Blooming Marvellous

"Arranging a bowl of flowers in the morning can give a sense of quiet in a crowded day - like writing a poem or saying a prayer." Anne Morrow Lindbergh

I love keeping flower bouquets in my room, if I could I would buy a bouquet a week!

The florist I frequent the most would have to be:

Dunkeld Fruit & Flowers 

(R30 for deliveries)

Address: Dunkeld West Centre, 279/281 Jan Smuts Avenue

Tel: 011 341 0343 or 011 341 0101

I could browse and smell around here for ages and they have a huge selection of florals. Once you've chosen the flowers you like someone will arrange them in a beautiful bouquet for you! 

Flowers at Dunkeld

Roses at Dunkeld; Stems with blossoms adorning the table at a cocktail evening I had at my place

Once Home:


Best Way To Cut Flowers: 
Flowers keep best when cut with a sharp knife (un-serrated) and plunged immediately into water. Always make a cut on a slant, as it exposes more stem surface area. 
Remove leaves that will be under water in the arrangement.
Do not remove thorns from roses as it tends to shorten their life.


When the flower stem is cut, a small air bubble forms at the end of the stem and is trapped. This acts like a barrier and prevents more water from getting up the stem - even if you replace the stem in water.
To prevent air bubble blocks, make a new stem-end cut while holding it in water. A small droplet of water will cling to the stem end as you transfer the rose to the vase. This prevents the bubble from re-forming.


Ways to keep cut flowers longer:

• Use plain, lukewarm water for most cut flowers, but use cold water for bulb flowers, such as daffodils, hyacinths, and tulips.
• Change the water every 2 days - don't just top it off. This is the single most effective thing you can do to keep your flowers looking fresh!
• Keep flowers out of direct sunlight, and move them to a cool place at night.
• Give daffodils their own vase - daffodil stems give off a compound that is toxic to other flowers.
• Keep cut flowers away from fruit, which releases a gas that causes flowers to age faster.

How To Prolong Your Flowers Life:

All commercial floral preservatives contain the basic components of the life support system for the cut flower: a biocide (to kill the bacteria that insert pores into the stem & thus inhibit water from getting to the flower), an acidifier (helps water move up the stem more easily), and sugar (flower food).

I used this mixture every second day for the blooms I bought last week Sunday and they're still looking gorgeous!

Credit for tips to: Marion Owen, Co-author of Chicken Soup for the Gardener's Soul