A recently launched online platform gives flower farms an opportunity to be part of a directory that will connect end-users to flowers that are grown in their locale using sustainable methods.

People in search of local, seasonal and sustainable flowers now have a new digital tool at their disposal and the providers of those flowers have a new marketing tool.

Slowflowers.com recently launched as a free online directory designed to connect users with suppliers that sell seasonal, locally grown flowers.

"People want to do the right thing and make sustainable choices in their lives and floral purchases are no exception," says Debra Prinzing, the developer of Slowflowers.com. "With imports representing over 80 percent of flowers sold in this country, the mission of Slowflowers.com is to help people who care about the source of their flowers easily find and identify ways to buy American-grown flowers."

Prinzing is also the Seattle-based author of Slow Flowers (St. Lynn's Press, 2013) and leading advocate of American flower farming.

The platform began with 250 flower farms and other sellers in its searchable database. Prinzing anticipates the site will eventually showcase 1,000 suppliers in all 50 states.

The site features search tools to find floral vendors in several categories including farmer-direct. An added feature highlights florists and farms that ship American grown flowers overnight, anywhere in the U.S.

"While writing and speaking about American flower farmers and their flowers, I am continually asked how the average person is supposed to know where to buy American-grown flowers and how they can be assured that what they are getting is locally grown," Prinzing says, "I created Slowflowers.com to meet that need."

For more information visit Slowflowers.com.