A Bouquet of Benefits: Floriculture and Ecosystem Gifts in an Urban Industrial Zone

Abstract

The floral industry is at once global and personal. Humans have shaped the landscape to create the simple gift of a cut-flower for thousands of years. Although regional floriculture in the western U.S. is robust, the US. imports over 75% of cut-flowers, contributing to global carbon emissions and landscape contamination. Local-based solutions can reduce environmental impact, provide an experience of place, and connect consumers to local flora. Many flowering species possess the ability to filter pollutants (phytoremediation) in contaminated soil and some of these species can continue their lives as cut-flowers, essential oils, or waste byproducts. This proposal investigates suitable floral species for a phyto-to-market system, appropriate urban floral farm and garden sites within existing networks of production, and the flow of production at the scale of a local, industrial “Flower District” in Seattle’s Georgetown neighborhood.