I love having fresh flowers around the house but this can get very expensive. Last year, I bought several silk flower arrange-ments, which are also pricey since the quality is so good, they look almost real. The problem is the whites have become gray with dust. How do I clean my silk flowers? And how do I store the new wreaths I bought for Christmas to make them last long? – Dawn
We bought a wreath in 2003 and put it on our front screen door. We haven’t taken it down since. We’re not that lazy, it’s just that it’s a pretty pine-needle arrangement that sort of cascades nicely, and it’s not round so it’s less Christmasy. Abroad, they have wreaths for every season, like for spring it’s usually olive leaves or branches, for summer it’s flowers, for autumn it’s red and brown leaves. I just love the idea of having a wreath on the front door. Since we only have two seasons (Christmas and the rest of the year), I thought, well, why the hell not? Anyway, another reason why I haven’t taken down the wreath is because I have no place to put it. Being me, I immediately threw away the box it came with, which I regretted when it was time to put away the decor. I hope you didn’t do the same because putting it in a box is the only way to protect it from being crunched up and disfigured when you store it. You should wrap it in plastic to protect it from dust. If you don’t have a container for it, put it in a place where you won’t be tempted to store anything else on top of it.
As for silk flowers, they’re dust traps. Dust clings to them like a demented lover who can’t let go. Artificial flowers are so much prettier now, aren’t they? Unless – please tell me you don’t have these – they’re tulips, which for some reason always look fake.
Regular dusting with a feather duster will help keep dust at bay. My husband R., a sucker for TV shopping (don’t let me enumerate the things he’s bought from watching those annoying infomer-cials), bought this "magic duster" that’s made of soft nylon bristles that’s supposed to be a magnet for dust. Does it work? Well, depends on whom you ask. If you ask him, he’ll tell you it’s the latest miracle household cleaner since they invented the vacuum; if you ask me, it’s just like an ordinary duster. A small paintbrush will do the trick as well.
Another way to clean your silk flowers is with a hair dryer. Set it on low and move it through the arrangement.
If you’re like me, which is to say you’re neurotic and find it impossible to sleep once you’ve fixed your mind on cleaning something, immerse the arrangement in water and mild detergent or dishwashing liquid and then brush the petals one by one. Of course, you have to avoid distorting the flowers. Then hang them out to dry. It’s a time-consuming task, but I assure you, you will sleep better at night.
To score cheap flowers, go to Dangwa. On Friday nights after work, my officemate Bem and I sometimes pass by Dangwa to buy fresh flowers. They not only offer the same things for half the price that some flower shops sell, it also has an astonishing variety. Apart from flowers grown in Baguio and Tagaytay, some stores offer flowers from around Asia, Latin America and, of course, the Netherlands. What’s so funny is that there’s one flower species whose name I’ve forgotten that looks so fake in its coloring and shape. My current favorite flower is the calla lily –the flower Diego Rivera painted so beautifully in his vendor series. These church flowers are so elegant and simple – a long green stem topped by a white flower – they look so good in a tall, glass vase.
I’ve seen homes where interior designers use leaves instead of flowers. Before this became trendy, sellers would sometimes give you leaves for free, but now they can cost as much as P100 per leaf for the tall ones. Also, try some Mickey Mouse branches, they last for weeks and don’t need water. Just remember that the fruits are poisonous – or may cause you to get high. Either way, it’s probably not a good idea to eat one just to satisfy your curiosity.