Flower-newbie

Recently, I developed a newfound love for flowers and been posting a lot of 'flower-themed' pictures on instagram since. I guess the timing is right because it's the spring season (duh!). But those who have known me forever know that I'm more of a chocolate kinda girl. Because of that, I never received flowers ever in my life up until recently. Yeap, sad truth.  

I consider myself a 'flower-newbie' because I still don't know much about them. This week I found out there are different species of roses and I just figured out the name of one of my favourite flowers: Ranunculus (That's how bad I am).  My mother-in-law gave me some tips on how to give flowers a longer vase life because she's quite an expert in this area. Based on what I learned, these are the basic 101 on what I do whenever I receive/buy fresh cut flowers. I hope this is helpful for fellow newbies out there. 

1. Arrange your flowers in a vase filled with lukewarm water (not hot/cold) immediately after you get your fresh cut flowers. 

2. Best to trim the ends of the stems at a 45 degrees angle before you put them in the vase. If I'm not mistaken, it's easier for the flowers to absorb water when cut at a certain angle.

3. Make sure all the leaves and branches stand above the water line. Excess leaves below the water line will encourage the growth of bacteria. 

4. Change your water as often as you can because you don't want bacteria to be seating inside the water and "eat" your flowers. Some flowers drink up more water so I usually check the water level every morning. I like to change it every one or two days. 

5. Trim the ends of the stems every day or every time you change your water to keep it fresh. Again, cut it at the same angle. 

6. Cut any part that looks wilted to keep the flowers looking fresh. If the whole flower looks dead, best to toss it in a compost bin.

Ready to re-arrange my flowers and change the water

I bought a bouquet of mixed peonies with poppies at the Farmers' market. After only two days, I had to throw a few of them away. Pretty sure they weren't that fresh when I bought them :(