Our values: British flowers, sustainable packaging, fewer 'flower miles'

The cut flower industry has a footprint problem. Around 85% of cut flowers sold in the UK are imported, most flown into the Netherlands from countries like Kenya, Ethiopia, Colombia or Ecuador, before being trucked over to British florists and supermarkets. These flowers are typically grown with significant pesticide and fertiliser use, and by the time they arrive, they've travelled thousands of miles in cold storage, through a supply chain it is hard to feel comfortable about.

MeadowSweet is a cut above. We use exclusively British-grown flowers throughout the year. Every posy we send is made from flowers grown in the UK, by our network of British growers, many of which are proud multi-generation family farms. With no long-haul flights required, our flowers are often sent out to you directly from next to the fields they are grown in, and this is how we keep our 'flower miles' so low. It's also how we get to follow the seasons, with tulips, narcissi and ranunculus in spring, peonies, scented stocks and sweet williams in early summer, dahlias, delphiniums and sunflowers later on, and tulips, alstroemeria, chrysanthemums and lilies grown under glass in winter. What's in your jar this week will be literally what's growing in Britain this week.

Packaging, end to end.

All of our packaging is carefully considered and made from recycled content, and can be reused, recycled or composted.

• Our MeadowSweet courier box is made from >70% unbleached, recycled cardboard with no glue, plastic tape or staples and is fully recyclable. You can use old boxes for storage or lay them on your flower bed as a weed suppressant or to help with soil structure. We don't use floral foam or single-use plastic at all, and we are pleased to say that any flowers delivered to us are not typically wrapped in plastic sleeves either.
  
  
• The glass jar is a clear, >40% recycled-content glass jar and actually made in the UK! We send the jar out with your first order because we feel it is important you have the right sized vase to display your posy in and we think they look nice too. This jar can be reused for your next posy and glass with ribbon can be popped in a dishwasher or given a good scrub. In fact the pre-tied ribbon is polyester but when we eventually get to the end of this batch we are looking into an alternative.
  
  
• The eco-gel at the base of the stems keeps your flowers hydrated in transit. It is fully miscible in water and can be safely rinsed off down the sink. The gel helps our flowers arrive firm rather than floppy, and they are already arranged and ready to be displayed in the jar provided. We are not letterbox flowers. We use biofilm bags to put the gel in.
  
  
• Our message cards and info sheets are made using 100% recycled paper, stickers and flower food sachets are paper or biofilm, and we use natural twine and rubber bands.

Why it matters to us.

Sourcing locally supports British family growers, many of them small farms going back several generations. It means we know exactly where every stem comes from, how it's been grown, when it's been picked, how it's been stored, and how far it has travelled. This level of oversight and control is something we are proud to stand behind. It is typically much harder to obtain transparency when it comes to chemical use, health and safety and environmental impacts for most imported flowers. We enjoy the challenge of only using what's in season locally, and we feel this makes our hand-tied posy a true celebration of the time of year, in contrast to the 365 rose and chrysanthemum bouquets that are often found elsewhere.