I love orchids in our home because they offer the feel of fresh flowers but they last (usually!) much, much longer. In the right conditions, I've had orchids keep blooms for 4-5 months. And then I've had others that have lasted a matter of days. But, for the most part, it is a good bang for my buck. You can spend a fortune on orchids but here are a few tricks to help you take an inexpensive Trader Joe's, Home Depot or grocery store orchid and make it look like it came straight from a florist.
Inspiration for this post came from a visit to my friend Taylor's house. She had a beautiful orchid on her entry table and I noticed it immediately when I walked in:
The lighting in the picture is not great quality because I took it at night but you can get the idea. Taylor purchased her orchid from The Fresh Market but you'd never know it!
I purchased an inexpensive but beautiful one the other day from Trader Joe's. I think it was $12.99. It's beautiful as is but with a few tweaks, it doesn't look like it came straight from TJ's.
The first thing I did was to add some extra "twigs" to elevate the look. Taylor was smart and saved some of hers from old arrangements but I purchased a large bunch (I like the ones that have the curly branches) from Michael's. This will last me for many an orchid as well as another upcoming project I have in mind!
Here's the orchid with the addition of a couple of curly twigs:
The next thing I do is to put the orchid in a nicer pot than the one it comes in. The grocery store ones typically come in small, sometimes disposable pots that immediately cheapen the look of the plant. Putting an orchid in a little larger pot will help it feel more substantial. You can even leave it in its original pot, just find one to display it that will fit the smaller one. Fill in the top of the pot with moss to mask the smaller pot.
The last thing to do is to add a small amount of the moss onto the twigs to make it look extra custom.
And then style away!
Here are some other orchid displays to give you inspiration as you think about creating your own at home!
