I did not grow up with fresh cut flowers in the home.
- My mother did not garden
- With little disposable income, trips to the florist were for "rich" people
- You couldn't by cheap beautiful fresh flowers at the local grocery store
- In the upper midwest, growing seasons were short
But I've reached a point in my life where I feel spending a little money on flowers is important. Whether it's planting your own and harvesting them for your home or picking up a nice bouqet at the grocery store, flowers can really lighten your mood.
I am blessed to have a dear friend who works for a bulb company. Every couple of years or so, in January, when the ground is rock hard and no one wants to plant bulbs, he makes a present to me of some of his overstock. I dutifully head out into the frozen tundra and do what it takes to get those bulbs into the ground. (One year it meant using hot water in buckets to soften up the soil first.)
It is COMPLETELY worth the hard work it takes to plant them. Come April and May my yard is overflowing with tulips and daffodils.
Here are a couple of tips for bringing in cut flowers:
- Cold water is good - especially if you don't want your tulips to immediately "blow out". I often add a couple of ice cubes to the vase when I first insert the flowers
- Small decorative stones help hold flower stems in place and are much cheaper and easier to deal with than those little glass marbles. (Just be careful not to break the vase when you put them in.)
- Daffodils excrete some chemical other flowers don't like - keep them in a vase by themselves
- I arrange daffodils the way I want them in my hand first and then trim the ends to even the stalks.
- Tulips have a natural "bend" that will increase as they sit in the water. Try to use this to your advantage when deciding what type of vase to use for them.
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