Sustainable + Conscious Floral Design: How Bumble Fleur Blooms with Purpose
Where Flowers and Ethics Bloom Together ✨
At Bumble Fleur, beauty and sustainability go hand in hand. Here's how we create thoughtful floral design for weddings and events that honors the planet.
At Bumble Fleur, sustainability isn’t just a buzzword—it’s a foundational value that shapes how we approach every design, installation, and flower order. We believe that beautiful florals and environmental consciousness can go hand-in-hand, and we’re committed to minimizing waste while maximizing the impact of your wedding or event florals.
Thoughtful Mechanics: Reusable, Compostable, and Clever
A major way we reduce waste is by carefully choosing the floral mechanics that go into our designs. Instead of relying solely on single-use floral foam (which doesn’t biodegrade and can be harmful to waterways and soil), we lean into reusable and compostable alternatives. Think chicken wire structures, heavy ceramic or cement vessels, and durable wire armatures that can be used again and again. When we do use floral foam, we often repurpose foam cages or Lomey trays, extending their lifespan rather than discarding them after one event.
We’ve also embraced compostable mechanics like AgraWool—a natural, biodegradable floral substrate that gives us the structure we need without sacrificing our values. For smaller, delicate arrangements, we’ll often turn to Japanese floral frogs or Kenzans, which not only create a stunning Ikebana-style aesthetic but are also completely reusable.
Local and Seasonal First: Where We Source Our Flowers
We believe that the story of a floral design begins with the source. At Bumble Fleur, we prioritize local flowers whenever possible—not just because they’re fresher and more unique, but because they carry a lighter environmental footprint.
We grow many of our own flowers right at home in our urban garden. When we need more, we turn to local flower exchanges and farmers throughout Minnesota and the surrounding region. By supporting growers close to home, we drastically reduce the miles flowers travel to get to an event. For reference, most local flowers travel under 100 miles. In contrast, imported blooms (often flown in from Ecuador, Colombia, or the Netherlands) can travel 3,000 to 6,000+ miles before reaching a client—contributing to far greater emissions and carbon output.
When local sourcing isn’t possible, we prioritize American-grown farms, including those in California, Oregon, and Texas, to keep our sourcing as sustainable and transparent as possible.
Reduce, Reuse, Rent
We don’t believe you have to own every single vase or installation piece to create magic. In fact, we’ve found that sharing is part of sustainability. That’s why we offer rentals for centerpiece vessels and bud vases—so you don’t have to purchase new containers that may never be used again. We also collaborate with other florists and rental companies to borrow or rent items we don’t carry. It’s a simple shift that reduces waste and encourages community over consumption.
After the Aisle: What Happens to Your Flowers?
Post-event flower waste is one of the most heartbreaking parts of the floral industry. That’s why we offer thoughtful, client-centered options to give your flowers a second life.
After the event, you can:
Take their arrangements home or distribute them to guests if designed appropriately.
Donate blooms to Bluebirds & Blooms, a local nonprofit that repurposes flowers into bedside arrangements for hospice and care facility patients.
Choose full composting of leftover stems and foliage.
We never throw stems into the garbage. When flowers go to landfills, they contribute to methane gas emissions and add unnecessary waste. Composting, on the other hand, allows those blooms to return to the earth—often becoming part of the nutrient-rich compost we use to grow the next season’s flowers.
We also compost food scraps at Bumble Fleur to create natural, chemical-free fertilizer. It’s one more way we close the loop and keep our garden thriving year-round.
Sustainability in Bloom
Creating conscious floral designs isn’t always the easiest route, but it’s the right one for us. From mechanics to materials to miles traveled, every decision at Bumble Fleur is guided by sustainability, beauty, and heart. We’re proud to offer our clients stunning, artful arrangements that feel as good for the planet as they do in the room.
If you're planning an event or wedding and want your flowers to reflect your values, we'd love to chat.