Going Green

Barnwood boxes

Colorado’s rustic beauty inspired the Barnwood Box collection. Owen Barwell, (my husband!), makes these in Evergreen, of recycled and stained wood, to offset the elegance of luscious flowers and plants. We love hearing how the boxes are re-used, and love it even more when customers bring them back for refills! Barnwood Boxes come in Long, Medium, Tall, Small, and Magnum, filled with seasonal arrangements or succulent, herb, or bulb gardens. 

Recycled wood should be kept out of direct contact with food, but we use liners to waterproof the boxes, and make them safe for live plants.

Mechanics

Sedum & Sage uses alternatives to floral oasis, and prioritizes reusable or compostable mechanics whenever possible. Though floral oasis is convenient and holds water like a sponge, after use, it is an environmental disaster, breaking down into microplastics that plague our water and food supply. We follow industry best practices and use remnant chicken wire usually from Habitat ReStores, bunch it in the vessel of choice, and it holds plant material beautifully. It’s a little trickier in transport, since water can slosh around, so drain a portion of the water, and when arrangements are in place, refill. If stems are out of contact with water, they should be recut and immediately submerged to limit air bubbles in the plant’s vascular system.

Developing Local Sources

The floral industry is notoriously unsustainable. Flowers have air miles just like your meals, and commercial growing practices include use of pesticides and fertilizers that don’t spread joy. Paralleling the local food movement is a bustling industry of local flower growers. We have dreams including flower farming, and meantime, encourage local growers and use locally and sustainably grown plant material whenever possible.

Did you know Denver used to be the international capital of carnations? There are remnant greenhouses and signs you may notice around the city and a resurgence in heirloom breeds. Don’t dismiss these underrated flowers so easily. They are sturdy, long-lasting, and are grown in a variety of bold and amazing colors. Just avoid the ones that are dyed bright blue.

Composting & Recycling

Floral design generates lots of off-cuts. Sustainably grown plant material gets composted to encourage next season’s great plants. Most plant material can be composted, however organic gardeners should be cautious since pesticides used in commonly grown market flowers can take a few seasons to break down, and could contaminate your organic compost operation. As the floral industry adopts more sustainable practices, the whole cycle becomes tighter.

We reuse or recycle as much packaging as possible. We compost it when we know materials. We encourage you to bring in your own vessels for us to fill with flowers, anytime! Plus, as we design new products, compostability is high on our list of priorities. (Thanks, Ginny Hines!)