Grocery Store Flowers.
They either make you cringe with cliche-ness, or
you feel compelled to buy two or three bundles
and haul them home along with your overly priced
anjou pears and pickled pig’s feet.
What? You don’t buy pickled pig’s feet?
😀
Okay, me neither – but you get the picture.
I adore flowers of all shapes and sizes.
I enjoy having fresh bouquets, both large and small,
scattered throughout my house.
Especially during the Summer months.
I am going to share with you…
5 Reasons Why I Love
Grocery Store Flowers
Before I start, I want to let you know that this
post is a very first for me.
All of these pictures were taken with my iPhone.
Why, because for some reason my beloved Canon
has crapped out on me. So… Plan B. The iPhone.
Blogging must go on.
(so please excuse me if the pics are full of wonkiness)
I will come right out and say it.
I am a flower snob.
I abhor carnations. And red roses by the dozen.
Yes, I do. I have admitted it in public.
They are yack-worthy in the world of flowers.
So many of the grocery store pre-bundles
are so overused – it’s down right flower abuse.
But, sometimes that’s all you have access to.
So, I have learned to put on some invisible flower-buying
blinders, bring them home –
(I bury them under the eggs and loaves of
bread so nobody can see me carrying them home)
– and make the most of them.
If you dig thru the gazillion carnations, there can be
some pretty flowers which you can utilize.
(I warned you I was a flower snob)
I generally try to purchase some extras –
such as these pretty, yellow Astors above.
… or these bright green “thing-a-ma-bobbers” I
can’t remember the name of.
Where’s Martha when you need her? :-/
I decided on some simple, white Delphiniums.
Reason #1: The price!
You will pay far less for a bundle of
grocery store flowers than you will if
you buy a ready-made arrangement
at a local florist.
Prior to any flower arranging shenanigans that
start when I get home, I grab my shears and head out
into the yard to cut and snip some additional stems to use
in my arrangements. Primarily because they
give you 2.3 pieces of greenery, on a good day.
But, I also love added texture to my bundles.
Reason #2: The Stems are Long
Usually the stems are left extra long,
which allows you to use basically any
container you wish.
I chose to use this really cute galvanized milk can my
sweet Mama gave me recently. Because my chosen
grocery store bouquet had some large brown-eyed Susans,
I thought it was the perfect “farmhouse” container.
I started out by filling it with some of the cuttings from
my yard, which created my “base.”
* Tip from Barb *
Make sure the part of the stem which
will be in the water is free of greenery.
This allows the water to stay fresh longer.
To determine the approximate height of the
overall arrangement, a rule of thumb is for the flowers
to be about 1.5 times the height of the container.
I always start with the larger flowers first. In this case it is
the brown-eye daisies. I placed them in a triangular pattern.
Next I start filling in with smaller flowers, also in a
triangular pattern. I know, I know – the above flowers
I added in are (shhhhh!!!) … roses.
But, they are old-fashioned cluster roses.
THOSE kinds of roses I love. 😀
Reason #3: There’s Plenty to Choose
Pick and choose the flowers from the
bundle you wish to use.
Any leftover flowers can be placed in
mini glass vases on your bathroom
counter or bedside table.
Keep filling in all of the dead spaces between larger
flowers with the smaller flowers.
Now, I will say this – just like design and art and fashion –
flower arranging is a personal thing.
You may like a full look or you may like a sparse look.
That is ok, too.
At any point you think you have “enough” simply stop.
Fortunately for my grocery store flower section,
I am a More, More, and even More kinda gal.
😀
I always like to add something very tall to the
arrangement. Yes, I know this breaks the 1.5 height
rule, but I am a flower arranging rebel –
what can I say?
While I was out in my yard in a snipping frenzy,
I also grabbed some fresh rosemary and cut
a few of these adorable, ruffly Dusty Miller stems.
When I was all done… I ended up with this!
Yellow and Green with a splash of white!
Reason # 4: Flower Keeper Pack
Use the convenient packets of powder
that are provided with each bouquet
to help your flowers live longer.
* Tip from Barb *
Snip the bottom of all stems at an
angle to allow water to be absorbed
better. Also, changing the water daily
will help keep the arrangement
fresher longer.
I love the bright splash of yellow against my
*NEW* white, board ‘n batten walls.
I promise to share more at a later time.
I love a yellow and blue color scheme, and this
arrangement screams “farmhouse” to me.
( ok, maybe not scream, but it speaks loudly )
And finally, my last reason…
Reason #5: Convenience!
Most of us go to the grocery store a
bazillion times a week.
Well, at least it feels like I do.
Being able to grab one of these bundles
means I don’t have to make another stop
at a florist.
Personally, I think that may be the BEST
reason of them all.
Do you use grocery store flowers in your home?
Tell me what is your favorite reason to use them.
Here are more of my floral arranging
tips and tricks …
How to Make Faux Flowers Look Real
If you loved this post and would like to save it
for future reference, please Pin these images
to your favorite Pinterest Boards.
(simply run your mouse over center of pics!)
Please join me this coming Monday for
another fun No-Sew Showcase Event:
July 4th Projects!
I can’t wait for you to see all of our projects!
Thank you for spending a few minutes of
your day here with me!
You can also follow me here:..
xxoo, Barb
Suzan says
I have been buying bundles of grocery store flowers since I lived in Seattle nearly 15 years ago. Our Safeway had fabulous bundles of flowers that were so reasonably priced. I would get one variety bundle and two “straight” bundles – usually one with tall slender flowers and the other “filler” flowers. I could usually make two and sometimes three arrangements for house. I always had one in the living room, one in the breakfast room and one little one in the downstairs powder room. Flowers make me happy and the more the better is my motto! Costco also had great flower choices and that was my go to place for flowers when we were entertaining. Where I live now I hit our Giant or Weis Market which both have great selection and reasonable prices.
View Commentchris aka monkey says
gorgeous and pinned xx
View CommentKristen from The Road to Domestication says
I LOVE how these turned out! I never would have thought they were grocery store flowers! Thanks so much for taking the time to link up with us over at the #HomeMattersParty – we hope to see you again next week!
View CommentBarb says
Kristen – thanks so much for hosting and for a great party. See you this week! ~Barb
View Comment