garlic peel-petaled cherry blossoms

Springtime always draws out my obsession with cherry and apple blossoms.

The sweet scent and cascading branched trees covered in fluffy whitish-pink petals is ubiquitous of whimsy and romance. Cherry and apple blossoms are stunning; and yet, they are also fleeting.

While chopping garlic for dinner one uneventful night, I stared dully at the forlorn whisps of garlic paper. The paper was beautiful in its naturally-tinged color and soft yet shiny sheen. The garlic paper looked… Lustrous. Like flower petals. It dawned on me that their purpose might transcend nature’s intent to simply preserve the vegetable inside.

While I cannot replicate their scent, I can attempt to replicate their understated and overlooked beauty.

I located a small, fallen tree branch.

Gathered my supplies, including some tacky glue (hot glue also works great!) and some sharp scissors.

I carefully snipped and trimmed each garlic peel “petal” into petal shapes that are tapered on either end.

And then I pressed one petal at a time on the end of each tiny twig, about four petals per “flower” with the concave side facing upwards.

Ta-da! You have a sort of-looking cherry flower or apple flower blossom for your sunny kitchen window or outdoor picnic table!!