Laugh flowers. Feel Colorful

I have always loved flowers. Since I can remember, my Nana has always had a garden at her house. Actually, it kind of flows around her house. She has all kinds of plants and trees. I always have cherished the memory of my cousin and I playing in her garden and helping her water the flowers. My favorite? Hibiscus. I have one picture of me, a few years old, watching her water all the Hibiscus. We both had some in our hands. I love that. It's nice that we've (my huge family) has grown up playing around her garden and now all of our kids get to play around it, too. I'm a sucker for tradition. 

As I grew up, I've always had this dream of having fresh flowers at my bedside to wake up to every morning. And I wanted flowers all over the house, too. It's so refreshing to have them around. People who say they don't like/don't want flowers have got to be lying! 

Anyway, now that I am an adult, I have put fresh flowers at my bedside and let me tell you, I don't even see them all day!! I wake up to hear Noelle crying for "Mama" to get her out and start the day. I jump out of bed so fast that I don't even remember them being there. The only other time I see them is when I go back in to make the bed. How exciting! 

So, I opted for more useful places. My kitchen window sill. I mean, I am constantly washing dishes allllll day, aren't I? I might as well have something nice to look at- especially since we are treating our houses as 5 Star Hotels, right ladies?

 I flat out refuse to buy expensive flowers for the house. To me, the 'cheapies' will do just fine. I've been able to buy so many because Walmart has been selling bouquets for only $5! And there's a bunch of different varieties to choose from. I even found some on sale for $2.50 each. Of course, I got two!

I wanted to share a few tips I've learned that make having flowers much nicer:

-The basic rule is that your flowers should be one a half times as tall as your vase.

-Usually one color is easier to make look good than a bunch of different ones. Pick a few different shades of one color and go from there.

-Probably the simplest arrangement is a "hedged" arrangement. The flowers are bunched together right at the top. 

This is my FAVORITE vase, I got it at an antique store in Florida, but have seen a similar one at one here in TN.

Get a lot of one type of flowers and cut the stem to where the bud of the flower is just resting on the vase. Keep filling in with flowers until the vase is full. This is one of my favorite looks. I used to not like the idea of cutting long stem roses and other flowers like calla lilies, but I read that it isn't all that bad :) They really do look great when they are arranged that way.

(I remember one time, I got long stemmed roses and I was in my Nana's kitchen cutting them down to fit a short(er) sized vase. She came in and asked why I was cutting long stemmed roses and explained that these are more expensive and bought that way on purpose. At this time I wasn't cutting them to look nice in a short vase, I was just plain butchering them without any idea what I was doing. haha)

-Use the green styrofoam to arrange your flowers. I learned that if florists use them, we should too! Why wouldn't we, anyway? If you only have a glass vase, use a banana or palm leaf to cover it up. Or, my favorite idea is to use lemon, lime, or orange slices around the vase. 

Credit

-To clean a grimy vase, use ice and salt. Let sit, then rinse. You can also bleach it for a half hour or so.

-Invest in garden shears. Cutting stems with just scissors crushes the stem and prevents the flower from getting water. They're actually pretty cheap. I put this off for a long time but I'm glad I made the investment. It really helps keep your flowers healthy. They are alive, after all.

Cut your stems at an angle. This helps the flowers absorb more water. 

Try and change the water every other day to keep it fresh. Bacteria is what kills flowers quickest. If you forget to change the water that ofter, put a few drops of bleach.

If you have filtered water, use it. I would not waste a bottle of water on a bouquet but the better the water, the less bacteria. Just to keep in mind.

I got this idea from some home-y magazine a while ago, but I love it. You don't always have to use "vases" 

 Get creative and use anything that can hold some water and however many flowers your putting, and let it shine! Save the cans from your vegetables. Just wash with soap and store away. Whenever I get some cute flowers and I want to put a vintage feel on it, I just cut them stems and pop them in. Love this look! You can also get out your hot glue gun and craft some nice fabric onto the can. And glass bottles look great, too! Maxx brought home this orange and carrot juice bottle for me to save. It makes a great vase for a few simple flowers.

Oh man! No joke, I just came inside from grabbing my flowers. They were looking a little droopy so I put them out to get a little sun. It's so hot out that they're wilting, now! I guess that's another tip- don't let them sit in the direct sun for too long. Darn, I just lost like a whole bouquet. Maybe I should go up and re-read some other tips. Hahaha!

I found some other tips HERE that I found interesting, too!

 Flowers don't have to be expensive and extreme. They're an expression of feeling and usually it has positive reactions. To me, it's one of the sweetest, oldest traditions that have kept living on. If you've never really bought flowers just for yourself, buy them. It doesn't have to be a weekly thing but at least once a month, but yourself some flowers and put them somewhere you're at most often throughout the day. It will make you feel so good. Just try it and trust me, I'm an expert, okay I just really like feeling good.