I Hate Flowers

Okay, I don’t actually hate flowers. I just hate receiving flowers.

I’ve always been a plant person. Give me a beautiful plant that I can watch grow, water, fuss over and occasionally wonder whether I’ve completely overwatered and I’m happy. I love seeing flowers in their entirety, growing where they are meant to grow, attached to the plant that produced them and looking absolutely beautiful in their natural environment. There is something about seeing a beautiful flower growing naturally that I love. It feels alive. You can see the whole plant, the leaves, the stems, the flowers and everything working together.

Then someone comes along, cuts the flowers off, wraps them in paper and presents them to you as a gift and all I can think about is the fact that they are now slowly dying in a vase. I know, I’m probably overthinking a bouquet of flowers, but this is genuinely how my brain works. I remember one of my earliest dates with my husband, where he turned up at the restaurant with a beautiful bouquet of flowers, presumably thinking he had absolutely nailed the romantic gesture. And I believe one of the first things I said to him was, I hate flowers… but thank you. Poor man. He still brings it up every now and again, bless him. I think he was probably wondering what exactly he had signed himself up for at that point.

But honestly, I wasn’t trying to be ungrateful. I was actually terrified that if I didn’t make my position clear, he would come back the following week with another bunch. Lord!!! So I had to establish the rules early. No flowers. Give me a plant instead. Plants make me feel alive and I love having them around the house - watching them change. I love how they can completely transform a space without needing much else around them. A beautiful plant in the right place can make a room feel warmer, calmer and more like home. And flowers on plants? Absolutely stunning. That, to me, is the best version of flowers.

Now, because not everyone knows my strange little preference, if someone does give me flowers, I don’t turn them away. That would just be rude, wouldn't it? I appreciate the thought behind them and I’m genuinely grateful that someone thought enough of me to bring me something. I just quietly find someone who I know will absolutely appreciate a beautiful bouquet and pass them on. So perhaps I’m not quite as much of a flower hater as I make out.