Flowers to decorate your home.
By MsTickle
@MsTickle (25180)
Australia
August 29, 2010 4:12pm CST
I wish I had a lovely garden so I could have cut flowers inside all the time. I have some wattle at the moment but the blossoms crinkle up and fade quickly. I have geraniums in flower at the moment and they make a joyful, bright little pot of colour, but other than those, there's nothing. Besides, I feel a bit guilty because the flowers last longer in their growing state...once cut they're dead.
I had a friend who would buy a flowering pot plant every week for around $10 - $15. She would put it on the table and not water it or do anything to it. When it died a couple of weeks later she'd buy another one. Her thinking was that it was about the same price as a bouquet of blooms but she didn't need a vase and the plant lasted longer. I told her it would last longer if she watered it but she shrugged as if to say "What's the point".
How do you feel about cut flowers? Do you often give them as gifts...they suit lots of occasions.
I had a friend who would buy a flowering pot plant every week for around $10 - $15. She would put it on the table and not water it or do anything to it. When it died a couple of weeks later she'd buy another one. Her thinking was that it was about the same price as a bouquet of blooms but she didn't need a vase and the plant lasted longer. I told her it would last longer if she watered it but she shrugged as if to say "What's the point".
How do you feel about cut flowers? Do you often give them as gifts...they suit lots of occasions.3 people like this
13 responses
@whiteheather39 (24403)
• United States
30 Aug 10
My ex husbands and friends knew never to buy me cut flowers. I hate to think they ha been cut/murdered because they were pretty. On the other hand I love plants and still to this day will only have live plants in my home and usually manage to keep them alive for a long time. I have a polka dot plant and 3 violet plants more than five years old and still going strong.
2 people like this
@PurpleTeddyBear (6685)
• Canada
30 Aug 10
African violets are sooooooooo picky! A friend got me one for a birthday one year because it was the most amazing color of purple and I managed to keep it for a year but they are very picky about lighting, soak their water from the bottom, etc.
1 person likes this
@wonttakelong (3555)
• United States
30 Aug 10
I like getting flowers occassionally
which is not very often
I think they are a waste of money if you buy them all the time
I prefer live plants
2 people like this
@ElicBxn (63235)
• United States
29 Aug 10
I will give them as a gift, but it depends on the person and the reason
I will give them to my mom, because she has a few plants in her room, but the plants need to tolerate low light conditions, so cut flowers will brighten up the place for a bit.
I do feel terrible guilty when I kill a living plant, and I have a black thumb, so I do kill them...
2 people like this
@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
29 Aug 10
A black thumb huh? (holds up fingers in sign of cross towards Elic) Mine is brown so I can pretend I'm a gardener and there are things other than weeds actually growing in my yard...there are lots of weeds too. My Dad is a good gardener and my sister has a lovely garden but I don't have what it takes...
The soil conditions where I live are poor so I sort of think I do a bit of alright here...certainly better than most of the folks who don't bother to even keep things tidy.
2 people like this
@PurpleTeddyBear (6685)
• Canada
30 Aug 10
If their is an occasion then my hubby will usually get me one bouquet of flowers from him, and one bouquet from the girls! I have done a ton of research online of how to take care of cut roses (that's what hubby usually gets me) and cut carnations (that's what the girls usually get me). Other then that I don't really have any flowers or plants around my house. I don't really like to because I'm pretty forgetful when it comes to watering, turning so they get enough sunlight, etc. I am happy with the times I do get cut flowers, and I get them to last quite a while due to the research I have done on care instructions!
@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
30 Aug 10
There was a guy I was seeing once upon a time who would pinch the occasional flower from someone's garden. He was trying to impress me (and failing at every turn...nice body though, shame about the rough head). He wrote me a poem once about giving roses as a gift (or something) then comparing a rose to his love..."a rose will always die"...he was such an idiot....lol.
2 people like this
@PurpleTeddyBear (6685)
• Canada
30 Aug 10
LoL ... That's funny hun! Some men can be so smart when they really apply themseves, and others just can't no matter how hard they try lol.
1 person likes this
@carmelanirel (20942)
• United States
29 Aug 10
I love cut flowers, my favorite being lilacs and you are right, they don't last long enough. But your friend who wastes money on a flowering plant doesn't make sense. I mean yeah it lasts longer like you said, but to me that's be a waster of money. I don't give them as gifts, but I have been given them as gifts and truthfully, I'd rather have a flowering plant that will last. I do have lilacs and tiger lilies that I cut when they are in bloom and I love the scent when my home is filled with them.
1 person likes this
@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
29 Aug 10
Her way of thinking is that it wasn't a waste of money as she enjoyed plants in her home. Going that way was in fact cheaper than buying a bouquet. A lot of pot plants are not produced to last or intended to last in my opinion. The idea being that they will die quickly no matter what you do and then you will replace them.
I love tiger lilies...so exotic. We used to grow them when I was little. I didn't realise they had a smell though...will have to check that out.
1 person likes this
@carmelanirel (20942)
• United States
29 Aug 10
Sorry MsTickle, I think I am coming down with something, my head is foggy..I meant that the lilacs have a really good smell..The tiger lilies just look pretty..:)
1 person likes this
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
8 Sep 10
I only give plants these days instead of flowers. I used to buy flowers for my wife, but now I just buy her a plant instead with lots of flowers on it.
