For Mom

“Roses, 5 Dollars” “Tulips, SPECIAL 6 Dollars”, “Hydrangeas for Mom”….These were just some of the signs that were lining the entries to the wholesaler stalls this morning at the SF Flower Market. Vendors were helping customers decide if they should get roses or tulips, while children were picking up what they could from the floor and arranging mini bouquets as they were waiting for their parents to pay. The vibe at the market reminded me of the scene out of “My Fair Lady”. I felt breaking out in song and belting out “Now woooooooooooouldn’t it be loverrrly?” (Audrey Hepburn would NOT be pleased with my singing!)

As I walked among all the gorgeous flowers, I thought that roses and tulips have been done 1,000,000 times over, and that I would work with Kale for Mother’s day. Yes, that’s right, KALE!

So here we go…

Shopping list: Flowering Kale (and you thought I was kidding), Bells of Ireland, Tritoma

Cost: $19.50

Tools: Flowers, Scissors, Recycled Containers, All Natural Wax Paper, Rubber Bands, Raffia:

Step 1: I grabbed a Trader Joe’s Hummus container, a Pavel’s Yogurt container (Low Fat of course), and a couple of Folger’s Coffee/Del Monte Peach Mason Jars and wrapped them in all natural wax paper. To make sure the paper held, I secured them with a rubber band around the top:

Step 2: Since Kale was at the top of my shopping list this week, I decided that the it would be the focal point of my arrangements and made sure that the Tritoma and Bells of Ireland accented it in all the right places:

Step 3: This is the first week that my alter ego “Phantom Floranista” and sidekick sister “Fish” dropped off the flowers at people’s doorsteps with a sign reading:

As I finish up this entry, I’m wishing that my mom was here in the US so I could gift one of the arrangements to her. Seeing as she’s thousands of miles away, I dedicate this week’s blog to her. I LOVE YOU MOM! (P.S. Thanks for all the Kale soup when we were kids…)