The thing about flowers is that they look so perfect in the picture online. They look so lively and fresh in the fridge at the flower shop. They look so warm and beautiful when you receive it. They look so pretty sitting in the vase in your apartment. But then the first bloom starts to droop and the edges of the petals start to curl up (from the dryness), and you are reminded of how transient they are. Once that happens, the utility you get from them starts diminishing at an astonishing rate. In fact, your utility curve starts entering negative territory and the dying flowers actually start making you feel sad. You are reminded of how short life is and what an inadequate caretaker you are that you can’t even keep a plant alive! You try to preserve it for as long as you can. You give it water and put it next to the window for some sunlight as they instructed you to do in biology 101 (the components of photosynthesis, no?). But ultimately, basic biology fails you and they die. You are left with the very painful task of throwing out $80+ that you’d only enjoyed for a few days.
You could try hanging it upside down and letting it dry. But I’ve tried that and it doesn’t end up looking very aesthetically pleasing. Looks very brittle and dried up i.e. dead. Maybe if I’d put the flower in a plastic bag and stuck it inside a really heavy book for a month instead, it would’ve turned out to be a better looking bookmark….. Or you can hope that you recieve tulips. My friend recieved lovely purple tulips this weekend and she put them into a pot. Personally I’m not sure how good they look in a bouquet, but I heard they were very sturdy plants. Even though they only bloom for a few weeks a year, they will come back the next year (fingers crossed for her!). It makes me wonder if the initial rush of joy from flowers worth the painful aftermath.
Tea with BG 
Knikki said:
I always put them in a book. It’s so fun once you forget about them and then one day in the future you open the book and find them stuck between the pages and it reminds you of how excited you were to get them.
Barneys Girl said:
Hmm interesting idea. But doesn’t it flake when you try to move it once it is dry, since it is brittle? And wouldn’t the color come off and ruin your pages?
Alan said:
I thought utility is not cardinal, just coz it entered to the negative doesn’t mean it’s saddening, just means they aren’t preferable to the living flowers.
Nice read!
Knikki said:
I don’t put it in the book when it’s flaky and dry. When the petals turn dark that’s when I do it because they’re still soft. As far as color damage, that’s never happened before. You just have to make sure the petals aren’t wet when you do it.
tulz said:
Who bought you flowers?
jlkelly said:
you could buy the flower-press kit from Lee Valley. It’s a terracotta press that you put your flowers into, then microwave for about a minute and then they are dried out and keep their vibrant colour. Or you can purchase silica gel crystals, in which you place your blooms and the silica dries them out into perfectly dried flowers. Check out their website
Down Comforter said:
I really do love receiving flowers, but you’re right, it is kinda depressing when they start looking bad – finally threw out my V-Day roses yesterday 😦
Lucy said:
i have a friend who used to leave the flowers in the freezer just right after they started drooping a little. after u take them out, they’re still really pretty actually – the colour remained the same.
Mary Q Contrarie said:
I have been trying to learn how to dry flowers I found this great site that tells what position different flowers are supposed to be dryed in and there is also directions like did you know if you want them to retain their color you should dry them in a dark room or a paper bag with holes for ventilation. I guess there is a science and art to everything.