I am interested to know how re-nest feels about buying fresh flowers - especially considering the great distance they often have to travel to get to our home

Max! I was waiting for you to say fruit in the video, because I actually did that a few days ago. I forgot to buy flowers but did get some gorgeous pears, so I put those out on my table. I'll have to take a photo and show you. Love what you said today.

Love seeing the bakery behind you and all of the beautiful fresh flowers. My flowers still look great from last week! (Same kind you were holding)

Here in Switzerland you can get certified fair trade flowers. I get mine at the farmers market, so they are from nearby.

One thing I love about living in Amsterdam (I recently moved overseas from Montreal) is that the flower selection at the grocery store changes weekly, often in tune with what's seasonal, and they are SO inexpensive that there's just no excuse not to give a bit of love to your home.

My current bouquet is 25 gerbera daisies in assorted shades of pink and it only cost 5 euro. And that was me indulging. Usually I stick to the bouquets that cost 2-3 euros. Since we've been here we've had hyacinths, tulips, freesia, lisianthus, roses, mums, and some mixed bunches.

However, even when I lived in Montreal which doesn't have the abundance of flower stalls and inexpensive posies offered here, I always was glad when I bought something, even if it was just a single bloom.

My husband came home with a huge bouquet yesterday (for no reason at all, he juste likes flowers in a room), so I'll just replenish the water in the vase, cut the stems, and consider I'm done !

@angorian: I'm totally jealous ! You are so lucky ! (for the flowers and for living in Amsterdam !)

ahhhh, what a beautiful video! I'm on such a tight budget that I haven't been buying flowers (I know, 2, 3, or 5 euros doesn't seem like much, until you're counting every penny it does)... I did find some branches and flowers from our country home the weekend and brought them home (yay, they look wonderful!) and I love the fresh fruit idea. I'm loving all the options to keep in with all budgets and styles.

ps, loved the video, it makes me miss nyc soo much!

sarashore, I was wondering the same thing. I think we need to start asking our grocers and florists about fairtrade flowers. I'm worried about the pesticides being used on these "perfect" flowers in stores.

Maxwell, I was so happy to see my lemon balm in the video. I was having a bit of a rough morning and you made my day.
Thank-you, Sewbeeeeit

Flowers are pretty expensive here in Barcelona (cannot get a bouquet for under 6 euro) and the ones I bought last week still look nice, so I will get fruit instead this time! plus, I need to eat healthier. Thanks again for the videos!

@sarashore and @sewbeeit, we actually have a post on that very topic coming up this afternoon on Re-Nest, so stay tuned.

Fairtrade has nothing to do with pesticides or how far the flowers have travelled, just how well the flower grower was paid. If you're concerned about the ethics of your flower purchases, buy them from local source, like the farmer's market where you can speak the the grower directly.

I love the fruit ideas .. and implement it quite often ... where I forget to eat the fruit bec. I see it more as colorful decor haha. I went apple picking recently and we got tons of apples that I knew 1/2 would simply be gorgeous decor .., somethign about it being fresh (flowers and fruit) that is very invigorating .. def puts a smile in my face :)

@vintagepearl - I've been there too. I actually don't buy flowers every week because it still feels like too much of an indulgence, and often they last longer than just a week. I think fruit or herbs are a great option for those on a more thrifty budget since you can eat it!

Another idea is to look for a fallen branch, bloom, or leaf wherever such things grow in your neighbourhood. Fallen blossoms can be floated in a bowl of water and branches and leaves can go in a vase just like flowers.

My boss spends hundreds of dollars on orchids each month (even though he buys them "cheap" at the farmers market). But one morning we were an important potential client and he came in with a small bouquet of yellow daffodils to put on my desk, which is the first thing you see when in the office. They brightened up my desk and my day. I thought he had picked them up at the flower or farmers market, he told me he had just picked them up at the corner bodega for just a couple bucks.

