How to Make Fresh Flowers Look Festive at Christmastime
Poinsettias are the most well-known flower at Christmas time. In fact, they’re now as much a symbol of Christmas as stockings or a decorated tree. But Christmas florals can be so much more than this traditional potted plant.
Here are 4 ways to make fresh flowers look festive during this holiday season:
1 - Winter wonderland: No matter where you live or what your climate is, you can embrace a snowy look by creating an all-white arrangement. Use a clear glass vase or a white ceramic container to complete the look.
2 -Woodland inspiration: Go for a walk and forage branches, pine cones, and bits of bark. Mix these in with some neutral coloured flowers to create a nature-inspired seasonal arrangement. And if you have a few toys or ornaments of woodland creatures add them in to complete the look.
3 - Sparkle it up: It’s the holidays which makes it the right time for adding a bit of sparkle to your flower arrangements. I have two favourite ways to do this. First - lightly mist your flowers with water and then sprinkle with glitter. The water will help the glitter to stick, and then when the light hits it, your flowers will shine. A little goes a long way so be light-handed when adding the glitter. Second - use a metallic vase. Copper, bronze, gold, silver, and rose gold all work to add a bit of glitz to make your arrangement twinkle for all your festivities.
4- Make it personal: Think of ways to take the traditional red, white, and green of Christmas, and give it a personal twist. For example, if you love Hawaii, consider adding in some tropical flowers; use a vase that’s been passed down from generation to generation; incorporate a special ornament, or even try something as simple as mixing in some flowers in your favourite colour. (For me, this means adding in pink flowers - you wouldn’t believe how well this works and how happy it makes me every time I see my arrangement!)
Flowers to use in winter arrangements: Ranunculus, roses, hellebores, carnations, amaryllis, paperwhites, poinsettias, white lilies, and white anemone. Add in snowberries, cotton, eucalyptus, and winter greenery.
Top tip: Most people don’t realize you can use poinsettias as a cut flower in an arrangement, but you certainly can. Before you do, however, there is one trick you need to know.
When you cut the stem of the poinsettia, sap will ooze out of it. To keep the bloom from wilting you need to seal the end of the stem before placing it in your vase of water.
You can seal the stem one of two ways. First, pour water that is just below the boiling point into a cup. As soon as you’ve cut the poinsettias stem, dip it in the heated water for a few seconds and then quickly place it into your vase of cool water. Your second option is to hold the cut end of the stem over a flame for a few seconds which will seal the end, making it ready to use. Either method will work and I hope you’ll give it a try. Using a poinsettia in a fresh flower arrangement is a really nice alternative to only having them as a potted plant. Let me know how it works for you.
Wishing all of you the very best this holiday season. xo
