Preserving Flowers

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Preserving Fresh Flowers

On occasion, I am the lucky recipient of fresh cut flowers. This time, it was a dozen roses. When I first received them, I cut the long stems just slightly and placed them in a wine carafe. The tall arrangement looked lovely on my kitchen island.

After a few days, the buds began to open and the flowers looked a bit droopy, so I cut the stems much shorter (leaving about six inches on each). I made a "bubble bouquet," which is a densely packed arrangement using a small, round vase. All twelve roses fill up the small vase, and it looks like a bubble of flowers. I used fresh water and sprinkled the roses themselves with water. More importantly, I put the arrangement in my refrigerator over night. The low arrangement looked positively beautiful on my dining table that Saturday evening when my friends came to dine. It was low enough to easily see over.

I put the "bubble bouquet" back into my fridge each evening and enjoyed it in various rooms in my home by day. When the edges of the petals began to discolor, I made two new arrangements! I used the glass bottoms of my parmesan shakers (kitchen item) as vases, cut the stems an inch or two more, and filled each vase with six flowers and some fresh water. These arrangements were placed on the nightstands of my two young daughters. They were thrilled! Three ways to enjoy a single bouquet. And who knows what I will do with the petals!
JR

Preserving Cut Flowers

One way to make sure that your bouquet lasts as long as possible is to doctor the water that they drink. To one quart of water, add one drop of bleach and a tablespoon of sugar. These simple steps can add days of enjoyment to your fresh flower arrangement.
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