....Where do all the floral garlands end up?
Across the world, Valentine’s Day is celebrated on February 14 to honour Saint Valentine, a Roman priest who wedded couples in defiance of Emperor Claudius II, to prevent single men from going to war. For his defiance, he paid with his dear life.
How did this matter of defiance and death become a love affair? Legend has it that before his execution on February 14 St. Valentine is believed to have sent a letter to his Jailer’s daughter, signed ‘’From your Valentine’’. This began the tradition of sending affectionate letters to loved ones, and it merged with romantic traditions as it is believed to mark the beginning of the birds’ mating season in Europe.
This 3rd century story of defiance, execution and bird’s mating, even becomes convoluted and confusing, as Pope Gelasius I is said to have established this as a feast day around 496AD, to replace the pagan fertility festival of Lupercalia.
How this developed into a modern-day celebration of love, romance and affection, and spread like wild fire, especially in Africa where love was only celebrated in privacy, still intrigues me.
On this day some people push the limits of expression to show those they love they really love them. In Rwanda, days before Valentine’s Day, the Central Bank warned people it is illegal to use banknotes for decorative purposes, and as bouquets to celebrate love. I would never use my money to decorate anything! This reminds me of a comedian cum politician from one East African country who once said "my family has never produced anyone who hates money’’.
But what I set out to inquire about is where do the debris of flower Bouquets go after men and women regain their normal senses? I have (a borrowed) idea!
Following Queen Elizabeth II passing in September 2022, I think all the global flower shipments en-route to anywhere, were redirected to the United Kingdom. During that month, I wished I was a flower merchant, as I watched people buy flowers out of existence, and even started plucking tree branches! Floral tributes filled nature parks, every public place, and outside Royal residences, as British and Commonwealth citizens mourned Her Majesty and condoled with the Royal Family.
For a whole week after the Queen’s funeral, the City of London, for example, still hosted mountains of flowers and other decorative material. Then earth moving equipment descended on the ‘flower mountains’ and started removing and loading the debris on to big trucks. They were transported to a nursery in Hyde Park in Central London, and other locations, cleared of packaging and labels. The organic material was composted, resulting into fertilizer. The fertilizer was used to enrich the soils in landscapes, Royal Parks and community gardens around the city and across the country.
Got the idea? Yes, some clever entrepreneurs should take advantage of the month of love, collect the bouquets, compost the debris and process them into fertilizer! Then, at least, our agricultural value chain benefits from the ‘economics of love’- which refers to the application of rational economic principles – like scarcity, supply and demand, investment, utility maximization, and exchange - to analyse romantic relationships, dating and household decisions.
The author is a keen observer of global affairs.