2 mins read
Ah, yes, sunflowers-the happy flower! They really do make you smile and until recently I've kind of underappreciated their little sunshiney, optimistic faces.
Do you guys remember that show "Blossom?" Every time I see a sunflower it reminds me of that sitcom! I may or may not have spent the better half of the early 90's walking around in a rather large Blossom-inspired sunflower hat and there may or may not be pictures to prove it. Whoa! (That was a reference to Joey Lawrence in case you're a bit....cough, cough...older. Oh gosh, or younger! Okay, I 'm depressing myself now). Anyway, it’s funny how certain things just stick with you. Now, when I'm not mentally transporting myself back to my Blossom hat days, I’m busy adulting like everyone else—keeping picture frames straight and trying to convince myself I enjoy folding laundry. Ah, the joys of responsibility, but honestly... I'd trade all the straightened frames for one more carefree day in a sunflower hat.
Obviously, I was a budding fashionista (Ha! Get it? Budding? Sunflowers?)
Okay, seriously, folks, let's focus. Now where was I?
Oh, yes, I wanted to talk about Fall flowers and how until recently I was a Mum kind of gal, but then something happened and now I'm a sunflower kind of gal too!
I'm not quite sure what that "something" was but I'm all about sunflowers this Autumn. Shortly after sharing our little Fall entryway vignette last week, I decided it needed a little pop of color and sunflowers were just what the doctor ordered. Yes, yes, Doctor Decor. Ever hear of him?
Can you believe I almost donated that blue pitcher to Goodwill last week? Thank goodness I succumbed to my decor-hoarding-tendencies and bailed on giving it up at the last minute! I just LOVE the look of the yellow sunflowers contrasted against that blue.
The great thing about sunflowers is that they're so cheerful alone, that you can just toss them into a glass vase and be done with them. No professional florist arrangement skills needed.
Here are a few more sunflower decor ideas.
source (via Eddie Ross/Lonny Magazine)
So as you can see sunflowers make for a sunny choice for indoor decor and naturally the longer you can keep them alive and around the better, right?
There are all kinds of tips on the www. about how to prolong the vase life of your sunflowers, but one of my favorite go-to techniques to preserve cut flowers is with hairspray. Yes, hairspray! Who would have thunk it, right? I picked up this tip many years ago in a magazine and have been a fan of it ever since. It kind of makes sense if you think about it....I mean if that stuff can keep Marge Simpson's do from wilting, then just think of what it can do for flowers!
1.Cut sunflowers early in the morning (as the day goes on they begin to lose water so you want to cut them before they start to transpire. Or just buy them from the store like me!)
2.Cut the stems at an angle
3.Place them in a luke warm water in a clean vase and make sure to change the water every 2 days. I once heard that if you wouldn't drink from your vase, then you shouldn't put your flowers in it!
4.Spritz the underside of your flower petals with hairspray
5.Enjoy!
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