Petal Play!

Wanna get the biggest bang for your buck on those beautiful fresh cut flowers your husband bought you? Or that you asked your husband to buy you? Or that you bought for yourself? I used to feel a bit wistful when wilting began, but then I discovered the wonder of petal play! From cutting and dissecting to tearing and crushing and grinding with a mortar and pestle to drying and crumbling and mixing into doughs or tea parties or making petal soup or petal potions... The options for play are as limitless as the imagination. You can certainly make use of flowers found in nature when the season permits, but definitely be sure to pick only ones that are OK for picking! You can also inquire at local florists or garden shops about whether they have any flowers or loose petals on the move list--some will be happy to donate these to a classroom or home.





And then, just add wonder, curiosity, imagination and play! Here, for your viewing (and reading) pleasure, is the story of some rose and tulip petals that happily lived a full life (and even a second, third and fourth life)...

First, we plucked and cut the heads off of the best looking flowers that remained. We collected them in a couple of our wooden mortar and pestle sets. I especially like using wooden ones with kids since the ceramic ones can break and these are pretty sturdy and lightweight. You can often find them in stores like Home Goods or TJMaxx quite inexpensively and occasionally at a thrift store if you're lucky!



The first stop on the Petal Express was into a batch of playdough. Yes, folks, that's Spiderman rolling out a petal playdough pancake in our backyard...nothing particularly out of the ordinary in this house!






Meanwhile at the picnic table...

It was nearly time for Afternoon Tea. In addition to leftover petals on the move list, we also had a meyer lemon about to be composted. But--alas, one more stop to make along with some tea bags, water, and only the loveliest (secondhand) dishes and utensils...

Yes, folks, that's Spiderman and a Ninja Turtle serving Afternoon Tea in the backyard. Nothing to see here, keep it moving...

Well that was fun!
But wait...
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Still more petals left for play...

Perfect for a Friday afternoon tea party for two most eager Cabbage Patch dolls.

I wonder if my husband knows when he picks out flowers for me that even as I am clipping the stems and arranging them in a vase or two, I'm already envisioning what we're going to play with them in a couple of weeks when they've worn out their dining room table welcome!

Probably he does...

Maybe it's time for another bouquet?

But until then...(and even especially after)...

Happy Playing!