If you’re over the wanton waste of sending flowers as a gift – they always seem to die – then you’ll find this great alternative very attractive.
It’s a site called Succulentla.com that focuses on sending boxed succulents instead of cut flowers. And, noting how fashionable succulents are becoming, it seems a logical alternative to those head-banging gerberas or ‘so-yesterday’ roses.
Their vision is to offer a substitute for cut-floral designs that can be sustainably resourced. Each plant is grown and delivered in soil and is sourced locally (someone please define this term!) rather than from some rich, dying eco-system.
I must admit, I’m over the ‘this is green so you should buy it’ mantra and within the vision statement there’s a clause that reflects this notion. Yet, it’s a point that can’t be argued and we should be changing our consumer habits. Is this one of the answers? Or is it just a fashionable trend that will pass with time?
Would you send someone a succulent instead of flowers?
) my point exactly Trey. Most businesses like this will push one point where they are doing something great for the environment yet when it comes under closer scrutiny there is always something that shows they’re not.
I think sending succulents is a great idea! Something besides the typical floral bouquet (sorry Amy). Just another choice for gift giving. They do, if packed correctly, travel well and their need for little water is one reason they make a great shipping plant. That reason and the fact that we are being exposed to more and more cool varieties makes these a fun group of plants. Also the acceptance by people that beauty in plants can come from form, texture, and leaf color also helps.
That being said, it is a trend. They will diminish in importance when the next “new” thing comes around.
As far as the eco-promotion that we see going on, companies want to be in on what’s cool and they will say anything to have you believe they are eco-conscious. Just this month Sunset magazine, very popular here on the west coast, released their “green issue”. I loved it when they made the claim that they have been at the fore front of eco-consciousness because they published a story about Yosemite in the late 1800′s. Never mind those blasted subscription cards that fall out all over the place.