Celebrating Mother Earth (and Your Love) This Valentine’s Day

It’s another Valentine’s Day, and you may be finding yourself perplexed as to what to get your crunchy, earthy Valentine that will not only say “I love you” but “I love the planet” too.

Deciding just what to get (or do with) your valentine can be, well, consuming. But that doesn’t mean we need to fall into consumerism by buying chocolates and bouquets of roses wrapped in layers of plastic to show our love.

We put so much emphasis on celebrating our loved ones, but what about celebrating the one who gives us all life – Mother Earth? In this post, I give you a handful of ideas to make this Valentine’s Day one to remember, but also something that won’t end up in a landfill.

Go with the Living

Instead of buying flowers to adorn your love’s nightstand for only a few short days before turning brown and shrivelling up, why not send your valentine a plant that, like your love, will last forever?

There are several companies out there that will grow, package, and ship indoor plants to whatever location you desire. These companies, like Wild Interiors and The Sill, will ship a variety of plants including delicate succulents, tropical plants, woodsy plants, and even leafy plants to trail your desktop or adorn your windowsill. The shipping materials are also made of recycled material!

You could also visit a local plant rescue (these do exist) and give a neglected and abandoned plant a new home. It’s like a pet shelter, but for plants.

Gift Their Favourite Flower. Forever.

If your Valentine still prefers flowers but also likes jewellery, give him or her an eternal flower that will last forever. Kristin Wornson with Skipping Lillies creates beautiful and unique pieces of jewellery using glass and flowers (and even seaweed) found on her treks through nature. Each piece is handcrafted and entirely unique from any other piece, just like your Valentine.

Plant a Tree

You can never go wrong with packing a picnic lunch and finding a spot to add one more tree to this green earth. You and your valentine can revisit the tree and watch it grow, like your love. (Cheesy, I know, but responsible!)

Plant a Garden

If you’ve got the space, design, and plant a garden to dedicate to your Valentine. Show him or her the different flowers and plants and explain why you chose them, why you think they would love it, and what those plants do to help the environment and local ecosystems. Not only will the garden be beautiful, but the thought you put behind each decision will show how much you care.

Everyone loves coupons!

Remember when you were a kid, and you made your mom or dad a one-of-a-kind coupon book good for one clean room, 1 hour of interruption-free quiet time, and even a shoulder rub? If you were feeling particularly generous, maybe you’d add in an extra chore, complaint-free. Why not do the same, but for adults! Homemade gifts are always the best. Some ideas for coupons: a back rub, taking your car to fill it up with gas, washing your car, a dinner date, or even a foot rub.

Eat Local

Local farm-to-table restaurants boast their limited use of single plastic waste, organic/homegrown ingredients, and mimic your love’s commitment to loving the planet.

It’s easy to get wrapped up in wanting to celebrate our loved ones, but everything for Valentine’s Day is already literally wrapped in and produced with plastic these days, why add to the landfill?

It is my hope that you have found inspiration for celebrating Valentine’s Day (and Mother Earth) this year. Enjoy and spread the love (just not the trash)!