Fresh flowers in my home make me happy.

Flowers in my home make me happier than they should. They have some unexplained power to calm and make any room glorious.  They can make you forget about the unfinished projects and dishes in the sink, you get so caught up in their beauty.

I haven’t had many flowers in our home or yard since we’ve been renting.  Back in the days of home owning, I worked in the yard almost as much as I worked in the house.  Flower tending is so rewarding.  But, I had to leave all my hostas, my long leaf pines, creeping fig, confederate jasmine, gardenia and caladium, not to mention the two hydrangea bushes at our home in Macon, GA when we moved eight years ago.  My mom gave the hydrangeas to me when we had our youngest son.  The night we moved away, I ruthlessly cut every single bloom, or branch that looked like it might possibly bloom and I took them with me. I’m sure the new owners loved me.  Actually, I did it because I was pretty sure they wouldn’t even notice.  And that thought was so much worse than the thought of them hating me.

Three years ago when we sold our house here in NC, I had the same sad feelings when I had to leave all of our plants.  Leaving behind bulbs I had planted along with shrubs I had babied and watched grow was sad.  I always felt like the new owners would never appreciate the yard. Sometimes I ask my sister to drive by and check on the yard.  Plants are a commitment, and I get attached and don’t like leaving them.

And for some reason, I’ve found myself thinking that having a yard with flowers is reserved only for those lucky people who own their home.  Funny how it’s worth it to me to paint walls in a rental, knowing I can enjoy seeing the walls every day but, it’s never seemed worth it to me to plant much of anything.

Until I started reading A Country Farmhouse.  Trina doesn’t use a ton of tchotchkes, instead, she decorates with fresh flowers. She also has the luxury of living near a local flower cutting farm.  I’ve decided owning a flower cutting farm is my dream job.   I mean, besides my dream job of having a daily $1000 shopping spree at Home Goods and Target or my other dream job of decorating model homes with no budget limit and no one to tell me what to do or when to be done.  Or my dream job of professional cupcake taster and professional bath taker.  I’m really good at all that stuff.

So, last month I bought this hydrangea.  The bush was $20 and had about 12 blooms on it.  At my local market, the cut blooms are for sale for $5 each.  So, according to my math skills, even if I just let the bush die after enjoying the blooms, I would have gotten a better deal.  But, I decided to plant it. It was a weirdly hard choice because to me, once it’s in the ground, it’s no longer mine.

Then I found some Endless Summer Hydrangeas at Lowe’s for $12.  Jodi told me that those bloom profusely and grow to be really big so, I bought two. Planting a few things in our yard doesn’t at all feel like the waste that I thought it would.  I only regret that I didn’t plant my favorite plants the day we moved in. I could have stalked and molested those hydrangea all winter.

And I guess I could dig a few of my favorite things up before we move out one day but that seems wrong.  I’ve already realized that it’s worth the little bit of money to experience both the enjoyment and feeling of home I have when I’m surrounded by something that brings me joy.

What about you?  Is there something easily attainable that are not allowing yourself to enjoy?