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How to create spring decorations

We spoke to Rebecca Ellis – florist for The Runnymede on Thames and Managing Director of Lily's Flowers – who shares her insider tips on the best spring flowers and decoration ideas.

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Colour is key

When creating spring-like decor using flowers, your colour choices are really important. This isn’t a time of year when we want to see dark burgundies and rich reds. We all need a lift, so we want to see whites, yellows, oranges, blues, purples and pinks. And although you can just choose one or two of these spring-like colours for your floral decorations – I think this is a time of year when you want to see all these colours displayed together. This gives a sunny and meadow-like feeling, which is really trendy at the moment.

Staple spring flowers

There are so many amazing flowers easily available at this time of year. One of my staple flowers is the daffodil. I love to keep it really simple when arranging daffodils. Just buy ten bunches and put them all together in one vase – it’s incredibly effective. You can also get brilliant tulips at this time of year. Although they’re not scented, you can get some tulips with very large heads in spring, making them look glorious when they’re fully open. I also think blossom says ‘spring’ instantly and you see so many varieties at this time of year. I particularly like bright yellow Forsythia, apple blossom and cherry blossom. Later in the spring you get an amazing cherry blossom that has huge balls of pink petals – a bit like old fashioned powder puffs!

Bringing the outdoors-in

Everyone is itching to get outside during the spring, so I’m always looking for flowers that bring the look and scent of spring inside. Trailing jasmine is absolutely lovely at this time of year. One of my current favourites is a flower called the Cloni Ranunculus. The buds open up to become the size of your hand! Hellabores are beautiful in spring too. Another of my current favourites is the Anemone. And finally, Icelandic poppies are another of my spring-time tips. These flowers look so perfect they don’t even seem real, and in one bunch alone you can get orange, yellow, peach, white and bright red colours and add both colour and drama to spring flower arrangements.

Splendid spring decor

Another thing I love about spring is that many items we have around the house are perfect for displaying the season’s flowers. Jugs, little pails and buckets are ideal. Terracotta pots lined with plastic bags to make them watertight also look really good. Anything that reminds you of the garden works a treat. Windowsills are perfect for rows of jam jars wrapped with pretty gingham ribbons and filled with delicate spring flowers. Even matching egg cups with Easter colours lined up on your fireplace – with a single daffodil head in each – can totally transform the room. If you have a fish bowl, I love making spring arrangements that incorporate green bell, laurel, pink roses, pink tulips and blossom.

Spring foliage

Using foliage in flower displays, as well as for weddings and events, has been a trend for a while now, and this is continuing into the spring. Eucalyptus, trailing jasmine, trailing ivy and a range of different ferns are really effective. I like to make foliage feel more spring-like by adding clusters of bright spring flowers into it. A common misconception is that foliage is cheap – but it’s actually quite specialist so is on a par with the cost of flowers. But it does give a fantastic look and can be designed to suit any season.

Glossy leaves

Another very popular trend at the moment is the use of big glossy leaves. We’ve been seeing these big tropical leaf prints in fashion and interiors recently – and this is definitely transcending into the use of flowers and greenery as decorations. In fact, we’ve just re-done all the plants at The Runnymede on Thames, using species such as Monstera, the Aspedistra plant and Colocasia Gigantea – which means ‘elephant ear plant’! These plants are really evocative – I love them.

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