My flower habit started one summer day long ago. I was at the kitchen sink, in “exhausted mom-wife-housekeeper” mode, when I spotted a slightly droopy Black-Eyed Susan bloom in our backyard. I looked down at the empty pickle jar I had just washed out and knew that flower needed a home. Minutes later, I had a cute little flower arrangement right there in our kitchen. Nothing fancy, but kinda charming—and it made us all smile. Flowers have the power: reducing stress, boosting our moods, and bringing joy and a mother nature connection into our lives.
It’s summer, and flowers everywhere–even the local supermarket. After checking the Haas avocados to find some ripe ones for my supper salad and hunting down a pint or two of perfect raspberries, I usually head over to the floral department to see what’s on offer.
Over the years, I’ve figured out the kinds I like best: ones that are sturdy, bold in color, and not too special or pricey when it comes to pedigree. We have a (very) old Dutch colonial cottage in Chicago—solid and lots of great white woodwork everywhere. It’s nothing fancy, just straight-up Midwest hardworking Chicago. I love it, it’s really me, which means the flowers I bring home need to both match the vibe and be ready to work hard as well/ And how hard will these flowers be working, you may ask? Very hard—the plan is to break up these bouquets and create mini arrangements for at least five different rooms, all for $20 or less.
The flowers
When it comes to buying flowers for the house, as opposed to gifting, or making wearables such as boutonnieres, I’m driven first by color, second by shape, and third, by price and the condition of the blooms (being budget-conscious and practical, of course).
When choosing color, I always think of my interior house colors. Like many homes with a more open floor plan (during our “big remodel” 20 years ago, we actually opened up a dark tunnel-like stairway by knocking out some walls!), decorating with coordinating colors is a great way to create a pleasing visual flow. For example, we have a lot of original high-gloss superwhite woodwork that really ties our rooms together. We also have deep blue-grey walls, muted red floral upholstery, and wallpaper (yes, a pretty traditional look that complements our 100+ year old house). But we’ve punched it up a little by painting the central hall and staircase a deep golden yellow all the way up to the second floor rooms.Plus, we’ve repeated the original jade green of the subway tiles around the fireplace by adding accessories like vintage art pottery in the same beautiful green.
So when I flower shop, my go-to color is almost always deep golden yellow—sunflowers, daffodils, yellow tulips, field daisies, yellow gerberas, and humble beautiful mums. It still amazes me how much ‘pop’ you can get from small displays of vibrantly colored blooms placed around your living space, especially when tucked into unexpected spots like the powder room or even a basement laundry area.
Bloom shape and condition
I picked up this batch of flowers at my local supermarket’s floral department. I always look for big single blooms for greater visual impact, and I always check the stems to make sure they’re not broken or damaged.
While I do pay attention to the number of stems and blooms I’m getting in each bundle, I never swap or add stems from other bundles as it feels unethical to me. (FYI: yes I am that lady who picks through the loose green beans one by one and selects the ones I want rather than grabbing a handful and calling it a day.)
This batch of flowers looked really good—fresh, springy, no faded blooms. I loved the yellow gerberas, the orange ones had a lot of yellow in them too, and the filler stems had a nice perky green that tied it all together.
And…cute (and mostly free) containers
These containers are my people. As you can see, most are a mix of Anchor Hocking glass crocks (I love Anchor Hocking -—always get the lids, too, and one day I’ll tell the story of why I use them as wastebaskets in all of our rooms except the kitchen and bathrooms) plus recycled spaghetti jars, yogurt containers, and random food jars that I saved for “just in case”.
These have turned out to be perfect for small, medium, large, and huge floral arrangements, from a single bud to really big bunches of flowers and branches. I like the look of using clear glass jars as vases, as they don’t compete with the flowers. Plus I like floral arrangements that don’t look too “studied”—the jars look spontaneous and fun. And, I hate to bring this up, but we have cats, and I also like the idea that if something here gets broken it’s not the end of the world.I’m lookin’ at you, Mugsy and Wally.
Also, some of my other go-to containers, pictured above, include two IKEA (love IKEA) jade green tin “milk pails” with cute wooden and wire handles; a jade green 1940’s art pottery dog I got for $2 at a local thrift shop; my beloved “ear of corn” majolica-style pitcher (Thanksgiving), the white duck pitcher (goes with everything, plus I like ducks);a very cool white and black Bridgewater pitcher from their Toast & Marmalade line (I got it over 20 years ago—it wasn’t cheap but I wanted it because I deserved it: house, job, husband, kids, 5 cats and an Airedale—so I got it); and a set of three yellow pitchers that I use in autumn and winter when my florals are really dried branches, autumn leaves, thistles, and other dried materials.
I don’t think I’d use these yellow pitchers with yellow flowers, butI would totally use them for white flowers like daisies, mums, etc.
Result: 3 bunches + recycled jars = 5 rooms for $20
The goal is to create cute floral arrangements for five rooms in our house for under $20. I’m using recycled glass jars of varying sizes as my containers—basically free. My cost for the floral material, excluding sales tax, is $5.99 per bunch: two bunches of gerbera daisies (one yellow, one orange—because the other yellow bunches didn’t look up to par, but the orange petals have yellow edges so yay!), plus one bunch of accent stems—I like the lime green. That brings the total to $17.97, so we’re just under budget.
I love these little mini-florals, and perhaps next time you’re at the supermarket, you’ll grab a bouquet or three and do your own easy, budget-friendly floral decor, because every room in your house deserves flowers.
What are your favorites stores to get bouquets from?
English (US) · 