April showers bring us May Day flowers

I’ve had a little more time on my hands than I’m used to this early spring and am so excited to have an excuse (not that I truly need one) to get creative with May Day baskets. As a lover of beautiful florals, I adore celebrating May Day, or as I call it, the official start to flower season.

May Day is about celebrating spring and femininity and is derived from the Roman Empire’s Festival of Flora. Many people celebrate with offerings of flowers, dancing and even bell ringing. Since I doubt anyone wants me to break out my ribbons for a dance around the maypole (though I would love to give it a whirl), I stick to creating May Day baskets to share with my neighbors and friends. It is the perfect do-ityourself project to get my creative juices flowing. I tend to use our lovely faux florals so the baskets can hang proudly on doorsteps for months to come.

For our first basket, I wanted to play up some classic spring colors. I love green and wanted that freshness front and center. The bright green pairs beautifully with soft pinks and yellows, while pops of bright white balance out the design. Design tip: Balance over symmetry — don’t worry about making it completely identical on each side but rather whether it is evenly weighted.

My second basket is actually not a basket at all, but a rustic metal tin. I love red for a bold touch, and this is one of my favorite vessels to re-create for summer when red, white and blue are having their moment. To keep the arrangement firmly in spring, I switched out my blue hues for pink tulips and added some leafy greens to add some texture. Design tip: For a more natural and organic look, arrange your faux flowers as you would the real deal. Pretend they are reaching for the sun and opening up. Start with your tallest, most open stems (often called fillers), then strategically place your tighter sprigs and blooms.

Last but not least, my final basket incorporates another one of my favorite color combinations, black and white. This simple palette is perfect for a moody spring look with its rich fuchsias and plums paired with near-neon spring greens. I like this particular look because it says “spring” without your typical bright spring palette. It feels good to mix it up sometimes. These baskets are all about having fun and mixing your favorite colors, textures and patterns to create a look that speaks to you.

Katie Laughridge is the owner of Kansas City interior design shop Nell Hill’s.

May Day is about celebrating spring and femininity and is derived from the Roman Empire’s Festival of Flora. Many people celebrate with offerings of flowers, dancing and even bell ringing.

This rustic red tin is filled with green linen ribbon, amaranths stem, real touch Boston fern, white peony bud bunch, pink peony bud bunch, white astilbe stem, fuchsia tulip bunch, large white tulips (can substitute tulips for white peony stems as well). (TNS/Nell Hills)

This willow basket filled with black and white check ribbon, amaranths stem, Boston fern, royal fern, lavender Pick, burgundy seed bunch, purple long seed stem and large plum tulips.

This willow basket is filled with: green and white check ribbon, philo leaf, large green tulips, cream lavender stem, yellow berry spray, pink berry spray, mini green tulip bunch, purple long seed stem. (TNS/Nell Hills)

May Day baskets to share with neighbors and friends are the perfect do-it-yourself project. (TNS/Nell Hills)