So it's February, the evenings are starting to get a little bit lighter (i could still see when i did pick up at 5.15pm today) and by the end of the month i'll be able to start sowing seeds again. The Middle of the month brings Valentine's Day (and half term - already!) which heralds the start of my Floristry season again. Well normally it does, i've actually been producing flowers and foliage all through January, thanks to the mild conditions.

Anyway Valentines. I guess i've been lucky to be with my Hubby for ages. We don't do luvvy duvvy,  but we do (with a few forgetful exceptions) do Valentines day. A card, - usually a lovely meal in, sometimes a present, or a plant, but not in the past, flowers.

And here's the reasons why

1) The air miles

The Roses that are sold on Valentine's day aren't growing in England in February. They may come via the markets in Holland, but they didn't begin their journey in a glasshouse there. They'll have been flown from Columbia, or Ecuador, or India or Kenya. There's more about the flower trade in those countries in this article

2) The packaging

Your single Rose will most likely come in a plastic tube, your bouquet of flowers in an Aquapack. But all of that non biodegradable plastic wrapping gets thrown in the bin the minute your flowers get home and arranged in a vase. What a waste.

3) The cost

It's the one day of the year when other colour roses are defunct, not wanted, cast aside, - of course the markets will put up the prices on the thing that everyone must have, - that's a free trade economy. The markets put the price up, so the retailers have to or they don't make any money. - The downside is, suddenly flowers cost a lot more than the rest of the year

4) Getting the same as everyone else

If everyone else is having Red Roses, are you special if you get them too?

5) The compost bin

Of course in order for those buds to get on the plane, and last until the day that you want them, they need chemical assistance. Fungicides & pesticides sprayed on them before they board, so that no bugs/ diseases are brought here.  Plus Silver Nitrate that the stems are dipped in to ensure they last the Journey (unfortunately this also mummifies the flowers, and as it's no longer decomposing, it won't give off any scent) This all means that the flowers have to go in the bin, rather than the compost heap when they've finished.

But now, for those of you near me in Surrey or if you've got a local British Flowers grower, there is another way, and you can do something different for Valentine's day.

We've ensured that our flowers and gifts have

• No Air miles, and few van miles
• No Plastic packaging, all our displays are presented in vases with tissue and paper wrapping
• The Cost is the same as flowers the rest of the year
• You'll have something different from everyone else
• And when they finally decompose naturally after giving off their intended scent, you can put them on the compost heap.

So now you can send flowers (and there will be some in my house ) More details here