I don’t know if there is anything I look forward to more than the flowers of February. I love all flowers all the time, but there is something special about the first daffodils and tulips of the new year. These days we see tulips earlier in the fall and further into the spring, but some of the finest specimens of the season are here now — just in time to brighten our world.

February is a good month to be in the flower business, particularly if you like to stay busy. Valentine’s Day is the first of the triple crown of floral holidays, where sales in flowers from all over the world are huge. For Valentine’s the traditional focus is on roses and the demand is enormous. But February also marks the start of the season where bulb flowers and orchids are exceptional all the way through Easter and on to Mother’s Day. It’s a time when flower growers, buyers and retailers get to show off the impressive array of Mother Nature’s gifts.
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Our Whole Trade® Guarantee means you can give Valentine’s Day gifts that can change someone’s world, and I’m not just talking about the recipient. Our Whole Trade chocolates, body care and flowers are grown and produced to meet our commitment to ethical trade, the environment and the highest quality. But what if you are done with all that romantic gift giving? (At least for now.) There are all kinds of love, and no one said that Valentine’s Day has to be for lovers only. So how can you still spread love?

Would you rather hang out with your friends on this sometimes special/sometimes tricky day? Here are a few ideas for how you can share your love with the pals who lend you their shoulders (and who need your shoulder too). Read the rest of this entry »

There is a long-standing language of flowers said to be have been finely tuned in the Victorian era when flowers were used as a form of communication to express feelings which otherwise could not be spoken. Today flowers and their colors continue to be coupled with specific emotions and wishes. For example, red roses are often associated with love and desire, which could contribute to their popularity at Valentine’s Day and (also explains why I was so embarrassed when I received them in middle school from a young suitor).
Whether you want to send a coded message or just want to please your partner with flowers you know will be appreciated, this Valentine’s Day we’ve got you covered. Expect to find:

Roses

These blooms are the tried and true favorite when Valentine’s Day rolls around. (From romantic love to friendship, different colored roses symbolize different things. Mixing colors is the perfect way to customize your message or simply create a vivid bouquet!)

Tulips

Mix and match in large bunches, or keep it simple and sleek. With their bold colors, sweet charm and low price, tulips are a great way to shake things up! (They represent true love.)

Gerbera Daisies (aka Gerber Daisies)

With big, bright blooms, Gerbera daisies are a great complement when mixed with other flowers or are charming on their own. (These cheery blooms represent innocence and purity.)

Mixed Bouquets

We always have a wide assortment of sizes, designs, and colors available for mixed bouquets, an easy vase-ready gift. Choose a ready-made bouquet or have one custom-made! (By mixing up the flowers, you can mix up the message and really keep your valentine on their toes!)

Potted Orchids — Not every flower has to go in a vase. With their graceful shapes and delicate blooms, these gorgeous plants are sure to please for months to come. (Orchids are said to represent love, strength and beauty.)

When shopping for roses, Gerbera daisies and mixed bouquets, look for the Whole Trade® Guarantee, our label that indicates that the flowers were grown with a commitment to ethical trade, the environment and the highest quality. Think of these as “blooms with benefits” or “roses without the thorns” or “flowers with powers”. Okay flower metaphors aside, buying Whole Trade products supports positive change in the developing countries where the products are sourced. Additionally, one percent of Whole Trade flower retail sales go to the Whole Planet Foundation to help fight poverty in developing countries. Giving Whole Trade flowers is sending a pretty strong message, don’t you think?

What will your flower choice reveal this Valentine’s Day?

For six days in January, a group of Whole Foods Market team members traveled to South America, visiting farms, meeting growers and seeing firsthand the benefits of our Whole Trade® flower program. Read part one, Flowers UnCut, and part two, An Elite Community.

Our first day in Quito was an amazing introduction to a place, a culture, and a people unlike any other. The sheer geography at over ten thousand feet in the tumultuous Andes mountain range atop the equator gave the city a powerful and immense character. The region stretches across enormous valleys with drop-off cliffs, rivers and active volcanoes throughout. The land is green and dotted with concrete and cinderblock houses.

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For six days in January, a group of Whole Foods Market team members traveled to South America, visiting farms, meeting growers and seeing firsthand the benefits of our Whole Trade® flower program. Read part one, Flowers UnCut.

Our journey began in Bogota, Colombia, home of one of our largest Whole Trade® growers, Elite Flowers. Despite working for Whole Foods Market, a mission-driven company with a commitment to supporting all of our stakeholders, it can be easy to discount the powerful positive impact a company can have on its workers, their families and the greater community in which they live. Yet we were lucky enough to see that impact in action with a brief glimpse into the community of Elite Flowers, their Foundation and their Worker’s Fund. Through it all I was inspired, impressed and dutifully full on delicious food (if you are ever in Bogota, you absolutely must try Ajiaco soup!). Elite is a large company with over 4,000 employees and the work they do is changing lives on a daily basis, both inside and out of the greenhouse walls.

