Spring Florals
Published in Lee’s Summit Lifestyle and Johnson County Lifestyle April 2021
Photo credit: Janie Jones Photography
The Flower
The flower, so luxurious to adorn the grandest of events and wealthiest of spaces and yet so simple and common that even children are found running through front doors with handfuls for their mother. The flower attends practically every special occasion from wedding celebrations to welcoming new babies into the world. It is often used as a gesture of love as it is given to a sweetheart, used as a symbol of remembrance on anniversaries and a thoughtful act of congratulations at graduations of all kinds. The flower even reaches past joy into the spaces of hardship, loss and mourning. Never a misplaced sight to find a flower tucked somewhere in a hospital room or somewhere close by a sickbed. The flower is welcomed into our moments of grief as we gather at funerals to celebrate a life lived. The flower is rarely invited but always welcomed, accepted, and even expected there. What is it that draws us to their blooms? Whatever it is, I am thankful for their presence in all the different times, reasons and seasons.
The flowers of Spring are my favorite of them all. After a long cold and dark winter, hope of Summer is born in a Spring flower. Claude Monet once said, “I must have flowers, always, and always.” I couldn’t agree more, especially as my heart and bones begin to thaw from winter. As Spring continues to slowly roll in, I encourage you to take the chance to bring flowers into your home or workplace. Here are a few ideas to inspire the beauty and joy that the flower can most certainly bring this Spring.
{I promise, they are} Faux-Real Bouquets
I have a secret! More than half of the flowers in my Spring tablescape are faux. Can you tell which ones are which? I’ll reveal one of them... all of my white tulips are faux! I am sure I’ve made all Florists cringe but in my humble opinion, when you mix faux flowers with real ones it really does something magical. Not only do faux look real next to real flowers but the whole bouquet lasts so much longer (I mean, half of them aren’t going to die anyway so I guess that’s pretty obvious). Mixing faux-real does a trick on the eye and I promise that you cannot tell the difference. There are, however, a lot of really bad obviously-faux flowers out there so follow these simple tips to get the best looking ones.
Faux Flower Tip #1: When hunting for the best faux flowers, look for the colors that you would see in nature. For example, in the natural world, flowers are often brightly colored but never, ever neon (save that for an outfit at your next 80’s party).
Faux Flower Tip #2: Choose faux flowers that have a natural looking shape as real flowers are rarely perfect and never identical. Stay away from faux flowers that are totally perfect. Perfect is not real life.
Faux Flower Tip #3: When choosing faux florals don’t forget to keep an eye on the stems and leaves. Go for a finish that is textured and never high gloss or smooth. Check out my faux floral highlight on instagram to see the difference @silvertoothfarmhome.
Faux Flower Tip #4: Unlike real flowers where you can use a floral frog to secure stems into place, faux flowers work much better if you use chicken wire inside your vase. Using chicken wire lets you place flowers exactly where you want them and they stay put.
Faux Flower Tip #5: When arranging faux flowers (even if you aren’t mixing with real flowers), always, always add water to the vase. Seeing the water is another eye trick that will make your faux flowers look completely real.
DIY Cabbage Vase
I absolutely love the unexpected use of familiar items. Vegetables as bouquets? I’m all in! Cabbages as vases? Bring it on!
In this cabbage arrangement I used real tulips and eucalyptus. A flower trick I learned recently is pulling back tulip petals to make them look like a completely different flower! I love how it gives the whole arrangement a more wild, out of the garden look. To open your tulips this way, start at the bottom of the flower and gently push the base of the petal back until it pops into place. Continue working around the tulip popping back each petal until you reach the gorgeous center. It's amazing how transformative tulips become when you open them up this way!
Supplies
One large green or red cabbage
One 4oz or 6oz mason jar or wet floral foam cut to size
Real tulips and eucalyptus greens (or any flower of your choice)
Instructions
Carve out the center of the cabbage by using a small serrated knife. If needed, use a spoon to scoop out the cabbage pieces (similar to carving a pumpkin).
Next, use either a small mason jar or wet floral foam to fill in the hole you’ve created in the cabbage center.
Add flowers by arranging to your liking. A general rule is to have ⅓ to ⅔ in height (flower to cabbage or cabbage to flower). But, sometimes rules are for breaking so just do what feels right!
Alternatively, use a potted plant instead of cut flowers. Simply use soil instead of water and a potted plant instead of cut flowers. Here I’ve used a small African Violet but Pansey’s would also be delightful.
