St. Paul — This Valentine's Day, give a bouquet of fresh flowers grown right here in Minnesota. Many retailers and florists statewide offer a variety of Minnesota grown flowers in many gorgeous colors.
Marc and Jaque Halverson, owners of Brainerd Floral in Brainerd, say they make it a priority to purchase Minnesota grown flowers whenever possible.
"As a retail florist, our goal is to always provide our customers with the freshest, longest lasting flowers," Marc Halverson said. "Buying flowers that were grown right here in Minnesota just makes more sense than having them shipped 3,000 miles from South America."
Growers and florists agree that most people don't think of Minnesota as a place for growing roses on a commercial scale, especially during the cold winters. But Len Busch Roses in Plymouth grows and distributes nearly 10 million roses and fresh cut flowers each year to retail florists in a five-state area. The company is the largest rose grower in the United States outside of California.
Len Busch spokesman Jake Ziebarth said in addition to freshness, there are other advantages to buying locally grown flowers.
"It keeps money working in our local economy," Ziebarth said. "Thanks to the support of the retailers who buy what's grown locally, we're able to employ 180 full-time employees at Len Busch Roses."
This Valentine's Day and year-round, ask your retail florist for flowers that are grown in Minnesota and look for bouquets that are wrapped with a Minnesota Grown label.
This article was submitted by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.
