Christmas Decorating Inspired by Nature

Familiar sounds of the holidays often get shut out while we’re keeping warm inside. Bring in the sounds of sleigh bells, the smell of pine trees, and the shimmering magic of snowfall as you decorate your home for the season.

Mary Engelbreit's Christmas Companion

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The time of year when people are inspired to decorate their homes is upon us once again. You may have already put up a tree, hung wreaths on the walls and doors and garland on the mantle. That’s a lot of green in the house, but it’s easy to spice things up. Just add colourful flowers.

You may be thinking to yourself, “Where in the world am I going to find flowers? All the plants have gone dormant and it’s snowing outside.” Flowers may be in short supply in your backyard, but they are still growing in other places, and are plentiful at your local flower shop or floral department.

“Red roses and carnations are extremely popular around the holidays. So are blue irises and lilies, but decorating at this time of year doesn’t necessarily mean you have to stick to the traditional colours of red and green, or for those of the Jewish faith, blue. I recommend that people look for flowers that will accentuate the hues in their home decor,” says Jill Slater, the design spokesperson for the Flower Promotion Organization.

If you have yellow walls in your dining room, for example, she recommends you turn a gold Christmas ornament upside down, fill it with water, set it in a napkin ring and add a handful of yellow daisy mums. If blue is the dominant colour in the room, Slater says to set up a vase of red roses intermixed with blue iris. To accentuate a room with pink walls, mix some pink carnations in with a bouquet of red roses. “Silver, gold, bronze and brass accents add a nice touch too,” she adds.

This time of year, Slater travels the country reminding people that flowers make great complements to their holiday decorations. You may have caught one of her appearances on your local television station where she shared these “recipes.”

“Even though it might be cold and dreary outside, Mother Nature is still being good to us. Her flowers make it possible for us to be inspired by a house filled with colour all year long,” says Slater.

For more of Slater’s design ideas, or to order a free brochure about decorating with flowers, log on to flowerpossibilities.com. Courtesy of ARA Content

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