Not just for Christmas...
If you’ve been following Gardenia since the early days, you’ll know that Christmas is a big deal to us. Our little shop bursts at the seams (literally!). This year we can burst even further; earlier in the year we extended into 10A High Street, the little shop next door. We’re drawing up plans to knock through into one large shop but, for now, there’s still a wall between us and we’re making the best use of the space with more stock, more workspace and, for the first time, we can host our Christmas wreath workshops on site!
There’s so much to talk about at Christmas; our famously high quality, hand selected, sustainably sourced Nordmann Fir Christmas trees, our never-ending pavement full to the brim with opulent, luxurious flowers and foliage, our show stopping handmade fresh door wreaths and so much more. But our headline is simple this year: no matter what you purchase from Gardenia it is NOT JUST FOR CHRISTMAS… How so?
Christmas trees – sustainably sourced from UK suppliers. Grown on large plantations which act as enormous lungs for the planet. More trees are planted than are cut. Your local council will collect your tree and should compost or mulch it. Or chop up the tree and burn it at home – this is the most carbon efficient way of recycling your tree.
Handmade door wreaths – all materials: moss, pine, foliage, and decorations are sustainably sourced and can be home composted or easily recycled/reused.
Table & mantle decorations – you’ll find that this year we have moved away from plastic polluting floral foam and that we’re using all natural agra wool which can be home composted after use. It’s a bit trickier for us to use, but it’s endlessly better for the planet than micro plastics.
Decorations – all non-compostable decorations can be either recycled/reused/returned to us.
Flowers – it’s true that our high-quality flowers come via The Netherlands and often grown further afield but that is not necessarily a bad thing. Our trusted Dutch suppliers avoid those farms with poor working conditions and low pay. With them we support growers and distributors who share our values. It’s very often more economical for a flower grower to use natural growing methods, recycling wastewater, harvesting energy from the sun, and drawing from and storing heat underground. Flowers are easily compostable and where they will do the most regenerative good. Please do not put them in your general household waste – when in landfill they produce high levels of methane.
Packaging - caring for our planet and delivering against exacting environmental standards is non-negotiable for us. We are proud to be a 100% plastic packaging free florist, and this bucks the typical trend in floristry – think of all that plastic wrap and ribbon the industry still uses! All our packaging is 100% home compostable, including:
Branded wrapping paper
Branded paper sleeves
Paper tape
Food sachets
Flower hydration pouch
Natural rubber bands
Twine
If you don’t have a home compost heap, please put any paper waste in your recycling and twine and hydration pouch in your green waste. Please do not put any packaging in general waste.
What does all this mean? For us, reducing a negative impact is not enough. We want to make a positive impact wherever we tread - from working with partners and suppliers that share our values, to paying them a fair price for their promise. We are committed to putting our people and our planet at the forefront of everything we do. Our talented team are on permanent contracts and receive at least the London Living Wage. They get a contributory pension and paid annual leave to rest and recharge. You might find that our flowers and plants cost a little more - but for us and our business, making a positive social impact and being good to the people around us is non-negotiable.
Remember that a Gardenia Christmas tree/wreath/table decoration/show stopping bunch of flowers*(delete (or not!) as appropriate) is not just for Christmas.
Petals • Planet • Promise
