'Green' is the new -everything

It's nice to know that we've been 'green' before green was -everything.

I have always tried to keep in mind a saying my grandmother had- 'Take as much as you'd like but, not more than you need.' My grandparents were very simple people- simple in their existance, but not their experiences. I truly loved being with them- they were a refuge to me. I loved hearing about how life was when they grew up..at the turn of the century and in another country none-the-less. They appreciated everything they had..be it a simple possession or friend- everything was to be valued...

So, were is this going in relation to green?? Well, they were from Ireland- the first green. Not that that has anything to do with this, but I figured I'd throw that in for some actual color. But, one thing I always remember is that they reused lots of stuff. Fabric, tin foil and wax paper, boxes, containers and even string. I remember using my mother's crayons-- nubs that they were.. My grandmother just couldn't throw them out.. mind you they were wretched to try and color with, on the occasion we did use them- but we loved playing with them.

They also had a garden and grew wonderful vegetables and flowers. This is where I'm going with the story--- growing your own things-- or for us... Lavender Hill purchasing flowers from locally grown sources. And we're lucky enough to be able to-- and that's today's photo.

Our grower is in Lanesville and he and his wife bring us wonderful seasonal flowers. Our latest crop has been amazing sunflowers, zinnias, sohrgum, pincushions, cox comb and tansey. We love when he stops in because we never know what he'll have or what color it will be in.

When he stopped in yesterday- I had to snap a photo of his van. He and his wife had their grandchild with them on their deliveries so the van was not as filled as usual.. but you can get a pretty good idea from the photo. They have lots of fresh flowers- and they last a very long while.

So, the rest of my green story is.. We will be reusing small boxes for deliveries along with our regular delivery boxes whenever possible-- we're just adding a recycle sticker to let everyone know-- we're not just being cheap. We're also implementing a 'recycle your vase' program. Many people have lots of old vases collected from the times they've received flowers.. we'd like to reuse them. If you bring them in we'll give you store credit for a future purchase. You get rid of the vases- we pass them on to someone else. We're also working on a program to recycle the flowers from someone's wedding or event. Everyone should be able to enjoy flowers and after most events people do not take the flowers home- what a waste. Encouraging a bride or groom to donate their reception decor- centerpieces to an organization that can enjoy them -be it a hospice setting, homeless shelter, group home etc. . We're still working out the details on that but all around everyone benefits.

Well, that's it for now. I hope everyone has a great weekend. I will be off- amazingly- but only because my darling daughter Jennifer will be moving back up to college and into her first apartment. It will be very bittersweet for me and my husband, but I know she's very excited. And she's recycling too-- she's taking the food out of my pantry to stock hers... What a girl!

Have a great weekend-