A sustainable bloom: Meet Ireland's flower farmers

Of the €270m we spend on cut flowers in Ireland, it’s estimated less than 5% are grown here. Roz Crowley meets the flower farmers on a mission to change that

Of the €270m we spend on cut flowers in Ireland, it’s estimated less than 5% are grown here

Fields of bright yellow daffodils in spring, tunnels full of sumptuous dahlias and delicate, soft-petalled scented roses from summer to autumn, rows of vibrant sunflowers stand proud until mid-autumn. Ireland is in bloom.

And yet, of the €271m spent annually on cut flowers here, as little as 5% comes from Irish flower farms. The majority arrive via the Netherlands, Kenya, Colombia, Ecuador, and the UK. Producing a single rose can require up to 10 litres of water in countries already vulnerable to drought, and some die on the long journey here.