Let the Bouquets Begin-A Recipe for Fresh Cut Flowers

The arrival of spring means daffodils, tulips, and other early bloomers that call to be cut.  If you’re like me, bringing spring inside is one of the best ways to welcome the new season.  And with the arrival of Easter and Mother’s Day, bouquets are bound to be given and received.  You’ll want to keep your cut flowers as long as possible.  Here are some tips to help you out:

• Cut flowers in early morning or evening
• Use room temperature water
• Change water daily
• Remove leaves that will be below the vase’s waterline
• Cut stems at a slight angle, not straight across the stem
• Make fresh stem cuts every few days to ensure the flower can properly absorb the water

Recipe: Make your own Cut Flower Food
Feeding your cut flowers encourages new buds and keeps bacteria from forming in the water. Best of all, it’s easy to make your own.  Just add the following to a gallon of water:

• 2 teaspoons of bleach or lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon of sugar

Change water daily with this solution to keep your cut flowers looking their freshest.

Tin Cans Make Simple Seed Starters

Raffia tied around this tin can adds instant character.

It’s going to be warm this weekend, and I am anxious to see how successful my green thumb will be this season.  While it’s a little early to plant most items outside, you can jump-start your garden by planting seeds in containers this weekend.  While we carry many planting containers and vases at Accents, you can also use an empty tin can to start your seeds. 

How? Peel off the label and tie a simple ribbon around it. If you’re feeling more ambitious, you can paint your cans. When complete, line the bottom with a few stones for drainage and then add potting soil.  Plant your seeds and place on a sunny sill.

Tin cans also are great later in the year for your fresh cut or dried flowers.  Grouping tins of various sizes together makes a great and easy centerpiece for your table.

Hello World!

Over the next few months, we will be getting more social – online that is.  People want access to businesses beyond

Accents at Shab Row

their bricks and mortar locations, and this is how Accents at Shab Row hopes to meet that need.  But really, we have a lot to share.  If you stop in our shop, you’ll find a family-owned business that has some really great items that can make your home and garden (and yourself, in the case of jewelry) shine.  Accents for everyday life.  But what you can’t always see is the variety of ways in which you can use these items. 

Take “simple” arranging, for example.  Have you ever bought a gorgeous vase, put it on the shelf just where you imagined it would go, and realize…well…it just looks wrong.  Or buy this amazing herb because it smells so great, but can’t find one recipe that calls for it?  Of course, we all have.  We’re hoping to share information, from arranging a collection on a shelf to favorite recipes, that will make your life easier.  Whether it’s an object you’ve had for decades or something new, we’re hoping we can help you find its perfect place or use.