Where to Buy Bulk Flowers
Bulk flower and greenery for a wedding, all grown organically on our flower farm and harvested the day before their wedding.
January 11, 2024
If you’re looking for bulk flowers for your wedding or any other event that requires lots of fresh flowers in bulk, your immediate instinct might be to go buy flowers at a grocery store, such as Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods or Costco. I can entirely understand why you’d buy bulk flowers at Trader Joe’s — we all visit grocery stores often and see that they have lots of flowers; the grocery store is open everyday at convenient hours; and you know there will be a wide variety of colors at reasonable pricing to choose from.
You might also buy bulk flowers online at Costco or the grocery store simply because you are unaware of this wonderful fact: Buying flowers from a local flower farmer is an option!
where to buy bulk flowers near you
As a flower farmer — I literally grow cut flowers for a living — it is my job to make sure you know that gorgeous, seasonal flowers and greenery can be bought in bulk from a local flower farmer near you.
Ever since the COVID pandemic began in 2020, tons of new flower farms have popped up across the entire world. The United States is home to thousands — literally, thousands — of flower farms that grow flowers and greenery seasonally, as long as their growing season will allow throughout the year. It’s not lost on me that people are not aware of the massive increase in the number of flower farms and availability of local flowers. Flower farming is a niche industry that is still growing.
Related: Favorite Foliages on Our Flower Farm
While flower farming is definitely not a new career (people have been growing flowers and ornamental plants for thousands of years), buying locally-grown flowers in bulk from a local flower farm is an entirely new concept for consumers. I want everyone who buys flowers to know that local flower farms are the most wonderful option for you to buy the most gorgeous, earth-loving flowers and greenery.
why would you want to buy bulk flowers from a small flower farm?
We’ve written another post discussing why local flowers are important, and there are a myriad of reasons why local flowers are far superior to grocery store/Costco flowers that have been imported from across the world.
FRESHNESS & QUALITY OF FLOWERS — Imported flowers from the grocery store or Costco have traveled a long distance (thousands of miles via airplane then freight truck) usually over the course of 3-7 days, out of water. The flowers arrive dehydrated. They are wrapped in plastic, sealed in boxes, and petals are smushed/damaged, and the flowers are lackluster compared to locally-grown blooms. Flowers from a local flower farmer are harvested the day-of or day before and never suffer dehydration, are never damaged from packaging, and have a vibrancy that you cannot get from imported flowers in a store.
LESS CHEMICALS OR CHEMICAL-FREE — Imported flowers have been sprayed with herbicides, pesticides and dipped in fungicides before arriving to you. Many local flower farmers grow flowers with low to no chemical use, which is healthier for you and for the planet.
NO EXPLOITATION — Imported flowers, for the most part, are grown by people who work too-long hours for unfair wages in extremely harmful working conditions. By buying local flowers, you not only contribute to your local community economy, you also refuse to support that harmful exploitative system with your dollars.
I could go on… but I’ll end here for now. Buying local flowers not only provides you with a better, fresher product that requires much less prep work from you — buying bulk flowers from a local flower farmer also supports a healthier agricultural system that benefits people and the planet.
how to buy bulk flowers from a local flower farm
So how do you find a flower farm to buy bulk flowers? There is a wonderful website for that: LocalFlowers.org/Find-Flowers
LocalFlowers.org is run by the Association for Specialty Cut Flower Growers (ASCFG) which is the cut flower growers’ membership association of the world. Any flower farmer who is a member of ASCFG will be on this map. Each flower farm has a profile with their website, contact information, and a description of the services they provide (detail of info is dependent on how the farmer filled out their profile).
Visit the LocalFlowers.org Find Flowers Map to see how many flower farmers are selling flowers near you — I bet you will be surprised to find there is at least one or two within a reasonable distance from you!
Related: Download our FREE Stem Count Guide for DIY Floral Design
I hope you are inspired to find a local flower farm next time you need bulk flowers! Without the support of flower lovers like you, we wouldn’t be able to keep our work going. We thank you for at least thinking about it!
peace, love, and more beautiful local flowers for all,
Fran Parrish
