Why by local flowers?
Thanks for visiting our Flowers on Summit website. We are a locally-grown, urban farm in Olathe, KS (a suburb of the Kansas City metropolitan area). We specialize in unique cut flower bouquets and arrangements. If you’ve found your way to our blog, then you likely either know about us already, or found us through our good friend, the internet! Either way, we’re glad you’re here, that you’re getting to know us and we’re getting to know you!
Some of our friends have known about our small business since the onset. Others have found us through our signage in a busy suburban area. Sometimes, people just happened to be driving by and saw our flowers on the front lawn and just had to stop by, because what they saw captured their attention. However we’ve met, we’ve been so thrilled to meet you and bring the joy and beauty of our cut flowers to your families, your loved ones, and especially to you! Flowers have a way of bringing people together and showing how much we care about others.
When we began this journey, we didn’t realize that this phenomenon was taking the country by storm (sometimes, quite literally). The cut flower business in the United States is growing. However, did you know that only about 22% of the flowers you get when you go to the grocery store or to a local florist are actually grown IN the United States? Isn’t that crazy? In a country known for its agriculture states, particularly here in the Midwest, we are still importing 78% of our product and flying it in from other countries?
If you think about it, it makes even more sense to support your local flower farmer! When a flower is grown in another country, it has to endure a long flight and much of the time, it takes days or even a week to get to your florist. It gets shipped to the airport, then to a flower wholesaler, and then off to your local florist. It could be 2-3 weeks old by the time it gets to the customer. What it takes to make that happen is a lot of effort, and more importantly, a lot of chemicals to preserve them. One of the things that you tend to find among the cut flower farmers in the United States is a fairly like-minded purpose to NOT use harsh chemicals on our flowers. In fact, most of us use methods of growing and pest control that rely on Mother Nature and our ecosystem to produce our flowers.
Another primary reason to buy from your local flower farmer is because you usually get a significant cost savings passed on to you by your grower. Some flower farmers, like us, also do their own flower arrangements, too. That means you’re getting unique designs using only our materials. When you order from us for a special occasion, you’re going to get a one-of-a-kind arrangement, often with a lot of thought given to the person you’re gifting the flowers to. Because we grow and produce our own flowers, you’re not getting a flower purchased from a wholesaler, so there’s not as much markup on the product.
Have you ever seen a dahlia or a lisianthus in a floral arrangement? One of the most amazing comments we hear when visiting our flower stand is “What is this flower? It’s so unique!”. People have often not seen, nor heard of, many of the flower types and varieties that we grow here at Flowers on Summit. They may be well known in the floral industry, but not to the typical consumer.
Finally, when you purchase flowers from your local farmer, they are actually likely to last longer for you! This is a major win for you, the customer. We typically harvest our flowers the day of or before we sell them. So, you’re getting a freshly picked bloom!!!
So, we hope you’ll stop by and take a look at our flowers on the flower stand. Chances are, you’ll see Mark and I out working, too, and we hope you’ll say “hi” and introduce yourself to us. We love to get to know our customers. Our story is a fun one and we want to get to know yours, too. We’re so happy to bring our love of flowers to your homes and to your loved ones. That’s what this journey is all about. Bringing love and joy into the world, one bouquet at a time.
With gratitude,
Mark and Amy