Moral of the story: you can spend hundreds of dollars on flowers if you can and you like, but fresh flowers of ANY kind will draw you in and welcome you into any space. And they make you happy.

I really didn't expect much from Today's video--after all, what can you say about buying flowers? As it turned out--a fair bit! I understand this so much better now. Thanks, Maxwell. I enjoyed that.

These are such lovely videos. So focussed on the here & now & on what we can do with readily available materials. Thank you.

I'll skip. My flowers from last week are still very fresh. Actually, half the flowers from the first week are still fresh!
Cauterize your flowers. Mine often last 2-3 weeks. Here's how: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_cauterize_flowers

Off to vote and buy fresh cheap flowers!

Love the insights! I love everything about buying flowers. I love walking or biking to my favorite florist and buying what is in season. I do try to buy locally grown flowers to avoid the invisible petroleum expenditure. I no longer buy flowers at the farmers market after what I call "the incident of the invasion of disgusting caterpillars" (they were most definitely organic!). I love how they look and smell in my home. Love love love.

As for the ritual of flowers, that is so true Maxwell. The simple act of blessing something with flowers is so profound. While I was in India I loved seeing the priests decorate their inner sanctums with freshly picked hibiscus, or buying fresh flower garlands for my hair each day, as well as for my driver's shrine on the dashboard of his car.

Lovely! I always resist the urge to buy flowers.

I, too, love the setting of the photoshoot, Maxwell. It's so interesting to see your neighborhood!

Buy flowers is what I shall add to my to-do list today. Arg! Just what I need--in a bad way but then, too, in a good way. Thank you, Maxwell!

Today I'll celebrate the beautiful roses my husband brought to me last night, sit for ten minutes and be thankful for all I have.

I like the fall cure, but couldn't disagree more with the cut flower posts. You have to choose between an ecological cure without the cut flowers or stop the hypocracy and don't mention thoses eco cleaners.

here's what re-nest says about cut flowers:
"As we wrote about in this post, On Flowers: What You Should Know Before You Buy, most cut flowers are sprayed with pesticides and preservatives to keep them fresh and then shipped from Africa and South America. Many are also grown in greenhouses by staff working in substandard conditions."

"the floriculture industry is one of the heaviest pesticide users of all the agricultural sectors"

"In view of all that, it's not very surprising that pesticide residues are still present when we receive our flowers many miles and days later"

If youre still in doubt, here's some interesting articles on the topic:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1525/is_4_86/ai_76285337/
http://www.laborrights.org/creating-a-sweatfree-world/fairness-in-flowers
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=environmental-price-of-flowers
http://www.theecologist.org/green_green_living/behind_the_label/302429/behind_the_label_cut_flowers.html
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/06/maybe_we_wont_s_1.php

I have needed silk foliage for my landing strip vase for a while now, so I am going to get that instead of fresh flowers this week. It's double points too as it's on my to do list. HAHA

i agree that flowers flown in from around the world are a bit extravagant in terms of the environment, but I bought a potted flower last week that has beautiful orange blooms and is hopefully going to bless my home for a long time. Same with the peace lily given to me two weeks ago. Today, I cut some of the last blooms from around my yard because I was leaving in a few days and also didn't want to spend the money when I am leaving in two days.

I am also opposed to cut flowers, however I do love to keep a bowl of fresh fruit on my kitchen bench. You have reminded me to restock on fruit today! I will try to take a photo later to share.

Since I can't do cut flowers due to bad cats that eat them (and then throw them up), I like to do produce, may be fruit, or veggies (although I also have cats that like to sling chiles around and chew on greens of every kind). But I do agree that having things that need to be appreciated, used, and replaced is important to any home--energy comes from moving things in and out.

