Making Peace with Perishability
My dear flower friends, a question I often get is, "How can I make my beautiful market bouquet last longer?"
I love that question, and it's a good one. It shows how much you cherish the flowers you bring into your home.
But before we get to the good stuff—my pro tips—I want to talk about something a little deeper. Something that I think we all feel.
Have you ever brought home a beautiful bouquet, only to watch its perfect petals slowly droop and fade? It's a tricky feeling, isn't it? We get so entranced by their beauty and intoxicated by their scent. They soften our homes and our hearts, bringing a bit of joy to our days. We want them to last forever! But, like a perfect summer day, they fade so quickly, and then they're gone.
For years, this feeling of loss was so strong that I didn't even have flowers in my home. I thought, "What's the point if they're just going to die?" But then, I had a little epiphany.
Flowers are a bit like the fresh, ripe strawberries or crisp cucumbers we bring home from the market. We don't expect those to last forever on our kitchen counter, do we? We enjoy them while they're at their peak, nourishing our bodies with their goodness. I've come to realize that flowers are the same, but they nourish our souls instead.
So, while we can't stop the clock entirely, we can embrace their fleeting beauty and do a few things to help them shine their brightest for as long as possible. Think of these as a little extra TLC for your blooms!
My Tips for a Longer-Lasting Bouquet
These are the same tips I use for the flowers I bring into my own home. They've been tried and true for years!
Snap a Picture! The moment you bring your flowers home and place them in a vase, take a picture! This helps you remember that first burst of beauty and the joy they brought you. It’s like a little memento to remember the moment.
Give Them a Fresh Drink. This is probably the most important thing you can do. Every day, or at least every other day, change the water completely. Fresh, cool water is what flowers love most. It’s like a little spa day for their stems!
Perform a Mini-Makeover. Just like we pick the best berries from the bunch, you can do the same for your bouquet. As a flower or two begins to fade, gently pluck them out or snip them off. This keeps the rest of the bouquet looking fresh and lovely. You might even find a few beautiful, single stems left at the end that you can place in a tiny bud vase!
My Aunt's Secret Ingredient. This last tip is a secret I learned from my own Aunt Keenie, who was a florist back in the 40’s and 50s. She swore by adding a splash of bleach to the vase water. A teeny-tiny amount—just a couple of drops per quart of water—can help keep bacteria from building up in the water, which can clog the stems and shorten a flower's life. Trust me on this one; it works wonders!
Ultimately, learning to make peace with the perishability of flowers is part of the joy. We get to celebrate their ephemeral beauty and then, when they're gone, we have a wonderful excuse to visit the Garden’s Flowershed again for another bouquet!
