'Poppies...poppies. Poppies will put them to sleep'

Today's blog comes from my bed, to which I have been ordered by the doctor (in the least fun way imaginable). It turns out a prognosis of suspected swine flu has its perks though, like these lovely flowers that my friends delivered before making a hasty exit for the company of someone less infectious.



Jonquils, lavendar, poppies.

'Where are the poppies', I hear you say? Well my friend, they are the ones that at this stage still look like - and I quote the kind givers of the bouquet here - 'hairy balls'. People can be a little hard on late bloomers.

I am quite content to wait for these hairy balls to develop into something prettier. That could have something to do with the limitations upon amusement during bed rest. Come back in a day or so for a picture of the poppies once they have popped, or read on for ways to keep flowers flowery. Meanwhile, I am going to wish for myself a Dorothy-style slumber. The Wicked Witch armed with opiates would trump swine flu, right?

Tips for making lovely blooms last longer...

1. Choose a vase: if you don't have a vase, large glass jars make a nice alternative, and can be prettied up by tying a ribbon around the neck, or wrapping decorative paper around the outside. Just make sure whatever you are using is clean.

2. Fill it up: half fill your chosen receptacle with lukewarm, rather than cold, water, as most flowers will find this easier to drink. If you have it (some florists provide a commercial mix with bouquets) add flower food as directed. Otherwise, make your own by dissolving a teaspoon of sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice to each litre of water. This mix will help to feed and preserve the flowers.

3. Prepare the flowers: remove any leaves from the lower part of the stems, as leaves immersed in water will rot quickly, contributing to the hastened demise of the flowers, a rather gut wrenching stench and an odd gooey substance that no one will want to clean from the vase.
Take a pair of super sharp scissors* and cut about 2 cm from the base of the stems, on a 45 degree angle. Think back to highschool biology - this creates a larger surface area for the take up of water. Once cut, get the flowers straight into the water.
*Blunt scissors can damage the stems and impede the take up of water to the blossoms.

4. Display: flowers like a cool space, out of direct sunlight and away from any heat sources. Although flowers and fruit might look sweet on the same table, avoid putting cut flowers near the fruit bowl. Flowers are aged quickly by the gas produced by ripening fruit.

5. Maintain: prolong the loveliness by changing the water completely every 2-3 days, or when it gets cloudy. If you have made your own flower food, the old water can be reused on your garden. While you have the flowers out, give the vase a clean, then repeat steps 2 and 3, taking particular care to remove dead or damaged petals and leaves. At the very end, wilted flowers can go into the compost.