The Elite Foundation was initially created to improve the lives of the employees’ children, who were largely left at home to be raised by the older children. The goal was to provide quality education, nutrition and expression through art and community. When we established our Whole Trade relationship with the farm, the foundation became the natural recipient for the 10% premium we pay over the cost of the flowers (pre-shipping) that goes directly into important community programs. As those dollars rolled in, Elite was able to expand their overall services and directly fund 150 new children in the program. But to truly understand the importance and impact of these dollars, we needed to see it in person.

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An avid lover of food and travel, Nick Heustis has worked for Whole Foods Market for 12 years and is currently the Associate Marketing Coordinator for the Northern California region.

Flowers are a symbol of celebration and emotion; they convey feelings, life and vitality. They add color and warmth to our homes, and at the other end of the supply chain, they provide jobs, homes and community for the people who grow, harvest and package them. For six days in January, a group of Whole Foods Market® team members traveled to South America, visiting farms, meeting growers and seeing firsthand the benefits of our Whole Trade® flower program. It was a wild ride of planes, buses, cars and missing iPads, and through it all we were inspired by the people, the culture and the practices that create some of the most impressive flowers I have ever seen. This will be the first of three posts, with the hope of sharing our journey with you. Read the rest of this entry »

Our floral departments are all dressed up for the holidays! Along with providing your traditional favorites in fresh, vibrant colors, we think this is the perfect time of year to reflect on how our Whole Trade® Guarantee provides beautiful blooms that can change someone’s world. From Costa Rican lilies to Ecuadorean roses, our Whole Trade flowers are grown to meet our commitment to ethical trade, the environment and the highest quality — all while bringing the warmth of the holidays to you and yours.

In Costa Rica, we buy our Whole Trade lilies from Plantas y Flores, and their deep red Asiatic Knockout lilies are perfect for the holidays. Plantas y Flores is located high in the mountains — about 6,600 feet above sea level — above San Jose near the Irazu volcano, which you can see on a clear day. They are keen on detail and, in addition to quality checks on foliage, they actually measure to ensure the head size of every lily hits our minimum specification. Once the lily stalk is cut for packing, the plant’s bulbs are taken out of the ground and used in the farm’s compost. It takes an average of 13-18 weeks to grow a lily plant from bulb to a stalk that is ready to be harvested for retail sale.

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Whether you’re stuffing a stocking, sending a gift across the country, handing a hostess some holiday cheer or simply putting something special in the hands of someone special, you’re sure to find a gift for everyone on your list at Whole Foods Market. Over the next three days, we’re sharing helpful ideas in our gift giving guide. Today we’ll explore over 10 gifts for under $10 that are sure to make even a Grinch smile.  Tomorrow we’ll share stocking stuffers from around our stores and gifts you make yourself. And Sunday brings tips for easy shopping from the comfort of your living room — in your PJs with a mug of hot cocoa in hand.

OVER 10 GIFTS UNDER $10

For the Wine and Cheese Lover

Isigny Ste. Mére Bonhomme Brie: A rich, creamy, crowd-pleasing cheese, exclusively ours and only available this time of year. It’s the best of Normandy, traditionally crafted by a farmer co-op. Lush grasses make for rich milk, superb flavor and a luscious mouthfeel.

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The holidays are coming, and with them, the many opportunities to share your time with family and friends. One of the things I like to do this is get together and make holiday flower arrangements for our homes. It’s not about perfection, rather it’s a chance to take a moment and slow down and simply savor the beauty of the season. So, whether you’re pulling together a whimsical bouquet for the kitchen island or wowing with traditional elegance at the dining room table, here are a few quick and no-stress tabletop décor tips to try this season.

Want to keep things food-centered and fun? A group of simple vases of different sizes, filled with alternating rows of fresh cranberries and limes are not only easy, but the kids can help too! Place them along a buffet, and add a few candles to help pull it all together. Or, take that pumpkin you didn’t get around to carving at Halloween, cut off the top and place your floral centerpiece inside. Make sure your flowers are in a water-tight vessel — otherwise you might end up with an unexpected mess!

Break away from the traditional holiday hues and get colorful! Casual chic is easily obtained with some vibrantly hued Whole Trade® roses, stems cut short and placed in a ceramic baking dish or glass Mason jar.A low profile centerpiece like this helps keep your table merry without taking up valuable real estate needed for that bowl of sweet potatoes!

Ornamental branches, such as pumpkin trees, are great as added bits of texture and charm with pre-made arrangements and centerpieces. Or, place bunches of red ilex berries in a large vase for a simple yet dramatic display. Try some Whole Trade orange asiatic lilies paired with sprigs of rosemary to add a wonderfully subtle hint of fragrance that won’t clash with the other holiday aromas wafting through the kitchen.

A vase can be a jar, a centerpiece can be a group of varietal squash and leaves, and a rose can still be, well, a rose! Whatever you prefer, there are lots of ways to make your table look great without much fuss and leave you with plenty of time to swap stories over that last slice of pumpkin pie.

Today’s the day for tulips! While supplies last, pick up 3 10-stem bunches for just $12. With a deal like this you can bring Spring to someone special and brighten your day, too. Better act fast, today only — Friday, March 25th. Enjoy!

Happy Spring!