Janie's Visit to Alexandra Farms
As most of you know, I (Janie) won a floral design contest in early January and the prize was a trip to Colombia to visit our favourite garden rose farm- Alexandra Farms, located in the Sabana de Bogota, about 30 minutes from the city of Bogota.
Myself and 4 other florists from Amsterdam and the United States along with a few wholesalers (Choice Farms + Mayesh Wholesale) and Nita Robertson from Florists' Review were invited along for the experience.
I have been designing with the luxury roses from Alexandra Farms since 2015 and more recently in 2022 became an Alexandra Farms Certified Designer. I've taken the time to study and learn about their roses so visiting the farm was an extra special experience for me. Thank you to Joey Azout, president of Alexandra Farms, and his team for being wonderful hosts and for this incredible opportunity!
Read below to learn about my experience! Make sure to read to the end to see how you can win a bouquet of Garden roses designed by me, from Alexandra Farms!
The Visit
On February 27 + 28 I had the privilege of visiting both of Alexandra Farms operations. They have two farms, San Ignacio and El Jardin and grow on almost 50 acres (20 hectares) of greenhouses between the two. While it’s not as large as other farms in the area, their product is superior, and their employees are happy.
The farms employs 400 people with about 80% of them being women heads of households. I spoke with many of the employees, all happy to work there and most being employed by the farm for over 10 years!
There is very little turn over and the staff really love their work and take pride in it. They are paid fair wages and have access to a doctor who comes regularly (twice monthly) to check the health of all the employees. Dentists and optometrists also visit the farm twice a month and there are several first aid trained personnel on staff. Additionally, they have access to healthy meals daily at the farm.
At the farm, there are many safety protocols with environmental and social standards in place. Alexandra Farms has the Florverde Sustainable Flowers certification, and has reduced their pesticide use significantly by 60%, and are using beneficial insects and other methods instead. The workers must use proper safety clothing when spraying pesticides and women aren't permitted to spray pesticides for reproductive health safety. Of course, there is no child labour, and the water reservoirs on site are all fenced off with warning signs and have life savers at the perimeters.
They compost and reuse 100% of their own flower waste and capture all of the rain water that falls to use as irrigation. Since they are located close to the Equator, no heating or cooling is needed in the greenhouses, reducing their carbon footprint.
The Rose Varieties
Alexandra Farms grows more than 60 varieties of garden roses.
They have 2 lines of Japanese breed roses the Wabara Garden Roses and Princess Garden Roses, their own line of Deluxe Garden Roses, bred in Germany, France, The Netherlands, Denmark and Spain, and their most famous line- David Austin Wedding Roses, bred by David Austin in England.
We walked through a number of greenhouses to see how the roses were grown, cut, grouped, and then sent to be sorted, bunched, labelled, processed with Quick dip, refrigerated, and shipped out. There are 2-3 refrigerated trucks that leave the farms daily, 7 days a week, to take boxes of flowers to the airport which get sent around the world.
So much care and attention to details happens at every stage of the growing process and we walked through and saw each stage. What an experience!
Apart from growing garden roses, Alexandra Farms has expanded into offering dahlias year round and are testing a variety of filler flowers for release to the market.
The Test Varieties
While on our visit, we got to see 30+ test varieties and give our opinions on whether the farm should bring them into full production and to market. Many of the test varieties we saw won't be commercially sold until 2024 or 2025.
Joey Azout, President of Alexandra Farms really welcomes feedback and wants to know what florists think of their products. He wants to make sure we have the very best roses for use in our wedding and event designs and for that I am truly thankful!
Designing with the Roses
At El Jardin we were invited to have a traditional Colombian lunch and received a sweet surprise from some of the workers. They had learned that we were coming for a visit (the second larger group visit since the pandemic), and a group of employees prepared 2 traditional Colombian dances and preformed them for us! It was so special!
