Flowers for the Table

I love to have cut flowers in the house whenever it's possible. They add so much pleasure with both their beauty and fragrances. In order to use daffodils in mixed bouquets you need to let them soak overnight in their own vase of warm water and do not re-cut the stems after the soaking. Daffodils exude a thick substance (Calcium Oxalate crystals) from their stems that will clog up the stems of any other flowers you put with them prior to a good soaking. (These crystals prevent other flowers in the same vase from absorbing water, causing them to wilt.) To help your flowers last longer add a tablespoon of bleach to the water in your vase. In a small vase a few drops will do. Add fresh water daily. If you have flowers that are not quite open and you want to make them open faster use warm water to quicken them; cold water will slow them down. Little vases around the house brighten up your day too, so don't forget the smaller flowers like Grape Hyacinth, vinca and such.