I just bought her an Azalea plant yesterday actually as it was our wedding anniversary. It took me a while to choose the right one from Bunnings as none of them were really what I was after. Perhaps I should have gone to a nursery instead, but time was not on my side. It is a nice looking plant though, covered in lots of bright pink flowers.
I will have to put it in a nicer pot today and it can take pride of place brightening up our decking.
I just bought her an Azalea plant yesterday actually as it was our wedding anniversary. It took me a while to choose the right one from Bunnings as none of them were really what I was after. Perhaps I should have gone to a nursery instead, but time was not on my side. It is a nice looking plant though, covered in lots of bright pink flowers.
I will have to put it in a nicer pot today and it can take pride of place brightening up our decking. @MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
9 Sep 10
Happy Anniversary to you and your lady my friend. That's a gift I would be thrilled to receive...I think potted flowers are so much more thoughtful and practical than a bunch. I hope it lasts for you as azaleas can be a bit temperamental if the conditions are not just right.
@GardenGerty (157553)
• United States
29 Aug 10
I do not give or buy cut flowers often at all. I like the idea of blooming potted plants, and I would water mine. I love green and growing plants. I might cut flowers if I had some growing, though. I love my lilacs when they bloom.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (157553)
• United States
31 Aug 10
In order to bloom lilacs must have a cold winter season, so even in San Diego, we could not have them. I have always had them when I lived in Oklahoma and Kansas. We had Oleanders in tubs that mom took in in the winter. They look and smell beautiful, but are poisonous. They grew everywhere as shrubs in California. I like begonias and Impatiens both outside and then inside when the weather turns cold here.
@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
29 Aug 10
Flowers are sooo expensive these days...especially considering they will be a brown wilted mess within a week. I don't give flowers as a rule and any I have received like for my 50th birthday and when I left work, I took photos of, alas, my camera broke with those photos, irretrievably inside. I've heard of lilacs but pretty sure I haven't seen any. Are they a bulb? I think they might be a Northern Hemisphere plant.
@gemini_rose (16264)
•
31 Aug 10
I love flowers, I do not buy a lot of them as they can be expensive but normally in spring I always buy daffodils. I have rather a large garden that at the moment I am working on trying to get it into some kind of flowery order. It is quite hard as I do not know much about gardening or flowers so I am learning as I go along. This year I planted out about 30 different types of sunflowers so my garden is currently full of them, they are lovely but I have not had the heart to cut them to have them in the house. But because I have left them they have just continued to grow and flower continually I have loads of them now! I have also just started planting out wildflower seeds, I am looking forward to seeing if they grow in the spring! I have two plants in my house at the minute, one is a peace lily and the other is a red flowery thing that I have no idea of what it is called. I am not usually very good at keeping flowering plants so I do not know how long these will survive for, hopefully a long time!
1 person likes this
@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
1 Sep 10
Hi Rosie, haven't seen you for a while. It must be lovely to have a big garden. My yard is huge but we have very poor soil here, it being basically sand. Rather than buy the daffodils why don't you buy some bulbs then you can have them every year in springtime. A few years back I bought jonquils and they flowered the first year but haven't flowered or grown since...however this year, the green leaves have appeared but no sign of the flower....and only 2 plants from the six original bulbs.
@Hatley (163781)
• Garden Grove, California
30 Aug 10
hi mstickle I miss not having a garden of my own living here in this room but I love all sorts of flowers but no not cut. they just die in such a short time. I would rather get a potted plant that I could feed and water and care for, and watch it bloom year after year. I would rather give someone a real potted plant in full bloom which they could enjoy for
years instead of cut flowers that last just a few days.
1 person likes this
@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
30 Aug 10
Hi Hatley...hope your day is happy. Bouquets are beautiful but such a waste of money. You're right about a potted plant. They are similar to a pet in so far as they need us to feed and water them and to put them where they are happiest. I'm quite attached to all my potted plants and I've had some of them for many, many years...they have travelled many miles with me.
@macdingolinger (10386)
• United States
29 Aug 10
When I lived in the country I always enjoyed a small spray of flowers on the table. But now I try to keep plants in the house. Because of allergies I always choose plants that don't have flowers but I have four plants so far and hope to slowly build up until I have them all over the place!
@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
29 Aug 10
I love homes with indoor plants, I just don't have the room and the house is pretty well closed up in Winter so there's little fresh air. There are a zillion plants that grow easily from cuttings so keep your eyes peeled. Sometimes you can propagate from a leaf other times it will need a new shoot. Go on-line to find plants you like that are suitable for propagating and that do well indoors. That should be a fun project.
PS, if you see something in someone's garden to propagate, don't hesitate to ask if you can have a few cuttings. I've never been knocked back and I'm always happy to oblige too.
PS, if you see something in someone's garden to propagate, don't hesitate to ask if you can have a few cuttings. I've never been knocked back and I'm always happy to oblige too.
@jayapal025 (12)
• India
30 Aug 10
flowers:
human all are like flowers because that smell only
1 person likes this