We then spent the afternoon designing with any rose varieties we wanted to. They had all been cut and placed in vases for us with labels of each variety. We were free to choose our vases and any flowers and colour palette we wanted to! It was like a florist's dream come true!
I, of course, gravitated to a few of my very favorite blooms including "Miyabi", "Miyabi Brown", "Sola Spray", "Edith", "Beatrice", "Golden Mustard", "Constance" and "Romantic Antike". But honestly it was hard to choose a favourite because they are all so beautiful and there was a rose for every colour palette.
They also have a new rose variety introduced to the market this year called "Symbol". It's a mixed between a "Golden Mustard" and "Toffee Rose". It's really beautiful and will likely be a huge hit.
Here are some of the designs I created during my visit!
New Flower Friends
Thank you Alexandra Farms for sharing your roses with me and with the world! It was such a delight to see where our wedding roses come from and meet the people behind the brand.
To Our Readers:
For your chance to win a bouquet of garden roses designed by me, from Alexandra Farms, please comment below on what you thought was the most interesting information shared above about my trip, and which rose variety is your favourite!
We will randomly pick two winners from the comments. Contest closes Sunday April 2, 2023 at 9pm MST. Winners will be announced on April 3rd and will receive their bouquets the week of April 17th. Winners must live in Calgary or be able to have them delivered to an address within Calgary city limits.
For an extra chance to win, go to our Instagram post and follow the instructions!
There will be a two winners chosen from the blog post + two from Instagram, so four bouquets will be given away!
Good Luck!
45 Comments
Apr 3, 2023, 6:08:37 PM
Janelle Gerstein - We have decided to randomly choose 3 winners (instead of two) from the comments below. Congratulations Karen, Kelsey + Olivia. I will email you directly to arrange delivery. Thank you to everyone who took the time to read about my trip to Alexandra Farms and for commenting below. - Janie
Apr 3, 2023, 5:04:29 PM
Janelle Gerestein - Olivia, you are one of our winners! I'll email you directly to organize how we can get these roses to you!
Mar 31, 2023, 11:23:05 PM
Amanda Kantor - Wow that must have been an amazing trip!! I love how Alexander farms are conscious of the environment and are limiting pesticide use! There are so many beautiful flowers it’s hard to choose a favourite. The princess aiko and princess maya are gorgeous :)
Mar 30, 2023, 10:23:19 AM
Sherly - Wow! Those roses look amazing! How cool it must have been to get a sneak peek of the test varieties! I thought it was interesting that they are using are using beneficial insects and other methods instead of pesticides! It's a great natural way to care for the flowers! I love the Lady Gardener Rose. But I love any rose with an orange/apricot mix and hints of pink! :)
Mar 23, 2023, 8:55:01 PM
Katrina Garcia - I love that you were invited to a traditional Colombian lunch and that you got to see the dances! My favourite garden rose is Westminster Abbey
Mar 23, 2023, 4:34:59 PM
Brenley Carson - I love the princess garden rose! What a cool trip this would have been incredible! What blew my mind was that Alexandra Farms grows more than 60 varieties of garden roses!!!
Mar 22, 2023, 1:20:58 PM
Debbie - I found it very interesting to read how they're reducing the amount of pesticide use and composting to reduce the environmental footprint.
Mar 22, 2023, 9:05:02 AM
Megan - What an amazing trip!! So many variety of roses! I love how they reduced use of pesticides for environmental concerns and health safety.
Mar 22, 2023, 7:40:25 AM
Amanda Hamilton - I love how much care is taken in getting the flowers ready for transport!! I also love the princess garden roses. Seems like an amazing trip!
Mar 21, 2023, 11:03:59 AM
Natalie - Beautiful pictures, it looks like an amazing trip! I love that the staff are about 80% women heads of households. To hear the turnover being so low with a lot of the staff having been there 10 years; that says a lot! Toffee roses are my favorite. I'm excited to see "symbol" used :)
Mar 21, 2023, 9:34:04 AM
Veronica van Kampen - I loved following along with your visit to Alexandra farms, what an incredible experience! If only we could grow more in Canada! My favourite was hearing about the new test varieties! What an amazing job that would be! My favourite roses are cafe latte and the cloud roses! Thank you for the joy you bring to my day anytime I see your posts!
