American Flowers Week gets underway

For its third consecutive year, American Flowers Week (June 28-July 4) is taking off once again. This celebration of US-grown flowers was created by Slowflowers.com's Debra Prinzing. As she says, "American-grown flowers are worth celebrating, so I figured they needed their own holiday... And what better time of year than the Fourth of July, Independence Day, to plan the festivities?"

The goal of American Flowers Week is not only to celebrate US-grown flowers, greens, and botanicals, but to raise consumer awareness and engage them in a conversation about the origins of their flowers. This is important, because while 74% of consumers do not know the origins of their flowers, 58% say they would prefer American Grown blooms, if given the option. So with that sentiment comes American Flowers Week, a celebration of our U.S. Flower Farmers, the flowers they grow, and the industry members (florists, designers, retailers, wholesalers) whose values inspire them to source domestically.

American Flowers Week is bolstered by the support and sponsorship of industry partners, such as the giant US-flower advocate Certified American Grown Flowers as well as Johnny's Selected Seeds, Arctic Alaska Peonies, Syndicate Sales, and Longfield Gardens.

As stated by Kelvin Frye of Syndicate Sales, “Syndicate Sales is an American manufacturer of vases and supplies for the professional florist, so it’s entirely fitting to promote the vibrant American-grown floral palette from local flower farms and floral designers who fill our vases. We salute American Flowers Week.”

If you grow, design, market, sell, or simply love flowers you can get involved with this movement. Starting the conversation with others is an easy way to begin -- as stated by Hedda Brorstrom of Full Bloom Flower Farm, "I talk about American grown and supporting locally-grown flowers and why it’s so important. Whether I’m talking with a veteran florist or a garden club member...my message sticks.”

At Sun Valley, they always have the Certified American Grown logo on every flower that ships from the farm -- they believe that knowledge is power and by advertising that their products are American Grown, those 74% of consumers who didn't know the origin of their flowers, now know, and can make an informed choice.

And of course, social media is an excellent way to start and join the conversation. With free visual resources available at AmericanFlowersWeek.com (including logo, badge, icons, and coloring maps), and the use of the hashtag #AmericanFlowersWeek, you can join the U.S. farmers, florists, and wholesalers in the American Flower Revolution. This time last year, the #AmericanFlowersWeek hashtag generated 1.4 million impressions on Instagram and Twitter, and this metric is predicted to increase in 2017.

Source: Sun Valley