It’s finally the time of year again when we can cast off our winter coats, start thinking about going on holiday or treating our mothers to a wealth of chocolate and other pampering treatments in honour of them being our mums.
But it also means that flowers are bursting into life all across the country, and there’s never a better time than spring for using floral arrangements to really brighten up your home. Whether you’re in love with lilies or reaching for roses, it’s an opportunity to use nature as your decorating tool.
Of course, this also means finding a reliable, good-value source, and if you’re a gardener, this is a good time to whip out the pruning tools. If not, you’ve obviously got the web, so let Google be your friend, or pay a quick visit to M&S Flowers as they can kit you out with the right range of petals and stems to make a room seem that bit more invigoratingly colourful.
The best thing about using living floral decorations is that they’re also going to improve the way the house smells. It’s always worth using some fragrant flowers in your arrangement – walking into a room that smells wonderful but more subtle than a florist’s is a really pleasing sensation. If you’re always plugging in new air fresheners, think of it as the original, natural alternative. I’ve found that M&S have a huge range of bouquets that include some a wide variety of colours and scents – we used them for Mothering Sunday this year!
You’ve also got the advantage of the beautiful variety of flowers’ colours, and for the pantone-perfect amongst you, even if they’re slightly off-hue, there’s always the opportunity to combine a little dye with the water and plant food, as they’ll slowly come around to the rest of your room’s colour-swatch in no time at all.
Try mixing and matching, as flowers of a single species and colour can look a little boring, so try and find a range of two or three colours that not only match the room’s overall hue, but also compliment it. If your room is predominantly purple, deep blues and soft reds will provide accents to your decorations that give the immediate environment that little bit more life – that’s what spring is all about.
Of course, matching the entire room to the season is also possible, as lots of bright yellows and greens can create a beautiful spring theme in a kitchen or bedroom, and orchids, chrysanthemums and moluccella are a great combination of this colour range. But don’t forget to experiment! Florists are a treasure-trove of colours and shapes, so find the blooms that look like they’ll set the room off with a flourish and take some home to try out.
Don’t forget to feed them all, however! It’s a shame to invest in a houseful of flowers and then have them die a few days later. Flowers can last weeks if you treat them well, and there’s always a few techniques that everyone should know, notably buying good plant food, and always cutting your stems diagonally to allow water in if the stem is resting at the bottom of the flower’s container, be it a vase, jug or glass.
Finally, enjoy yourself. There’s nothing better than fresh flowers in spring, and seeing them around the house can really add a spring to your step.
