Charity shops, genteel skip-diving and miniature flower arrangements

 


I'm a sucker for a charity shop.  Seriously.  It's like a genteel version of skip-diving with added feel good factor.

What's more, I have successfully passed on my passion to the kids.  In fact it wasn't even a hard sell.  Once they worked out that a pound of pocket money could purchase all sorts of bounty usually beyond their means, I had willing apprentices.

This half term, we have been indulging our charity shop fetish with a certain focus.  Last year we planted a cutting garden and it's about to bear it's first fruit.  As most of these will be midgets in the cut flower world - muscari, species tulips and miniature narcissi - I needed something to display them in which wouldn't completely swamp the blooms.

To be fair, we did scour five shops, but in the end our dedication was rewarded, eight receptacles (vases might be overstating it, especially as one is actually a teapot...) and most of them perfect for the smaller displays.

What's more, we didn't even wait for the cutting garden.  Instead, we raided the grandparents' patch and came up with these floral creations - two are mine, two are Oscar's (I won't say which is which as I worry it may not reflect well on my skills). As well as being great for short stemmed flowers, the small bowls are perfect for floating flower heads (which, let's face it, are often the unplanned reasult of child-based flower cutting).

For those who care about such things the 'arrangements' (and yes, I use that term loosely) include aconites, rosemary, Ballota pseudodictamnus, snowdrops, Viburnum tinus, Viburnum bodnantense 'Dawn', crocus and hellebores.

 

Comments

[Rob Stacewicz]

Such a cute and fun thing to do! The world needs more mums like you! X

[Dawn]

Rob - quite frankly the world needs more Rob Stacewicz's first. Thank you lovely man. Dx

[SARAH GOODWIN]

Lovely idea, am off out now, lets see what i can get !

[Dawn]

Sarah - Good luck! Let me know how you get on.

[Troutie]

Really delightful. Made me do one of those faces that people pull at fluffy things or babies. X

[Dawn]

Troutie - I really can't picture you pulling that sort of a face. Flipping the bird or a menacing sneer, yes, fluffy kitten face, not so sure. x

[Karen - An Artists Garden]

Lovely post Dawn - I am also a big fan of charity shops for vases and flower containers - currently I am keeping my eyes open for cut glass rose bowls - just incase my roses flower this summer!

Your arrangements are very "Spring"
K

[Minneapolis Flowers]

This is a really nice idea. The arrangements look really cute and I'm glad to see you are a fan of having them help a charity shop.

[Esther Montgomery]

They look delightful.

Our charity shops have become so children-unfriendly and so expensive many of the original volunteers have left in sorrow, some shops have closed - and my children went through a phase of shouting in anger whenever an advert for one in particular came through the door. Their pocket money was based around what could be bought in charity shops - and their love of books was established through charity shops as much as through libraries but children have been swept under the carpet or out of the door . . .

Hope yours stay worth visiting!

Esther

[Lindsey]

Thanks, I always enjoy your blogs ... funny, human and educational. Quick question: how long do you keep these cutting gardens??? just that ours I usually find several months down the road looking rather mank and with some newly discovered fungus growning on them! :P

[Naomi]

Love the dainty arrangements. Very nice. My garden is a bit short of small and pretty things just yet so I have been going the 'make an impact with long stems of forsythia' route - with flowering currant waiting in the wings... :)
Nx

[Dawn]

Karen - I am faintly embarrassed that you have even seen the arrangements as I know how impressive your own are. Still, we have to start somewhere I suppose... (I refer to myself, rather than Oscar, of course)

Minneapolis Flowers - thanks for the comment and stopping by the blog. Yes, the kids are huge charity shop fans.

Esther - How sad. Thankfully, the gentrification of charity shops has not reached us as yet - and long may it remain so. They are perfect places for children.

Lindsey - You are too kind (I am blushing). This is our first cutting garden and is mostly bulbs so will not last more than a season (especially as this is one of the few patches in the garden which we try to change every year).

Naomi - I love the forsythia and flowering currant style arrangements too. We are also cutting pussy willow stems and letting them flower inside. x