Beautiful video. I started buying fresh flowers for myself or my house/room when I was in earlier stages of my relationship with my now husband. We had a silly fight and I wanted to show him that I can take care of myself and my womanly/romantic needs like flowers, candles etc. Over years this has become a habbit, we both started buying flowers with our regular weekly grocery shopping, I always have fresh flowers..even when we were completely broke, he would somehow bring fresh flowers every 10 days or so :)
I also keep fresh fruits and veggies in a bowl, to add color.
I recently did a post on my blog on fresh flowers, please have a look:

http://amnamehwish.wordpress.com/2010/10/25/flowers-chocolate-cake-and-a-painting/

Sweet video. I have always been rather indulgent with flowers-- I would grow them in my garden, but still couldn't resist them at the farmer's market either. Maybe it's because the men that sold them were always so charming! :)
Anyway, here in Germany I live around the corner from a unique flower shop that does arrangements that look like little landscapes, with moss, small flowering shrubs, eucalyptus bells, etc. They are super cool, and although pricier than a bouquet, so worth it. Plus, they are living, so they last much longer. I like to set up little beeswax candles (the kind they used for Christmas trees) around an arrangement and light them for a quiet, meditative atmosphere.

I buy flowers from local farmers - usually at the farmers market. This time I went to Whole Foods so I'm not sure where they came from. I appreciate everyone's comments regarding this issue. I loved today's video and feel this ritual is going to stick for me.

Since the 20/20 cure I sleep better, I don't take my computer to bed, I don't work in my bedroom because I have an "office" and a proper couch. I love everything about how my home feels so much more that I just function better in every way. Already I feel transformed. Thank you Max and Apartment Therapy!

(By the way, I'm a professional organizer! I was already organized and clean but focusing on my home in a different way has made a big difference for me and has given me more to offer my clients.)

I'm behind, but today is my day off and I already started out my day right and bright...went to buy some fresh yellow sunflowers and each time I look at them they make me smile! This is surely a habit I plan to keep! So thankful for the 20/20 cure!!!

Lillies on the nightstand featuring 'Dusty the lamp' ...bought them with some of the tip money I made at work. https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=e5bdb7ff2e&view=att&th=12c235a02152c117&attid=0.1&disp=inline&realattid=f_gg72q9090&zw

I work in a garden in the Bronx and we're doing a lot of cleaning up and preparing for the winter right now so I'll likely just take some of the ornamental grasses that I need to cut back today and put them in a vase.

Here in the South, flowers were always a natuaral part of our home. When we visited friends and family especially my grandmother, we always took a walk around the yard and admired the blooms. My mother always had beautiful flowers in the yard and brought them in seasonally. Even today many many years later, the smell of daffodills conjures up a memory and takes me right back home.

Thanks for sharing clarification of the unique value of fruit and floral arrangements in the home. I was touched by their symbolic importance. Tropical fruits are ripening in the kitchen, as usual. I shifted the prettiest arrangement to the dining table. I also returned last week's potted plant to the garden. That took :10, and I'll use the remaining :10 to continue yesterday's cure. Some of the cures take me a lot longer than :20, but the results are worthwhile, so I want to continue to participate.

I love these videos. always great advice.

Not every week, but today I will!

I'm not a huge fan of cut flowers but I take these days to spend time tending to my own house plants. So far, they've all been dusted and received a dose of worm castings. Thanks AT!

I actually like leaves better than flowers and in fact, had a leaf bouquet when I got married!

I live in Florida now, and have lots of plants on the veranda...some flowering. But, I always have some fresh flowers inside. I usually buy a mixed bouquet and then deconstruct to like flowers in many vases, augmented by leave from outside. I put small bouquets in 2 bathrooms, on my nightstand, on the kitchen counter, and on the dining table. It's fun to change them out every week, and rotate the vases around as well.

I love fresh flowers from the garden or wildflowers picked in the country, but don't like the industry polluting with fertilizers nd then flying the flowers thousands of miles away. So, only get seasonal blooms here in Moscow.

Just seeing the colorful flowers at the outdoor market was great. Like the idea about fresh fruit in a bowl, so I'll do that with clementines and apples in a vintage ceramic bowl that I adore.