Plastic-Less Flower Power

I’m not much of a flowers kind of person; I typically think they are a colossal waste of money and resources. All the plastic packaging, and the shipping…I mean, do we really ship flowers halfway across the world, just to have colourful bouquets grace our dining room tables in the dead of winter? It seems silly to me.

And yet…and yet. There is still something about the act of giving flowers that remains…well, quite lovely. They are given out of love, encouragement, congratulations, bereavement, and sometimes, for no reason at all. Flowers are bright and cheerful, something to boost a mood.

Omigod, You Guys!

Over the weekend, we went to see Summerland Secondary’s performance of the musical, “Legally Blonde.” Summerland Secondary is a high school in, well, Summerland (yes, such a place exists in Canada) and maaaan, have they got it going on (as in, like, dream high school!), but that is another post for another day.

A friend of our’s daughter was in the production, so we were there to cheer her on, and to see the show. I am continually amazed by the talent that presents itself on the stages of high-school drama productions. The energy and passion those students radiate out as they bound across the stage, full of courage, is freaking amazing. I think we should all attend more high school musicals! #inspired

A Trip to the Flower Shop

Bearing all of this in mind, we decided to seek out a small, simple, congratulatory arrangement for our friend’s daughter. It seemed like a simple gesture for something that is kind of a big deal! I mean, when was the last time you got up on stage and danced around, while trying to sing on key? 😉 Upon arriving at the flower shop, Creations by Mom and Me, we landed our eyes on some fun, bright lookin’ Gerbera daisies. Perfect.

Side note: have you ever watched the people working to craft flower arrangements and centrepieces in these shops? It is such a unique skill, to weave together plant material and flowers in such a way that makes you want to hug a bouquet. Totally an art form!

Unexpected Win: No Plastic!

After a few minutes, our chosen blooms were arranged and ready…and nary a plastic wrapping was to be seen. It actually took our brains a few seconds to process the fact that there was no crinkly, plastic cellophane enshrouding the bright blossoms, but once it clicked, we were enamoured. The bouquet looked so much more…alive, vivid, dare I say…natural (!) wrapped in paper, and not plastic.

It turns out that this wasn’t an accident!

When we mentioned our pleasure at seeing the flowers wrapped in simple, brown paper, the wonderful young gal who had put our arrangement together told us that the owners consciously made the decision to shift to less plastic. They were seeing so much plastic come through their doors already in the form of flower packaging (pre-consumer) that adding to the problem by wrapping the outgoing flowers in plastic seemed absurd. So, they sought another option.

Maybe this seems mundane…it’s one flower shop (and, it’s a flower shop of all places), in a large-ish city. Surely there are bigger fish to be fried elsewhere? Well, yes, but…

This screams success to me. This is how things change, little by little. You see, this shop still offers the plastic wrapping as an option. They still put little plastic tubes of water over some of the flower stems to keep them hydrated, something that is virtually unavoidable once you enter this realm of cut flowers…but that’s getting off track.

Pay Attention! Wake. Up.

The point here is that the owners of this store actually made a conscious decision to change a facet of their business because they saw a problem and wanted a solution. Not every business owner is willing to do that. It makes my heart soar to hear this kind of thing! To have someone as aware and cognizant of this as the young lady who helped us choose our blooms, was all the more inspiring. Yahoo!

This story reminded me of the awesome power of paying attention. Had we been on autopilot and zoning out on our phones, we might not have noticed the wrapping over our bouquet, or the beautiful spirit of our flower-arranger (forgive me for sounding crass; what does one call someone who works at a flower shop?!).

This story also reminds me about the importance of celebrating the small. Had we been quick to judge, we may have fixated on the plastic water tubes, instead of being grateful that at least the shop was striving to do better by its packaging.

Celebrate…then keep on movin’

Obviously, we cannot rest on our laurels and stay in the place of only celebrating small victories; we must strive for big victories as well. But the only way to get there is by working our way up the ladder of small wins. This…this was a lovely, small win that I am grateful for!

And, if I’m being honest here, the flowers were a delight to behold. Although the bundle was destined for our Delta Nu actress (who did so super great, by the way!!!), we enjoyed their beauty all the same. I’m still a plants kind of gal, but I can appreciate a nice bouquet when I see one. 🙂

Thank you, Creations by Mom and Me, for the beautiful arrangement, fantastic service, and hearty dose of hope! Your efforts have not gone unnoticed!