5 ways to recycle your flowers

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5 ways to recycle your flowers

September 25, 2008

In a tight economy, we’re all looking for ways to save a few pennies and get the most out of what we buy. Fresh flowers dress up any space and instantly make us feel good. (Kind of a no-brainer but research proves they boost our moods and help us deal with stress.)

Pretty and potent as they are, flowers have a practical side too. Here are five ways to get more out of your flowers, once you’ve enjoyed them in a vase.

From bloom to bow. A flower that’s a few days old and still fresh looking is an excellent addition to a gift. Wrap the box, add a ribbon and tie on a blossom, a large daisy or sunflower perhaps. Just one or two will do and it truly perks up a package.

Hydrangeas in a vase

Again and again. Hydrangea is one of many flowers that can be dried, stored and reused. Be sure to cover while in storage to protect from dust. For more details on how to preserve flowers, read Sonia Uyterhoeven, gardener for public education at the New York Botanical Garden: nbc29.com/Global/story.asp?S=9050082.

Sans stems. Rose petals look beautiful in a basket or bowl or loosely scattered among candles on a tabletop or perfume bottles on a bathroom shelf.

Be an A-lister. A colleague of mine used burgundy pansy petals to adorn her wedding invitations. It was a small wedding, but you could do the same for shower, birthday or anniversary parties.

Note it. Take a photo of your flowers, print it out and paste it in a notebook. Keep notes on what flowers were used, how many and how they worked in the arrangement. The more you design and record it, the more adept you’ll become. This is also a great tip for gardeners. Plan it out before you plant.

Flower Fact of the Day: Amaranth is a flower as well as a grain and weed. Read more about this plant at: http://ethnobotany.suite101.com/article.cfm/amaranth
_is_grain_flower_and_a_weed.

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Comments

Kory | Reply
September 25, 2008

This reminded me of something I just read in a great book, "WHAT WOULD JACKIE DO?"

JBKO (Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis), during the White House years, would take a photo of every arrangement, for future reference, but would also have arrangements placed in the fridge, for rearranging, repurposing, and replacing around the White House in the following days... which is inspiring to me- take apart an arrangement, split it into two or three small ones for smaller rooms. Or, give the new, smaller arrangments as a peace offering to neighbors after a cocktail party got a little too loud the night before...

-Kory

Rhonda Martin | Reply
September 27, 2008

Thanks for some great tips. I once saw at a fair that they took a Red Rose and put them between his and her hand and dipped them over and over in wax then they cooled it quickly and then removed their hands from the wax leaving a beautiful sculpture of their join hands with a Red Rose in between. It was just beautiful. I would never ever recommend anyone to try this at home since the wax must of been set at the perfect temperature and they made them chill their hands in ice water first after apply some kind of hand moisturizer so there were a lot of steps to accomplish this but the end result was just amazing. The Rose was even prettier after it was dipped~!