Monday Morning Blooms: A Year of Monthly Floral Inspiration

There is something quietly beautiful and hopeful about the first Monday of every month, a  Monday that begins with floral inspiration! Welcome to our annual look back- Monday Morning Blooms: A Year of Monthly Floral Inspiration.

I'll be sharing my floral therapy friend's links {the inspirational Mary and Pam!} at the end of this post. You won't want to miss their full flower year in review.

Over the past year, Monday Morning Blooms became a gentle monthly ritual here, to join all of you, dear readers, in a moment at the start of the month to notice beauty, to be inspired by nature, and to set a tone of intention for the weeks ahead. 

Each arrangement reminded us that beauty does not need to be elaborate to be meaningful. A simple vase, an antique pitcher, or a weathered confit pot was enough to let the flowers speak.

January: Our Annual Look Back at the Past Year

* Discover the Full Story >

February: Sip and Celebrate: A Winter Birthday Tea Party

For a dear friend's birthday, I hosted an intimate tea gathering for just three friends-a cozy afternoon filled with delicate china, fragrant loose-leaf teas, and of course, delicious treats.

The flowers were a sweet combination of white alstroemerias, pink wax flowers, and light blue hydrangeas arranged in an antique large sugar container.

It was less about the grand gestures and more about celebrating our friendship in a meaningful and personal way, making it a birthday we three will cherish for a long time.

* Discover the Full Story >

March: Bursting Blooms - Bringing Spring Indoors

Because I had a really long and not-so-fun bad cold, for the March Monday Morning Blooms i was way behind in all departments at home and at FrenchGardenHouse. So I shared images from a spring photo shoot I had at FrenchGardenHouse for ads for my favorite magazines - Southern Home and Victoria. Kind of a 'multi-task' thing, I hope you didn't mind!

I set up a table and collected French antiques from the shop to have their 'star' moment' with spring bulbs and some of my favorite spring flowers. The pink hyacinths in the glass bulb jars were bought 'as is' the lighter pink hyacinths in the antique crystal jar I was able to buy as a bouquet at the florist.

March is the month to bring spring's bulbs indoors, it's a simple and impactful way to infuse your home with the beauty and fragrance of the coming season. It's also a month that our helleborus still blooms beautifully. Get creative with your containers, and enjoy the blossoming beauty of spring, right in your own home!

* Discover the Full Story >

April: Hop Into Easter Happiness

Easter is a time for renewal, joy, and gathering with all the people you love. What better way to celebrate than with a beautifully set table or buffet that reflects the spirit of the season? In April I set a colorful table in the garden for my special little people and added some tips and ideas for you all to create an inviting and charming Easter table.

The flowers {white alstroemeria, pink wax flowers and a few blue hydrangeas} looked unfussy in an antique white ironstone pitcher. To incorporate a natural spring element, I gently set a nest on the top and filled it with really lightweight speckled eggs.

* Discover the Full Story >

May: Blooming Sentiments: Celebrating Mother's Day

May is my favorite month, when the air hums with the promise of floral beauty, and the garden is bursting with vibrant colors and delicate fragrances. It's always a joy to join all of you flower loving friends, especially in May when we're sharing Mother's Day Inspiration.

In memory of my Mom, my little round French bistro table was settled on the lawn. My mom, who was born in Holland, loved nothing more than to be in our garden in spring. Every spring, as the flowers, and especially the roses she loved, bloom, I think even more about her and am so grateful God chose her to be my mom.

The flowers were chosen in the colors of the bocage flowers on the urn, pink roses, blue grape hyacinths, white hydrangeas and those incredible carnations.

* Discover the Full Story >

June: Monday Morning Magic: Friendship, Antiques, and Blooms

There are few things as soul-satisfying as sharing a beautiful space with a cherished friend. And when that space happens to be your own garden, adorned with personal touches, antiques and fresh blooms, it's pure magic.

Out in the garden, our Eden rose was in full, glorious bloom. I set a small French bistro table,  laden with treasures from times past, to share with a friend in the early afternoon sun.

The arrangement featured soft pink roses & small lavender spray roses, nestled amongst delicate two-toned chrysanthemums, bright pink dianthus, sprigs of purple trachelium, punctuated by the cheerful pop of bright pink gerberas and the graceful Queen Anne's Lace.

