Flowers Archives - Catt's Place

I am a week late in getting this blog edition out to you. I was on O’ahu cooking for a silent retreat. I love to nourish people, it’s one of the ways I show love. I took some of my homemade garden rose syrup to share with the retreat participants. I drizzled it on coconut tapioca and mixed it with tahini and stuffed dates topped with a walnut for someone’s birthday treat. you can find the recipe for the dates here.

https://www.kaleandcaramel.com/food/cardamom-rose-whipped-tahini-stuffed-dates/

I altered the recipe and used my rose syrup instead of rosewater I also omitted the salt and cardamom as I was making them from memory! Thanks Lily of Kale and Caramel

I don’t know what I’d do without flowers! They cheer me up when I’m feeling low. They keep me company when I’m happy. I am reminded of the divinity in all of nature. And for that, I am thankful. After my youth experiences, it was quite a number of years before I reunited with flowers. I was in my early twenties when I was next touched by their beauty. In 1981 I was living in North Beach, San Francisco. Some Friends lived nearby and across the street from their flat was an Italian mortuary. We used to “dumpster dive” and reclaim the funerary flowers for our living spaces. We were just working youth, living life as “goths” before it was called that, with not much extra money for flowers, so we thought it was great to be able to re-purpose the discarded flowers we found.

The next time flowers touched me was when I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins lymphoma in my mid 30’s. I began to read a lot about how to give love and care to myself, and flowers was one of the ways to nurture my heart and soul. I began to shop at the Alemany farmers market for fresh food and I would buy arm loads of flowers there. I spread them around our Bernal Heights flat. I particularly liked them in the bathroom. And placed them in kitchen, bedroom, living room as well. I also re- enlivened our small back yard by planting flowers, bamboo and a lawn. I put in a hand made water fountain so I could have the peaceful sound of trickling water in the cityscape. It had the added benefit of attracting birds. I did some part time work with a florist who was a parent at my son’s school. I was completely hooked on the value of flowers in my life. I haven’t turned my back on them since. I hope you too see the value of bringing the beauty of flowers into your life.

Oh and if you use facebook, I have a page there called “Beauty of Maui” where I share my photographs of the beauty of where I live….

Here are some more hints and tips regarding flowers…..

More on trimming flower stems: if it’s a woody stem, smash the end with a hammer. If it has a milky sap, singe the end with a flame to keep the sap in the stem. Always trim the flower ends after bringing them home, before placing in your vase.

Cut flowers will last longer out of the direct sun.

To cause all (or most) of the buds to open on Gladiolus and Tuberose, pinch off the top couple of buds. The flowers will then direct the energy to opening the remaining buds instead of growing more buds, which will not open.

Tulip stems keep growing after being cut. Remember to place them in a tall vase, to keep them upright. Otherwise they will flop over.

For my birthday one year, I created this flower mandala on my kitchen table, using whatever was growing in my yard. It was a beautiful meditation.

Birthday flower mandala. Photo by c.v.eye ©

Birthday flower mandala

Flower Headresses — Maui Arts and Cultural Center “Forest” Art Event. My friend and I created these Flower headdresses to wear!
I’m in the yellow dress.

Be sure to come back in two weeks for Part two of Keepin’ it Fresh, and thanks for reading!!

I have always had a love of flowers. I like to grow them, smell them or just gaze upon them. They bring a fullness to my soul. I use them to bring joy, peace and beauty to myself and others close to me. I can remember using my allowance to buy my Dad a bouquet of flowers every Friday. I was raised near Clement street and there was a flower shop called Pinelli’s about 3 or 4 blocks from our house. I would walk there by myself and pick out a bunch of Marguerite daises or some other type of flowers. Marguerite’s were some of his favorites and I could afford the 50 cent price tag. Sometimes they were died pink or some other color. I’d never buy the blue ones. The shop keeper would wrap them in paper and off I’d go back home to present them to my Dad when he got home from work. I was in love with my handsome Dad, probably like most young girls. I bought him flowers for a couple of years, until my Parents went away with a dear family friend on a grand trip to Europe and while they were away I was raped. I was 12. That blew that rest of my childhood, right out of the water. I never told anyone, certainly not my Parents, until I was in my mid 40’s. I wish I had told them at the time. Life could’ve been so different for me and my family. I’ve gone through a lot of healing and processing in my adult years and I can say that episode is pretty much taken care of in my heart. I’m happy that there will always be flowers to help me to heal my heart and bring me joy, no matter what the circumstance.

Here are some tips in regards to flowers:

It’s true that cut Roses will last longer and open wider when the stems are cut under water. I do this in a cup or bowl filled with water and use sharp scissors, cutting the stems at a slant to bring in more water.

I won’t place cut flowers near a bowl of fruit. The ripening fruit will cause the flowers to wilt faster.

Baby’s Breath the small white flowers often included in a bouquet of Roses will actually foul the water and cause the Roses to wilt faster. It’s best to enjoy the Baby’s Breath in a separate vase.

Fresh Daffodils will cause other flowers to wilt faster, place them in a separate vase for the first 24 hours, then you can go ahead and mix them in with other flowers.

A little sprinkle of sugar in the water with fresh flowers will help them open.

When needing to feel calm and centered, I will take a few slow deep breaths down into my diaphragm, exhaling longer than my in breath.

When I need some uplifting. I will sprinkle flower petals on the path that lies between where I park my car and my home. It gives me such joy to walk on the petal strewn path. Perhaps there is somewhere you can do this for yourself. On the stairs, up the walkway, the threshold at your front door. I even find that sprinkling some petals on the dining table or on the bathroom or kitchen counter brings joy. It’s an unexpected place to see petals. Sometimes I will pick up the petals and feel the silky texture between my fingers and smell them, or simply gaze at their beauty, when I’m near. Sometimes I will rub the petals on the skin of my face, it’s a delicious feeling.

I hope these tips have been helpful!

For the love of flowers, part 2

For the love of flowers, Part one

Be sure and check back in 2 weeks for more tips, writing and photos….