Willow’s Festive Florals

How Willow Crafts A Christmas In Bloom

Bulbs are wonderful in the winter months. They’re more affordable than cut flowers and last much longer. I love forced hyacinths, Ziva paperwhites and amaryllis for some colour and scent over the festive season.

Think about gifting big antique bowls or baskets filled with bulbs as Christmas presents. I’m going to be giving our new speckled planters with a big fat amaryllis inside this year!

I love mixing paper flowers in with foliage when I can’t get hold of any real blooms.

Nothing says Christmas to me like pink and red. I adore masses of pink cyclamen clustered together at different heights and sitting on top of a soft pink or crisp white linen tablecloth. I’ll tie my napkins with big red bows, scatter mixed pink candles throughout the display and complete the tablescape with mini velvet bows tied to any and everything!

Big, swooshy garlands are a fabulous way to deck the halls. They don’t have to be fancy – just pack them full of evergreens and velvet bows, and drape them over every mantle and staircase you can get your hands on! Eucalyptus is a brilliant winter foliage due to its delicious scent and long vase life. Other greenery to consider for garlands is spruce, buxus, yew, eucalyptus and fresh Cyprus.

If I’m only going to make one Chritsmassy piece, it’s got to be a wreath – the bigger and wilder the better! I love slivery blue foliage, so include tons of spruce, lots of eucalyptus (which I might refresh after a couple of weeks), pink heather, wax flower, red berries, dried straw flower, maybe some dried old man’s beard. Then I’ll finish with dried orange slices, whole dried limes, and big, trailing velvet ribbons.

Garlands made with dried orange slices are magical. I strung them all over the house last year and will be doing the same this year. I used very thin snippets of reel wire to attach them to each other and added pale pink velvet bows every 60cms or so. Dried apple slices work really well, too.

Candlelight makes everything look lovelier… and more festive! So stock up on coloured candles for an instant lift to your table. I have our spinning candle carousels lit from December 1st – they’re magical and instantly take me back to my childhood Christmases.

Stagger planting your indoor bulbs so you have flowers from December through to March. There’s nothing more joyful than a huge, moss-topped arrangement bursting with bulbs. If you don’t have time to grow blooms from bulbs yourself, most garden centres and even supermarkets sell the bulbs which are already shooting. Simply layer the base of your container with some gravel or grit so you have drainage, pop the bulbs out of their pots, nestling them in so they’re cosy, and top them off with a duvet of moss. If you want some interest before they begin to flower, you could add some wavy willow or twigs to give height (and support at a later date) or spike in some tall candles in the weeks before they flower.