Decorating with Flowers

Here are some simple ways you can use flowers to brighten your home or office

Entranceway/Foyer

• Attach small vases containing short stems of fresh flowers to a pre-made wreath and hang it on your front door to welcome guests.
• Make a first impression with a large, abundant arrangement.
• Create a focal point with a piece of artwork on a pedestal draped with a garland and flowers.
• For a friendly look, place a basket with a garden bouquet on the entry table.

Dining Room

For an easy, elegant table decoration set a series of alternating crystal vases and candles on a fabric runner. Place fresh flowers in each of the vases and surround them with greenery.

• Individual flowers are perfect at place settings or attached to name cards.
• Blending with the casual atmosphere of modern home entertaining, this centerpiece is sure to dazzle guests during afternoon brunch or informal dinners. The candles provide a refreshing combination using the elegance of flowers with the ambience of candlelight.

Flowers featured: Lilies, carnations, spray roses, alstroemeria, daisy chrysanthemums, solidaster, monte casino.

Living Room

• Take your favorite vase, treasured antique bowl or silver pitcher to your florist for a custom-designed arrangement.
• Float two or three blooms, such as gardenias or gerbera daisies in a favorite crystal bowl. Add a floating candle or two for a glowing evening effect.

Family Room

• In the summer when the fireplace isn't being used, brighten the hearth with an abundant assortment of seasonal flowers. Continue the theme by placing a few of the same flowers on the mantle next to those family photos.

Kitchen

• Trim a windowsill with a collection of terra cotta pots, using a combination of herbs and sun-loving plants like kalanchoe, African violets or primroses.
• Old water pitchers, antique teapots, classic urns or even tattered clay pots make fascinating containers for a casually placed flower arrangement.
  Loosely clustered to give the look of a freshly cut garden bouquet, this hand-tied design adorns a favorite water pitcher. The complementary flowers and colors brighten any part of the house, from the kitchen to the family room to the bedroom.

Flowers featured: Alstroemeria, carnations, freesia, roses, bouvardia, delphinium, stock, Star of Bethlehem, asters, statice.

Bedroom

• Tea roses, freesias, peonies, lilac and lilies, are all deliciously fragrant choices for a bud vase on your nightstand.

Guest Bedroom

• A bud vase with a simple cluster of flowers hidden in the center of a clear bubble bowl filled with potpourri is the perfect way to welcome a guest.
• Try floating rose petals in a special bath to spoil a friend!

Home Office

• Give yourself a "nature break" by keeping a flowering or green plant next to your computer station or fax machine.