THE Bonny Doon Garden Company, a downtown flower kiosk here, had signs posted all around it last week for Valentine’s Day, but the sales pitch wasn’t just about romance.

A bucket held red and fuchsia anemones that were “organic.” Ecuadorean roses the size of baseballs were “certified.” Roses from a nearby farm were “locally grown.”

Was the kiosk selling flowers, or lettuce?

Pesticide contamination doesn’t usually come to mind when ordering long-stemmed roses for Valentine’s Day. But that is precisely what florists like Bonny Doon are asking their customers to think about. Teresa Sabankaya, the shop’s owner, said that when she opened in 2003, “some people would look at me like, ‘Are you nuts?’ ” ...

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