Simple Pleasures: Treat Yourself to Cut Flowers

Whether scooped up by the armful at the farmer’s market, snipped from the garden or disassembled from a grocery store bouquet, cut flowers can bring life and beauty to a living space, and lift the spirits. If you don’t usually treat yourself to flowers, consider this your official permission slip to start — why not pick some up today? The joy you will get from looking at the blooms on your desk or bedside table is well worth the small cost. Here we’ll give you some flower-buying tips, creative yet simple arranging ideas and inspiration for where to tuck vases of blooms.

Be a savvy floral shopper. Keeping freshly cut flowers in the house doesn’t need to be a budget breaker. Trader Joe’s carries seasonal flowers, often for only $2 or $3 a bunch, and they can be taken apart and used to fill bud vases throughout the house. Farmer’s markets are also a great source of seasonal, affordable flowers.

If you often walk by a florist’s shop, popping in to buy just one or two stems of a really special flower can be a lovely treat at the end of the workday. And if you have a wholesale flower market in your area, you could be sitting on a real treasure — most have hours when the general public is welcome to shop, and the prices and selection usually make the trip worth it.


Styling Inspiration

Simple arrangements can be beautiful. Don’t let the idea of flower arranging intimidate you. A few blooms, trimmed short and placed in a pretty little vessel, can be just as beautiful as a complex bouquet — sometimes more so.


Flowers for the morning. Place blooms where you will see them first thing in the morning — they will start your day off on the right foot. Try a small florist’s bucket filled with zinnias or a posy of roses on the bedside table, or a single long stem in a bud vase on your breakfast tray.


A vase of flowers in a dressing area is a lovely touch — and really, couldn’t we all use a bit of the movie star treatment while getting ready to face the day?


Tucked-away flowers. A few small blooms tucked into a cupboard or among books on a shelf is a delightful surprise. This is not the place for full-size vases, but just about any other vessel will do beautifully — try teacups, old votive holders, small water glasses, tea tins and jelly jars.


Work flowers into your decor. Flowers look the most natural when they are positioned near other objects in the room to help them fit in. Notice the long, low shelf in this living space — a tall vase sits beside a picture frame, while a bud vase on the other end hangs out with a small lantern and a string of oversize wooden beads and chunks of crystal.


Choosing a Vessel

On the coffee table. A short arrangement works best here so it won’t get knocked over or interfere with conversation. A small, squat, round or square container is ideal. Keep it simple with one type of bloom per vessel, but be generous with the amount of flowers. Tie the bunch together with a twist tie while you cut them, then plunk them into the vase before untying. They should be trimmed so that just the flower heads and about half an inch of stem poke up over the rim of the vase. No vase? A teapot or soup tureen would work brilliantly.


For tall blooms and branches. A tall glass cylinder is the most versatile for tall flowers, but galvanized metal florist’s buckets and big enamelware pitchers are great to add to your arsenal as well. Just one or two stems or branches are enough. Keep it simple and don’t worry too much about arranging — just let the stems fall naturally to the side.

Consider the water a design element — keep it clean and clear, and don’t fill the vase to the top. One third to one half filled is all you need.


For charming, romantic flowers, look in the cupboard. Containers borrowed from the kitchen are best when you want to cultivate a romantic look. Try teacups (even chipped and mismatched ones), teapots, cream pitchers, sugar bowls, juice glasses, champagne flutes or coupes, jelly jars, tea tins, egg cups and even cans with pretty labels.


On the dining table. A bunch of small bud vases lined up down the center of the table is much less intimidating to arrange than one large bouquet, and is far more practical because you can actually see the other diners. On a round dining table, cluster bud vases of different sizes; an odd number like three or five will look most natural.


Caring for Your Flowers

Cut the stems. Use sharp tools — a kitchen knife or shears, not regular scissors. Always trim a bit from the ends of your flowers, even if you don’t need to do so to fit the vase, as the fresh cut will help the stems absorb water. Cut at an angle rather than straight across to give them the most surface area for drinking water. Also trim away any foliage that will lie below the water level.

Prepare the water. Most blooms prefer lukewarm water, but tulips and other bulbs need cold water. Fill your vase before you start cutting so it’s ready and waiting, and place each stem in the water as soon as you’ve cut it. Add flower preservative to the water to help the flowers stay fresh longer.


Maintain your arrangement. Check the water level daily and add water as needed. When you spy a bloom that is fading, take it out. Once your arrangement is looking a little sparse, extend it further by cutting the stems short and transferring them to bud vases.

Keep supplies neat and ready. Always wash your vases with hot, sudsy water and rinse them well before storing. Residue from an old flower arrangement can make the next one you put in go bad faster. Store flower-arranging supplies near the sink. You don’t need much — a basket containing an assortment of vases and shears stored under the sink would do nicely.


Surprise yourself. Try to think up a new place to put a vase of flowers each time you buy them. Put a tall vase on the floor in the entry, so you see it right when you walk through the door, line a windowsill with bud vases or bring a small, unbreakable vase into your child’s playhouse.

Your turn: What kinds of flowers do you treat yourself to? Share photos of your arrangements in the Comments.

More: Be Your Own Best Florist With a Bouquet Garden

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