AN INTRODUCTION TO SPRING FLOWERS

---

I’m so thrilled to bring you the first post in a collaborative, educational series ALL ABOUT FLOWERS! It’s an absolute joy to be able to work with my friend and amazing flower designer Rebecca Dawn Design to make flower education accessible — and what better time than spring to begin? Today we’re kicking the series off with An Introduction to Spring Flowers! In this information-packed post we’re answering your most common questions about flowers and sharing some insider tips and tricks.

You’ll learn about what’s in season, how to identify flowers, as well as how to care for and condition them. Rebecca shares her inspiration for this charming, freshly gathered arrangement and gives you some tips on how you can create your own! We hope it inspires you to embrace the season by bringing fresh flowers into your home. If you’ve always wanted to learn more about flowers but are intimidated or simply don’t know where to begin, you’ve come to the right place — we created this post just for you!

---

Here are a few words from Rebecca about her inspiration for today’s post:

“After many months of winter, I’m eager to embrace the season’s most beautiful flowers with total sincerity. My inspiration often comes from the landscapes around me, both cultivated and natural. April’s bouquet is a creative twist on a fresh spring palette; bursting with personality and sweet scents. A palette of crisp whites and textured greens intermingle with vibrant pops of deep purple and apricot. This modest, freshly gathered arrangement is a loose collection of ranunculus, anemones, irises, hyacinths, tulips, fritillaria, narcissus, daffodils and jasmine.”

Rebecca believes that sometimes the most gorgeous floral arrangements are also the simplest and I couldn’t agree more! We hope to break down the intimidation factor surrounding flowers today and inspire you to combine April’s blooms in your own gathered arrangement. The humble mason jar make a great vase, regardless of whether you’re just getting started with flowers or you’re a pro! Use whatever vessels you have available in your home to create a charming spring bouquet. April blooms are the perfect, cheerful addition to a side table in your living room, or the centre of the table at your next dinner party!

---

I thought we’d start today by breaking down the different types of flowers in our arrangement and identifying them for you. Afterwards, you can read all about each of these seasonal flowers and how to care for them. Basically, this is everything you need to know about spring flowers!

---

WHAT’S IN APRIL’S BOUQUET

1. Ranunculus
2. Fritillaria
3. Jasmine Vine
4. Narcissus
5. Anemones
6. Daffodils
7. Iris
8. Hyacinths
9. Tulips

---

1. Ranunculus

---

Alternate Names & Meanings | Persian Buttercup, Justine’s favourite flower
Colours Pictured | Salmon, black and cappuccino
Colours Available | Shades of pink, orange, yellow, white, purple, red, green, and more
In Season | Late Winter / early Spring
Average Lifespan | 7 to 14 days
Maintenance | See General Guidelines for Flower Care & Conditioning at the bottom of this post

Tips
• If any of the the stems are particularly droopy, you can loosely wrap paper around the blooms for the first 3-4 hours while they are in the water. This will help support the stems upright as they get their initial drink of water.

If you love Tulips as much as we do and want to learn more about them, be sure to check out our All About Ranunculus post!

---

2. Fritillaria

---

Alternate Names & Meanings | None
Colours Pictured | Bicolour
Colours Available | Varieties of orange, purple, yellow, and green
In Season | Late Winter / early Spring
Average Lifespan | 4 to 8 days
Maintenance | See General Guidelines for Flower Care & Conditioning at the bottom of this post

---

3. Jasmine Vine

---

Alternate Names & Meanings | None
Colours Pictured | Pink
Colours Available | Shades of pink and white
In Season | Early Spring / late Winter
Average Lifespan | 5 to 7 days
Maintenance | See General Guidelines for Flower Care & Conditioning at the bottom of this post

Note
• Jasmine is extremely fragrant. Our apartment was beautifully scented while we enjoyed this arrangement. It’s almost intoxicating!

---

4. Narcissus

---

Alternate Names & Meanings | Paperwhite
Colours Pictured | White
Colours Available | White
In Season | Early Spring / early Winter
Average Lifespan | 4 to 7 days
Maintenance | See Daffodil Special Care & Conditioning below

---

5. Anemones

---

Alternate Names & Meanings | Means windflower in Greek
Colours Pictured | White
Colours Available | Different shades of white, blue, pink, red and lavender (over 120 species)
In Season | Typically year round
Average Lifespan | 7 to 14 days
Maintenance | See General Guidelines for Flower Care & Conditioning at the bottom of this post

Tips
• Purchase them in the tight bud stage
• Anemones will grow in stem length as they open and develop in water

If you love Anemones as much as we do and want to learn more about them, be sure to check out our All About Anemones post!

