Flowers at the grocery store are tempting to buy, but after talking to Alison Feik of Grand Mother’s Garden, you might want to think twice about where those blooms really come from.
A graduate of Mound Westonka High School, Feik says flowers in supermarkets are typically flown in from South America and doused in pesticides that negatively affect florists, she says, as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not regulate the toxic chemical since people don’t consume flowers.
In Maple Plain, Feik grows her garden without the use of chemicals, making her green space better for “birds, bees, frogs and people who interact with flowers,” she says. Feik adds that she uses a mixture of milfoil from Lake Minnetonka and horse manure from a nearby farm for mulch and compost.
This summer, check out Feik’s website and her Facebook page for a list of events and retailers selling her 30 varieties of organic flowers.
