Dove in the Rock

Buying cut flowers is a luxury, no question, and come spring we will grow our own. But in the winter they bring an unparalleled measure of cheer to our home, and if you can make one bunch last three weeks they are more affordable. For the amount of joy they bring me, I’ll put my extra $4 toward a small bunch of crysanthemums before I’ll upgrade our ground beef to steaks.

Until recently though, I’d never been able to get cut flowers to last that long. After a week or so they deteriorate, nasty slime in the vase, leaves yellow and brown, wilting and crumbling. The flowers themselves still look rather nice, but even they can’t offset the grossness below.

At that point they no longer bring joy, and in the past I would just toss them. Don’t know why it took me this long to think of this, but now I only throw out the slimy part. I cut off the good-looking flowers about three inches from the bloom and put them in tiny bud vases and votive holders all over the house. These I picked up very inexpensively during a half-off sale at our local craft store. Recut, these flowers can now be spread around the house and will last another week or more.

Now, isn’t that nice?