Sustainable Valentine flowers - scented narcissi v roses
Scented narcissi v Roses
The red rose has become synonymous with Valentine's Day and romance but if you sincerely want to show your love and affection would it not be better to make a more sustainable choice?
We admit, we are hardly likely to approach this topic from a point of unbiased objectivity! In our slow growing and continued campaign to make yellow the new red, we'll at least be a little bit fair and in that spirit put the case for roses first and stick to the positives of both flowers.
So read on and you can decide if you will be team YELLOW or red this Valentine's.
Good things about Valentine roses
They are:
- totally beautiful. You can’t really dispute their aesthetic appeal. Beautifully proportioned, often in rich luxurious shades with a myriad of petals in each head.
- the traditional flower of love and that is what the day is all about.
- if you choose very carefully or hit very lucky, beautifully scented. But the vast majority are not, as in the breeding process visual appeal has won out over nose appeal.
- often grown in countries where the horticultural production of roses provides a valuable export crop, bringing much needed income, investment and infrastructure to vulnerable communities.
- often grown in places with plenty of natural sunshine eliminating the need for artificial light and heat that is often used to produce valentine flowers in more northerly countries.
- very expensive so your loved one will be able to appreciate the amount you have splashed out to shower them with roses on February 14th.
The AMAZING things about scented narcissi
They are:
- heavily perfumed. Unlike a lot of commercial cut flowers narcissi have been bred for their scent as a key characteristic.
- grown outdoors with no additional heat or light. On the Isles of Scilly scented narcissi flower naturally from October to Easter, therefore using far less carbon than glasshouse grown roses.
- an important part of the Isles of Scilly’s landscape and economy. The Isles of Scilly are an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, 28 miles off the coast of Cornwall. The island’s flower farms provide winter employment and help maintain parts of the natural environment loved by the many summer visitors.
- delicately beautiful, with each stem having at least three cute, mini daffodil type heads.
- sent direct from where they are grown. This means you are sending fresh flowers that have not had to spend time in a complex supply chain and their carbon footprint in terms of 'flower miles' is low. Also less handling means less packaging waste as the flowers don't have to be wrapped to be moved to a wholesaler.
- gift wrapped only in paper. We've looked at our packaging and only use a minimal amount of plastics where we can't find a suitable alternative.
- grown on a farm that takes environmental responsibility seriously and has a strong aversion to 'green wash'.
- excellent value for money. By ordering your scented narcissi direct from our farm you are ‘cutting out the middle man’ in the supply chain. This keeps cost down and lets us deliver a very cost-effective Valentine’s gift for you.
- not a typical Valentine gift. You will therefore win your loved one’s heart by having proved you are capable of imaginative and thoughtful gift procurement.
We hope we've done a good enough persuasion job and you are firmly on the side of team Isles of Scilly scented narcissi. Go forth and spread the word...
... YELLOW is the new red!
