I Never Buy Fresh Flowers Because This $11 Trader Joe’s Gem Is Even Better

published Apr 7, 2023

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Midsection Of Woman Holding Flowers In Vase — Credit: Anna Bizon / EyeEm / Getty Images

If there are fresh flowers in my kitchen, it’s because my husband bought them — for himself. I have zero patience for cut flowers. They are expensive and last mere days, progressively getting slimier with each passing hour. In the end, I have to deal with dead flowers that won’t fit in my compost bin, and a smelly vase that’s impossible to clean. When I see fresh flowers, all I see is unnecessary work.

To be clear, I don’t hate flowers, just dying ones. I eagerly count down the start to cherry blossom season, followed closely by tulip-watch, and I drive all over my city to see peak bloom. But my husband loves fresh flowers indoors. And we do share a home. So, what to do?

As usual, Trader Joe’s has a solution. Year-round they sell gorgeous orchids in a variety of colors and sizes, and my favorite is only $10.99. That’s comparable to the cost of a bouquet of fresh flowers, but here’s the difference — one orchid lasts months.

I pot mine in this $13 IKEA planter, but Trader Joe’s also sells them in ceramic pots in a variety of colors. And I don’t even need to get out a watering can to keep this beauty alive. It needs only three ice cubes, once a week. When the blooms inevitably fall off, there’s no slime — just dried petals and a living plant.

I’m not the sort of person who can make a grocery store orchid bloom a second time, nor do I aspire to be, but I hate waste, so I always gift my bloomless orchids to a neighbor on a Buy Nothing Facebook group. My husband is always sure there will be no takers, but I’ve never failed to find a home for my abandoned orchids. Then, I head off to Trader Joe’s to choose a new one.

An unexpected bonus of this transition from cut flowers to a live plant is that the shelf that once housed our collection of vases is now decluttered, freeing up space in my kitchen for things I actually love. So thanks, Trader Joe’s, for not only helping me welcome spring in my kitchen, but also for unknowingly contributing to my marital bliss.

If even this low-maintenance plant is too much work for your season of life, or if your home doesn’t have enough light, Trader Joe’s still has a flower for you.