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Business 58 June | 2021 I tell my wedding and event customers that I strive for 87 percent locally grown or hyper-local f lowers. — G in a Th re s h er, AI F D, C F D, E MC Floral design by Gina Thresher, AIFD, CFD, EMC season, we were shipping one or two bunches to hundreds of new clients." Dall'Armi feels cautiously optimistic about 2021's wedding rebound, but she knows Rose Story Farm's direct-to-consumer program will continue as an additional way to sell its flowers. For Renee Tucci, AIFD, CFD, PFCI, a Philadelphia, Pa.-based freelance florist and educator and president of the North East Regional Chapter of the American Institute of Floral Designers (AIFD), awareness of domestic flower sourcing began last year. "I noticed a big push in my area toward 'local' and to an eco-conscious way of doing business, as everyone is trying to support 'small.' A lot of AIFD members are like me, wondering how to get more involved with local flower farmers and how to support them." Tucci planned a "From Farm to Florist" webinar earlier this year, inviting AIFD members and others in the floral industry to attend. e presentation covered benefits and best practices to incorporate locally grown flowers into everyday consumer preferences for local and domestic flowers is notable. In the survey, 57 percent of respondents noted that it is very important (33 percent) or somewhat important (24 percent) that the cut flowers they purchase are American grown. Respondents feel similarly about the importance of cut flowers being grown locally, with 58 percent of respondents saying it is very important (29 percent) or somewhat important (29 percent). Against this new U.S. consumer data, the conversations around "farm-to-florist" and farm-direct sourcing is more important than ever. During the past year, the floral community was hit with unprecedented challenges. Across all channels, growers and florists alike experienced increasing demand, yet the way flowers move through the supply chain changed, says Danielle Dall'Armi, owner of Rose Story Farm in Carpinteria, Calif., who has been growing garden roses for wedding and event florists for more than two decades. Because of COVID and the initial closure of traditional wholesale markets, "Farmers had to go direct to florists and direct to consumers," she explains. Unlike many larger U.S. farms that rely on wholesale florists to purchase their crops, Rose Story Farm wholesales to florists directly, and Dall'Armi says the main reason is that organic, highly fragrant, ephemeral garden roses have a short shelf life and need to move from field to florist quickly, either overnight or delivered locally in water. "Last year," she continues, "we added our roses to farm box distributors and farm stands. In addition, we sold through a couple of local retail outlets. We also marketed direct to consumers, either via local delivery or FedEx. So instead of shipping 20 to 40 bunches to one customer repeatedly throughout the

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