Welcome to our beloved Monday Morning Blooms. Our design inspiration this time is g r e e n. I know you will be excited to visit Shirley, Pam and Mary through the links at the bottom of this post...because they are all sharing that luscious happy color green!
We're looking towards spring, and celebrate every single little pop of green in the garden here at FrenchGardenHouse. You, too?
It's always fun to design a little area in your living room that has a seasonal touch, and it doesn't take much.
At our house, I usually combine a bouquet of flowers with a few decorative accessories and call it done.
This antique commode in the living room here at home is the softest, prettiest shade of green. Sometimes in the photos it looks grey, but it's a pale green, with gilt accents and hand painted flowers on each drawer. I keep my napkins and candles in it. {True confession: the bottom drawer is a bit of a mess. It has a jumble of little antique pieces in it that I took out of a glass fronted vitrine when I bought the big French marriage armoire that you can see in the mirror's reflection. I know, I need to go through it, but it never seems to get a turn.}
For this spring arrangement, I wanted to play off one of my favorite choices for bouquets, the cabbage. I love how these look with white hydrangeas and other white flowers! With so many different intensities, green is a naturally rich choice for bouquets, but usually they are kept in the background as filler. In this arrangement I wanted cabbage to go BIG!
You can often buy a few stems of cabbage like this at the flower market. You will want to add some bleach to your water because this is the one thing I don't like about them, after a while they smell a little. But the bleach in the water totally takes care of that! It just takes a few drops. Relax the leaves of the cabbages by carefully turning them downward to expose the rosette at the center more.
I love everything about these cabbages! They add bright color, great texture, and a little something un-expected to any flower arrangement. My little rabbit, who is a little worse for wear, makes the perfect accent. Because rabbits love cabbage! He {and I} don't mind if one or two of the cabbage leaves looks like it came straight out of Mr. McGregor's garden.
It couldn't be easier to make a flower arrangement like this, just cut all the flowers the same length. I began by crossing the stems of about 2/3 of my bunch of alstroemeria in the vase, then added the 3 hydrangeas and the 3 cabbage stalks. Turning the vase around a few time, I filled up the "gaps" with the rest of the alstroemeria stems.
Green with Envy Flowers
I ordered many different colors, but for this seasonal {Spring!} display I selected a few of the green ones, and these gorgeous spring flower jacquard ribboned ones. Two art deco glass vases and a metal green cherub stand on an antique stool to add height. The antique ironstone pitcher with its green monogram and that tiny French glass bottle complete this little scene. The French candlesticks were already there.
Green is a little magical, don't you agree? According to color experts, green inspires and vitalizes us in all hues. It symbolizes growth, and connects us to Mother Nature. Relaxing and soothing, just stepping into a green garden can soothe your soul and relax your mind.
In the last few years, green has become more than a color, it's also become a verb. To be green is to think about the future by recycling and re-using. {It's also one of the meanings of this color.} Antiques are green!
I hope this green arrangement for spring sparks your imagination for a flourishing season.
One last thing: The reason I called this flower arrangement Green with Envy Flowers is because Mr. FrenchGardenHouse and I {well, him really, since you know he is the gardener!} have been trying to grow our own ornamental cabbages for a few years. Darn if those squirrels don't wait until they are finally looking like something and then yank them out of the ground and eat them! So rude.
We've tried putting netting, growing in a raised bed, adding screened cages around them, but they are smarter than we are. So there you have it, I'm just a little envious {read-jealous} of people who can grow these. They are so pretty!
Also this: I would be remiss if I didn't mention how heartbroken I am for the people of Ukraine. Please pray for them. Your prayers are needed, so meaningful and felt. If you feel moved, I humbly ask that you pray with me for a peaceful way out of this invasion and war. If you’re looking to support the people of Ukraine, please donate to Unicef .
Other green floral inspiration:
French Country Luncheon for Friends >
VISIT OUR BLOOMS TEAM FOR SOME FLOWER THERAPY:
Shirley at Housepitality Designs
and me, Lidy at FrenchGardenHouse
Green floral arrangements, YES? or NON?
I'd love to hear what you think about bringing some fresh green in the house at this time of year?A BIENTOT
Shop for the best in French Antiques, furniture with the patina of age, vintage accessories to delight you and your family & friends, and French Country utilitarian pieces. Treasures that make your home fresh, beautiful, inspirational and above all uniquely yours. Visit our shop FrenchGardenHouse.com
29 comments
Your cabbage arrangement is so lovely! I loved all the shades of green you shared along with the vignette on your spring mantel.
I also am quite intrigued by the Lavender Wands… so beautiful they are and they add an element of beauty and a delightful fragrance.
I too have been praying for the Ukraine… what a complicated mess. I pray for peace for all of them. My heart is heavy every morning as I wake… all of those women and children fleeing is saddening to say the least.
I adore this arrangement. The cabbage really makes it so interesting.
That cabbage looks fake…it’s so pretty! Never seen any in grocery stores. Everything is pretty.
Thank you so much Maristella, I wish you a beautiful week ahead! xo
It sounds beautiful Alice! I have some faux cabbages too, and they are great fun. {and they don’t smell like cabbage!} I hope you enjoy your cabbages, spring is almost here. xo
Love the cabbage in the arrangement and the less than perfect bunny. I found fake cabbage at Hobby Lobby a few hears ago. They are beautiful in a large blue and while bowl sitting on the dinning room table. Couldn’t resist putting them out. After all it’s almost Spring.
Beautiful and elegant! Blessings.
Jenna, I’m crazy about the cabbage too! I get it anytime I can. It does smell a little bit after a few days, but like I said the bleach takes care of that. It’s great fun to add to flower arrangements. They are a special kind with long stalks. Thank you for joining us today for some much needed flower therapy. Hope you have a wonderful week.
Pam, those pesky critters! I guess what we think of as “ornamental” they think of as food. : ) It was great fun to do a green theme, as here all the bushes and trees are “greening out” and starting to make it look like spring. It’s a blessing to be with you on our special Monday Morning Blooms.
Thanks for the tip, maybe that will help! At least they don’t eat our cushions as one of my readers mentioned! That might put me over the top. : ) It’s always a joy to join you and our other bloom friends for our flower therapy. Needed today more than many days, at least by me.