I’ve never been great with flowers. In all honesty, I find cut flowers a little sad; I’m much more keen on houseplants. The typical bouquet is far too fancy for my taste. Flowers, as beautiful as they are, aren’t something to often grace my home.
After being gifted by a 3-month Posy & Posy subscription, I’ve grown to love the beauty of a carefully picked bouquet. The flowers they send aren’t the over-the-top arrangements you might find on Instagram. Instead they are stunning posies that look wild and simple, as though I picked them on a walk.
Since the presence of flowers is often all too fleeting, I wanted to find ways of making the most out of every bouquet, from dividing them into mini posies to pressing cut flowers.
A few tips for prolonging the life of your bouquet before you resort to other measures: keep your bouquet out of drafts and direct sunlight, set them away from radiators and fresh fruit. Refresh the water every 2-3 days with a drop of bleach (if you have it) to stop bacteria, and mix in a little flower food to nourish the flowers. Re-cutting the stems will revive wilted flowers and give them a little more life while deadheading any blooms will keep the remaining ones looking healthier.
Mini Posies
Some flowers bloom for longer than others. Removing dead flowers from your bouquet and rearranging the ones remaining gives you an ever-changing floral display. When you have fewer flowers than foliage, split everything up into mini posies, and use them to decorate your home.
Dried Decorations
While cut flowers are quick to wither and die, foliage like eucalyptus or wild grass can last a long time, dried out and displayed on bookshelves and in vases. Snip these hardy specimens down to size and pop in an empty vase; use them to decorate your shelves or coffee table.
Pressed Flowers
I’m certain lots of us remember pressing flowers as children. Pressed blooms make beautiful decorations and stunning bookmarks. Particularly beautiful flowers, ones that remind you of a certain someone, are especially nice when kept in a keepsake box or photo album - if you have one.
Bathroom Remedies
If you were lucky enough to receive eucalyptus in your bouquet, tying the sprigs together and hanging them in your shower will create a herbal steam when the hot water is turned on. Eucalyptus is a natural remedy for cold and flu symptoms, and is said to boost the immune system.
Small Gifts
A sweet posy of flowers can be plucked from your bouquet and gifted to guests who visit. Sending someone a gift? Use flowers as part of your gift wrap by tying a few sprigs of foliage or a cut flower onto the wrapping.
Composting
If all other methods fail, compost your bouquet!
Reusing Wrapping
What I love about Posy & Posy is all the packaging is recyclable and biodegradable, from the box your bouquet arrives in to the individual wraps for the plant stems. I fold up the brown paper and store it away for wrapping gifts, and break the rest down for composting.