Mar 21, 2023, 8:50:20 AM
Sarah schenk - I love that you made new friends in the floral community (close relations yo the Lautners is cool haha) and I love wabaras and pink pianos!
Mar 21, 2023, 6:08:58 AM
Beverley Raabis - What an amazing opportunity for you! I re-read your article a couple of times to capture it all! Outstanding article you wrote. You are my niece, Karlene Crawford, choice to work her wedding flowers for June 4. I am so looking forward to that event and now your artwork will be even more special after reading this article!
Mar 21, 2023, 12:41:36 AM
Cheyenne Long - I first would like to acknowledge how insanely beautiful your work is. One day, when its my special day id love to have all my florals done by you. My favorite rose would be Princess Fairy Kiss Pink however it's really so hard to narrow down. Favorite thing is just how much work goes into creating a bouquet and everything that gets captured.
Mar 20, 2023, 10:41:21 PM
Lorelei Chuckry - *I thought it wonderful how well they treat their employees, like they are family. And I really loved seeing how they processed the flowers for shopping. *Favorite Rose…well listen above Myabi; but as I looked back on your photos(stories on IG) one rose that really caught my eye was Princess Aiko.
Mar 20, 2023, 10:17:32 PM
Morgan Freeman - The reduced use of pesticides/environmental and safety considerations at the farm. I love the sola spray!
Mar 20, 2023, 10:04:51 PM
Julianna M - I love first and foremost how well treated and respected their employees are - I think this is so fundamentally important to our future and love supporting businesses that care about their people. I also love that you get to view and provide input on test varietals - one of the varietals pictured reminds me of a peony but in a slightly more rose formed manner. I think it’s amazing that they take feedback from their important stakeholders to provide the best product possible. I can’t wait to see these varietals when they come to market!
Mar 20, 2023, 9:52:21 PM
Karlene Crawford - I loved hearing about the way the workers are treated at Alexandra Farms. Fair trade is important to me, and the high retention rate of their employees speaks to the fact that they are treated well. Happy people must also create the right climate for beautiful flowers. Amazing!! My fav is the Catalina deluxe garden rose, with the green exterior and yellow interior. Perfect for the first day of spring!
Mar 20, 2023, 8:25:42 PM
Emily Kardash - Great post! What a beautiful trip 🥰
Mar 20, 2023, 8:09:58 PM
Lisa Brown - I just love how socially conscious the farm seems to be, supporting their employees so well. And what job, it must smell amazing in the processing facilities! My favourite rose is the MIYABI, it’s size and color cannot be matched!
Mar 20, 2023, 7:45:20 PM
Yvonne C - The ability to reduce pesticide use by 60% is amazing! I've never heard of the Wabara Garden Rose before. It is beautiful!
Mar 20, 2023, 4:46:29 PM
Catherine Masou - Find it so interesting how great they care for their employees! Even the medical stuff. So amazing to see!
Mar 20, 2023, 4:41:54 PM
Andrea Engels - I'm partial to the David Austin garden roses, and am a total sucker for anything yellow!~.
Mar 20, 2023, 4:25:55 PM
Jannell - To add what I thought was really amazing the company does for the employees, is the amount of regular care and medical attention the staff receive. I'm really impressed with how well everyone is taken care of over there, and the lengths the company will go to, to protect the environment and their people. Gold star for Alexandra farms!
Mar 20, 2023, 4:23:27 PM
Olivia MacDonald - So interesting that you got to give your opinion on the test varieties! That is such an amazing opportunity and will be so interesting to see which do come to production! my favourite is the Miyabi Garden Rose (May be biased as that is what you put in my wedding bouquet but they were PERFECT!)
