Make
Your Cut Flowers Last Longer
by
Colleen Moulding
Nothing
lifts a room like fresh flowers, but they can be expensive. Here
are ten tips to help you get the best out of your arrangements.
1).
Buy flowers still in bud. You get the pleasure of watching them
open and they will have a longer vase life than those bought in
full bloom.
2).
When you get your flowers home, strip off any leaves that will be
below the water line, cut off the bottoms of the stems and give
them a good long drink
of lukewarm water.
3).
Add a few drops of household bleach to the flower water to guard
against the slime caused by bacteria and add a spoonful of sugar
instead of
commercially produced flower food.
4).
Woody stemmed flowers like roses benefit from having the bottoms
of their stems crushed and then split to help them take up water.
5).
Bulb flowers such as daffodils should have their stems snipped across
at an angle. Washing away the sticky white secretion will lengthen
their life too.
6).
To stop tulips flopping over, wrap the bunch tightly in wet newspaper
and leave them in two to three inches of water for about one and
a half hours. Push small pins through the stems just below the flower
heads and they will stay soldier straight
7).
Don't leave flowers in warm rooms overnight. Extend their life by
putting them in the coldest room in the house while you are asleep.
8).
Improvise vases for any occasion by wrapping bottles, jars or plastic
containers with tissue paper, fabric or coloured net, tied with
ribbon, raffia
or
cord. Tiny flower prints or gingham for a casual country look, swagged
silky fabric, bright or pastel tissue paper for more formal occasions.
Or overlap shiny leaves around the outside of a glass and tie with
raffia before arranging your flowers inside.
9).
Place your floral arrangement in front of a mirror and it will look
twice as big and
beautiful.
10).
Finally don't forget to top up your vases with fresh water every
day for long
lasting displays.
About
the author: Colleen Moulding is a freelance writer from England
where she has had many features on parenting, childcare, travel,
the Internet and lots more published in national magazines and newspapers.
She has also published a variety of women's and children's fiction.
Her
work frequently appears at many sites on the Internet and at her
own site for women and children http://www.allthatwomenwant.co.uk
a magazine, web guide and resource for women everywhere. Why not
drop by? It was made for you!
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