Alstroemeria

I never considered myself to be a “flowers and chocolates” kind of girl. 

Scratch that. 

I never considered myself to be a “flowers” kind of girl. Chocolate, on the other hand, is my middle name. Actually, my real middle name is Rose, which makes this all the more confusing. 

Allow me to explain. 

I tend to err on the side of practicality. Since chocolate is one of the major food groups, it is in fact a very practical gift. But flowers are expensive. And then they die. 

However, at some point in adulthood, my view of this traditional grand gesture began to change, thanks to alstroemeria. On a whim, years ago, I bought a couple of bouquets of this simple, unassuming, inexpensive flower for my home and discovered that, while it does eventually die, it sticks around much longer than most flowers. I once had an arrangement that lasted almost one whole month before decorating my counter with its petals. That is approximately 30 times longer than the average shelf-life of chocolate [around me].

A wise woman once told me that every home should have some type of vessel to hold flowers. I’ll take that a step further and add that keeping a vessel of dark chocolate sea-salt caramels on hand is not a bad idea either. 

These days my glass and ceramic vessels are used frequently to hold budget-friendly alstroemeria randomly gifted by my husband. The current display of these stemmed beauties has been blessing us with blooms - which happen to represent “mutual support” and “helping each other through life’s trials” - for about two weeks now. 

They are simultaneously practical and inspirational. 

Sometimes it’s the simplest of kind words or thoughtful actions that can have the longest lasting impact. 

After all, we too are called to be vessels.

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