...winter inspirations and exploring seasonality in floristry...
As we all know, every season has a purpose, and so does winter.
Even though there are limited choices of fresh flowers and natural materials at hand, we can still stick to ecological natural products to make our designs seasonal and unique.
Similarly to the food industry, with its seasonal fruits and vegetables, the rules of seasonality also apply to the floral industry.
If you wonder what to substitute the much-loved peonies in the winter bouquet, or perhaps looking to decorate your house sustainably for the holiday season, this article is for you.
In sync with nature
You might wonder what is the big deal of seasonality in floristry, if you see most of the fresh flowers available on sale all year round. However, don't forget that the flowers that you are probably seeing have been shipped from afar, which involves huge transportation costs, and questionable emissions. The product is simply not in its freshest state and there is no guarantee of how long it will last in the vase.
The best solution would be to use seasonal blooms or natural materials that would not only be a cheaper choice, but also help to match the current season and surrounding nature's theme/ambience.
The best way to do this - look around, have a walk in a park or forest, and get inspired by what you see. And of course, don't panic in case your florist would advise against using delicate flowers on a cold winter day in your bouquet.
We have plenty of alternatives here for you!
Winter in florist's eyes
How do florists see winter? And what means winter to you?
The more answers you would have to this question, the more personal your design would become.
For me, personally, winter is fully represented in dried or preserved flora.
Winter is when nature falls asleep to get ready for its rebirth, just like the beauty captured in the dried flower material. Dried flowers are not afraid of freezing temperatures, they can be easily transformed or coloured, and the possibilities to be creative with them are absolutely endless. Exactly what you need, when there are no fresh flowers growing in your garden.
The trick here is to use either naturally dried materials or to dry the flowers yourself. Unfortunately, the coloured dried flowers sold in mass are usually overtreated with chemicals and cannot be considered natural ecological products anymore.
Colour Palette
Firstly, let's start with the colours, which would help to create the winter atmosphere.
The Classic Colour palette for winter often includes white shades, red, green, silver and gold, and blue.
Nothing surprising here, the colours represent the spirit of the Christmas tree and classic holiday decor.
To help to balance the contrasts, I would also recommend using brown, sage (or other pastels) and grey shades to bring warmth and cosiness.
The mentioned colours are classic combinations. Winter is the only season in floristry when the bravest colour contrasts can be easily incorporated into designs. For trends and inspiration, it is always fun to follow the Institute of Colour Pantone, which updates the colour of the year each winter.
Winter flowers in the UK
Winter flowering Clematis, Pansies, Violas, Hellebores or Christmas Rose, Amaryllis, Coronilla, Camellia, Ilex, Cornus, Sarcococca
Hellebores or Christmas Rose
Ilex or Holly
Heather
Amaryllis
Dried Winter Specials
If you are looking for an everlasting design, or to add something extra, the dried or stabilised flora is always a great solution.
During winter, my recommendation would be to stick to white (or off-white) shades of dried flowers, which should be prepared/hand-dried in advance in previous seasons. This would be an intricate detail in any design and would be a representation of snow, frost, or ice.
We usually dry and preserve our flowers well in advance and use them throughout the year. Notice how well these preserved dandelions, Lunaria, cornflowers, white carnations and Dusty Miller leaves represent the frozen forest on our winter-inspired Valerie crown.
British Greenery
Evergreen or in colour through the winter: conifers such as Pine tree/Christmas tree/thuja/cedar/yew, Bergenia, Ajuga reptans ‘Atropurpurea’, Luzula sylvatica ‘Aurea’, Farfugium japonicum, Libertia peregrinans, Ophiopogon planiscapus 'Nigrescens'.
Also, rosemary would be an amazing fragrant alternative to conifers, which is green and looks great both in fresh and dried states.
Don't forget to add cones to your decor, which will also be a winter representation in your design.
Dusty Miller naturally looks like snowy leaves, which can be dried or stabilised for all-year-round usage:
Winter Extras
Now, let's add some extra details!
Although, you can opt for the shiny Christmas baubles and other plastic decors, like everyone, let me inspire you to go all natural.
These extras are the essence of this gorgeous season and they are able to create the atmosphere even without fresh flowers.
Spices - this is the best way to add fragrance, warmth and cosiness to your arrangement. Anise stars, cardamom, scented pepper, bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon. Yes please, lots of cinnamon!
It will remind your giftee of home and mulled wine.
Coffee - nothing quite compares to its fragrance and that brown chocolatey shine of coffee beans. Add coffee-scented candles around the house or glue coffee beans onto your winter arrangements. The coffee beans can also be slightly coloured with acrylic paint.
Dried fruits - dried oranges, apples, limes, lemons, clementine peel. Similarly to spices, they are also fragrant and very colourful. They are everlasting and the perfect alternatives to fresh flowers.
Herbs of all types - add wonderful smells to your design - dried sage, rosemary, lavender, mint, and thyme to name a few.
White fluffy seedpods - check out how nature dries such wildflowers as cornflower or dusty miller flowers. They become fluffy and white, which can't be more perfect for winter decor.
Interesting addition would be Phlomis seedpods that are brown after their yellow flowers dry out in winter:
Spray or hand-paint them with white acrylic paint and they will resemble snowy branches.
Another way to represent snowy branches, which is such a wintery detail, would be to pour melted white wax over the real branches and leaves. Wax also represents candles and light.
You can also slightly paint white a few natural materials with a dry brush to achieve a similar effect and add brightness to your arrangement.
Another important component for a cosy winter ambience is light itself. It doesn't have to be necessarily a lit candle, if it would raise safety concerns. Opting for electric ones or even fairy lights would do the trick.
In regards to bouquets or wearable flower accessories, I personally use shiny metallic acrylic paint and Golden Leaf (used for gilding and art) on my natural materials, which would mirror the light and add that spark of magic.
And, our favourite, natural magnolia skeleton leaves that resemble lace and frost:
Whichever ingredients you choose, even if you add plastic Christmas decor, please ensure there's no glitter attached to any of them. Glitter is the most unecological and unrecyclable thing you could possibly use, and we urge you not to.
Please read our blog for full information about glitter here.
We hope that this blog will inspire you to create wonderful seasonal designs, which would be both sustainable and unique!
Happy Winter!
Pirita Blooms