Mar 20, 2023, 4:22:38 PM
Jannell Or - Ok, on Instagram I said I loved just magic, but now I'm learning to love menta, and piano!!!
Mar 20, 2023, 4:06:25 PM
Kristine - I love that 80 percent of the women were head of the households and that they had access to doctors, dentists and optometrists to come check on their health which is super important! My favorite flower mentioned was one of the Japanese bred roses called the Princess Garden Rose.
Mar 20, 2023, 2:41:12 PM
Mathilde Denier - It’s so interesting to know that you were able to share your feedback on their test varieties! My favorite rose is the pink O’Hara
Mar 20, 2023, 2:34:35 PM
Elyse Nabata - I did not know that test varieties were a thing! The Golden Mustard variety is really pretty.
Mar 20, 2023, 2:31:25 PM
Melina McArthur - Hi Janie, All of the information is just great, so great to see that the workers are an important consideration in how and what things are done at the farm. For me the most interesting fact is that you don't have to worry about heating or cooling a greenhouse if you are near the equator. I would like to officially relocate! I am torn between Garden rose Romantic Antike and Beatrice. If I have to choose one, it might be Beatrice! Melina
Mar 20, 2023, 2:16:47 PM
Chelsea Dalmacio - I think the most interesting I found was that they use 100% of their compost and flower waste! I love how sustainable that is!
Mar 20, 2023, 2:14:36 PM
Rebecca Kantor - I love the cafe latte garden rose variety! And wow! They ship out flowers a lot more frequently then I would have guessed. 2-3 truck loads, 7 days a week!
Mar 20, 2023, 1:53:55 PM
Erika King - I would loooooove to win the garden bouquet giveaway please! They’re stunning
Mar 20, 2023, 1:42:22 PM
Kelsey - Thank you for sharing your trip with us! I love to hear how sustainable the farm is and how well taken care of the employees are with such little turnover. So cool that you met the gal who did Taylor Lautner’s wedding flowers! You’re next in the line of florists for celebrity weddings!
Mar 20, 2023, 1:24:55 PM
Brianne Reid - It looks like an incredible experience, Janie! So glad you shared the pictures with us!
Mar 20, 2023, 1:20:32 PM
Dominique Pardell - The David Article stin Juliet rose is my favorite! It was really cool to read about the traditional Colombian dances. That would have been so special to see.
Mar 20, 2023, 1:19:57 PM
Karen Toews - I love that Alexandra Farms is both kind to their workers and kind to the earth as they create such spectacular roses! Those Edith blooms are WOW.
Mar 20, 2023, 1:17:19 PM
Naaz - This is a wonderful write up! I love how well taken care of the employees are (with the healthy food, fair wages, and medical visits on site) and that they are happy. All these varieties are so beautiful, and I would have to say the David Austin Wedding Roses are my favourites. ❤️
Mar 20, 2023, 1:15:20 PM
Andrea Kormylo - I had never heard about the Florverde Sustainable Flowers certification, and it is so admirable they have reduced their pesticide use by 60%. Would love to hear in more detail about the beneficial insects we can use/attract in Alberta. Love the two toned petal roses, like Cherry Parfait or Double Delight.
Mar 20, 2023, 1:15:02 PM
Jeff Jebson - Didn't know anything about the rose farming in Colombia I'd be interested in checking it out, I like Toffee Rose
Mar 20, 2023, 1:11:40 PM
Erin Lawrie - I’m excited about the new variety called Symbol! Very thoughtful research.
Mar 20, 2023, 1:09:44 PM
Erin Lawrie - I love your bouquets
Mar 20, 2023, 1:06:47 PM
Sarah Walsh - I thought it was interesting that the staff has access to doctors! It seems like a really cool place. My favourite variety is beatrice!
Mar 20, 2023, 11:28:10 AM
Janie - I agree, it's super important! What is your favorite garden rose variety?
Mar 20, 2023, 11:26:19 AM
Kassidy Morin - I loved hearing how they care about women’s health in regards to spraying pesticides!