This coming Sunday is Mother’s Day, so the next few posts might give you some nice ideas for celebrating it… A good friend of ours got married in January, out of the country, 
and we were unable to attend. Instead, we promised to cook them a special dinner once they got back. Another couple and also good friends, who were also unable to attend the wedding, graciously offered a superb weekend home as the venue for the dinner, which turned into an overnight calorie packed trip. So the next few posts are from that particular weekend but they have all the makings of a terrific weekend for your mom, spouse or someone special. This was an extravagant weekend by most measures, so if that bothers you, skip the next 4-5 days worth of posts rather than leaving me nasty comments… First off, how can you celebrate a wedding without some flowers? I didn’t have much time (flying in from Cebu just hours before leaving for the venue) to hit the wholesale flower market so I just went to the FTI Saturday market, crossed my fingers and hoped for the best…
Well, what do you think? A simple set of arrangements made of young light green hydrangeas or milflores paired with shocking orange roses in crystal vases. Frankly, 
I thought they were stunning. I am not a big fan of orange flowers but in this case they really looked quite good. How to? Pretty simple. At the market, I purchased several pots of hydrangeas, for PHP60 per pot with one medium sized bloom each, after some bargaining. I also bought 4 dozen orange roses for PHP200. Total flower expense was roughly PHP560. Back home, I soaked the orange roses for at least 5 hours in cool water, then stripped off almost all the leaves and the thorns. I cut the hydrangeas and soaked them in cool water for 3 hours before arranging them. The plants will survive the beheading and will bloom again in a few months if you are a good gardener.
In simple glass or crystal vases, I placed one or two medium sized heads of hydrangea then filled in the spaces with orange roses cut quite short. The idea was to get a small tight arrangement without many leaves peaking through. These are perfect for 
table centerpieces and the taller arrangement for a side table. I made three arrangements total. Average cost, just PHP186.66 plus tap water, flower food if you have it, and your own re-usable vases. Now try and beat that at your local flower shop. And if I were a mom, I would be thrilled to receive these on Mother’s Day… If you wanted a bit more flash, make only one larger low lying arrangement, and wrap it all up with lots of waterproof cellophane and papel de japon. Almost the same cost and still impressive… And these are all locally grown flowers and you will help small time vendors in the process. A little beauty need not be outrageously priced…
20 Responses
Wowee! Thanks for the idea. These are beauuutiful! Do you mean soak the whole flower from the stem?
Hydrangeas are my fave! The combination is great. My local florist told me spray the heads of the hydrangeas with water as they drink from the head as well. If you fill an inch or two of water in the vase it should suffice. Just a suggestion =)
Happy advance mother’s day to Mrs. MM.
corrine and Zita, in the tropics where it is so hot, cut hydrangeas do not last as long, so you really need to hydrate or prep them well. Yes, I mean soak the entire bloom floating in cool water in a pail or balde. These will drink a lot of water so I would also watch the levels of water in your vase carefully…
wow… i learn something everyday..
i just wanted to clear MM, 4dozen roses for 200?? now that’s really cheap.. consider the arranged flowers at the local florist and you only get a couple of roses and they’re either browned from the heat or sagging from the head… i have to rush to dangwa… would the price be the same???
orange roses are my favorite.. another great nice arrangement. More power MM !!
Those are gorgeous! Question to all, has anyone ever ordered flowers online? I’d like to order them from abroad and have them delivered to the MM area but I don’t know which websites would be safe AND reliable. Thanks.
You got it all – pricewise and stunning look! Beautiful arrangements for fraction of a cost from toney flower shops!
Way to go!
A country folk’s wife passed away and called the mortician. He told the mortician his house is right at the corner of Hydrangea and Forsythia streets. The mortician asks for the spelling of the names of the streets. The old man couldn’t suggesting instead to drag the body to the corner of Elm and Oak.
Extravagant? I’ll tell you what is considered extravagant. Quaffing Chateau d’Yquem off Baccarat mugs is extravagant, disposing of your Neuosier place setting after one use is extravagant, planting baroque pearls in your guests’ flown in Chilean oysters is extravagant, flying in Joshua Bell to fiddle light tunes for a dinner for two is extravagant and murder for the country’s balance of payment. Enjoying a lobe of fois gras or a side of suckling pig, however, is frugal (although reckless) because you eventually pay the price it will retroactively exact.
Wow!!! It gives me a wonderful sense of inner joy whenever I see flowers be it in gardens, roadsides or on our breakfast table. And being a visual kind of person, I somehow do not mind spending for a whole bouquet of varied-hued colored flowers. But then I go to the Alabang market for that! Yep, as Apicio aptly said…what is it that is considered “extravagance” nga ba? Thank you for sharing such beautiful pictures—vicarious na muna ang experiencing ko of what is always considered food for the soul!
Beautiful arrangement MM! Inexpensive too.
ykmd, you can order flowers from Island Rose (www.islandrose.net). I have been ordering from them for years and my mom & sisters love the roses.
The flowers were cheap, its the meal that follows that some might label “extravagant…” :)
to ykmd,
please try/browse the site islandrose.net…my husband sent me flowers from them…i checked out their site and it seemed legit…..i am not sonnected in any way….i just loved the flowers…..
thank you sylvia and izang! i’ll certainly check out that website.
ykmd, my cousin owns the site, islandrose. they supply most of the roses in rp. it is a very reputable site and the roses are of good quality.
mm, how long does the milflores arrangement last? i usually leave the a/c on in the living room the whole day so i was wondering if i can do the arrangement a day earlier.
Thank you for the fabulous idea MM.
asunta, under the right conditions and the flowers prepped right, they should last 3-4 days. If the milflores droop or wilt, just immerse them immediately in very cool water and after 2-3 hours, they will recover and be good for another day or two… jo, you are welcome!
the worst enemy of cut flowers is electric fans – the flowers just dropp and wilt. love your arrrangements, MM, you don’t seem to be a big fan of floral foam, am i right? waiting for your “fishpan” posts… :-)
I must’ve missed a post… what’s the FTI market?
Purple hydrangeas were about 150 a pot at dangwa last weekend! Wondering if purple ones are really more expensive than white/green ones, or if it’s mother’s day that spiked the prices up.
Thanks :)
Meekerz, FTI is the AANI Weekend market (formerly TESDA and Magallanes) at the FTI complex in taguig on Saturdays and Sundays. The purple hydrangeas are more expensive than the green, usually about 120 a pot at FTI, but yes, mother’s day may have inflated flowers. millet, I do use floral foam occasionally, but not too often…