Caring for Flowers in Europe & A February Children’s Poem
Three things that I have learned about taking care of flowers by watching Europeans who seem to enjoy simple bouquets more than I have ever seen before:
1. Change the water in the vase every day.
2. Trim the stems frequently.
3. Carry the flowers home upside down to keep the water in the blooms, not the stems. Does this work? I don’t know. If you want to blend in, though, you’d better be carrying those flowers upside down no matter how absolutely awkward you feel doing it. My mother-in-law even wore her corsage upside down when Martin and I got married (it looked fine, just different, ya know?).
Seeing all the stems poking out of backpacks of several men as they biked home inspired this short poem, though I guess it’s not really for children this time…
FEBRUARY
It is a lovely time of year
with all the flowers in the shops,
and I suspect each married man
will make the florist an annual stop.
He’ll sniff the air and look around,
inhaling all the gorgeous perfumes.
He’s trying hard to remember:
what are his wife’s most favorite blooms?
What about you? Any tips on how to make those blooms looking fresh extra long? Or hints for the guy? What are your favorites?
(Images by Martin for Making This Home)
February 12th, 2009 at 6:52 am
The flowers are SO pretty. C’mon spring and get here already!
February 12th, 2009 at 8:49 am
I wish I got flowers more often then just my BD :o)
We have a Home & Garden Show in town this weekend. That’s where I’ll be on Saturday, taking a lot of pics.
February 12th, 2009 at 10:05 am
You are so right! They do love flowers. Here’s a tip: put a teaspoon of white vinegar in the water (to keep the water from getting gross if you don’t change it every day). You can use vodka too, but the vinegar works better IME. Also, a teaspoon of sugar to give the flowers a nutrition boost. My flowers last forever and I don’t change the water at all. That’s more work than I’m willing to put in. And really, when you can get 6 or 9 tulips for 1 Euro 50 (Rewe or Aldi) it’s okay if they only last a week. I’m looking at a bunch of tulips right now. I love them! Your poem is great!
February 12th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Cute poem. Great tip about the upside down flowers. I really hadn’t noticed that before while in Europe, but I guess it kind of makes sense. I will definitely keep it in mind from now on.
February 12th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
I have no tips, but the ones you posted make sense. What a cute poem!
February 12th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
Thats a great tip. I will keep that in mind. Cute poem!
February 12th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
Just wanted you to know that I have nominated you you as a Kreative Blogger
Go to my blog, to join the fun and read why I chose you.
~anita
PS, please don’t feel pressured to follow the rules. I really nominated you because I sincerely love your blog!
February 12th, 2009 at 9:06 pm
i just got my valentine’s roses today! they weren’t delivered upside down, though. :)
February 13th, 2009 at 1:01 am
Wow, upside down. That’s something I’ve never heard of before. :0) I have a florist friend, and she told me that the stems seal up after a little bit, and the re-trimming opens them back up, so they can get water. Also, she said to make sure there are no leaves beneath the water line, because it encourages bacterial growth. Happy V-day, Katie~
February 13th, 2009 at 3:58 am
Hey Katie! Lovely tulips. Yes, it seems that the Spring is winking at us :) I like very much receiving tulips on my bday, even though I was born in the mid of winter…
Other tips for you and your readers is to cut the ends of the stems in a 45° angle and to use a mix from 1 liter of water, 1 tablespoon of sugar and a half of an aspirin pastille. This mixture should be changed every other 3-4 days.
February 13th, 2009 at 4:08 am
I’ve heard of using sugar before. I saw a documentary on some European city where they buy cut flowers more than anywhere else – can’t remember where, but it was somewhere in Eastern Europe you wouldn’t expect. I’m on a tight budget at the minute and what I really miss is buying flowers – I can’t wait until I am able to treat myself again!
February 13th, 2009 at 8:07 am
Found this really interesting. Never heard of carrying flowers upside down before! Also have to admit I’m bad about remembering to change the water and trim the stems each day. Guess that’s why my flowers never last as long as I think they should. Great tips, Katie! Thanks! :-)
February 13th, 2009 at 8:52 am
LOVE tulips! I just gave away a painting of European Tulips!
GREAT photos!
ENJOY!
Fifi
February 13th, 2009 at 8:53 am
Katie I loved that poem and I am going to send it to my husband…hmmm…I wonder if he knows my favorite flowers?!?
I feel like I should share what just happened to me while reading your post. I am sitting here at my computer with tears literally rolling down my face because I’m laughing so hard. I was very puzzled during the middle of reading your post. The title was about flowers, and I was reading about flowers. Then all of a sudden I thought I was reading about your mother in law’s undergarments! I was shocked and a little confused. So I re-read the sentence. About her corsets. And I thought…hmm…why did Katie know her corset was on upside down? Why is she telling us? How could she tell unless her mother in law showed her? Could she tell through her clothes? How would that even work? It looked a little strange? I don’t understand what I’m reading…so I started over and ONLY THEN did I realize that you wrote CORSAGE. NOT corset. But for whatever reason my brain kept seeing corset. Oh my. Thanks for the laugh, and I hope you and Martin have a wonderful weekend! :-)
February 13th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
Hello Katie! What beautiful tulips….so pretty!
Love the tip about carrying the tulips upside down – when in Rome…..{or Germany!}
Have a great week!
February 17th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
i can’t wait for spring and to have tulips in my garden again. Great tips for keeping flowers fresh and lasting longer. Great post :)