Isn’t a green flower called a leaf? Part II

The tension with my mother was lower this morning.  I sensed she woke up thinking it was a new day and there would be new opportunities for solutions that fit each of our desires. I took the road of not saying much.  I just kept saying a little prayer that all would work out.

Enter Allison Lucas.

Allison had been a legend in our household for years. She is the one person who my mother has been able to count on and consistently turn to for a product that met her high standards.

As we pulled into the church parking lot my mother gave me the order, “You have to explain to Allison what you mean by ‘green’.” “Sure, fine. I’ll do that. It will all be fine.” I was trying to console myself as I spoke these words.  Simultaneously, my mind raced with questions about her. “Was she classic old guard Macon?  Did she think this green stuff was silly? Was she going to laugh at my wants and desires?”

The church parking lot was empty except for two cars- a Honda Accord and a massive Toyota Land Cruiser.  “Please let her’s be the Honda Accord.” I wished to myself.  No dice.  My worries raced faster.  I smiled, took a deep breath and said, “Hi Allison, I have heard a ton about you and my mom raves about your work.”

Fast forward past small talk.  She was lovely and I was beginning to see why mom was such a fan.  My mother sternly looked at me and then looked at Allison. Another deep breath.

“The environment is very important to Sean and me.  We are working to green every element of our wedding including the flowers.  We’d like to talk to you today about how we can do that.” I said.

By now you would have thought I would have remembered the theme we’d been seeing. People are open to going green and are looking for opportunities. Allison was no different!

She lit up with ideas about local growers and vendors. She and my mom began speaking another language- the language of flowers. (A good florist is a walking catalog of flowers and greenery.) I gave her a picture of a bouquet from one of the many magazines my mother showed me the night before and gave her a Georgia Organics local source guide.  We were off to the races.

In the midst of the conversation I realized any tension that remained between my mother and I had long melted away.  I knew we’d found another green solution.  I was also reminded that we all need others to help us on our journey to go green, especially if you are an expert in a field.  Change is hardest when you have a methodology that works well.  It’s a little easier when you have a friend or partner whose walking down the path with you.

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Missed Part I of Mandy’s Flower Journey?  Catch it here.

Check out our Tips for Environmentally Sound Wedding Flowers for specific steps you can take.

Isn’t a green flower called a leaf? Part I

I grew up in a rose garden with tulips, orchids, philodendrons. My garden was literal not figurative. My mother owned a florist shop, The Rose Garden, until my sister was born when I was about five years old. Some of my earliest memories are of waking up from a nap amongst buckets of fresh flowers or the rush of the cold air filling my lungs when I stepped into the walk-in cooler where all the special flowers were kept.

[start dream music]

In all the years of dreaming about my wedding, I never thought once about the flowers. I assumed that would be the simplest part to the whole affair. When asked, I’ve told my friends, “Oh, my mother will handle it.” That came as no surprise to anyone.  She has a terrific reputation for elegant, ornate, breathtaking work.

[record screech]

That dream ended tonight. Reality set it.

“What do you want your flowers to look like?” said my mother. 

“I don’t know,” I replied. Her eyebrow raised and she sat there patiently but not pleased. This was not the first time we’d had this conversation but I’d always just ignored it for some other more pressing wedding detail. 

Then it struck me, I was dealing with a professional and I was not being a cooperative client.

“I just want them to be ‘green’.” I spurted out.

“Ok, that’s fine. But that may not be realistic.” She continued in her patient, stern tone. 

Frustrated I said, “It must be Mother. We have greened every other aspect to this wedding. We must find a solution for this as well. I will not waste fossil fuels for flowers. There has got to be a way we conquer this one.”

The conversation continued in this fashion. She produced magazine upon magazine in order to elicit what look, feel, style, texture, color palette I wanted. That brought progress. Two bouquets fit the image in my mind’s eye.  I wanted bold colors and textures that pulled together to create a clean, high style look.

I took a chance and asked, “Why don’t we just have dad go out and collect the stuff from the forest the week of the wedding?”

“There will be many important details that week. We cannot be running around in the woods looking for flowers that may or may not be in bloom the week of your wedding.  You do have 10 bridesmaids. And, we have a business to run Mandy,” she responded in a clearly displeased fashion.

I knew that was another strike out.

“Where exactly are we going to get these flowers from?” she inquired. “The flowers you like are not grown here. Tulips do not grow in the South. They grow in New England and Europe and are flown in.”

I relented a bit and admitted that I didn’t have the answer. “Ok. I will be fine if they come from the southeast.  I have heard from my friends in the local food space that there are greenhouses in Georgia that specifically grow flowers. Why don’t we call them and see what they will have in May?  Then we can let that drive what we use.” That has been my strategy in other parts of the wedding. I have traded off abundance in the name of quality and availability and its works great. Why not now?

Truce was reached.  I pledged to produce a list of Georgia growers tomorrow.  Then we must find growers that provide her with the level of confidence in choice and quantity she needs. If not, that’s another conversation for another day that I hope we don’t have to have.

I walked away having realized that flower arrangements for big events are like electricity- taken for granted until you flip the switch and it’s not there. And like the electric company, florists need reliable resources to produce their product. Green resources are not yet ubiquitous for producing electricity or grand flower arrangements.