Monday, November 21, 2011

Shop Local

When I left you last week, you had kitten shots but no flower shots.  My apologies for the oversight.  To rectify that situation...



It happens that we find ourselves in the tiny scrap of what used to be Manhattan's flower district each Monday.  There are still a few remaining wholesalers of fresh flowers; a handful will sell retail too.  Far too many of the small number of shops sell silk flowers, which miss the point entirely if you ask me.  They must pay the rent better than fresh ones because about half are dedicated to only silk these days.

The first time I went into one of the fresh flower retail shops, I was picking up irises for the ikebana workshop that sparked my new passion.  I was happily surprised to discover that, for once, Manhattan was cheaper than the outer boroughs.  Fresh cut flowers are significantly less expensive in the flower district than at my local corner shop with an outdoor flower seller.  And fresher and have a much better variety.

I realized it would be the work of an instant to pop in each week and buy the flowers for the Temple in Brooklyn and thereby save them some money.  How I do love a bargain.  Plus there is the added benefit that I can pick up a few stems for myself to make an ikebana arrangement.  

It is all so completely and utterly pointless, if you don't count the pure pleasure of every single aspect of it.  But I do.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

making a place for beauty in you life is never completely and utterly pointless--but then,you know that!

--and who doesn't love a bargain?

Taos Sunflower said...

Oh, I envy you that option! I miss fresh flowers in NM; this area in CA where I grew up was once one of the primary growers of cut flowers in the world. People came to see the thousands of acres of flowers, planted by the colors of the rainbow. Ditto Poinsettias. Now, it's all gone, except for a few acres that have become a tourist trap...gone to housing developments, strip malls, and all sort of other sad things. At least it lives on in the minds of those of us who bore witness to such beauty!

Xxx. Xxxx said...

Ah, but the point is the pleasure! Enjoy, Robyn. I miss those bits of NYC!