Connecting to Collections Care

Dear Colleagues,

Our museum is considering the regular display of flower arrangements in the museum cafe.  I am very familiar with "Art in Bloom"-type events and the rules governing flower displays for such events.  I'm wondering if any museums have differing rules they would be willing to share for floral arrangements in non-gallery museum spaces, specifically cafes or spaces where food is prepared and served.  It seems that some of the "Art in Bloom" guidelines may be overly restrictive for such a space, e.g., requiring the use of floral foam.

thanks,  Charlotte

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Charlotte Seifen Ameringer
Chief Conservator
Portland Art Museum
503-276-4216 | direct
portlandartmuseum.org

My pronouns are she/her
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Original Message:
Sent: 8/19/2025 1:40:00 PM
From: Janice Klein
Subject: RE: Guidelines for flowers in a museum cafe

Museum Pests has a good fact sheet: https://museumpests.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Plants-and-Cut-Flowers-in-Museum-and-Historic-Settings.pdf.

You might want to incorporate these recommendations into your overall Pest Control Policy.  Or take this opportunity to write a Pest Control Policy for the whole museum. :-)

Stay safe,

janice

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Janice Klein

Executive Director

Museum Association of Arizona

azmuseums@gmail.com

Thank you Helena for the updated posting of May's article.

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Rachael Arenstein
A.M. Art Conservation, LLC
rachael@amartconservation.com
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Original Message:
Sent: 08-20-2025 08:39
From: Helena Jaeschke
Subject: Guidelines for flowers in a museum cafe

The factsheet by May Cassar (Using Cut Flowers and Potted Plants in Museums) cited in the MuseumPests article is now available at https://collectionstrust.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Museums-Galleries-Commission-Using-Cut-Flowers-and-Potted-Plants-in-Museums-Aug-1999.pdf

Don't forget cluster flies can hatch from earthworms in the soil of potted plant and several flies including fungus gnats have a larval stage in soil, hence the importance of only allowing plants grown in sterilised soil.

All the best

Helena

Helena Jaeschke 

MDSW

Original Message:
Sent: 8/19/2025 1:40:00 PM
From: Janice Klein
Subject: RE: Guidelines for flowers in a museum cafe

Museum Pests has a good fact sheet: https://museumpests.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Plants-and-Cut-Flowers-in-Museum-and-Historic-Settings.pdf.

You might want to incorporate these recommendations into your overall Pest Control Policy.  Or take this opportunity to write a Pest Control Policy for the whole museum. :-)

Stay safe,

janice

--

Janice Klein

Executive Director

Museum Association of Arizona

azmuseums@gmail.com

From the safety side of things, the only things I can think of are aggravating people with allergies and you have to be very careful about the soil. Beyond just the pests already mentioned, plants that aren't watered appropriately can leave standing water in the pots and eventually mold. Which loops back around to aggravating allergies. Since this is planned for a cafe space I would recommend checking with your local health department and/or state food safety requirements. They might have additional guidance on recommendations for plants around food.

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Jessica Ricchio
North & Northwest Program Leader Workforce Health and Safety
McHenry
United States
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