What to look for at the Farmer’s Market
Farm to table is always a good idea.
Next time you’re shopping for fresh fruit and veggies at the farmer’s market, gather an armful of farm fresh flowers for your table too—especially if you’re in between Bouquet Box deliveries!
We love the flavors of farm fresh ingredients and the fragrance of farm fresh flowers. What might you find? It will all depend on your area and the season, but surely you’ll spot stems you don’t see in your own garden or even at the local grocery store. So look for favorites or experiment with blooms you haven’t seen before. Some of our favorites are roses, naturally, then sunflowers, tulips, astilbe, lavender, zinnias, anemones, peonies, dahlias, sweet peas and any kind of blooming branches to add texture and height to arrangements. Just to name a few, of course.
But all are not created equal nor have survived the trek to the stand in the same way. So while you might want to just grab the prettiest bunch you see, it’s best to stifle that urge and do a little inspecting first.
If you plan to bring home blossoms, try to get to the market early in the day when the flowers are at their freshest. What you will find depends on your area and the season. Overall, look for blooms that are in good shape—not browning, droopy or have a tired looking rather than fresh green stem. And as tempting as those gorgeous fully bloomed flowers are, they won’t last as long so be sure to gather up some buds as well that will open up as the days pass.
Head straight home so your flowers aren’t left to wilt in the car during any more stopovers. And remember the flower care instructions for your Bouquet Box flowers—the same rules apply here.
If you have a set, put your Bouquet Box tools to good use: Trim stems at a 45 degree angle and hydrate the flowers in water before arranging. Strip any leaves that will fall below the water line in your arrangement because leaves attract bacteria, which can be bad for the blooms and give off an offensive odor. Once arranged, trim every 1 to 2 days and change the water—flowers love fresh H2O.
Set them in the center of your table set with your meal made from farm fresh ingredients. That sounds perfect to us.