autumn doesn’t have to be orange either! Rich tones, seedheads and textures can create a Fabulous atmosphere for any event and not to forget the unsung heroes of foliage too!
Thank you Zoe so much for talking to us, and giving us such in-depth answers. If you’re still deciding on florals for your upcoming wedding, please do check out more of our recommended suppliers here.
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