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| My new Christmas cactus, and behind it the begonias I brought in for the second year. Sometimes I can keep them alive all winter. Sometimes. |
Every time I buy flowers, I notice the same thing happening: people look at me with my flowers and smile. Every time. Whether it's a bunch og baby's breath or a whole cart full of annuals in the spring or chrysanthemums in the fall, the same reaction is evoked.
I have also notice that the sight of someone carrying or buying flowers seems to relax people who see them with their blooms. It's almost a physical reaction--their shoulders seem to loosen, they slow their pace, and they smile.
What is it about flowers or other plants that causes such a reaction? I know that I do the same thing--I saw a man tonight, big tall guy still in his work clothes, looking in the cut flowers cooler at the store, and I smiled and slowed to see what bunch he might choose (red roses with baby's breath). And when I walked through the store with my cactus, everyone who glanced my way smiled. Their smiles relaxed me. Why is that?
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| My aloe plants, and a little planter of new succulents I'm trying to grow. |
For me, buying flowers is a treat, a reward. I often buy bunches of cut flowers in winter to brighten the house, and I enjoy attanging them in little vases to scatter around the house. In spring I usually vow not to buy so many plants--and end up spending several hundred dollars every year, filling carts at the store so full I can barely see over the greenery. In summer I pick flowers from my gardens for bouquets for the house, and in the fall I again fill carts, this time with mums and sometimes pansies. Flowers are just a year-round habit, and I probably spend more on them than smokers do on cigarettes. I think I probably get the same kind of satisfaction and contentment from my habit as the smokers do from theirs.
Apparently flowers have the same impact on others that the blossoms do on me--but the majority of people don't buy them like I do. Is it because it seems like a waste of money? Or is it something else? The smiles I get with my bunches and cartsful seem to indicate that people love the idea of flowers, so why do they deny themselves the pleasure? I guess I understand when it comes to garden plants--that means a lot of work and care and not everyone has the time or inclination for that. But cut flowers or succulents seem easy enough.
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| More new succulents and a start from the larger aloes. Wish me luck! |
Whatever the reason, I hope I will always be able to afford my habit.And right now I am hoping my Christmas cactus survives my neglect and fills with blooms this winter. Even just once would be reward enogh for me.
Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.
I rarely buy flowers not because it's a waste of money - not at all - but because there are other things I must buy...hay comes to mind ;) But sometimes in late Winter I will stop at the local florist and treat myself to 8 or 12 stems of something pretty, which then make several small arrangements throughout the house.
ReplyDeleteAnd THIS year, after missing last year, I am fairly determined to have a live tree, which in the past I have sometimes managed to keep up til long after Christmas :)
My husband has mentioned all the warm looks and smiles and nods he got carrying flowers home on the subway.
ReplyDeleteIf you have a cool room with an east window, that would be an ideal place for your Christmas cactus, especially if the room isn't lit at night. I believe they need a bit more dark and cool temperatures to bloom. We don't heat our upstairs, so mine spend the winters on a windowsill facing east - sometimes they bloom early in November, and I've had flowers in January. Don't water them until they feel dry down to a finger's length. Best thing is to check on the internet! Good luck! Their flowers are amazing.
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