Flower power: A lovely leafy mix to bring on bliss

WHAT’S NEW

Right now, florists are perking up gray end-of-winter days by styling supermarket blooms into lush, wow-worthy bouquets. “Here, green button mums pop off a soft bed of cream-colored carnations and leafy foliage for a high-contrast textural look,” says floral pro Gabriele Defrances of Gabriele’s Hand Designs in Connecticut. “And the vase nods to the blue skies of the season ahead. It’s lovely!”

GET THE LOOK

Fill a 6"-tall light blue vase halfway with water. Then snip 20 white carnations and 8 spray stems of green button mums to 10". Next, snip two handfuls of leafy greenery and filler flowers (like white broom) to 10" to 12". Insert the greenery, filler and button mums into the vase, forming a soft mound. To finish, insert the carnations in a random, relaxed fashion and place the vase on a tray. Display on a tabletop.

INSIDER’S SECRET

Rather than waiting a few days for any semi-closed supermarket carnations to open and fan out, use this florist trick to give them a fully bloomed look: Simply hold a fully opened carnation flower head in your hand and, working in a clockwise fashion, use it as a brush to gently fan out the petals on any partially blossomed blooms. The motion encourages the flowers to splay open for a lush look.