I love how paper-wrapped bouquets look like they are swaddled newborns. They are not, however, very fussy when you unwrap them which is nice. I don’t buy cut flowers very often, but, almost always, come the dark days of a northwest January, I will bring a mixed bouquet home from the market. They are no substitution for sunlight, but they help.

I am a floral segregationist. I just appreciate each flower best when it’s with it’s own kind. Plus, I can spread the love all around the house.

Sometime I let them mingle.

Unlike with house plants, there is an understanding that cut flowers will not last forever. When they wilt and droop and litter their surrounding with pollen and petals, I know that this is just their normal course—it’s not my fault.

They come. They are here for a while. They go.

—SCB