I was 21 years old when I stole my dad’s copy of Andrew Weil’s holistic health book, 8 Weeks to Optimum Health.  Somewhere between spending time in parks and eating flax seeds, the book recommends buying fresh flowers on a weekly basis to brighten the home with this natural example of beauty.

This practice is not to be exercised without caution.  When I first experimented with this, I was with a girlfriend of two years at my side.  The day I started to bring home flowers she greeted me with discontent.  She wondered why that after 2 years of dating, the first time she sees me with flowers, I had bought them for myself and not her. 

Fresh cut flowers may be simplest, cheapest, and quickest way to soften a space.  The delicate smell of fresh plant life will permeate the residence.  This offers the option to no longer be just a man with a good looking space, but a man who buys fresh foliage for his home.

Completing this project is really easy and requires little to no instruction.  Aside from a few tips about clipping dead leaves and chopping the bottom with a sharp knife, most people know what to do with flowers.  Instead of repeating this advice, I’ll just share what I do.

Every 3 weeks or so, while grocery shopping, I pick up a new pack of greenery.  Sometimes I’ll buy actual bona fide flowers, but usually I stick with the branches.  I think they have a more masculine appearance while still offering the same benefits.  Usually buying just one bundle, I’ll split the package putting one half in a vase in my living room and the other half in my entrance way.

Here are a few examples to get started.  For the holiday season, I picked up some pine branches.  After, I moved to bundles of blue eucalyptus branches for January.  On my last trip to Whole Foods, I spotted pussy willows tempting me as I was checking out.  I think those will be my new spring companions.