5 for 2020: Floriculture Trends, Subtle & Seismic
From Color to Climate, What's on the Hive Mind
Shoppers increasingly want to spend with companies that use that money to do some good.
That idea, highlighted in a TIME magazine profile of an outdoor clothing company that gives a share of its sales to environmental causes, echoes a theme in this year's forecast:
Values-driven shoppers pick brands based on where they stand on social issues.
This is no fringe idea. Research by marketing firm Edelman, has found that a majority of consumers worldwide now buy on their beliefs, a trend rising across age groups and income levels until it has become mainstream.
5 floral trends, subtle and seismic
You don't have to be a full-time activist to do good through your business, but in a survey of florists and flower farmers, most respondents said their company's values and mission are valuable brand assets as well as marketing tools. A Pacific Northwest wedding and event florist put it well when defining Tobey Nelson at the 2019 Slow Flowers Summit, in defining sustainable floristry aschoosing better options to reduce harm to the environment and people.
For this forecast, in partnership with flower growers and designers, the survey asked florists, flower farmers and their followers about their businesses, new themes and what matters to them. More insight came from interviews with growers, podcast guests and leaders in floral design, flower farming and related creative fields.
1 • Agriculture-driven Design / Design-driven Flower Farming
Variety is a top priority for designers who want to learn more about plants and get the best seasonal materials. Whether or not they grow themselves, savvy florists are building more farm-direct relationships and favoring wholesalers who make an effort to buy from domestic growers for them.
A Minnesota designer notes that florists start to change when they watch nature more closely and find inspiration in plants once seen as unconventional. Her motto now is never say never: an everyday element can spark a more complex design when placed beside the right bloom. She has become open to flowers she once avoided, especially those grown by local farms she likes, such as callas, Asiatic and Oriental lilies, double gerberas, clarkia, tulips and agrostemma. Her value to clients, she says, is in how she uses those flowers and how closely she notices a shade within a petal or its shape.
The next step comes from designers who weave the farm story into their style and branding. The flip side of farm-driven design is flower farmers bringing a designer's eye to choosing and planning crops. From farmer–designer collaborations to apps and websites that show florists who grows what and when it's available, links between field and studio matter more than ever.
Many respondents described themselves as farmer–florists, with flower farmers and floral designers close behind, and plenty checked more than one box. More florists are clearly willing to grow their own, and more farmers are taking up design. The two worlds increasingly depend on each other, and many businesses give the cutting garden and the design studio equal weight.
A Wyoming florist sees more flower farmers moving into design and retail, designers noticing the quality and charm of local flowers, and customers asking for greener choices. A Kentucky farmer–florist wants to make local flowers easy for florists to use, teaching them to work local stems into designs as a special touch that sets their work apart. And a Toronto designer involved with a design studio and a local flower collective points out that farmer–florists understand both design and plants, while for those who don't do both, close farmer–designer relationships open up conversations about what to learn and grow next.
2 • Organic Flower Seeds: Still Limited but on the Ascent
A notable share of survey respondents named sourcing organic flower seed as a growing theme for their business. Organic vegetable seed is increasingly common, but seed companies haven't always been able to offer a wide range of organic flowers. That's slowly changing, pushed by sustainable growers and conscientious home gardeners.
One Virginia farmer–florist already uses organic seed where possible and plans to diversify with more self-sowing perennials. A Washington designer saves seed from her organic cutting garden and also buys from specialty seed companies.
Our flower team hears requests for more organic flower seed all the time. We keep trialing and adding organic flower options, but it's a challenge, mostly because availability and selection are still limited.
A meaningful share of new flower varieties in recent years have been certified organic. There's real potential here, and demand should bring more organic flower seed options in the future.
3 • Polychromatic Floral Palettes
The Pantone Color Institute's 2020 Color of the Yearinfluences everything from flower palettes to home decor and appliances. Flower growers and designers responded not only to the calm, confident feel of Classic Bluebut also predicted a full rainbow of colors for the season ahead.
Respondents talked about nature's whole spectrum of color. A Kansas flower farmer reported that recent wedding inquiries all asked for multicolor hand-tied bouquets and hoped brights were making a comeback.
A Maryland florist predicted more color blocking in design.
No single color stood out in the survey; every color of the rainbow drew a similar share of votes. That suggests multicolor, or polychromatic, palettes were likely to make a big impression in 2020.
It isn't for everyone. Still, even a Seattle designer known for neutrals created a memorably prismatic wedding featured in a national wedding magazine. Inspired by the colorful world of plants, more designers, farmer–florists and growers are embracing pigment-rich petals.
Here's to every hue!
4 • Shifting Forms: Geometric, De- & Re-constructed
Many respondents expected the loose, soft, flowing look to continue, but a smaller group pointed to asymmetrical geometric forms and deconstructed and reconstructed shapes. A trade magazine contributor and design teacher in Vancouver has long taught deconstructed and reconstructed design, and this look is likely to keep exciting flower buyers.
Strong linear shapes may draw on ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arranging, or continue the open, airy forms seen in earlier forecasts. A California designer said airy, deconstructed work isn't her main style but is something she sees more often and wants to explore.
A Missouri flower farmer finds that designing entirely with farm-grown flowers suits a loose, natural style, and enjoys highlighting each stem's natural curves. A Virginia florist also pointed to flower-focused, open designs.
The San Francisco designer trained in the Sogetsu school of ikebana , which shaped her approach to finding the sculptural potential of each flower, leaf and branch. Taking materials apart and rearranging them is a concept she returns to again and again to reveal unexpected beauty.
5 • Responding to Climate Change
Many respondents said they are changing how they grow to adapt to climate change. Shifting weather and natural disasters, from drought and wildfire to hurricanes and floods, have disrupted growers across North America.
A Kansas flower farmer is working with the seasons and dry conditions by using as many native and regionally adapted plants as possible, noting that there's still work to do to get customers to accept less familiar varieties and that future improvements center on water management. Many growers are also weighing resource use, alternative energy and regenerative farming practices.
Growers aren't the only ones facing unpredictable weather. This may be the most profound shift of all. Everyone is adjusting, including florists who need specific flowers on specific dates and know a sudden hailstorm or early frost can upend careful wedding plans.
So how are people responding?
A Florida flower farmer is looking for varieties that handle heat and humidity to extend her seasons.
The Wyoming florist is likewise leaning on native plants suited to the Rocky Mountains' harsh climate and short season, while noting that customers still need convincing about less familiar varieties.
In Seattle, an event florist organized a roundtable on the flower business and climate change for fellow florists, choosing to talk through worries and plan next steps instead of feeling helpless.
She has also changed her own business, deciding to source only West Coast flowers with a few exceptions, and explaining to clients that arrangements may look a bit different and why. Her clients have been very receptive.
After many years in the business, she has noticeably shifted from long-distance sourcing to local ingredients, including a meaningful share foraged from nearby.
Foraging has been on the rise for years, along with the return of everlastings and dried flowers . As more growers and designers adopt this look, one silver lining of a changing climate may be a greater willingness to work with the seasons instead of trying to outwit nature.
