Hairy legs don't go to the beach.

hairy legs don't go to the beach.

Over the last couple of weeks, the poppies have been showing their handsome faces at the markets, and I simply can't resist bringing them back to the shop.

I love putting these bunches of hairy little caterpillary buds into vases, keeping secret their colour until they start to open, when they drop their cases in two neat halves so a beautiful flower can unfurl. Just gorgeous!

The arrival of the poppies serves as an excellent reminder for me to pass on a fabulous snippet of information that I learnt in my first couple of weeks at college:

Hairy legs don't go to the beach.

Now, I don't really mind how hirstute your legs may or may not be when you step into your bikini or boardies once the weather warms up. This memorable advice applies to flowers.

Flowers with hairy legs (stems) don't like to be placed in vases filled to the brim with water*. Instead, they'll be much happier if you fill the vase up just a little bit, and keep it nice and clean. There is science behind this, but all you need to know is that if you over-fill the vase of a hairy-legged flower, you are going to end up with some very icky water, very quickly.

Don't forget to change the water every second day, and keep it sparkly clean. (Sunflowers are surprisingly thirsty, so make sure the water doesn't run out!)

*Native flowers with hairy legs, for example Kangaroo Paw, are the exception to the rule. They're very thirsty little flowers, and will appreciate a vase half full (again kept clean and changed regularly).