thursday things - inexpensive frivolity

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for the most part i buy only plants that will give us something we need: fruits, veggies, herbs. i love a pretty flower as much as the next guy or gal, but i always feel a bit like i am wasting water when i tend ornamental plants. i know, silly.

the flowers i have planted have all been drought-tolerant. i do live in los angeles, after all. i have the same feelings about having a green lawn, but that is a chat for another day. in the past week i surprised myself by purchasing not one, but two plants that will give me nothing but something pretty to look upon. hoorah, frivolity!

these mums were found at trader joe's. a 5-inch pot for only two dollars? are you kidding me? hell yes i bought one. thehobbit was shocked that i chose this color over the white, but there was just something special about them. i don't know how to describe it other than they made me smile.

he was right to be shocked. i love white flowers above all others. my dream flower garden is all whites & creams. the euryops that line the front of the house were for manlyman. when we moved in he asked if i would plant yellow flowers there, & so i did.

more shocking to thehobbit than the purpley-pink mums? i also bought these this week, at a local dollar store:

there, too, i chose this plant over the same in white. two plants for frivolity's sake, & neither white?! start hoarding coffee people, the world has turned upside down.

this week's thursday things - where to get flowers, inexpensively.

* grocery stores - i have found that large stores usually charge vastly too much for flowers, cut & potted. check smaller grocers in your town. the trader joe's by me had other potted plants at good prices, though none as good as the mums.

* farmers' markets - i have only ever bought potted veggies & herbs from my farmers' market, but have seen many flowers, priced well. if your plant seller only carries veg & herbs, ask. they just may not bring their flowers to your specific market.

* nurseries - yes, i know they are wont to charge a small fortune for flowers, but! they do have fabulous sales, so get on their e-mailing list. a few months back i scored two large tomato plants for only a dollar each. the next time i popped in, the same plants were priced at $5.00. now that is a sale. 

* loved ones - you can create whole new plants from taking a bit off an existing plant. here is the more detailed how-to. i have only done this once. i had success, but i am too much an instant-gratification-gal, so buy my flowers already started. the exception: succulents. thehobbit & i love popping off pieces of succulents & sticking them in pots of soil. it is propagating for the lazy set ;)

every flower is a soul blossoming in nature.  ~gerard de nerval

~peace.