My fascination with Mrs. Dalloway began with the first sentence, in which the female heroine decided that she was going to buy the flowers herself for her party that night.
Well, my friend bought me a gorgeous bouquet of purple, blue, and pink hydrangeas for a get-together this weekend. The bouquet was so big that I split them into two arrangements – a smaller one to place in the living room and a larger one to serve as the dining room table centerpiece.
To keep my flowers fresh for as long as I can, I follow these steps:
(1) cut the stems at an diagonal
(2) change the water every day
(3) make sure there’s enough water in the vase
(4) trim the low-hanging leaves so none is submerged in the water
(5) remove the wilting flowers
(6) keep flowers out of direct sunlight
These steps should help me to keep my flowers alive for maybe two weeks. I didn’t start buying (and appreciating) fresh flowers until a few months ago. Before, it seemed like an extravagance. But now that I have had blooms gracing my coffee table or brightening up the kitchen, it’s hard not to just stop by the local farmer’s market and pick up a small bouquet for $3…
Do you buy fresh flowers? What are your favorite kinds?
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I buy fresh flowers every two weeks. We’re on a budget (we’re Dave Ramsey nerds), and every time I buy them the BF goes, “Dave Ramsey!” which is his way of saying, “Mind the budget.”
I’ll always buy fresh flowers as “luxurious” as it seems… I buy the cheapest bouquet ($4) and always gerber daisies. They’re hardy, happy and big. They go into a small vase (to make the bouquet look larger & fuller), cut at an angle (like you say), with the full packet of food. They usually last 10 days.
A small luxury can well be afforded…
I wish I could, and I would more often, but I happen to have a cat who loves to eat anything that is green and from the outside…
There are so many great tips for keeping flowers fresh! The ones you shared are the biggies, but there are lots of things you can do. The other big one that you left out? Buying flowers that are in season – if they’re not in season locally, then they’ve been shipped in from many miles away and have already lived much of their life after cutting.
I work with Teleflora, so I hope you don’t mind if I mention that we’ve got cut-flower care guides on our website which are pretty helpful (thinks like not putting daffodils in with other flowers as they can kill the others!).
I LOVE having fresh flowers. My current favorite are Glad’s. Around here they are relatively cheap ($4 for ten stems) and they look great in my living room. I do love Gerbera Daisy’s but they are quite expensive. Your hydrangeas are gorgeous btw…I can’t find them anywhere around here.
Ooh fresh flowers! I once had a gerber daisy bouquet from my local grocer that lasted 2+ weeks with the flower food! But whenever I go to my farmers market they don’t have the food so I’m afraid of killing them. Plus my water has a TON of minerals in it so that’s probably bad for the flower life. Sigh….
My favorite flower is the Stargazer Lily. Horribly expensive – but they last quite a long time and are absolutely beautiful.
I have recently begun to buy fresh flowers too – and I love them! They look great on my mantle and brighten me up when I catch a glance at them (it’s still new enough that they feel like a surprise)! I find that the cheapy flowers last the longest (almost 3 weeks!) and they can fit in my budget easily. I have been in a daisy mood lately with the hot Texas summers, but my taste will change when it finally drops below 90…maybe in early October
Flowers are a wonderful treat and make me happy everytime I see them! Though I only buy them if I have people coming over or I’m way underbudget for the month and happen across a flower stand (ie, it’s been many many moons).
Once XBF gave me this gorgeous bouquet of roses all the colors of the rainbow–I’ll never forget them, they were so beautiful–but I haven’t found a place to buy a bouquet like that for myself.
That said, lilies are my absolute favorite flower ever. They are gorgeous and smell OH SO DIVINE. Also amazing to smell: gardenias and plumeria and tuberose. YUM.
I love flowers, but most of the time when I pass them in the grocery store or outdoor market I rationalize myself out of buying them. But I do agree that they are a nice way to decorate your home. The last time I bought flowers for my apartment, I purchased white hydrangeas. I also like sunflowers and lillies. I love roses too, but prefer to be given them as a gift : )
I buy fresh flowers every two weeks from the Farmer’s Market. It’s a luxury I have and every time I see them they make me smile.