Flower Power
#1. The necessity of Joy. Need I say more? "I have come to understand, to believe, how we witness makes our world. This is why attending to what we love, what we are astonished by, what floummoxes us with beauty, is such crucial work." -Ross Gay
I wrote a column about this for our Letter from Home this week.
#2. Flowers pump out the love. Flowers help us love the world when it at times feels unloveable. Like when you pull over and carefully throw yourself into a patch of desert wild flowers. Flowers are proof you are loved by mama Earth and appreciated by a farmer who is working hand in hand with the mama to grow beauty for you.
#3. Learn and appreciate the flowers. As a member of our flower flock, you get introduced to all kinds of new flower varieties you would never meet in a grocery store. In the weekly emails, you learn a little bit about how they are grown, their ecological niche or how to use them as tea or medicine.
#4. Support a farmer and human being who is doing what she loves and sharing it with the world. Every day since I founded Wild Heart Farm I jump out of bed with a deep sense of purpose because I have witnessed the way flowers neutralize difficult situations on the worst days and amplify love and joy on the best ones. I love to grow beauty, resilience and a deeper connection to the Earth by sharing my fresh farm flowers.
#5. Buying locally grown flowers helps reduce the carbon footprint, and strengthen the domestic economy. 85% of the flowers found in grocery stores and flower shops are grown overseas. The sad fact is that the international flower trade is rife with unfair labor practices and health concerns for workers in this industry (largely women), including recent investigations of forced labor and child labor.
#6. As a CSA member you are privy to invitations and special offers like farm retreats, special add-ons like flowery micro green mixes and fresh veggies, and get a 10% discount at Living Chocolate in Sedona when you pickup flowers. When you join the Wild Heart annual CSA you can schedule a visit to enjoy the farm with family and friends.
Sharing the joy of flowers feels good.
#7. Flowers have a long-term positive effect on moods. Several recent studies show a reduction in depression, anxiety after receiving flowers and greater sense of creativity, enjoyment and satisfaction with life.
#8. Sharing the joy of flowers feels really good. When you give them to someone you love or even to yourself.
#9. After a long, snowy and cold winter you may be hungry for spring, for life and for color. It will feel like spring every week when you get a different bouquet of flowers.
#10. Ralph Waldo Emerson reminds us that the Earth laughs in flowers. Laughter is good medicine.