What is it about
flowers that make a house a home?
My dream is to always have a bouquet of fresh flowers somewhere in my home.
My pocket book doesn't always agree with my dream.
Of course during the spring, summer, and fall it doesn't cost anything to
bring in nature from my yard.
But during the cold days of winter I have to rely on other ways to get my
floral fix on a bargain.
One of those ways is to look for flowers in
unexpected places.
This beautiful bouquet came from a store that carries out of date and freight damaged food.
The tulips were a dollar a bunch. For that price I felt I could splurge and buy five dollars worth.
Another way to save is to ask what day of the week the florist or grocery store has a
fresh flower delivery. That will also likely be the day that they mark down flowers to clear them out (look for great bargains AFTER Valentines).
These blooms were on clearance.
The great thing about potted flowers is that I can plant them in my yard later. To double my delight these bulbs will
bloom next spring.
When I buy
potted flowers the first thing I do is lose the wrapping, plop the pot into a prettier container, and surround the top with a little moss.
I try to save on my
outdoor flowers too. Bargains can be found at the end of the season and on holidays. Big box stores will often mark down their plants when they look a little lanky or droopy.
I've also been known to ask for the plants that they are throwing away (and have been very tempted to dumpster dive). Annuals can be hard to rescue but perennials can be
nurtured back and will bloom for years.
My favorite idea for bargain gardening came from a woman who would walk her dog at night and carry scissors with her. As she walked she would take little snippets from her neighbors bushes and flowers; nothing too big that they would miss. ***Edited to add: If you choose to do this please ask permission before taking snippets from your neighbors.***
When she arrived home she would dip the cuttings into root starter. I read that she was able to beautify her entire once-barren yard with just the cost of time, energy and root starter.
It has been a tradition since we moved into this home. We set out "Sunday" dishes, glasses and even unique-to-Sunday salt and pepper shakers. We light a candle or two and enjoy having a delicious dinner, usually cooked by my hubby. And we always have a tablecloth. . .well, not a reeeal tableCLOTH. We can be a sloppy bunch and I don't want to spend my week soaking and removing stains from a real tablecloth so I resort to the plastic variety. But it can be difficult to find a faux tablecloth that doesn't look too country or too grandma-y. So imagine my delight when I found these beautiful covers at Big Lots the other day.
Look! Lovely colors and designer patterns. I had to stock up on all they had in my difficult to find table size.
I couldn't pass up such pretty, practical, and priced-to-please plastic!
