Bring the flowers in

No need to leave all the pretty things in your yard

Spring is just around the corner, and I love seeing the first flowers bloom. Usually by mid-March there are snow drops and daffodils, and the forsythia create bursts of gold in the middle of late winter’s dreary browns. Yoshino cherry trees and weeping cherries often bloom early too.

I love to admire the flowers when I’m outside. But of course there’s no need for all the flowers to stay outside. If you want to feel happier, cut a few stems and bring them in.

You don’t have to be precious about this. A full-grown forsythia has a ton of branches. It won’t notice if you clip a few and stick them in a vase. Daffodils don’t last that long anyway. If you’ve got a patch, you can clip half a dozen stems and put them somewhere you’ll see for many more hours than you’ll spend outside on a blustery March day. Same with snow drops or Lenten roses or any of the other early blooms.

I often think about buying flowers in the store, but seldom do. It seems like a frivolous expense. But flowers cut from the yard are completely free! So today, grab some scissors and one of those old vases you have in a closet and make it spring on your kitchen table. You’ll probably be happier each time you walk into the room and see the color.