Flower Farms

     When we think of flowers, we think of flower gardens, we think of florists and greenhouses, but rarely do we think of farms. This image is of a Dutch flower farm, but thousands of these exist throughout Asia and South America, too. I find this image striking because we expect our corn to come from uniform rows, but to farm flowers as commodities seems to fly in the face of the reasons we purchase flowers to begin with.
     Perhaps it's just me, but humans plant, raise and buy flowers for their aesthetic appeal. Flowers are beautiful, artistic, even. We buy them to celebrate accomplishments, to communicate affection. Gifts of flowers are loaded with sentiment and meaning. It's more than just about the blossoms that will fade after a week or so, it's about expression, it's about bringing Nature's artwork indoors, into our lives.
     If this is true, then it's seems paradoxical that the symbols of our expression, of Nature's beauty, would be farmed as commodities in neat and uniform rows, completely removed from any natural setting. No flower garden here, just a means to an end. Certainly, flowers have been commodified since we've been buying them, but the act of ordering or purchasing flowers for a loved one rarely seems like a commercial one to the individual. It's an act of love, right? Not one of consumerism.
     This image makes very clear the system in which even that purchase of love contributes to, and that those garden-variety flowers are mass produced with the same pesticides and fertilizers as those other commercial crops. Flowers as crops is an idea not widely recognized, I think.