Greening Your Greens?

Many workplaces engage a florist to provide weekly/biweekly floral creations to grace their front reception area. My office is no different. Over the years, we've tried a number of different options, ranging from professional florists to amateurs from the office designing arrangements. Our latest attempt with a professional florist turned out disastrously...for a high price, we were receiving very "artistic" creations, such as an orange in a glass bowl of rocks with some twigs sticking out of the top. Perhaps innovative to some, but just plain weird to most.

In addition to the general design weirdness, cut flowers are just not that "green" - reasons can include:

• Transportation costs (many come from South America, Southeast Asia, or Africa)
  
• Pesticide and fertilizer use (particularly an issue in countries with less stringent environmental protection laws)
  
• Poor greenhouse working conditions (again not all countries have equal labor laws)
  
• Many cut flowers go bad/to waste before they reach their final destination

We'd tried live plants, too, but they never looked right and no one could truly get the care down pat. Two months ago, we started a new program - rotating plants. Essentially, we 'lease' a plant (in our office, we've selected orchids). The plant stays for a set period of time, then is picked up and switched out by the vendor. The "used" plant goes back to the shop for some TLC. Some are resent out to clients, others are sold. Last night, I was walking by the shop and saw a bunch of orchids out for sale - they were some "old" rotating plants that were deemed no longer suitable for office lobbies, but PERFECTLY suitable for my little jungle at home. A true bargain at $10. I wonder what the odds are I can keep it looking good?

Note: for fans of cut flowers, they're not all bad - just like your food, look for locally-grown, pesticide free versions! And be sure to compost them when you're done