Monday, August 24, 2009

Flowers For Free-Decorating on a Budget


There is something about having fresh flowers in your home that brightens up the day. It doesn’t matter if you live in a house, an apartment or a dorm room, bringing in a simple arrangement of something living will make you feel better. It will also make a house feel like a home. The great thing about bringing something live in from outdoors, is that you don’t have to spend a fortune at a florist in order to make a statement. You don’t need a cut glass vase, or long-stemmed roses to create something wonderful. There are times when I just go out in the yard and pick what I can find. It is easier to find things in the spring and summer, but possible to do any time of year. In the fall you can find twigs with bright leaves, in winter you can pick a few sprigs from an evergreen tree or holly bush and make the house smell like the holidays.




This time of year, I love to add fresh herbs to my arrangements. It is so easy to grow basil or rosemary from seeds. You can grow them outdoors, or in a pot indoors near a window. Sometimes I add a few flowers if I have something in bloom, other times I just use the herbs and twigs or leaves. You don’t need any special supplies. The arrangement above is in a drinking glass with a few rocks on the bottom. I added some water, and took a walk through my yard. You will see rosemary stems, some basil leaves that are past their prime (I grow basil all year long), some green stems off of one of our shrubs and a few random flowers that were still blooming. It works the best if you put all of the “greens” in first, making sure you have some differences in heights. Go back and add the flowers if you have them. You simply can’t imagine how wonderful the herbs make the house smell. This doesn’t have to look perfect, it is supposed to look a bit wild.

If you don’t have a yard or park where you can snip a few sprigs of something, you can go to your local grocery store and get a bouquet of flowers for around $4. I have found that I can make them last about a week if I buy mums or daisy blooms. I try to keep something fresh on my kitchen counter all the time. You will be surprised how you catch yourself smiling when you look at them.

7 comments:

Sonia said...

I too like to walk in the yard and see what I can find to bring in the house. Today I brought in a potted orchid that has several very pretty blooms.

Sue said...

Sonia, thanks for reading. I would love to "find" an orchid in my yard, but really there is always something out there that can look pretty. One just has to use a bit of imagination.

J Rodney said...

Excellent post! I love how you put rocks in the bottom of the glass, I have never thought of that. I inherited my mother's love for flowers, as she always had fresh flowers on a table. I do not have many flowers in my garden, but I am known for "stealing" flowers from the parking lots in our neighborhood:)

Anonymous said...

Great ideas from a wonderful Mom.
TB

Sue said...

Frug-Adding rocks, seashells or marbles can really make a simple arrangement look special. I keep a bag of assorted shells for just that purpose, as well as a bag of smooth rocks.

TB-Thanks for reading and commenting.

Sophie said...

My sisters usually bring me in a bouquet of flowers from the garden every couple days. We end up drying out the older blooms and replacing them with newer blooms. Love waking up to that.

Sue said...

Sophie-thanks for stopping by. It is always nice to be surprised by fresh flowers. Drying the older ones is a great idea!