They’re not dead yet: 4 fantastic ideas to upcycle your flowers

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Drying and Preserving

If you’ve got a bouquet you just can’t bring yourself to compost, another option is to preserve your dead flowers by drying them. Dried flowers can be used for a variety of decorative purposes, giving your favorite flower arrangement a second act.

The process of drying flowers is actually relatively simple. The first step is to remove them from their vase and cut any foliage from the stem. You can trim the stems as well, but you want to leave at least six inches. Next, find a dark, dry environment where you can store them for two to four weeks, ideally a place where they’ll get a bit of airflow. Hang the flowers upside down — you can use a piece of string or wire to hang them from a closet rod or hanger. This step will work best if you hang each flower individually.

Your flowers should be completely dry in two to four weeks. Take them down and give each a quick spray with some unscented hairspray to protect the petals. Voilà! You’ve got a beautiful bouquet of dried flowers that should last for about a year, provided you keep them away from water and direct sunlight. You can create your own arrangement and display it in a vase, make a simple wreath or garland with the dried blooms, or add some essential oils to the petals and create a homemade potpourri.

Deadheading Your Bulbs

If you’ve got flowers that did make it through the cold season, like violas or pansies, spring is a great time to give them some renewed care. Deadheading might sound like a potentially unsavory activity that takes place in the parking lot outside a Grateful Dead show. But it’s actually quite a bit simpler than that (and not unsavory at all!). Deadheading refers to the process of pruning old flowers from plants. Getting rid of dead or dying blooms will not only make your plant look healthier but will also promote the growth of new flowers (depending on the type of flower).

You’ll want to pinch or cut off the stem just below the dead flower and just above the highest set of healthy leaves. If it’s a plant that grows multiple flowers on one stem, you can cut back the entire stem if all the flowers have finished blooming. If it’s a once-blooming flower, the plant won’t produce more flowers, but it will look healthier with the dead bulbs gone.

Revitalizing Your Space

One of the main benefits of spring cleaning is feeling like you’ve got a fresh start with the space around you. Cleaning your space can unlock your creativity and put you in the mood for redecorating and changing up the look and feel of your home. Some spring flowers can be an ideal complement to your new look, adding a pop of color and style.

A delicate arrangement of lilies, lisianthus, and lavender will bring a light and airy mood to any room. And its fresh scent will help push out any lingering memories of winter.

Likewise, peaches and blues will help transform your place into something that feels completely fresh. A touch of greenery combines perfectly with the roses and ranunculus in this arrangement to create a vibe worthy of an outdoor Italian cafe.

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This article originally appeared on UrbanStems and was syndicated by MediaFeed.

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Easter flowers that will pretty up your spring

Easter flowers that will pretty up your spring

Easter has a solemn religious meaning, but there are also all kinds of fun things associated with the celebration, like parades, Easter egg hunts, bunnies, decorated baskets, and flowers. It’s the season of hope and rebirth, symbolized by fluffy yellow chicks and other baby animals. Sending flowers for Easter is also part of the tradition, but with so many choices, how do you pick just one?

Bouquets of spring flowers typically include lilies and tulips, but you can also send peonies, roses, ranunculus, and even orchids and other live plants. One way to make your choice is to pick your favorite flower and then select the best bouquet in the colors of the season.

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As you may know, Easter doesn’t have a fixed date on the calendar and can fall on any Sunday between March 22 and April 25. To figure out the date, you have to look for the first Sunday on or after the Spring Equinox, which can get confusing because that’s not a fixed date either. So it’s best to check with the experts, who tell us that the holiday falls on April 9 this year.

Once you have the right date, the next step is to choose the best flowers to send so that they will reach the recipient on time. Typical Easter colors are pastel shades of yellow, pink, and blue, but you can stretch this to include cream, sunset, peach, amethyst, and other soft colors as well. Sometimes it’s easier to pick a bouquet based on the type of flower. Let’s take a look at the best flowers to send for Easter in 2023.

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Lilies are the traditional Easter flowers for decorations and gifting, and they have deep spiritual and religious meanings as well. They symbolize purity, fertility, and resurrection. While Easter lilies are most often connected with the holiday, other varieties like Calla lilies and roselilies also make striking and eye-catching bouquets.

White is the most common color for lilies in an Easter bouquet, but other shades like yellow, pink, and red are all suitable. For example, calla lilies and roses in shades of pink and orange is stunning. Lilies in a bouquet will typically last for a week or two. The water in the vase should be changed every few days, and they should be kept away from direct sunlight.

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Tulips are the epitome of spring, with a range of bright colors, including yellow, red, pink, orange, and purple. Like roses, tulips symbolize perfect love, as well as rebirth, making them especially suitable for an Easter bouquet. Tulips in a bouquet can last up to 10 days with proper care.

A cheerful bouquet of pink and white tulips or one featuring the bright colors of spring brings the best of the season to brighten up any home.

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Like fluffy yellow chicks and Easter eggs, daffodils are an essential part of the season when the world reawakens itself to light and warmth after a long winter. In England, they’re also called Lenten lilies or Easter roses, as this is the time of year for the blooms appear.

Daffodils make a cheerful gift by themselves or paired with other flowers and green sprigs. A mixed daffodil bouquet with bright yellow jonquils and paperwhite narcissus brings together the best of the season.

Over time, daffodils have been associated with many different meanings, such as resilience, chivalry, and unrequited love. In China, they are connected with good fortune, and in France, they symobilze hope.

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With their bright colors, delicate petals, and rounded shape, ranunculus is always a good choice for a bouquet. The most commonly seen variety is the Persian buttercup with layers of ruffled petals. These are close relatives of the yellow meadow buttercup, a wildflower often encountered near streams.

Mixed with roses in shades of yellow, orange cream, and peach, with hypericum berries and spiral eucalyptus for example, ranunculus blooms make a good gift for someone who charms you.

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Peonies stand for a happy life, which makes them the perfect gift at any time. Their bright colors and heady scent make them a good pick for an Easter bouquet. 

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Roses are always a good choice for an Easter bouquet, and different colors carry different meanings. White roses symbolize innocence, and the heavenly, pink roses stand for happiness, and peach and orange blooms convey enthusiasm and energy.

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Orchids are not usually associated with Easter, but their delicate colors and fragrance make them a natural for this holiday. Live orchids in shades of yellow to bloom and evoke happy memories long after this special day.

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Some of the most beautiful bouquets mix different flowers for a cheerful and exuberant burst of color and scent. For example, roses, delphinium, snapdragons, and asters in cream, blue, peach, and sunset evokes all the happiness of springtime.

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Like orchids, live plants may not be typical Easter gifts, but the season of rebirth and renewal is a great time to bring living greenery into the home.

Flowers are an essential part of Easter traditions, but it can sometimes be difficult to pick the best ones to send when there are so many to choose from. Lilies, tulips, daffodils, roses, and many other flowers have powerful associations with the holiday, making them all delightful to send as gifts for Easter.

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This article originally appeared on UrbanStems.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.

Urbanstems.com

Urbanstems.com

Featured Image Credit: UrbanStems.com.

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