How funny! : )

I know what you mean--I can't always bring myself to cut flowers for vases, either. It's hard for me to cut anything that's visible from the house, that we want to reseed, or that the hummingbirds or butterflies like.

And that really limits the selection of cut flowers!

I generally don't mind cutting roses, because those bloom all year and I don't feel that I'm really missing out on them if I cut several off. I absolutely cannot bring myself to cut flowers from any bulbs. A few times during the summer, I'll indulge and bring some sunflowers inside.

Susan, lol my GM wouldn't even let you TOUCH a flower much less cut one. I used to say, when I grow up and have my own garden I'll have cut flowers in every room, lol
I have gone and cut flowers to take to friends, but I have never gone out and cut flowers to bring in, LOL
I will snatch seeds tho, LOL
What did this bloom look like?

It looked like some kind of bulb plant, sort of irisey(make up my own words here)looking leaves that were huge. Was not an iris though, burgandy color and stacked bloom - like snapdragon style. Can't remember more details was too busy trying to "hep,hep!" her horse along so she wouldn't go deface it.lol Not far from here, I'll try to remember camera and snap a pic when we go out that way. Right across the street from a verrrrry old cemetary with tons of iris growing, lot of 1800's headstones.

I grow 'em. The wife...cuts 'em, while I grit my teeth and keep my mouth tightly shut!
Jim

Susan, the next time I visit, we should go to that cemetery, okay
Jim, don't get your tongue in between, when you're gritting, lol

I sometimes feel guilty cutting flowers to bring inside.Left outside they can be enjoyed by all. I'm on a corner and pretty visable.

I do cut roses and sometimes clip sprigs of Rosemary for a bud vase.

When I was a kid I loved picking flowers, even my grandparents flowers and let me tell you granny knew every time I picked a rose off her bushes I think she counted them everyday. Most likely she seen me from the window LOL, you know how it is when your young you think they have eyes in the back of their head and they know EVERYTHING.
Rarely do I cut any flowers but if I see a rose that the stem got bent I cut it and bring it inside. Some of the flowers I have are for cut flowers but like the rest of you I can't take the cutters to them and bring them inside. I love walking around the back yard looking at all my flowers. My DH hates to see me cut flowers, he always ask me why I'm cutting it off, I have to tell him I'm dead heading them which he has no clue what dead heading is.
I do have some indoor plants but none flower just green leafly plants.

Roses need to be deadheaded to keep them blooming, so I don't mind cutting them, & I, too, often use rosemary sprigs for accents.

One thing I'm planning on for next spring is MORE DUTCH IRIS!

I don't cut my bearded iris because they only last one day in the vase, while they last a number of days in the garden.

but Dutch iris last about a week after they're cut.

Even though they only produce one bloom stalk, they make such a wonderful cut flower that I'm thinking, you know, what would be the problem with having a zillion of them?..

enough for the garden & for cut flowers for myself & friends.

My DH walked the dog and returned with a bouquet for me. Of course they were MY flowers - but I put them in a vase.

The mock orange really lasts and smells so sweet in the kitchen window. And I forgave him for mowing down my forsythia bush. He was cursed and forgiven, yet I never mentioned either condition to him.

If you can't bring yourself to do it, let someone do it for you.

Bossjim, you are in love! I can't cut my posies either. Aakkk!PJ

Funny Jim!! But it looks like (from your pictures) that you are keeping her WELL supplied. Keep up the good work ;).

Sylvia, I am sold on the Dutch Iris as well. I'm going to see if I can find some bright yellow ones this year. They put on such a fabulous show this spring that I can't resist.

I did end up cutting a big bunch of them the day before we got the last snow. They were gorgeous in the house, but there were still lots left out in the garden and they weren't even fazed by the snow blanket. Just love them.

Kristi

I cut flowers all the time.
Sylvia, the bearded iris stay a couple days and then the other buds open one at a time.

"bearded iris stay a couple days and then the other buds open one at a time."

not for moi they don't!

Here's my method, maybe there's something else I can do?

I put water in the vase & with a little lemon juice & a little sugar.

I cut the flowers & plop (plunk?) them in the vase immediately.

If the they're still pretty after about 2 days, I replace the water with fresh & re-cut the stems so the flowers can absorb the water.

Please let me know how to make irises last longer;
it would be nice to have them inside.

I wallk out, cut them and then come in to find something to put them in.
I cut the yellow iris Saturday after the rain broke it over. This morning I broke of the faded/wilted bloom and the 2nd one is ready to open. Dang I just looked over and it is open!

"I wallk out, cut them and then come in to find something to put them in."

sigh.

Awright, Venessa is our forum "rose witch" (twitches her nose & rose cuttings take root).

so I guess you're our iris witch.

I'll just plop some more Dutch irises.

I cut them all the time. Just plant more and you won't be able to tell you cut them!
Picked a bunch for my mom the other day.
I used to take big bouquets in to work, started when my boss got back from Hawaii and was missing it. I took in a big bunch of shell ginger, yarrow, etc. They all loved them.
I didn't used to but I would go buy cut flowers. One day I was looking at them at the store and realized I had a lot of the same stuff in the yard. So I bought a plant with the twenty bucks I was gonna spend on flowers and went home & picked my own.
I had a contest at work and did a bouquet of toxic plants. The best response Danny got 6 out of 25 right. Considering I worked for poison control I thought that was not good!
Tally HO!

LOL! How funny about the contest. A lot of plants are poisonous. Biological bug control! PJ