Decorating your house with flowers this Christmas
The festive season takes on extra significance this year, as we look forward to coming together with family and friends from all over the country. In preparation, we spoke to two of our florist friends and Lumira stockists – Sally King at Moonflower Artistry in Sydney’s Balgowlah and Brooke Down, creative director of The Flower Bar Co in Byron Bay – for their best ideas on creating chic Christmas flower arrangements for your home.
Choose in-season florals
Moonflower’s Sally King likes to create a seamless flow from the outdoors to the Christmas table by working with in-season Australian natives. “Christmas bush en masse is always a winner as an entrance piece or on the table for Christmas lunch,” she suggests. “Or a fresh floral wreath for your front door is a nice touch.”
For a Christmas flower arrangement for the table, she suggests adding a runner of blue gum down the centre of the table, or making a statement with tropical greenery bursting from a tall vase.
Less is more
While it can be tempting to go overboard when decorating your house with flowers, Brooke Down says that selecting just two or three flower varieties creates a bigger impact. “We are big fans of en masse arrangements, with one variety per vase. For a sleek, contemporary look, use clear glass vases at different heights, grouped together throughout the home.”
This summer, Down and the team at The Flower Bar Co are drawn towards bold colours, inspired by the colourful surroundings of their Byron Bay headquarters. “We're planning an abundance of bold, vibrant colours this summer – coral, red, pink, orange, green and white. We’ll be working with an abundance of hydrangeas, peonies, orchids, dahlias and roses.”
On the table
To create an elegant Christmas centrepiece, Down recommends again sticking to an edit of two or three flower varieties that complement your overall table design. Try varying the height of the blooms to create multiple points of interest for the eye, enticing it to fall at different levels.
“We recommend selecting vases at different heights, or cutting the flower stems to different heights for focal interest,” Down says.
Make it last
There will be so many opportunities to gather with family and friends this year, so to get maximum longevity from your Christmas flower arrangement, King suggests including preserved flowers in your edit.
“These are very popular at the moment and come in a variety of colours,” she says. “For example, we’ve made a Christmas wreath out of blue and green coloured hydrangeas, which have had a lot of requests.”
Complement it with scent
Of course, decorating your house with flowers not only creates aesthetic interest, it also brings a beautiful natural fragrance into the home, which can be complemented through the right home fragrance. The smoky notes and herbal bouquet in our Wilderness by Blue Mountains Botanic Garden Candle helps to amplify the impact of Australian natives. Luscious Tuscan Fig pairs beautifully with dramatic tropical blooms. And both King and Down agree that Balinese Ylang Ylang and Cuban Tobacco are popular choices with their customers this summer. Fans of the latter will adore our limited-edition Cuban Tobacco Gift Set.
Written by Michelle Bateman
