Atreyee Poddar
Every celebration ends the same way: a living room strewn with wilting garlands, tangled fairy lights, and a mountain of ribbon. Throwing it all out is the easy route, but it's also a waste. With a little effort, most of it can be given a new purpose. Here are six ideas worth trying this week.
Don't write off a whole arrangement because a few blooms have drooped. Trim the stems at an angle, pull out the tired flowers, and regroup the survivors into small posies for the bedside, bathroom, or study. Short-stemmed blooms like roses and marigolds look lovely floating in a shallow bowl of water.
Tie small bunches of roses, lavender, or gendas with string and hang them upside down in a dark, airy corner. In one to two weeks they'll be dry enough to display in a vase or tuck into a wreath. Flowers dried this way hold their shape for months.
Lay flat blooms and leaves between sheets of paper inside a heavy book and wait a couple of weeks. The pressed flowers make beautiful bookmarks, greeting cards, and framed botanical art, and they're a charming way to hold on to a memory.
Spread petals on a tray in a shaded spot until they're crisp. Mix with dried orange peel, cinnamon sticks, and a few drops of essential oil, then pack into small cloth pouches. Tuck them into wardrobes and drawers for a gentle fragrance.
Petals that are past saving can go into a compost pile or garden bed, where they'll feed your plants. Strip off wires, plastic, and ribbons first. Skip the river or pond, since that harms water bodies.
Fairy lights, torans, artificial flowers, and fabric drapes can serve you for years. Wind lights around a piece of cardboard to prevent tangles, and store everything in a labelled box so next year's setup takes minutes rather than hours.