There is a little chain of stores that exists in southeastern PA, and Delaware (and maybe S. Jersey?) called Produce Junction (PJ). I have been shopping at PJ since the late 1980s I think. The way it works is that they have large, already packed, bags of produce, and they are very inexpensive. The produce is usually fresh and delicious. PJs have some oddities to them, like you have to pay for fruit separately from veggies, nuts are considered fruits, and eggs and fresh baked bread are considered veggies. It’s funny to be there, and they have a more international selection of veggies, and often you’ll see restaurant owners buying huge crates of produce.
Around every holiday they sell decorations… Xmas lights, plastic Easter eggs, and everything is cheap, and inexpensive. For me, that = fun, and funny.
The other thing they typically have is plants (indoor and outdoor) and flowers. This is where the real magic happens. Imagine getting a huge potted orchid for $4! And entire bouquets of flowers for $4 as well.
One of the things I enjoy most in life is having cut flowers in a vase, and PJ makes that affordable. This sunflower came from a $4 bouquet of 6 giant flowers. The other 5 are in the kitchen. This flower lasted (from bought to no petals left) two weeks.
Through all the stages of this flower’s changes at no point did I find it to be anything but lovely to look at.
The pandemic is very stressful and worrying, but flowers lighten my load for a little bit of money. I know a lot of people think buying cut flowers is throwing away money. For me, flowers are my version of a lottery ticket, and, unlike a lottery ticket, one bouquet lasts at least two weeks (no need to buy a new one every day) and they always pay off.
