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Decorating With Grocery Store Tulips

March 07, 2013

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Tulips are the perfect cottage style or farmhouse home decor accessory and they are cheap.

Here's how to use them around your home and keep them looking fresh for a good long time.

Orange Tulips

Turns out you can buy happiness…and it’s about $3.99 a bunch.

I pick up tulips at the grocery store every week and they make me feel very happy.

Instantly.

I swear that my mood changes for the better just by looking at them.

They provide such vibrant color against the starkness of late winter, I just can’t help but get sucked in by their allure.

I set them out in different containers around my kitchen and suddenly my Home Depot renovation looks like a high end magazine shoot.

Tulips on a set table in the kitchen

Those flowers fill the room with life, color and a sense of vibrancy that simply was not there $10 before.

They transform the room and my spirit in the process.

To be honest, it was staring at those tulips when I had my aforementioned epiphany regarding simple beauty in our surroundings. Hence my original photo.

The blooms were lilting in the white pitcher on my kitchen table and they were so gorgeous.

I was captivated.

So pretty, so alive, so transformational and they were four bucks. From the food store. Not some rare orchids or even roses, so often revered.

They were tulips.

They're lurking in almost every garden on the block, they may be in your own and you may not even notice. That’s the point.

They remind me of the Chuckle Patch from The Magic Garden, a tv show from my youth.

Those flowers were always so happy, they even produced jokes.

My tulips are not as talented.

I've never even gotten so much as a pun out of my mine, yet they still get me to smile without saying a word.

Perhaps if I went to a florist and spent more, I’d get more out of them, but probably not.

So what’s the big deal, no unique tip here, lots of people set out flowers.

Yes, yes they do.

This is just a reminder, that when your own garden is not in bloom to cut from, there is still a very inexpensive way to have fresh flowers.

Whether it’s tulips or daffodils, mums or pussy willow, there are many bouquets in the grocery store for $5 or less and they can have a tremendous amount of impact on your décor and your mood.

If you swap out a box of cookies in your cart for them, they could also have a dramatic impact on your health as well.

They can be a cheap and temporary way to add a bold pop of color to a room, a color you may not be ready to commit to on a larger scale.

And you don’t have to limit them to your kitchen or dining room.

Flowers in the bathroom are unusual, very surprising and can really wow your guests.

They can give your boudoir a more romantic air, like a vacation retreat and add a feeling of elegance to your living room.

Quick redecorating project, tiny price!

Pink Tulips on a table with spring bunny statue

Grocery Store Tulip Tips


I can usually get about a solid week out my tulips.

Lighter colored tulips tend to last longer, so go for yellow or white to get the most time out of your arrangement. 

Believe it or not, cut tulips continue to grow once you put them in water, so buy the smallest tightest bunch you can find. 

They'll open up pretty quickly. 

Cut about 1/2 -3/4 of an inch off the bottom and check water level often as they can be thirsty little suckers!


Do you display flowers in your home on a regular basis?

I would love to know!

More pretty posies?

Why Tulips Are My Favorite Flower text vase of tulips with lemons on plate
Why Tulips Are My Favorite Flower


Kim Signature


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  1. I am sitting here looking at my dying Pointsetta thinking maybe I will start investing in Tulips. Thank you for the great tips and a way for Spring to arrive in my home a little sooner!

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  2. I'm so excited that you were inspired!

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  3. Thanks for this, Kim! Every time I walk into Trader Joe's I see buckets of beautiful tulips for sale! But I never buy them because even spending five or six dollars on flowers seems frivolous. You're right, though - it really does brighten your day! I'll make sure to put them on my grocery list this week. :)

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  4. Always!! I love fresh flowers and generally have them in the house (always in our bedroom thanks to my wonderful hubby!!) They give off a happy feeling and no matter the flower (carnations to exotic orchids) they can put a smile in any room!!

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  5. Have to get to Trader Joes for some flowers and not a bad idea to leave the cookies out of the wagon (good weight watchers tip)
    Tracy

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  6. I am a "tulips in the kitchen weekly person!"
    Usually yellow, white, pink too . . .
    Brings me a smile, just likes yours . . .
    Worth the pennies, cheap thrill . . .

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    Replies
    1. Great minds think alike, Lynne! Love those tulips!

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  7. I LOVED THE MAGIC GARDEN!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) That was my favorite show ever!!!!! I knew we were really sisters from another mother....:)

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    1. OMG!!!! I can’t believe you know them!! That was my favorite, too!!! I loved them…Sherlock the squirrel and the stories they would tell from the story box! You know that those ladies go on tour? My friends make fun of me, they all want to go see The Rick Springfield throwback band and I want to see Carol and Paula!!

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  8. I know this post is older, by 10 years now. When I used to live in Washington tulips were a lot cheaper! We lived in tulip country ;) I really didn’t appreciate them then, now down in Louisiana buying a bunch of tulips at the market is $10-$15. But I still do it. They make me feel home again.

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    Replies
    1. Tulip country sounds lovely! They are my all time favorite flowers. They’re still about $5.99 -$7.99 in the grocery stores around here, but I do see the prices going up! Oh no!!

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