At the farmers’ market where I sell cut flowers, I offer bouquets already arranged in inexpensive clear glass vases. I begin the season with a supply of three different sizes of vases to accommodate a variety of flower stem lengths and different size bunches. A sign on my market table announces that I welcome recyclable vases, and my loyal customers oblige me by offering their extras. This system works well except for one major problem. Not a single vase, on its own, has reliably stayed upright on windy market days.

This past season I finally figured out a completely satisfactory way to keep my bouquets from blowing over in our sometimes windy open-air market. Thankfully, the old towels I used to routinely take to market for soaking of spills of floral preservative are ready now for their second retirement. And I have fewer preservative-stiffened tablecloths to wash between market days. Best of all, most of the components of my system can be reused indefinitely.

Something clicked when I saw attractive, straight-sided baskets about 8 inches square at a dollar store. I paid $2 each for these 4-inch tall baskets without handles. Next I purchased 2-inch thick sheets of Styrofoam and cut them into squares to fit into the bottom of the baskets. Then with a long, thin-bladed knife, I cut vase-sized circles out of the center of each square. I did a bit of guesswork for this step and made necessary adjustments until each square had a properly sized hole.

Now, after a ready-for-market arrangement is nestled into the circular opening in the Styrofoam, I pour around it a mixture of glass marbles and gemstones or polished rocks of varying sizes and shapes. These come from the local hobby store and can be purchased for 99 cents a bag – enough to cover the Styrofoam in one basket. Having some gemstones or narrow polished rocks is important because, unlike marbles, these will slip into any narrow empty space. Everything is snug. The stones and glass add weight and stability to the basket of bouquets.

To transport my bouquets, I tuck the baskets into cardboard boxes and the bouquets stand nicely spaced and upright for the trip to town. Some of the boxes I bring home from the grocery store are exactly the width of one basket. I reuse these as long as they hold together. The baskets and everything inside except for the base and flowers are reused regularly.

Miriam Iwashige is the owner of Blossoming Meadow Flowers near Partridge, Kansas. She is also a high school teacher and freelance writer on topics including homeschooling, creative homemaking and food.