Floral Journey

I'm just like any other ladies out there who loves flowers. Infact, I had the craziest idea of being a florist once. The practical man said it's a horrible idea coz' you have to deal with fresh flowers which you can't keep for long.

I love to have flowers around me, but I end up killing my potted flowers faster than they can grow. sigh... I've got black thumbs lah! Since my flowers die so fast, it's better that I get fresh ones right? Somehow, I think mom dragged me along for her floral arrangement classes when I was younger still left a deep impression on me. Not that I have the time to go for any classes now (I think I should be able to do so next year onwards) but I'm willing to try. Afterall, it doesn't look that difficult right? All I need to do is to source the internet, get a picture and start replicating. Easy peasy ...... or so I thought until I was proven wrong.

The raw materials

21st Mar - I've read about Far East selling wholesale fresh flowers and so had to check it out. Was with mom so brought her along, trying to 偷师 from her. We were spoilt for choice.

Geberas, roses, carnations, hydrangeas and tulips! I love tulips! I remember I used to go crazy in Blomenmarkt and would buy back flowers (tried growing it from bulbs before but my tulips didn't even germinate!!) When I bought the fresh tulips and lilies, I would put them in aircon room...

#sogoodlife# #ofcoursetheniwasn'tpayingtheutilitiesbill#

Mom told me flower arrangement must have odd numbers but with the wide variety of flowers, she was also tempted to buy everything. And honestly speaking, who thinks about the number of stalks in there. It's sold in bulk, I'm already so spoilt for choice.  

Vegetables market. Haha! So many choices; so many in a pack!! 

I don't sell flowers lah! So no point, I should go and pluck the streets plants. Ssshh...Anyway, foliages (since mom's floral arrangement class time) has increased in varieties. It used to be just Leatherleaf Fern but now there are so many exotic ones like Dusty Miller (I saw this in Flower Dome. So pretty!)

Then there are the fillers. Used to be just the one and only simple baby's breath. Now, there's statice, poms, feverfew and I dunno what. Too many to remember.

Geberas are so cheap. Roses are cheap at $15. Fillers - statice. Cheap cheap cheap, I'm like a bird chirping away. A makcik thought I have a shop. Now I know why she thought so... and I thought why she bought so little flowers since she told me she does it for hobby for her house.

My loot didn't seem alot but with the pathetic 2 small vase I have at home, it's definitely too much!! Haha! I must learn to control myself ...... I'm just so bad in my estimation.

Presenting my first masterpiece - PICK UP STICKS FLOWERS

Rushed back home to do a quick drop into the vases + chicken essence bottle before leaving house to pick girls up.  I tried ... had an idea what I wanted to do. I arranged but it was dropping all over the place. I tried again, I let go off my hand and the flowers went "plak" - like I was playing Pick Up Sticks.  I didn't have any marbles or sponge to hold the flower stems properly, and ..... if I had gotten more flowers to cram up the vase, there'll be no space for any movement .... well it's just an excuse to get more flowers.

21st Mar - The same day. After I bought some marbles from Daiso. Looks a little better but still lots of room for improvement. I am so aspired after seeing Twig and Twine's work of art, her flower arrangements are so beautiful. Sigh.....I will never be able to arrange so nicely. Even mom, she took some flowers from me and arranged that few stalks in SIL's vase. They look so much nicer than what I did. 

23rd Mar - Had to change water, so took out the flowers, removed the withered flowers. It's strange. I read from website that we can use white vinegar + sugar to prolong the flowers. But it doesn't seem to work.. merely 2-3 days I had to throw away so many stalks (and yet still have problem putting them back into the vases). So I tried with tea tree oil, seems to work.

Saw some whites on the purple statice and thought they were going to die too but they proved me wrong. They lasted for a long time, even when they're dried they don't look that dried at all. 

29th Mar - Changed flowers in the vase. 

Didn't have time to go down FEast, so bought some flowers in Cold Storage. Expensive but at least I bought a decent amount of subtle-coloured carnations to put into one vase, the statice lasted a very long time. To date, I still have these flowers (lots of buds when I bought, so they take turns to bloom) on my dining table, though wilting slowly. Time for tulips next?

The flowers are ... undeniably beautiful. I think I shall have this habit of having flowers in the house. Makes the house looks a little beautiful, Makes me happy/cheery ... hmm..... with the only flowers left in my home, my flowering plants in the PES usually flowers for a short time. In other words - I've got black thumbs! 

Market near che0che school sell... saw the leaf selling loosely. Thouh it'll be expensive but i think it's more practical right> I only need one leaf or two, what was i going to do with the remaining leaves? Wrap bak-chang?? 

23rd May - It's been a week plus since the dining table was so bare. Not used to it but I didn't have time to go down to the wholesalers so bought from Cold Storage. Still not too sure with my estimation, I bought just a pack of yellow roses and a pack of baby's breathe. I didn't have the luxury of time to choose the fillers so grabbed the basic flowers. It was a good choice, it's the first time I have solely yellow flower, thinking that the table might looked boring and dull...... turns out che-che likes the colour. Great! I hope she has the mood to study with the cheerful colour. 

The good thing about not going to the wholesalers is that I know for sure only one pot will be out, coz the quantity isn't as overwhelming as if I were to buy it from the wholesaler.