After raking what seemed like a thousand tons of leaves and clearing out a back-wrenching pile of old tiles from the side of the house, I noticed something: The plum tree on the corner is blooming luscious pink blossoms. The snap peas in the garden are going crazy, sending up thick shoots into the air, twined together for stability with tiny little slinky shoots and anchored with delicate white flowers. The lavender is thick and and heavy with frosted leaves and tiny purple blossoms. And there’s some weird weed growing in an oversized pot next to the back door that’s sprouting tiny yellow flowers, which smell vaguely of garlic.
Spring has definitely sprung. At least in my little corner of the universe. (I live in California. So sue me.)
I got out my clippers. I battled the bees for a bough from the plum tree. I untangled the pea blossoms (and harvested a bowl’s worth of peas in the process). It took me about 20 minutes—a lot longer than it would have taken to pick out a bouquet at the supermarket—but I’ve never spent a better part of an hour. I piled the blossoms on the backyard table and put a vase filled with water next to them. Then I took my time, placing the fuller plants first, filling in the spaces with the delicate pea blossoms, accenting with lavender and stinky yellow blossoms.
The result? Okay, it doesn’t look like it came from a florists’ hand. (No, that's not me in the stock photo above, and it's certainly not my bouquet--those orchids look plastic!) But I know all the blossoms were grown without pesticides or insecticides. They were watered by the rain that has soaked our state for the last four weeks (our new DIY gardening regimen means shutting off the sprinklers), so they did nothing to deplete the water table.
The carbon footprint of my beautiful bouquet is nil. And the fact that it cost me nothing? Priceless.
What corners are you cutting? What are your inexpensive ways to indulge? Tell me about it!
