Make Flowers Last For Weeks

I love buying myself flowers. It feels like such a treat and a gift to myself every time I do. They brighten my home and are such an easy, inexpensive way to bring some joy.

Treat yourself. Buy the damn flowers.

I'm not talking about pricey, intricate bouquets with baby's breath. (Why are they always pushing baby's breath? I don't like it it. I don't want it. Don't make me.)

I'm talking flowers from the grocery store. My favourite are the ones that are like $7 and come in cheap plastic. I'm just going to take them home and transfer in a vase, what do I care? I actually find that these flowers last the longest. I can make a bouquet of $7 flowers last a good three weeks.

Want to know how?

First, ditch the packet of chemicals that comes with your flowers. My secret is adding white sugar to the water and stirring it in until it completely dissolves. The amount to use is dependent on the number of stems and size of the vase. (You can also use vodka but I am not here to waste perfectly good booze.)

I make sure to tend to the flowers probably five to six days after I buy them. Take them out of the vase, put fresh water in and add new sugar. Don't use freezing cold water, make sure it is lukewarm.

Snip the ends of the flowers to create a fresh intake for the water. I usually do this on a bit of an angle.

Rearrange the flowers back into the vase and you are done! Watch the flowers as the days go on and if they look a bit sad, repeat the process. Doing these every four days or so, I can make a bouquet easily last a few weeks. Interestingly enough, the cheaper the flowers I find the longer they last!

As the days progress some flowers are lost along the way and as the stems get shorter with every snip, I usually create smaller arrangements to display in my home.

I hope these simple tips help you make your own flowers last longer. It doesn't seem like such an investment if they are going to last a while and I can't quite describe how a vase of pretty flowers can boost my mood.

Try it, you might just get addicted!

oxox Mare