Floristry is Changing

An Alternative

An alternative to floral foam, made from basalt rock and a sugar-based binding agent, ‘Rockwool’. Image: thursd.com.

Floral foam or ‘oasis’ are those green, spongy blocks that florists have been using a long time to anchor flower arrangements and keep them hydrated, as the blocks soak up and hold water.  What many people don’t realise is that the foam is a single-use product made of plastic that takes hundreds of years to break down.  Some experts even suggest that they may never break down in landfill. 

First created in the 1950’s, floral foam soon became established as an essential tool in modern floral design.  A by-product from another industry that just happened to find a function in floristry, it holds up to 50 times its weight in water, and can support a flower or foliage stem in a desired position.  It can be easily cut and shaped to fit into a container and is cheap to purchase – unfortunately a 2019 study showed that floral foam harms aquatic organisms – this type of plastic does not biodegrade in an environmentally friendly way.  Typically, the material just fragments into ever smaller particles.  These microplastics then are easily dispersed into the environment where they cause a lot of problems.  They can be ingested by a range of freshwater and marine animals and adversely affect their health.

A spiky alternative by Anthropologie, ‘Flower Frogs’.

Flowers standing in balance, from Olga’s Flower Farm on Instagram.

A Floral Foam Alternative

Agrawool Natural Floral Foam appears to be the first product of its kind, that can be described as a more sustainable alternative to traditional floral foam.    ‘Rockwool’ is a product of AgraWool International, Netherlands and is made of 97% powdered Basalt rock and a sugar-based binding agent which is spun into a ‘wool’ product at a high heat.  The resulting product is similar to growing mediums used for hydroponics and could be described as blocks of felted cotton in texture. It is a non-toxic, environmentally benign material made from natural materials.  The product will biodegrade and become rock dust when added to the soil and wouldn’t pose an ingestion risk to animals in the way plastic does. For more information about this product go here.

What are other alternatives to floral foam?

• Chicken Wire. Chicken wire has become one of the designer's materials of choice and has been used for many years as an alternative to wet floral foam

• Flower Frogs - see these examples from Anthropologie

• Gravel rocks and pebbles

• Willow, rattan or pliable reeds

• Wood Wool

• Straw

• Water vials

• Flower Foliage

Here’s a beautiful, Zen-like and 100% sustainable floral design we found on Olga’s Flower Farm on Instagram.  A new style of floral composition ‘Kukido’, apparently devised by Yuichi Tamaru, that keeps the flowers standing, in balance: this design emphasises the stem, and natural form. All parts of the flower are exposed, even those damaged or withered.  Arranged on a tray with a few millimetres of water – the ‘Kukido values the plant element whatever its size.

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