If you've purchased flower arrangements lately, you know how expensive they are. Luckily, one Instagrammer has a hack just for you.
The scoop
Kelsey Bernard Clark (@kelseybernardclark), Top Chef 16 winner, restaurant owner, and author, shared a simple hack using household items many have at the ready. "Let's make cheap flower arrangements," she wrote in all-caps in the caption alongside the video.
Kelsey demonstrates that all you need is a bowl, greenery clippings, an empty egg carton, and flowers.
First, poke holes in the egg carton. Then, you can fill the carton with rocks, sand, beans, rice, or whatever else you can think of to weigh it down. Or you can just hold on tight until the first layer of flowers weighs it down.
"Layer, layer, layer is the name of the game," Kelsey says.
Once the arrangement is to your liking, add water, and you're done.
Kelsey recommends Publix 3 for $12 flower bundles. If you don't have a Publix in your area, Trader Joe's tends to have inexpensive flowers. Usually, there's a clearance section in the flower area. Another less-known tip is that florists usually have a cooler to peruse and buy flowers at cost.
For greenery clippings, Kelsey suggests cutting clippings from your yard. If that's not an option, try a friend's or a local business or abandoned house that has access to spare.
"Florals will last over a week if you change the water out & mist them daily," Kelsey wrote in the comment section.
How it's helping
This is a great way to save money from buying pre-arranged florals. It also allows creative customization of the bouquet. The personalization makes it special, especially if it's a gift for someone you love.
Not only are the majority of store-bought flowers expensive, but they also come with the risk of pesticides and long travel times from foreign countries, both of which contribute to the warming of our planet.
Like any other farm-to-table concept, whatever we can use that is grown in our yards is always going to be the better and healthier choice for Mother Earth.
Hopefully, this is an encouragement to start your garden for future floral endeavors.
Reusing common household items like egg cartons instead of floral foams is also a huge "yes" to the planet. Floral foams disintegrate into microplastics that dissolve into the vase water and end up in our waterways, which can cause harm to humans and wildlife alike.
Floral foams that are thrown away take hundreds to thousands of years to break down. As they decompose, they turn into microplastic particles that pollute the soil.
The Guardian reported that microplastics may be linked to the rise of degenerative brain diseases like dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease.
What everyone's saying
The money-saving tip was met with a bouquet of gratitude.
"This turned out beautifully," admired one follower. "Thank you for sharing."
Another wrote, "Floral foam is so eco UNfriendly. Glad you found an alternative!"
"Gorgeous and genius!!" praised a third.
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