To hate being bought flowers?

[UhtredRagnarson]

They look beautiful. They’re a lovely gift.

But

I can’t arrange them. I cut them wrong. My vases never seem big enough to fit them all in. The water needs changing daily and even then they are droopy and browning within a week and are depressing to look at. Then I’m left with a load of drippy green yuck to get rid of and a vase to wash.

I’m at the posts carefully explaining how to cut them, change the water, put them in the right sort of place blah blah blah. Kind of proving the point about them being a massive pain in the arse to deal with in comparison to, say, placing a nice bottle of wine in the fridge. Or placing a nice chocolate in your gob.

Also they make me sneeze so I have to banish them to a far bedroom or something.

I hate it. I like to buy my own flowers. DH knows I love lillies and tulips, yet never bought them and always used to buy chrysanthemums. Graveyard flowers as they last soooo looooong.

Same with wine. I only like pinot. He bought chardonay and other yucky stuff.

He now doesn’t bother-thankfully. We understand each other,

Flowers don't live for ever even if you leave them in the ground

No, but you get many years out of perennials as opposed to a couple of weeks from cut flowers.

@MaMelon

Flowers don't live for ever even if you leave them in the ground

No, but you get many years out of perennials as opposed to a couple of weeks from cut flowers.

But if you cut the perennial flowers they will grow again the following year. The blooms themselves would fade and die off anyway. Garden flowers need dead heading to make the flowers grow again that season - not much different to cutting stalks to bring indoors.

If people don't like flowers in the house, that's fine. I just don't think this particular reason is valid. Other reasons might be more so.

I wouldn’t cut them - I prefer to see plants growing in the garden (as per my post upthread) and they last far longer than cut flowers in the house.

Put a drop of bleach in the water and change it daily.

Also before you put the flowers into the vase, strip the leaves and trim the stems diagonally (makes them last longer).

If the vase is still mucky at the end, soak overnight in bicarb and white vinegar.

I’m grin at the posts carefully explaining how to cut them, change the water, put them in the right sort of place blah blah blah. Kind of proving the point about them being a massive pain in the arse to deal with in comparison to, say, placing a nice bottle of wine in the fridge. Or placing a nice chocolate in your gob.

Absolutely!

Yes! It's just like being given another chore.

All the mess and faffing about to get them into a vase, then they drop bits and make a mess, you have to change the water and then dispose off them.

DH is seriously ill and people keep bringing me flowers and chocolate. I don't want either, please keep coming, but don't feel you have to bring anything with you.

The last lot are a huge bunch of beautiful and overpowering very highly scented lilies that drop nasty pollen which stains

I've put them on the patio table

I agree OP.

Whenever I receive flowers I thank the giver profusely while thinking 'not imore house work'

YANBU OP, objectively they're very pretty, I love visiting gardens for example.

As a gift I hate them, terribly unsustainable for the most part. I despise having to stop what I'm doing and deal with them, hate cleaning up after them, and wish people wouldn't waste so much money on them (which they're doing if they send me them, because I don't want them). Contrary to popular belief I also find it not particularly thoughtful either, it's impersonal. The printed messages on internet ordered flowers are awful.

When I am sent them I very often just pass them on immediately to a neighbour or similar to avoid having to deal with them.

@0None0

Literally no one on this thread seems to care that the flower industry forces East African women into slave Labour, with no PPE to protect from burning their lungs out with the powerful chemicals they use

I care, but I only like seasonal spring flowers like daffodils anyway, they would be British? Once there are flowers everywhere outside then I don't see the point in having them inside.

"Literally no one on this thread seems to care that the flower industry forces East African women into slave Labour, with no PPE to protect from burning their lungs out with the powerful chemicals they use"

I buy sunflowers from my local farm and allotments a two minute walk away from my home. Please don't assume that every person who buys flowers is happily supporting slave labour.

I love flowers. Hate house plants & usually give chocolates away.

God there are some real miseries on here!! It's a bunch of flowers not a death sentence!
I LOVE flowers & we always have at least 3 vases of fresh flowers on the go - 1 on the sitting room, 1 on the kitchen table & 1 on the kitchen window.
From the sofa in the kitche I can see all 3 at once!
We but Aldi flowers a lot & at the moment I have tall alliums on the window, scented stock (purple, pink & white,) in the sitting room & cottage garden flowers from our garden on the table, also mainly purple, blue & white.
They bring me such joy & pleasure!
We have a really wonderful local florist who stocks v unusual & gorgeous flowers & dh treats me to flowers from there too.
Apart from jeweller - my real love- flowers are my next favourite gift
Send all your unwanted flowers to me!
I actually cannot believe that someone here dumps them straight in the bin

Jolly good for you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

News flash - people come with a wide range of opinions, it doesn’t make them miseries.

I am happy to be described as a misery but agree. Receiving flowers is just a chore. I'm not even that keen on looking at them. We have a rose plant outside our kitchen window which often has flowers just at eyeline height, I love looking at them.

I only have roses in my garden and love looking at them. I’m never sure when the right time to cut them is? If I do it too soon it will come in my house and die after a week and I’ve got no roses outside to look at. Or if I leave it too late there is nothing to bring inside to look at!

For me I'm not so keen on them because it feels wasteful. They're expensive. I'd rather that money go towards nice food or something else.

I never liked flowers and would be secretly disappointed if I got them as a gift. I don’t know when it changed but now I love them and feel sad about all the flowers I didn’t appreciate

@UhtredRagnarson

I only have roses in my garden and love looking at them. I’m never sure when the right time to cut them is? If I do it too soon it will come in my house and die after a week and I’ve got no roses outside to look at. Or if I leave it too late there is nothing to bring inside to look at!

Either way they'll last longer on the bush and drop the petals on your surfaces for you to clear up, if you bring them. If you're looking for a more worthwhile flower related job, cut the dead flower heads off the bush and that encourages more flowers.

Thanks back hills!

@0None0

Literally no one on this thread seems to care that the flower industry forces East African women into slave Labour, with no PPE to protect from burning their lungs out with the powerful chemicals they use

Is it only British flowers that are okay? There are fair trade ones aren't there? Though you would still have the environmental impact of importing them.