I agree with Albannach: you should learn about variable scopes.

In perl, there typically never is a need to empty an array. If you limit the scope of your array to the loop block, you'll simply get a new empty array every time through the loop. Simple, effective, and very generically appliable.

for (1 .. 3) {
    my @flowers;  # new, emtpy array, every time
    ...
}
[download]