Farmer's Market Bouquet

The Market Inspiration
Growing up, my siblings and I would often pool our resources and get our Mother a joint gift for Mother's Day. We would utilize each of our various skills (and respective piggy banks) to make a great gift. As the years progress, our family continues to grow larger and the distance between us grows as well, making for fewer holidays spent all together. This year for Mother's Day, my sister and I teamed up for a present to give our Mom. Our plan was to create a beautiful flower arrangement but we had to be a bit more creative because my sister lives in Europe! She is a trained florist and I had two hands and an arsenal of fresh, local flowers. She taught me some valuable tips along the way. Here are her top five tips to help even a novice like myself build and maintain stunning blooms.

Floral Tips
1. Change Your Water!
Change your water and snip the tips of your stems every other day to keep your flowers fresh and lovely. Bacteria can build up in the water and quickly kill your flowers. Change your water and your flowers will last longer.

2. Buy Seasonal 
The prettiest and biggest blooms will be what's at your local market. Flowers have seasons just like vegetables so get what's fresh. As an added bonus, they should also be more affordable.

3. You Don't Have to Buy a Fancy Vase!
I save spaghetti, jam jars, and even wine bottles to use as vases. Just wash them out with warm soapy water and you have a cute free vase. The flowers are what everyone should be looking at anyway.

4. Go Green
If you are on a budget opt for more greens in your arrangement. It still looks pretty and no one will know that you skimped a little!

5. Change it Up! 
Red roses are beautiful but if she likes roses change the color this time! Or, to put it another, easy to remember way...
Roses are red
Violets are blue
It is okay
To used other colors too

Bonus Idea for Giving Flowers as a Present: Package the flowers in a brown paper bag and instead of a card, make a personalized logo to display on your gift bag.

The Pairing
What famous Hollywood movie gives the most love to moms on Mother's Day? Why Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho of course! No one loved their mother more than Norman Bates. What better way to celebrate mothers everywhere than with this classic. -Z