Organic Bouquet: Sustainable Eco-Gifts

Flowers play an integral role in birthday surprises, setting the mood on Valentine's Day, and expressing an undying love. Organic flowers and gifts allow eco-minded consumers to support their earth-friendly lifestyle by choosing gestures that place less harm on the environment. Since 2001, Organic Bouquet has been delivering sustainably grown flowers to thousands upon thousands of customers around the world. Leading the way in the floral industry, the company has set impressive standards from establishing the first carbon offset program to promoting earth-friendly packaging. From 10 long-stemmed Organic-Certified Calla Lillies to a spread of orange roses bursting with color to a bunch of exotic-looking Pink Oriental Lilies (shown above), Organic Bouquet is much more than a flower business. The company offers a selection of decorative wreaths. Choose the hand-made Dried Lavender Wreath to add color and fragrance to a room. A wreath constructed of bay and rosemary (shown) leaves behind traces of ancient Rome with eye-catching appeal. Eco-Friendly Plants and Seed Gifts Imagine the delight that comes when relatives and friends open a gift that keeps on growing with love. Organic Bouquet offers plenty of choices in apple trees, dogwoods, California poppies, wine grapes, parsley, and other seasonal treats. Currently, Organic Bouquet is featuring the Tangerine Bonsai, which infuses a room with fragrant tropical flowers and produces mini tangerines. Housed in a natural ceramic bonsai container, this indoor gift is VeriFlora Certified. Organic Bouquet Gift Baskets Gift baskets are an easy way to show someone that you're thinking of them without the stress of choosing the 'perfect' gesture. Avoid time-consuming shopping trips and send a taste of luxury with one of the following theme-baskets:

• The Eco Gardener: For the gardener in your life, this tote provides your loved one with an array of gardening utensils, watering bottle, and a fragrant eco-friendly hand soap. Cap off an adventure spent with freshly grown rose bushes and herb gardens with a relaxing cup of tea, dried fruit, shortbread cookies, and chocolate.
• The Vineyard Selection: With a beautifully wrapped basket filled with organic Chardonnay from Bonterra vineyards, Organic Valley cheese, crackers, chocolate and cookies – how can you not go wrong?
• Italian Bistro Gift Basket: Celebrate with a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon wine with a bistro basket offering the makings of a fine dinner (pasta, sauce, olive oil breadsticks, and biscotti).

Organic Boutique Eco-Standards and Achievements From the sustainable gift basket to the Oregano Wreath, Organic Bouquet products meet the highest of standards – certified by the likes of USDA Organic, Veriflora, Demeter, Fair Trade, Smart Certified, and Green-e. When possible, the company uses recycled, recyclable, tree-free, biodegradable, compostable, post-consumer, and wild-crafted materials for their luxury gift baskets, holiday wreaths, and plant-centered presents. Eco-minded shoppers can purchase their gifts with confidence - knowing that Organic Boutique:

• Takes a gentler approach in growing flowers that places less strain on the earth
• Embraces safe ecological standards
• Prints with vegetable-based inks
• Considers the well-being of farm workers and wildlife

In addition to the many green business practices, Organic Boutique supports social and environmental causes beyond their daily operations. For example, the company donates a portion of their proceeds to charitable organizations – raising more than $250,000 to date. Photo Credits: Organic Bouquet

May Flowers

Spring has really sprung, and although some of the most popular vegetables won't be ready to harvest for another month or so, we've already started to reap nature's bounty. May is a perfect month to harvest wildflowers, especially dandelions and violets, for culinary adventures. While the leaves of the dandelion are edible, they're tastiest early in the spring, before the plant flowers. At this point it's most flavorful to stick to the golden tops of the flowers, which are also nutritious and delicious. Pick a bag full of flower tops (make sure to choose a hunting ground away from major roads and lawn chemicals), pinch of the bitter green bases, and use the petals in many interesting recipes, from dandelion fritters to dandelion syrup. You can also keep it simple and add the petals to a green salad, or steep them in hot water for a nourishing spring tea. Violets have been flowering for some time, but it's not too late to pick some for edible experimentation. Use the flowers to make delicacies like violet jelly and candied violets. In Victorian times, these dainty foods were considered so special that a violet tea party was often held in the spring to celebrate them. When cooking with violets, do be careful not to substitute African violets, which technically aren't violets at all. Dandelions and wild violets are very common in most parts of the United States, but if you can't find any, don't despair. You can order a package of edible organic flowers from Diamond Organics. Creative Commons image by Flickr user Aussiegall.