Use what you have!

Our parents and grandparents did not have all of the opportunities we have to add floral color to our homes. Having blooming flowers and shrubs in one’s yard was a special treat. There was no going to the grocery store and buying a bouquet of fresh flowers to take home, and similarly it was considered a real treat to find fresh fruit out of its season. So… folks made do with what they had at home and what was available locally and by locally I mean in nature. We enjoyed jellies made from wild sand plums growing in the pasture, wild dewberries growing along fences and ditches, and wild grapes on vines growing in the trees. Bouquets would be made from wildflowers or from the few flowering shrubs and flowers in home gardens, wisteria, lilac, crape myrtle, irises, sweet peas, and some hardy rose varieties and seed packet flowers, those sold by the local feed store. Today, even with the availability of products from around the world, I enjoy teaching my grandchildren how to make do without a trip to the store.