Slice of Life

Slice of Life
Join the slicing for the month of March

Monday, March 5, 2012

Re-purposing


I love plants and flowers. I am always anxious for spring to arrive so I can get outside to work the soil, prune, rake, and plant. Winter forces me to garden inside so I make sure I have plants in every room of the house and I often buy cut flowers to adorn the kitchen and dining room tables. A few weeks ago, I was cleaning up around the house and wished I has some flowers to add a touch of color to our mantel. The weather was a bit nasty and I was not about to go out to purchase some. My grandmother always told me to decorate by re-purposing (a great piece of advice) so I looked around to see what I could use. I found a vase called an ikebana. The ikebana is a Japanese vase which holds a small about of water and has prongs inside it. Flower stems are pushed into the vase and squeezed between the prongs. This allows the entire bouquet (including the stems) to be outside the vase. Bouquets put in ikebanas are very sculptural. Now...what could I put into the ikebana? The end of February is when I usually cut back the blooms of my poinsettias allowing the roots to recover and the plant a chance to begin to grow once again. So...I cut a few blooms off two poinsettias. I took inventory of my house plants looking for something else to put in my bouquet. I found philodendrons and snipped a piece from one for some greenery. Then I snipped a baby shoot off a spider plant for some height. Wallah! I had a bouquet for the mantel without buying anything...just re-purposing. The bouquet lasted for two weeks. Yesterday I created yet another bouquet with more snips of from plants in the house. 
Now I am curious...how will sprigs of rosemary, asparagus fern, peace lily, or perhaps a gerbera daisy look in my vase? I think I can keep up this cost effective decorating until my spring perennials begin to bloom! Stores keep your flowers...I'll just use what I already have.

6 comments:

  1. I love to read posts by true nature lovers. Sure I have some flower boxes on my balcony and a few house plants that I hope are still alive this week while I'm awake, but hands in dirt, now thats wonderful
    Wanda, so good to know you are one with the earth :)
    Bonnie

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  2. The flower arrangement in your photo are eye catching. You did a great expressing your love and connection to the plants. I also heard your love and respect for family. Thank you for sharing.

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  3. I admire you...I have a real "black" thumb when it comes to keeping plants alive.
    Ruth

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  4. Boy, you really know what you are doing! That arrangement looks so lovely, Wanda! I love plants and flowers ,too - even my classroom has plants and a vase of my Monday flowers.

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  5. Brilliant - I love it when we can "make do without" as my mother would say. My cats eat all my plants or poop in the pot. If you ever need have a plant murdered, I am just the person you need. Great description and love the photo.

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  6. Wow, I'm so impressed by all your flower knowledge! That arrangement is beautiful. I managed to even kill a cactus this winter in my apartment. :( I'm not so good with plants and flowers, I think I could learn a think or to from you!

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