While there is heightened public awareness about the benefits of organic fruits and vegetables, it is also important to buy organic flowers. Pesticide-free flowers are more bee-friendlyvital, considering the recent collapse of thousands of honeybee hivesand there is no contaminant drift from the fields. The majority of commercially cut flowers are imported from Latin America, which not only relies heavily on pesticides but also has dubious labor and human rights records. With North Carolina’s long growing season, you can buy organic flowers well into fall from local growers and at area farmers’ markets; out-of-season, Organic Bouquet (organicbouquet.com) sells flowers from South America that have been Green Certifiedpesticide-free and grown under fair labor standards.
