WHY SOURCING SYSTEMS MATTER MORE THAN LABELS

When people ask whether flowers are local, they are usually asking a simple question. Where did they come from?

When you work entirely with locally grown flowers, the answer is never simple. Because sourcing is not a single decision. It is a system that unfolds over time.

This is what that system actually looks like in practice.

Photographer: Amanda Owen Photography

STARTING WITH CLEAR BOUNDARIES

We do not use imported flowers from outside the United States. Period.

The majority of our flowers are grown by us or sourced from farmers within our region. Northern Virginia, Washington DC, and Maryland. In practice, most of our sourcing happens within about a forty mile radius.

There is one intentional exception. When we need large amounts of greenery that simply are not available here, we source from a farm in Florida we trust deeply. They grow and responsibly forage their product, including the removal of invasive species. This is a practical choice shaped by our region. Northern Virginia does not currently have a large scale foliage farmer capable of meeting those needs.

In rare cases, usually tied to serious weather events that dramatically impact availability, we may source from large scale farms in California as a backup. This is not our preference or our norm. It is a contingency plan, not a foundation.

For us, local is not about an exact mileage rule. It is about community, values, and ecological sense.

ASSESSING WHAT CAN BE GROWN

From the moment a client books, we assess what we can realistically grow ourselves and what will need to be sourced from other farmers.

This assessment is shaped by timing, space, and season.

Some crops must be planned nearly a full year in advance. Others depend on much shorter windows. We grow on about a quarter acre, which supports a significant amount of production, but it is not unlimited. Some seasons, including spring 2025, we reached full capacity.

This is why advance booking matters. We encourage couples to book by September for the following wedding year. That timing allows us to plan responsibly and grow with intention rather than react at the last minute.

DESIGNING WITHOUT A CATALOG

Traditional florists often design recipes based on what they know they can purchase from a wholesaler. Specific stems, specific quantities, locked in early.

We work differently.

We anchor a design around a few specific varieties we know we can grow or confidently source. From there, the rest of the recipe is built around flower roles rather than exact ingredients. Focal flowers. Spikes. Texture. Floaters. Movement.

This approach allows the season to lead without sacrificing design integrity. It also creates flexibility when availability shifts, which it always does.

SOURCING THROUGH RELATIONSHIPS

We source heavily through two flower farmer cooperatives, alongside a handful of individual growers we know well

Photographer: Amanda Owen Photo

Cooperatives are networks of independent farms selling together. They allow small growers to collectively meet the volume needs of events that no single farm could handle alone. They function like a wholesaler in scale, but not in certainty.

Flowers respond to temperature, light hours, and weather. Availability can change weeks or even days before an event. There are no guarantees because there cannot be.

What makes this system work is relationship. We know which growers excel at dahlias, summer annuals, or early flowering branches. That knowledge comes from working together season after season.

WHEN WEDDING WEEK ARRIVES

Four to six weeks before an event, we begin detailed conversations with our cooperatives. We share category needs, color ranges, and any specific varieties we are hoping for. It takes multiple rounds of communication to land on a tentative preorder list.

Tentative matters.

About a week out, the process repeats. Crops shift. Quantities change. New options emerge. Others disappear.

At this point, contingency planning ramps up. If expected numbers fall short, we reach out to individual growers to fill gaps. Pickup days often involve multiple farms, partial unloads into our cooler, and constant coordination. And almost without exception, at least one thing we thought we would receive does not come through at the last minute.

To protect the work, we overbuy when we can. We trust the process. And we adjust.

WHY WE KEEP DOING IT THIS WAY

The most beautiful part of growing our own flowers is harvesting during wedding week.

There is a particular ease that comes from being mid design, realizing an arrangement needs just a little more lift or movement, and stepping into the garden to find it. Three more snapdragons. One more dahlia. A stem that was never part of the plan but suddenly feels essential.

That ease only exists when enough notice and planning make growing possible.

Sourcing heavily from other farmers can be stressful. It requires flexibility, trust, and constant communication. But even then, we would not do it any other way.

WHAT WE GUARANTEE AND WHAT WE DO NOT

We do not guarantee specific flower varieties, no matter how far in advance a client books.

We do guarantee color and overall vibe.

This distinction allows us to work honestly with seasonality and weather rather than forcing certainty where none exists. It protects both the flowers and the design.

THE TAKEAWAY

When flowers are sourced this way, they are not interchangeable parts. They are the result of planning, relationships, labor, and trust.

This is the difference between local as a label and locally grown as a system.

If you want to understand the philosophy behind why we work this way, start with Locally Grown Is Not a Fad. This post shows what that philosophy looks like when it meets reality.