Demand for sustainably grown flowers is on the rise thanks to a greater awareness of the effects chemicals and long-haul transport can have on the environment.

And flower grower and florist Lindsey Brown says thinking local is a good start when trying to buy environmentally friendly bouquets.

"The same people who are interested in going to a farmers market and talking to the producers about their food are the ones that are interested to hear where their flowers come from," Ms Brown said.

"If you know the peonies in your grandma's garden flowered six months ago, and yet here they are being offered to you, then 'yes' they are probably not from around here.

"People are starting to ask these questions."

More flower growers are adopting sustainable practices including growing outside instead of using energy-hungry greenhouses. ( Supplied: Lindsey Brown )

So, if you want to make sustainable choices about that bunch of flowers you buy, where do you start?

Buying local might help save the ozone layer

As with a lot of fresh produce, getting as close as you can to the local source is often the best way to ensure your flowers are sustainable.

So, saying no to imported cut flowers is the first choice you can make towards buying sustainable flowers, according to Ms Brown.

One reason for this is that plant material entering Australia is treated using chemical processes to prevent the import of pests and diseases.

"The process we use here is methyl bromide fumigation — which is banned all over the world because it damages the protective ozone layer," said Ms Brown.

Flowers are often wrapped in plastic to keep them fresh for longer. ( Getty Images: Joanna McCarthy )

"But it is given an exemption for biosecurity measures."

Other chemicals, including glyphosate-based herbicides like Roundup, are used to treat flowers like roses and carnations so that they can't be propagated from cuttings and potentially spread disease.

Ms Brown understands the need for biosecurity but says that as imports increased, so too would the associated chemical use.

Imported flowers also have more packaging requirements compared to Australian flowers — again for biosecurity reasons — especially all those plastic-wrapped roses flown in for Valentine's Day each year.

'Flower miles' and sustainability

Buying flowers grown locally also means they have a lower environmental footprint from transport.

The concept of 'food miles' has encouraged environmentally conscious shoppers to buy local and seasonal produce in preference to products shipped in from afar.

Now, people are considering 'flower miles'.

Transporting flowers to Australia from Africa, Europe and Central America results in a huge amount of carbon emissions, in addition to those produced by local transfers.

Ms Brown thinks buying imported flowers from the other side of the world is "sheer insanity" given they are a very short-lived luxury.

But, she said, you should also try to buy flowers grown in your state, or within a few hundred kilometres — flying flowers from northern Queensland to Tasmania still has a huge carbon footprint.

Unlabelled imports threaten local growers

But Ms Brown said the local flower industry was shrinking and making people aware about imported flowers is key to safeguarding it.

Flower imports have increased an estimated 20 times in the past 10 years, according to Shane Holborn, executive officer of the industry body, Flowers Australia.

"The trend with florists has generally been to buy imports based on better size and pricing and because of the consistency of supply," he said.

"There are some signs that consumers and florists don't want to buy imported flowers, but they don't know what they are really getting because imported flowers aren't labelled."

The flower industry was excluded from the mandatory Country of Origin Labelling Scheme that was implemented for food earlier this year.

"It's a shame because consumers can't differentiate local from imported even if they wanted to," Mr Holborn said.

Slow flower movement

Mr Holborn said compared to other large-scale agriculture, flower farming had lower impacts, citing the example of water use.

"There's not a lot of runoff from these irrigation systems because they just slowly drip water," he said.

Asking your florist where their flowers are from is great way to start making more sustainable flower choices. ( Supplied: Lindsey Brown )

Still, many flower growers like Ms Brown are part of what's been called the 'slow flower movement'.

Apart from growing flowers for the local market, this movement aims to use environmentally friendly farming practices.

This includes growing flowers outside, rather than in energy-consuming temperature-controlled greenhouses.

In many cases 'slow' flower growing also means reducing or eliminating pesticides and herbicides, strict water management, and no plastic packaging.

What about natives?

Sustainable choices could also involve selecting flower varieties that are hardier and therefore require less water and other resources to grow.

But, Ms Brown said, while buying natives would give you a good bang for your buck in terms of vase life, it would not avoid all sustainability issues.

For a start, these flowers don't flower as profusely as other varieties.

"The land you need for those plants to produce the same volume of flowers is considerable," she said.

Native flowers also include South African natives grown in Australian that are adapted to a similar climate. ( Getty Images: David Messent )

Ms Brown also said people may not realise that some mixed native bunches include flowers that have been colour-sprayed or dyed.

"Unless you can buy something directly from the person who grew it you can't always know."

Waste not, want not

Mr Holborn believes there is some disconnect between those who produce and those who sell flowers, as illustrated by a recent case in Victoria where some locally grown tulips were deemed not good enough to sell through commercial florists.

Rather than dump them in a bin, the grower distributed thousands of the flowers throughout a Melbourne laneway.

"I think the fact that the quality was deemed too poor for the commercial sector, yet the public seemed to love [the tulips] is a good indicator of that disconnect," Mr Holborn said.

You might be thinking, why can't we just stop buying flowers?

But, said Ms Brown, there will always be social traditions that demand flowers.

"Obviously nobody needs them," she said.

"They are not essential, they are a luxury item.

"It's about thinking before you buy them, asking the questions, and looking for growers and florists who are trying to do the right thing by the environment."

"Ask: 'Is it local?' The power that question has is phenomenal," Ms Brown said.

What's your burning question? If you have a health or sustainable living question you have always wanted to know the answer to, get in touch via burningquestion@abc.net.au. We can then take your question to the experts.