Valentine’s Day has come around again so we wanted to remind you that women prefer a wilder bunch and so does the planet. The characterless and scentless ‘factory flowers” not only lack soul they have a big carbon footprint. Yet the far more romantic bouquets of zinnias, ranunculus, and peonies with wispy cosmos, preferred by women can be bought at a sustainable florist and are often grown locally. Consider a long-lasting orchid as a sign of your lasting affection rather than cut flowers, if you can’t find a bouquet grown locally. The $40 billion dollar worldwide floriculture industry focuses on uniformity to withstand long traveling distances. those scentless creations were likely grown a continent or two away and shipped with a dose of preservatives to travel are poor substitutes for a heady, abundant armload of blooms gathered from grandmothers cutting garden. I adore that fleeting ephemeral quality of an old-fashioned, just picked bouquet especially good with a Rumi poem or two. Support sustainable florists like Farmgirl Flowers and let’s grow a market in keeping with our affections. May your unions be fortified and remember as you kiss each other you kiss god.