Modern West Floral keeps it local – The Sopris Sun

Modern West Floral, a locally owned — and grown — flower business, operated by Vanessa Gilbert Meredith, is working to bring sustainable and locally sourced flowers to the Roaring Fork and Colorado River valleys.

Curating the natural beauty of our region is an important part of the business’ mission. On top of growing the flora locally, Modern West Floral offers unique arrangements and displays for everyday enjoyment and to breathe life into events and special occasions.

“I find it fun transferring the vision people send me of tropical flowers into a local palette,” Gilbert Meredith told The Sopris Sun.

This mindset is prevalent from all of the arrangements it provides, brought to fruition through the hard work done daily at the farm in Silt. The majority of the flowers grown are annuals, starting out from seed each spring, however, they have begun to cultivate perennial flowers as well.

When it comes to the growth of flowers, Gilbert Meredith takes utmost care — watching germination temperatures, stem direction and much more to eventually pluck the perfect flower.

Modern West Floral has a flower-share program from June to October, offering seasonal flowers, both weekly and biweekly, at pickup locations in Carbondale and Silt.

“We are taking you through a flower journey of the summer,” explained Gilbert Meredith. The flower-share brings an immersive seasonal floral presence to customers’ homes, and offers the peace of mind that they’re supporting both a local and ethical flower company.

While starting a business can be a daunting idea, for Gilbert Meredith her degree in landscape architecture helped guide the path. She moved from Ohio to Carbondale, where she enrolled in a permaculture class and worked at Sustainable Settings, which helped her realize her love for plant life even more.

“I want to meet the plants and know them,” she said.

While working at a local landscape architecture firm, Gilbert Meredith began plotting how to achieve a dream of providing native flower arrangements to the community. She finds passion in the colors and textures of flowers. Upon beginning this journey, she discovered the beauty in the temporary nature of flower design.

From seed to bloom, Modern West Floral cultivates its flowers with love and care, focusing on reducing waste and building a more environmentally sustainable flower community. Modern West Floral uses no pesticides, herbicides or chemical fertilizers. They also strive to be 100% waste-free by using compostable materials.

Gilbert Meredith finds fault in flowers being shipped nationally and worldwide and that 40-60% of flowers are wasted, creating millions of pounds of trash.

“We should try to capture the beauty of what’s here,” concluded Gilbert Meredith.

Modern West Floral has a studio space at SAW in Carbondale and will host an open house at its farm in Silt (1401 County Road 237 ) on June 28 from 9am to 5pm. For more information, visit www.modernwestfloral.com