The History of Flower Farming

Though today it is common to see flowers for purchase at almost every grocery store and a flower shop around every corner, it has not always been this way. Though people have been growing flowers by themselves for hundreds of years, commercial flower growing was started in the Netherlands around 400 years ago when greenhouses were first invented. In the greenhouses, growers could grow flowers out of season, which made them very popular with the people. In no time, flowers started being sold to the public. As with most things present in North America, flower farming was brought over with colonization, with the first greenhouses reported around 300 years ago. However, the flowers did not last very long as proper transportation and cooling was not yet available. When refrigerated transportation was developed, the flower market was able to expand to places where previously, the flowers were ruined. This led to California becoming the leading state in flower farming. Imports and exports of flowers also began between countries as transportation technology allowed flowers to last for longer. A carnation farm was opened in Columbia during the 1960s, which is one of the most successful flower-growing countries. However, with the increased imports, flower farming died down within the US, causing major troubles for those who ran the farms. In fact, most of cut flowers sold in the US today are imported from another country! In today’s day and age, it is easy to purchase flowers almost anywhere, with the quality ranging from low to high, but it is important to remember that it wasn’t always this way!