---

6. Daffodils

---

Alternate Names & Meanings | Narcissus
Colour Pictured | White
Colours Available | Mostly white, through yellow to orange
In Season | Early Spring
Average Lifespan | 4 to 7 days

Special Care & Conditioning

1. Buy your daffodils when they’re still a bit closed — they’ll begin to open after being in water for awhile.
2. Daffodils release a substance harmful to other flowers, so they are best kept to themselves in arrangement. If you’d like to the mix them with other flowers, first place the cut stems in a container of cool, clean water to soak overnight. This helps the daffodils release some of the harmful substance.
3. Fill a clean vase with room temperature water to the halfway point. Daffodils prefer shallow water.
4. Add a flower food packet if available.
5. Cut each daffodil stem on an angle with a sharp knife or flower shears.
6. Gently remove the protective husks.
7. Repeat steps 3 – 5 every 2 to 3 days to help prolong their lifespan.

Tips
• Keep daffodils in a cool spot to preserve them

---

7. Iris

---

Alternate Names & Meanings | Originally named after the Greek goddess of marriage
Colours Pictured | White
Colours Available | Shades of white, yellow, pink, blue and purple,
In Season | Year round
Average Lifespan | 4 to 12 days depending on stage of ripeness during harvest
Maintenance | See General Guidelines for Flower Care & Conditioning at the bottom of this post

Tips
• Irises should be purchased pencil tight
• Use cold water instead of room temperature water

---

8. Hyacinth

---

Alternate Names & Meanings | None
Colours Pictured | Apricot
Colours Available | Shades of white, yellow, pink, blue and purple.
In Season | Early Spring / late Winter
Average Lifespan | 5 to 7 days
Maintenance | See Daffodil Special Care & Conditioning above

Tips
• Contrary to most flower care, you should not cut Hyacinths. The bottom of the stem is called the basel plate — leaving it intact is best for these flowers. They’ll hydrate better and have a longer vase life if left uncut.
• Hyacinths also release a substance that is harmful to other flowers, so be sure to arrange them on their own. Or see Daffodil Special Care & Conditioning above for further instructions.

---

Tulips

---

Alternate Names & Meanings | None
Colours Pictured | Cream, deep purple
Colours Available | Every colour
In Season | Spring and late Winter
Average Lifespan | 7 to 10 days
Maintenance | See General Guidelines for Flower Care & Conditioning at the bottom of this post

Tips
• To make the stems stand strong and upright, first straighten curved stems by rolling the entire bunch of flowers inside newspaper or brown paper and plunging them into cool water for one to two hours. You can also do this periodically through the lifespan of the stems once they start to droop.

If you love Tulips as much as we do and want to learn more about them, be sure to check out our All About Tulips post!

---

GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR FLOWER CARE & CONDITIONING

---

While certain flowers require special care (as noted previously), here are some common flower care and conditioning standards to get you started!

1. As soon as you get the flowers home, remove the cellophane wrapping and release them from any bindings. This allows air to circulate freely between blooms.

2. Re-cut the stems at an angle. This enlarges the stem surface area and enables them to take more water up.

3. Remove any foliage from the lower part of the stem before arranging. This will help keep the water clean.

4. Use the flower food sachet that may be provided with your flowers. Flower food will help keep a vase clean and bacteria-free — prolonging the life of your flowers and helping buds and flowers open.

5. Always place freshly cut flowers in lukewarm water. Warm water molecules move faster than cold water molecules, therefore are more easily absorbed. The objective is to get water and nutrients as quickly as possible to the head of the flower.

---

Also in my Living Room

Stockholm Glass-top Side Table (on sale!) | Gold Spike Wall Pod | Throw Blanket (similar)

---

I hope you enjoyed the first post in our flower education series and learned something new today! I learned so much working with Rebecca on this post and I’m happy to be able to share it with you. If you have any flower related questions, feel free to leave us a comment and we’ll do our best to accommodate your request in an upcoming post!

---

Craving more flowers? Hop over to our April Digital Blooms post where you can download 3 free wallpapers for your digital devices inspired by these gorgeous April blooms!

---

Disclaimer: Thank you to Rebecca Dawn Design for partnering with me to create this post. This post is not sponsored, and contains my genuine thoughts, ideas and recommendations. JustineCelina uses affiliate and referral links, which allow me to receive a small commission when you make a purchase through one of my links. Thank you for supporting the brands and businesses that support JustineCelina.com!

Save

Save