Pleasant Living: SUPERMARKET BLOOMS

FLOWER OBSESSION

When we lived in New York full-time our go to resource for flowers was the flower district. Today the once burgeoning district has now shrunk to a mere block residing mostly on West 28th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues. In its heyday West 28th Street was still the main drag of the district but it also spilled out over the area from 33rd Street down to 24th Street spreading as far west as 9th Avenue. A sprinkling of additional floral wholesalers were scattered eastward beyond Broadway.

In the 1970's 28th Street was lit with early morning lights and a teaming flow of vendors pushing boxes of exotic and domestic flora well before 4am. Even though the city was experiencing one of its most vile periods the stench of the city was never able to overpower the scent of roses and lilacs.

Now that we split our time between NYC and Madison, WI we cannot always depend on a flower district a thousand miles away for our flower needs and desires. The best regional flower wholesaler to our Midwest digs, Rojahns, is an hour and fifteen minutes away in Milwaukee. When a round trip floral run would take two and a half hours in travel time along with the time spent selecting and purchasing we're talking an entire day to take home a bouquet. Since flower markets do most of their business well before noon we are also talking about having to set the alarm for a time before the sun has decided to rise. Since our move to Madison we've been forced to find ways to be more resourceful in finding affordable flowers.

Here's some tips for how to be more resourceful when you find yourself in a secondary market. TraderJoe's is an excellent source. Though choices are limited, the price is right for a bunch of hydrangea in spring or a pot of chrysanthemums in autumn

But usually It's a quick trip to our local supermarket that fills our needs. In our area and I'm guessing that this holds true in most of the country supermarkets have now included a floral station usually positioned either near the entrance or by the cashiers since it's an impulse buy that we are not immune to fall for.

Lee prefers their large selection of affordable orchids,

buying several and arranging them in a beautiful grouping.

In the Spring I love large bunches of the simple bright yellow daffodils.

Another choice for a long-lasting pop of color is to buy a couple of pots of hyacinths or tulips containing multiple bulbs and create your own indoor garden by transplanting them into the container of your choice.

Many times the supermarket offers spray roses for as little as $5.00 a bunch.

Our greatest resource in summer is our world-renowned farmers market that circles the square on every Saturday from April to November. There are cut flowers and arrangements from tiny nosegays to enormous hanging pots of petunias and ferns.

This Summer I plan on bypassing some of our previous sources. I'm hoping to plant a cutting garden in raised metal beds we've installed in our back yard. I'm getting ready to start my seedlings in a grow garden complete with grow lights and warming mats. For this I'm usurping a portion of the laundry room. It's all a start and a new venture is sure to have its bumps but then what new endeavor isn't a huge learning process - wish me luck!