Thinking Green: Eco-Friendly Event Decor

Laurel Winzler

I’ve always associated the color green with the month of March. New grass on the hills, budding foliage on the trees, and of course St. Patrick’s Day. Green is also the color of conservation and eco-awareness.

 by Laurel Winzler, Floral and Event Designer

I’m often asked by clients how they can make their events more “green” and how to purchase organic or sustainably-grown floral product.

Green Event Decor

When planning an event, decor is one area where you can make eco-friendly choices to reduce your carbon footprint.  It’s important to think creatively and let go of conventional ideas like having a cut flower centerpiece on each table. Following are three ideas to help get your creative ideas flowing!

1. Use Live Plants

Use living plants that can go home with your guests at the end of the event. The following picture shows how a single plant, in this case a beautiful orchid, adds elegance and simple beauty to an event.

 2.  Think Outside of the Traditional Flower Box

Or set a flat pallet of wheat grass wrapped in Ti Leaf in the center of the table. Add a few blossoms or whimsical silk butterflies inserted on picks. 

3.  Use the Season’s Fruits and Vegetables

A simple display of fruit or vegetables can also make a statement, grouped on a plate or filling a classic glass cylinder vase.

Use Recycled Containers

Working with recycled containers also increases the eco-friendliness of an event.  Old glassware, tins, trophies or crates can be found at flea markets and thrift stores for next to nothing, and can star on your table with a simple plant tucked inside. 

This often takes more leg work to locate the containers in sufficient quantities, but if you plan early and are willing to “mix and match” you can achieve charming results!

Flowers and Plants: Organic, Sustainable or Local ?

When looking for plants or cut flowers that have organic credentials, you’ll quickly discover that the selection is limited. Flowers and plants are a visual product, and to consistently produce both beautiful blooms and attractive foliage requires the use of pesticides and fertilizers. Many growers are adopting more ecologically sound farming practices, but most still work with too many chemicals to be certified organic.

Farmers markets can be a source of organically grown seasonal blooms, but typically you’ll find the product is of lesser quality than commercially grown. To find high-quality flowers or living plants with variety and color, you still need to purchase from a commercial grower.

The Best Answer:  Buy Local!

Don Garibaldi at his family's Ano Nuevo ranch, flower growers since 1901.

The best answer is to buy from local growers – and we in the SF Bay Area are blessed to have options. Several of the vendors at the San Francisco Flower Mart still grow their own product locally- in Half Moon Bay, Salinas and Monterey. 

Most have been in  business for 3 or 4 generations, so purchases from them truly support local farmers and their communities. 

Other vendors at the Mart bring in product from Southern California, Humboldt County in Northern California, and regions of Oregon and Washington. While not immediately local, this product is not imported from overseas and many of these growers are already working sustainably in their farming practices.

Truly organic cut flowers and plants are hard to come by, but in Northern California you can exercise your option to buy local or West Coast product. Let your florist know this is a priority for you, and be open to creative suggestions and alternatives.

 All it takes is a little awareness for each of us to make “green” choices in our event decor.

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Tags: Beauty, green, Home, interior design

Category: Interior Design