Valentine’s Day flowers: How to keep them around for longer

Just because Feb. 14 is over doesn’t mean that those lovely flowers you received have to hit the trash bucket right away. Whether you want to keep them on display for as long as possible or use them for creative purposes, there are plenty of ways to keep your Valentine’s Day flowers around longer.

Preserving them

If you decide you want to keep them on display for as long as they will last then there are a few key things to remember:

• Always cut the stems on an angle. The longer the angle, the better, as it will allow the flower to absorb more water. If you cut the stem in a straight line it will quickly clog and the lovely petals will wilt away in no time.
• Remove the stems from whatever water they came in and place them in a vase that has been washed, rinsed and filled with fresh, clean water.
• If the bouquet came with a packet of flower food, stir it into the water. This will contribute to increasing their longevity.
• If you want to get a little extra creative you can purchase a piece of floral foam from your local craft store and try your hand at arranging the flowers to create the perfect centrepiece.

Crafting with them

The decision to display your flowers or craft with them has to be made rather quickly, since they aren’t as good for crafting once they have wilted a tad. So try to get to crafting with flowers within a day or two of receiving them. Here are some fun ways to get creative with your Valentine’s Day flowers and keep them around for a long time to come:

• First off, you can press them. Pressing flowers is a relatively easy and extremely inexpensive pastime. Once they are pressed, they are great to have on hand for other crafts. You can seal them onto hand-made cards, glue them onto decorative pots or have them dress up a meal the next time you have guests over.
• If you would prefer to see the drying process occur you can choose to let them air-dry. This will create a lovely decoration for your home that will last for a good amount of time. Plus, you can think about the great Valentine’s Day you had every time you look at it!
• If you are ready to get really creative, go the Pioneer Thinking route and create your very own pot pourri. Once you pick up this hobby, it’ll be hard to put down as you learn to create different scents for all the rooms in your house.

Whatever you do, don’t let that lovely bouquet wilt away in the trash this year. Instead, keep those flowers around for longer and have a little bit of fun while you’re at it!

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