Florida’s greens growers have faced more than a century of challenges — from devastating freezes in the 1890s to hurricanes that shredded shade structures and toppled trees. Yet through it all, they’ve grown what started as a backyard business into a nearly $80 million enterprise supplying more than 80 varieties of foliage to florists across the nation.
The roots of this thriving industry stretch back to the early 1900s, when Connecticut florist Peter Pierson recognized that Florida’s mild winters were ideal for growing ferns, writes Katie Vincent in the September/October issue of Floral Management.
His experiment planting asparagus plumosus north of Orlando helped transform the small settlement of Pierson, Florida, into the fern capital of the world — and sparked a flourishing greens industry that continues to define the region today.
Now, thanks to the cooperation and resilience of Florida’s foliage farmers, that legacy is being highlighted in a fresh way. The Floral Greens Farmers of Florida — a cooperative formed to support disaster recovery and collaboration on quality and marketing standards — has partnered with the Society of American Florists to share a new gallery of high-resolution images and bouquet recipes. The collection, available exclusively to SAF members, showcases the variety and versatility of Florida’s greenery and offers florists creative new ways to incorporate these long-lasting elements into their designs.
Read the “Fab Foliage” in the September/October issue of Floral Management to discover how Florida’s greens industry has endured — and how one designer features Florida product in his work.
Amanda Jedlinsky is the senior director of content and communications for the Society of American Florists.