* Discover the Full Story >

July:

I skipped July this year, because I had a severe case of shingles {the name is as ugly as the disease is!}

August: A Taste of Provence: Hosting a French Country Style Dinner with Rustic Elegance

There’s something effortlessly romantic about French Country style—the way it blends timeworn beauty with nature’s bounty, the balance of rustic charm and refined detail. It’s not fussy, but deeply intentional. Every detail is a quiet celebration of the everyday: a good meal, a shared laugh, a long evening that drifts into candlelight and conversation.

To bring the magic of Provence to my own table, i used the gorgeous heirloom tomatoes from the garden as a simple and colorful centerpiece, without flowers. 

“La vie est faite de petits bonheurs.”

{Life is made of little joys.}

* Discover the Full Story >

September: Autumn Elegance: A Fall Floral Centerpiece with Flowers & Apples

As summer faded and the crisp air of autumn settled in, we embraced the warm hues, rich textures, and natural abundance of the coming season. Autumn is a favorite season, for hosting cozy dinners around the table with family and friends, walks gathering leaves, and pumpkin patches.

The heart of this autumn table was a floral centerpiece inspired by apple orchards. Growing up, each summer my aunts and uncles, my grandparents and I {My single mom stayed in the US to work!} went to our family's forest in The Netherlands, with an apple orchard. Heaven!

* Discover the Full Story >

October: Monday Morning Blooms | October's Elegance with French & English Antiques

October's Monday Morning Blooms was a love letter to October’s hush — celebrating the season with a pairing as timeless as autumn itself: the graceful romance of French and English antiques, and the fleeting beauty of seasonal blooms. 

October taught all of us to find beauty in what fades. In leaves that curl, in petals that droop, in antiques that carry time on their surface. 

* Discover the Full Story >

November: Thanksgiving Breakfast for Two: Elegant French Country Antique Table Setting

November can be hectic, especially if you host Thanksgiving. I shared a way to gift yourself the joy of a time of calm at breakfast before the holiday. It can be for two, or just for you if you live by yourself.

A gentle celebration all its own —this is a pause for gratitude, shared warmth, and something delicious, surrounded by the beauty of French Country antiques that tell stories of mornings long ago. {you'll discover our recipe for the delicious Pumpkin Brioche French Toast and Pear Compote in this post.}

* Discover the Full Story >

December: French Christmas Decorating with Winter Flowers: Holiday Floral Inspiration

December arrived, quietly, softly, with that unmistakable shimmer that turns even the simplest moments into something magical. To me this month always feels like an invitation: to gather beauty, to cherish tradition, and to wrap our homes in a sense of grace that lingers long after the holidays pass.

For December, I wanted to inspire you to create something meaningful. There is nothing quite like the soft, moonlit glow of silver during the holidays. Its patina catches candlelight in a way that feels almost enchanted. This 19th century silver tureen was gifted to me by a dear friend, I filled it with roses, dried hydrangeas from the garden that I sprayed gold, a few ranunculus, evergreens and berries, and a few magnolia cuttings.

* Discover the Full Story >

Antiques, Patina, and Living Well

Flowers at FrenchGardenHouse are always in conversation with history.

Silver trophies, porcelain vases, old glass bottles, and French pottery all played their part throughout the year. These pieces, shaped by hands long ago, brought depth and story to even the simplest stems. Together, flowers and antiques remind us that living well is often about honoring what has endured while welcoming what is new.

A Quiet Practice of Gratitude

At its heart, Monday Morning Blooms is an act of gratitude. To begin the month by taking the time to arrange flowers is to acknowledge that beauty is a gift, not a given. It's a small but meaningful way to start a new month off with thankfulness—to God, to the seasons, and to the rhythms of home.

Many of you shared that these monthly moments became part of your own rhythm: a pause at the start of the month, a moment of calm with coffee in hand, or inspiration to gather a few stems from your own garden. That shared experience makes our Monday Morning Blooms feel less like a blog post and more like a community.

Looking Ahead

Monday Morning Blooms remains what it's always been—a quiet invitation. An invitation to you, to join all of us. To live attentively. To surround ourselves with beauty that nourishes the spirit.

Thank you, dear friends, for inviting FrenchGardenHouse into your year. Your love for beauty, history, and meaningful living inspires every story I write and every piece I choose. 

Please don't forget to visit my friends Mary and Pam for more beautiful inspiration!

Mary at HomeIsWhereTheBoatIs

Pam at Everyday Living

and me, Lidy at FrenchGardenHouse

May this next year bring you bouquets of joy, the glow of cherished traditions, and a home filled with the magic of every season. With love,