Saved by the Bud || Scenarios: Buds on a Budget

Add a bit of personal panache, and budget buds offer plenty of sizzle and satisfaction.

Let’s face it: if the lady didn’t like them so much, you might never think to spend money on flowers. But she does like them. It's been scientifically proven.

A gift of flowers not only makes women smile, it makes them happy for days afterward.

And you want her to be happy. So on Valentine’s Day, birthdays, anniversaries, and other special occasions, you’re going to be forced into the world of floral gifts.

Don’t despair. We’re here to save your bud.

The key to buying satisfying and successful buds on a budget is realizing that – as the old saw has it – it’s the thought that counts. Or it's the flowers not the dollars. Or, how about: it's the buds not the bucks.

Show that you’ve put a bit of thought into the idea and you can keep the number of buds you need to fork out for at an affordable level.

Thoughtful gifts, that involve a bit of effort on your part, are key to making buds on a budget work. Some of the ideas require a bit of arts and crafts skill, but so what? You're a kindergarten graduate, right?

Below are seven great ideas to go by.

Little guy

Or maybe two. There’s no rule (nor joke of dubious taste either) about how many flowers it takes to make a gift feel special. One or two wisely-chosen stems can be just as cool a gift as two dozen - if your presentation is charming.

Here’s the secret to this approach:

1) choose a flower with character (a lily, a tulip, a rose),
2) think up a nifty way to display or present it,
3) add a sweet note,
4) have some fun with it: be confident and enthusiastic.

She’ll be thrilled if you are. Don’t spoil things by saying, “I couldn’t’ afford a dozen.” Remember: One perfect flower is symbolic. (It shows you’re deep, get it?) If one perfect flower’s symbolic, two are mythic!

Using containers you already have is another good way to stretch a gift budget. By not spending money on a new container, you can put more moola into flowers or dinner.

Look around your place (or head straight to mom's or grandma's as they’re invaluable sources of outstanding castoffs).

Anything that holds water can serve as a vase. Actual vases, of course, are superb in this role. A pitcher is also perfect. So are coffee mugs, drinking glasses, beer steins and broad-based glass or plastic containers of all sorts (check out pickle jars, especially those glass ones with pressed-in patterns).

Or, look for big painted tin cans. Remove the top of a can of crushed tomatoes, olives or, even, baked beans, voila, you have a colorful vase.

To put further spin on things, consider more unusual inexpensive containers.

The best finds are found cruising the aisles of hardware stores, vintage shops, junk shops, thrift stores, flea markets and import shops. Obviously, great-looking but cheap vases are perfect, of course. So are other watertight containers.

To adapt non-watertight containers for use as vases, simply slip a vial, jar, can, or thick plastic bag inside. What style works for your gal pal - elegant, eclectic, ethnic, fun, funky, or maybe just really practical? Consider small glittery evening purses, silver tea sets, old-fashioned creamers, cloth or leather satchels, any funky glass or glazed art pot, old glasses, flour or tea bins, anything enameled (buckets, pitchers, teapots).

Painted wooden boxes and baskets are intriguing, as are old boots and high heeled shoes. (Not many girls can say, "My guy gave me an old boot and I loved it!") Choose your container, now fill it with flowers – how many is up to you: one, two, four, 15 or 40 stems.

Okay, so it’s obvious! What can we say: girls go for this. Hearts and flowers are classics with history to back them up (worked for Shakespeare, or somebody, right).

Get red tulips, add heart-shaped red paper cut-outs or candies. Get a bright red vase and any color flower will convey that Valentine’s mood. Best yet, snap up any heart-shaped vases or containers you come across (a really romantic guy would re-fill these for his Valentine each year, assuming you’re still a couple.)

Make the presentation special: decorate your gift with stuff like ribbons, colored tissue, foils and those bendy-wires with doo-dads on them. You’re probably wondering where a guy would find such thematic things. You’d be surprised how often you’ve walked right past them while looking for aftershave. Most drug stores and supermarkets have what you need. For broader arrays, check out dollar stores and vendors for crafts, art supplies and office goods.

Here’s a time to go nuts – that’s what this one is all about. Get a whole lotta flowers and fill a whole lotta jars or vases. (Think abundance, not expensive.)

Now sneak around and put your floral arrangements in a variety of unexpected places. Two or three surprises are not enough. Make some easy to find, some not. (Tip: don’t put flowers anywhere she might throw stuff without looking – like inside a washing machine or dirty clothes hamper, both hugely unromantic in any case).

Put them in the bedroom, by the tub, on the stairs, next to the towels, in a coffee mug, on window sills, in closets or the refrigerator (but not the freezer!). This gift isn’t about pricey floral arrangements. You’re doing surprise and excitement starring your hand-made floral vignettes. (Learn to love the power of colored tissue paper for building excitement, chum!) You’ll need a few tricky last-find zingers to make the treasure hunt last longer. Like, inside the microwave, maybe.

If you’re headed out again that night, sneak in a grand finale for her by leaving a boxed corsage on the dashboard of the car. (You need the box so it won’t freeze out there.) Or slip your corsage next to her wine at dinner.

Bondage is your friend when it comes to simple flower arrangements. You’ll need a strip of leather, twine or ribbon. A fat rubberband works in a pinch.

You want to wrap and tie this around the stems of your flowers so the whole thing holds together. Now you have a bouquet or nosegay (you choose, which name do you prefer?). Bound bunches travel better. They make prettier presents too. Floral designers often lean tied bouquets at an angle inside wide vases for an arty look. With clear glass vases, they sometimes tuck the flowers completely inside the vase, with none sticking out from the top.

A colorful party variation: tie tulips upside down by the stems to ribbons or plastic streamers that can be draped at ceiling height across a room or doorway (you got it: instead of the usual rolls of crepe paper). Now you can tiptoe under the tulips instead of through them. Hang them lower and you can limbo too.

For the guy who’s got what it takes, an amaryllis plant makes a rather direct statement for Valentine’s Day.

Amaryllis are big round flower bulbs widely availabe from November through February. You want one already growing but not yet in bloom. Either buy the bulb and pot it up (see www.bulb.com for tips). Or buy one already potted and growing. But don’t get one already in bloom. You’ll see why.

An old story has it that one famed movie executive made a mint in younger days selling these surprising plants by mail-order through Penthouse magazine. She called them penis plants, the rest is history.

BE BOLD. HAVE FUN.
As we've said before. This isn't rocket science. Flowers can even be fun when you put your own personal stamp on things. There are no "Flower Police" lurking to come down on you. There's only your lady friend, incredibly impressed at all the effort you took to make her smile.

You will win points for this. So take heart. Even when the budget numbers are gloomy, you can still pull a tulip, if only one single, incredible tulip, out of the hat and brighten up that special night, just for her.

It might take some arts and crafts effort. What's the problem You're a kindergarten graduate. Right?