Flowers from the Corner Shop
When it’s time for some flowers there are many places you can go to get them; your local florist, flower farms, farmer’s markets, grocery stores, corner shops and of course your own garden. All of them (yes, even thecorner shop) have their benefits. In the upcoming weeks we’ll look at each one of them. Today’s focus is: the corner shop!
Let’s face it; flowers from a corner shop get a bad rap. In many cases, rightly so, but with a little bit of looking around, you can find decent flowers at little ‘mom and pop’ shops. You just need to know a few things to look for when you’re shopping.
My childhood memory of flowers in a corner shop are of bunches of carnations, all in one colour (always either pink, red, or white) wrapped in cellophane and on display right near the front of the store. I can’t recall if we ever bought any, but there were always some there, so somebody must have been buying them!
I actually like that the little shops tend to have bunches of flowers all in one colour. Monochromatic flower arrangements look great, but with the lower prices at a corner shop, you may be able to buy two or three bunches in a multitude of colours if that’s to your liking.
So why are flowers cheaper at the corner shop? There are a couple of reasons why.
First of all, not all flowers are created equal, meaning they’re not all the same quality. Take roses for example. Roses come in different stem lengths – 40 cm, 50cm, 60 cm, etc. Generally, the shorter the stems, the smaller the flower head and the cheaper the rose. Most florists use the standard 50cm and won’t go below that, but your corner shop probably has the smaller version.
Another reason is the wholesalers often have a ‘specials’ section. This is for product that hasn’t been sold in a reasonable amount of time. It’s not really ready to be discarded, but they can’t justify selling it at their original price. Quite often this is where corner shop owners will purchase their product.
So what are you looking for when shopping?
The first thing I would do is chat with the shop owner. Ask what day of the week they get their flowers in. Right away you’ve gained a bit of an inside scoop when you can get the freshest product.
Now take a closer look at the flowers. Make sure the blooms and leaves have no sign of wilting. Check the stems and make sure they’re green and not starting to turn black and there’s no sign of slime on them. You want the whole flower from top to bottom to be as fresh as possible.
I would also choose flowers that traditionally have a longer vase life – carnations, roses, alstromeria, and chrysanthemums are great examples. That way, even if they aren’t ‘the freshest of the fresh’, you’ll still get many days of enjoyment from them.
Once you’ve made your selection and brought them home, here are some suggestions for making these often under-rated flowers look great.
Unwrap them as soon as possible. Fill a vase with clean water and have it standing by. Take each stem and remove any leaves that will go below the water line. The leaves will create bacteria in the water, shortening the life span of your flower. Cut the stems at an angle to give them the biggest surface to absorb water.
Here are some designer tricks:
If you’re arranging the flowers in a vase, cut the stems at different lengths to give the arrangement a more natural feel. Then place the flowers in the classiest vase you have to give them that ‘expensive’ look.
If you’re giving them to someone as a wrapped bouquet, still process them as above and then reorganize the flowers to give them a fresh look. Discard that old cellophane they came in and wrap them in decorative paper, tying it up with a pretty piece of ribbon.
Next time you’re popping into your local corner store to pick up a carton of milk or the Sunday paper and you see those bunches of flowers by the door, why not pick up one or two and experiment with them. See how great you can make them look and for how long you can get them to last.
If you have tips, or any stories to share about corner shop flowers, I’d love to hear them.
