A Bloomin’ Good Idea for Mom

By Hope Bentley

This Mother’s Day (May 13), buy Mom organic flowers rather than a bouquet grown at the expense of someone else’s mother. Flower farming is one of the most pesticide-intensive agricultural practices. The Environmental Working Group found 1,000 times more cancer-causing pesticides on commercially grown roses than on food. In Colombia, which provides about 60 percent of imported flowers, floriculture workers report headaches, dizziness, nausea, diarrhea, skin eruptions, fainting, and an increase in miscarriages and birth defects. Look for the Veriflora Certified label, which guarantees that growers met requirements for water and energy resource management, social responsibility, ecosystem management, waste and hazardous chemical treatment, packaging materials, and traceability. And organic buds don’t cost as much as you might think; prices are comparable to FTD and other flower delivery services. Go to www.organicbouquet.com, www.californiaorganic.com, www.diamondorganics.com, or www.manicorganicsflowers.com, or find a local farm that sells organic blossoms.

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