The Hidden Art of Homemaking {Chapter 7: Flower Arrangements}

I was a little nervous about this chapter.  Flower arranging?  Eek!  It is no secret that I rely on faux flowers, faux plants, faux topiaries.  Frankly, they stand a much better chance for survival at my house.  In fact, I've never killed a faux plant.  I can't say the same about the real deal. Have I ever told you about my rosemary topiary?  

My parents have given me lovely rosemary topiaries at Christmas time several years. The plants are carefully pruned into the shape of a Christmas tree, and their pungent aroma is so pleasant in the kitchen.  But they are living.  At least they are when Mom and Daddy give them to me.  (Gulp.)

I usually manage to keep them alive until the season is over.  One particular year, however, the tender green stems were slowly becoming brittle and brown...a good week or ten days before Christmas! I imagined my parents coming on Christmas day and seeing the lifeless "Charlie Brown" topiary. Then I wondered if Lowe's had any more in stock.  Hmmm...it was worth a try. 

Off the girls and I went to Lowe's, in search of a still-vibrant rosemary topiary.  On the way out the door, I grabbed our memory-of-a-topiary.  (I didn't want anyone to know that I had killed it.)  

At Lowe's, I found a replacement topiary...for half price! Merry Christmas to me!  

But what to do with the dead one? I couldn't take it back home; there was nowhere to hide it without Eagle Eye Ron finding it.  It was too big to put in a trash can. I decided to leave it somewhere that it could just blend into its surroundings and decompose in its own good time. I drove over to the edge of the Target parking lot, got out of my vehicle, and tossed it over the chain link fence, toward a little ravine. Problem is, I didn't throw it hard enough and there was a little snow on the ground and it didn't slide. When I threw it, it just went kerplunk, and lay there on its side not too far over the fence. Of course, by now the three of us were laughing hysterically at the lunacy of trying to ditch this poor plant as if it were contraband or something!  

Okay...so where was I?  

Yes, I was saying that I felt unqualified to be tackling this chapter about flower arranging, considering that my expertise lies with faux.  

And yet again, Mrs. Schaeffer has let me off the hook! 

She does talk about flower arranging, but with the purpose of encouraging us to bring life and beauty to the family dinner table, to make just a little effort to add a special touch. 

(I think I can do that!)  

The idea is to use your own creativity and talents, and work with what you have.

(I think I can do that too!)

So allow me to personalize the concept of flower arranging, using the means that I have.  

Last week, as I discussed the chapter on gardening, I told you about my herb garden. I love to snip bits of herbs and bring them inside to brighten a corner or two. Since they have been "snipped," I don't have to worry about keeping them alive. (Whew!) If they begin to wilt, I just toss them out (in the compost bin, not at Target ~sheepish grin~) and bring in some new sprigs if I wish.

When we visited my son Ryan and his family a few weeks ago, my daughter-in-law Sarah had gathered branches and blooms from their yard and had artfully arranged them into beautiful symbols of welcome. This gesture has caused me to consider whether I might not "stretch" my talents to try some simple arrangements now and then, for the purpose of bringing cheer to the people within my walls.  

Kati hosted a baby shower for a family friend last weekend, and she wanted to use small clusters of flowers to decorate her tables.  I called her from the grocery store on Friday to let her know that I had found some inexpensive bunches of miniature roses.  She said to pick them up, so on Friday evening we amateurs spread out all the flowers and the vessels Kati had chosen and we dug in!  

Here's a photo that Bekah took, a view of the set table. Not bad, those arrangements?

There were only two of us at dinner last night.  Kati was working and ate early; Ron had to work late and then run some errands. But as Bekah and I ate together, we enjoyed one another's company and the beauty of this gorgeous coral-colored rose, a gift from my sister-in-law.  The single bloom was enough.

Do you bring beauty to your home or your dinner table in the form of flowers? Do you arrange flowers?     

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