Singing In The Rain

By Renee Schoen

In honor of the upcoming Flower Show and the seemingly endless rain (and dreary) we’ve had this season, I thought it would be fun to make light of the situation and combine the Flower Show theme with a fun way to add some color and sunshine to your home.

If you’ve been to any home improvement store lately, you’ve probably noticed all of the beautiful blooming flowers - in abundance, I might add. In fact, everywhere you look flowers are blooming, grass is green and the signs of a beautiful spring is in the works! If there is a positive to all of the rain we’ve had, that and of course the drought we are no longer in, it’s that winter showers are definitely bringing spring flowers.

It’s pretty obvious that the two most important things to have around when we’re getting poured on, are rain boots and an umbrella. However, I had to search the depths of my closet for both because I haven’t been using them. Since I like to think outside the box when I put flower arrangements together and have whimsical fun, there’s no time like the present magazine! Flowers bring such happiness and sunshine to any space and we’ve definitely been lacking sunshine these past months. If you disagree and you actually like all of the rain, I’m sorry.

I decided to have some fun with the boots and do a wildflower look to add a variety of colors. I love this idea because it’s so simple and fun for an outside area, on a fence or in the garden. It’s as simple as drilling a few holes (in the bottom of the boots), adding some pebbles, container

gardening dirt and your flowers of choice. Feel free to spray paint your boots, add fun shapes, designs, or even stencil on names of your family! These would also be fun hanging on a fence, in the garden or on the walkway by the front door.

Like our April cover, to dress up the front door, I couldn’t resist borrowing my granddaughters little pink boots.You can also add the pop of color to inside your home like a fun welcome to inside a foyer or even a centerpiece for a party, just add a glass jar with water inside each boot and flowers easy! The umbrella is also fun idea for the front door. First, stuff a few plastic grocery bags inside about halfway down and tie a bow in the middle to hold the bags. Fill individual sandwich bags with water and add flowers, then rubber band or tie each bag. Place each bundle into the umbrella folds - it creates a perfect vase. I used clippings from a sweet pea bush outside for mine. Using flowers from your garden adds a personal touch, however, they will only last a day or two. For longer lasting flowers, I suggest buying fresh cut flowers. There are so many creative ways to showcase flowers! Despite all of the extra rain we’ve had this season, I will choose to look at it in a positive light. I didn’t have to water my flowers or garden, nature did it for me.

As a result, I’ve had an abundance of vegetables and my flowers and plants are growing exponentially. I get to see all of the beautiful blankets of yellow daisies on the Strand as my ray of sunshine - a great way to start and end my day. I’ve seen a few rainbows after the rain which always makes me smile and reminds me everything will be okay. I watched my two-year-old granddaughter splash in the mud puddles with her little pink boots - priceless. Yes, I will embrace the extra rain and look forward to spring blooms. Yes, I think I’ll keep singing in the rain.