Chic ways to bring the outside in
Natural foliage, twigs and flowers will help you create effortless and elegant festive style in your own home, says Jessica Doyle
As the festive season approaches, it’s easy to be taken in by the ubiquitous plastic and sparkle – but decorating with plants and flowers can be an inexpensive option for those with gardens to plunder, and also offers the advantage of bringing natural seasonal fragrances into the home.
Floral designer Shane Connolly, who holds a royal warrant to the Prince of Wales, shares HRH’S eco-consciousness and passion for sustainability when it comes to winter decor. “I think people should be more aware of environmental issues when they source decorations for their homes,” he says. “There is a vast array of beautiful seasonal foliage grown in the UK that can perfectly decorate a house for the festivities. Natural ingredients, such as mistletoe and holly, hearken back to the original pagan midwinter celebrations, and the first Christian ones, too. I also like that they help bring our modern minds back to a time when nature was so much more an essential part of life.”
What’s more, flowers, foliage and other natural materials that can be found in the UK tie in well with some of this season’s key floral trends. In terms of design, simplicity is key, says Charlotte Howard of Mayfair florist Wild Things Flowers, which is producing this year’s Christmas wreath for Jo Malone London. The current trend for winter styling is “a very earthy, organic look focusing on an abundance of beautiful foliage, twigs, succulents and natural elements”, she says. “Floral designs are unstructured and understated to create a natural, effortlessly elegant seasonal style.”
A winter colour palette doesn’t necessarily require red, and there has been a rise in popularity for more muted blooms – music to the ears of those with a modern, minimalist interior. “Lots of clients want seasonal décor, but have homes that are clean and crisp, with more of a Scandi feel,” notes Sarah Loughrey-jennings, owner of florists Hiding in the City. “Reams of red and gold bows would stand out like a sore thumb, so we suggest modern vessels made from concrete, marble or metal filled with the lesser-known white poinsettia, and accompanied by pots of greenery. Achieve an organic look by incorporating dried elements into your designs.”
Anton van Duijn, style director of flower-subscription service Bloomon, agrees, advising customers to go for pastel hues. “Flowers bloom in all sorts of colours, even during the winter,” he says. “Think soft pinks, cool silver and frosty blue.”
A floral centrepiece adds a spectacular flourish to a winter dining table, though “there are a few things to consider with a winter
‘Flowers bloom in all sorts of colours, even during winter’
bouquet arrangement,” Van Duijn explains. “Branches, thicker stems and foliage are widely available at this time of year, so make sure these are at the base and centre of your design. More delicate flower stems can lean on them, instead of the vase, which will protect them from damage.”
He also suggests placing small vases filled with ivy and sweetsmelling eucalyptus around the house, and creating natural garlands. “Think practically when positioning flowers and plants in your home,” he cautions. “They don’t like heat from radiators or fires, but they also don’t like a draught.”
For those who want to branch out into making their own garlands and wreaths, evergreens such as rosemary, bay and box can be brought in from the garden and combined with traditional pine. Branches can be secured to a banister using floristry wire, with pine cones and berries woven into the mix. Bare branches, twined with fairy lights and hung with decorations, look stylish on a mantelpiece or door frame, and can be held in place with adhesive hooks.
No front door is fully dressed without a wreath, and there are plenty to be had off the shelf – both real and artificial. For crafty types, Sarah Raven and Abigail Ahern sell DIY wreath-making kits (the latter using faux flowers and foliage), while Hobbycraft sells all the floristry supplies one would require to start from scratch, from frames and wire to reindeer moss. All that’s needed is to trawl forests, florists and markets for foliage, blooms and berries.