US (OR): Organic grower passionate about seasonal blooms
The idea of buying flowers that grow nearby is an offshoot of the larger buy local campaign that supports neighborhood food, beer and wine producers. Certified American Grown Flowers, which advocates that the flowers on your table should be as fresh as the food on your plate, hosts a series of Field to Vase dinners, much like winemakers dinners.
Local growers understand consumers want to buy cut flowers year round, even during Oregon's off season, and appreciate support from locally owned grocery stores and florists who work to keep a supply of Pacific Northwest-grown cut flowers, foliage and floral arrangement elements like berries and branches from crabapples, quince and flowering cherry trees.
Thorndike, who moved to Oregon in 1984, has been farming flowers organically since the early 1990s, when her small children were always at her side. Using harmful chemicals was never an option, she says.
She depends on the Rogue Valley's long growing season to produce a variety of unique flowers, like blue bachelor buttons and Café au Lait dahlias, that are desired by florists, event planners and brides.
She and her crew harvest on Mondays and Wednesdays, and she drives the flowers in her refrigerated truck to clients the next day. Brides and members of DIY wedding parties are able to purchase Le Mera Gardens' farm-fresh flowers in bulk and by appointment the week of their event.
Read more at OregonLive.com