6 Reasons to Choose Locally-Grown Flowers over Grocery Store Bouquets
Looking for Fresh-Cut Flowers in Dickson, Fairview, White Bluff, Kingston Springs, Charlotte, Bon Aqua, Burns, or the Greater Nashville Area?
If you're searching for the best fresh-cut flowers in Middle Tennessee, the answer is simple: BUY LOCAL!
Seeking out your local flower farm is the first thing you should do if you're looking for the freshest flowers you can get. Not only does buying locally maximize the longevity of your flowers, but in the case of my farm and many others, they are grown without the use of toxic chemicals that can be found on imported flowers sold at your nearby grocery store or chain florist. 🌎🤝
Not completely convinced that purchasing from your local flower farm is worth the trip? Read below to learn about some of the factors that go into producing high-quality cut flowers and the steps we take here at Acres Abloom to maximize the lifespan and blooming potential of our flowers, and then decide!
Why Choose a Local Flower Farm? 🌼
🕰️☀️ Harvesting at the Right Time
Did you know the time of day flowers are harvested can make a huge difference in the quality of their blooms and greatly impact their vase life? Most gardeners know that you want to harvest when the sugars in the flower are highest. Sugar provides a readily available energy source for flowers after they are cut, allowing them to continue developing and opening even without the plant's support and leading to a longer vase life.
At Acres Abloom, we harvest each flower during its ideal harvesting window when sugars are highest, whether that’s just after the first morning dew or once the sun has set. We also cut flowers at just the right time to maximize their bloom potential. Flowers in full bloom might look great in your garden, but they make for very short-lived cut flower arrangements. We cut them as they are just starting to open up, as they will continue to mature into gorgeous, fully developed blooms that you can enjoy in your home for much longer. 🏡💐
A Zinnia covered in fresh morning dew.
❄️💧 Proper Conditioning for Long-Lasting Blooms
Conditioning involves the preparation of cut plant material prior to its arrangement to ensure that there are no factors in place which might result in a shortened lifespan. Correct conditioning will maximize the longevity of flowers and foliage, providing the most value and enjoyment to the buyer.
At Acres Abloom, the conditioning process starts while the flowers are still in the ground. We hydrate our fields heavily before harvest to prevent airlocks from forming in the stem during cutting, which would result in premature wilting. After harvest, the flowers are placed in a temperature-controlled cooler away from sunlight for at least 24 hours to hydrate and open properly. 🕊️🌸
Freshly harvested flowers conditioning in the cooler.
🏆🌷 Premium Quality Through Flower Grading
Flower grading involves evaluating blooms for the highest quality through a variety of factors such as freshness, size, vibrancy, and overall appearance. While the appearance of your flower once mature is what determines it’s actual grade, there are a number of factors that can be controlled during the growing and harvesting process which can influence the outcome. This is why locally-grown flowers are always a cut above imported ones. When retail chains and local florists import their flowers, the best they can do is pick out the duds - they have no part in the actual growing process, so they can’t control these factors with the same level of precision that local gardeners and flower farmers can.
At Acres Abloom, we are committed to providing only the best for our customers by ensuring that the flowers we grow will meet our high quality standards. This means investing in a high-quality soil mix to give seeds the best possible start at life, transplanting seedlings at the correct time to ensure they form strong, healthy stems, meticulously feeding and nurturing sprouts as they mature to keep them strong, and closely monitoring blooms for just the right time to harvest.
Before being added to an arrangement, every single one of our flowers is graded for:
Freshness – Harvested within 24–72 hours of pickup/delivery 🕓
Size – Large blooms with long, healthy stems 📏
Appearance – Minimal imperfections and vibrant color uniformity 🎨
A Grade-A Marigold grown at Acres Abloom Flower Farm.
🚫🧪 100% Chemical-Free Flowers
Nationwide studies have shown that certain pesticides may increase the risk of various cancers as much as smoking. It has been proven that florists and wholesalers who handle and arrange the flowers imported to grocery stores and florist chains are exposed to high levels of pesticides, and certain countries in Europe have even come together to start the Pesticide Victims Compensation Fund to help individuals suffering from the long-term chronic effects of pesticide poisoning. There is more than enough information out there to prove how harmful these chemicals can be, but unfortunately, they continue to be widely used in the commercial flower industry. If you want to avoid bringing these things into your home, it's important to find a local source of flowers that are grown naturally.
At Acres Abloom, we NEVER use herbicides, pesticides, and other chemicals. Not only to keep you, ourselves, and our environment safe from their effects, but also to ensure that we are not harming beneficial pollinators such as butterflies and bees. Our flowers are grown naturally to keep your home and family safe. 🐝🌼
We are a pollinator-friendly farm!
🍌💨 No Ethylene Gas Exposure
Contamination from pesticides is one of the most obvious downsides to shopping for flowers at a grocery store, but there is also a silent killer at play that many are not aware of. Ethylene gas is a natural plant hormone produced by aging flowers, foliage, fruits, and vegetables, so as you can imagine, there's no shortage of this stuff floating around in the air at your local grocery store. Exposure to ethylene gas in high concentrations can have some pretty devastating effects on cut flowers, resulting in wilted and/or yellowing leaves and petals, dropped florets, loss of vibrancy, and stunted growth/failure to bloom. Unfortunately, not much of an attempt is made to prevent exposure - how many times have you walked into a store to find the flower arrangements sitting right beside the vegetable section? 😓🥀
At Acres Abloom, we strive to create an environment that is purely beneficial to the health of our flowers so that they can thrive. We have a large, walk-in cooler where they are able to rest and condition without exposure to harsh sunlight or extreme temperatures and humidity. Flowers do not linger in the cooler and fruits and vegetables are absolutely prohibited, so you won't find any signs of ethylene gas poisoning among our bouquets!
No vegetables to be found!
🧼🔧 Clean Tools and Workspaces
Cleanliness is essential to prolonging vase life. One of the easiest ways to improve the vase life of flowers is to keep things clean. Everything from your hands, knives, shears, containers, and other tools needs to be kept sanitary to prevent the introduction of bacteria and destructive organisms to your work areas.
At Acres Abloom, our tools, containers, cooler and workspace are cleaned and sanitized daily to prevent bacterial contamination and dirt/plant matter build-up. Flowers are extremely delicate, so we do everything in our power to make sure we are not doing anything that could be potentially shortening their lifespan, and a dirty environment is one sure-fire way to do so. It’s a small detail that makes a big difference in flower quality. 🌟
Cleanliness is key!
Experience the Local Difference 🌻💛
You don’t need to settle for imported, chemically treated flowers. Choose fresh, farm-grown blooms from a trusted local source. 🏡🌿
At Acres Abloom, we guarantee freshness, sustainability, and beauty in every bouquet. We may be a little biased, but our flowers are grown and cultivated to meet the highest standards of quality, and we truly believe that you won't find anything like what we have to offer at the store, which is why we offer our freshness and quality guarantees. But don't just take our word for it - give your local flower farm a try and see the difference for yourself! 🌼💐
Shop local. Support sustainable farming. Enjoy better flowers. 🛒🌷
Explore our offerings today and see the difference for yourself! ✨
