It seems to be a trick of every interior stylist that adding a touch of nature into a room brings it all together. Sometimes this is with a potted plant, a vase of flowers, tall branches or even a tree! As I've been experimenting more with interiors, I've been discovering different ways that I can add natural elements without using an expensive florist and maybe even coming up with some interesting arrangements of my own. Here are a few things that I've learned so far.
Style:
The first thing to look at is how to style your space with plants. I don't have a magical placement formula, because it depends entirely on how your specific room is set up. One tip, though, is that you always want to step back and see how the plant(s) are balanced in the space as a whole. Trust me, it's easy to get carried away, especially if you have some great looking specimens. I've been known to have too many plants in a space that make it look a little crazy. Try to have a statement plant or arrangment, and then if you need to balance, add something to the background. You can always balace a large tree or plant with smaller arrangements or even a single branch or flower in a vase on the table. Take photos of the room to look at it objectively, sometimes it helps to see what is or isn't working.
You also want to think about the overall style of your space. Is it modern? Traditional? What kind of container do you want to use? Do you want to add to a color story or just incorporate some green to the space? If you have a very modern space, traditional arrangements might look out of place. Flowers and plants can help you create a bohemian (wild flowers or succulents), Zen (bonsai, ginko, or cherry blossoms), So-Cal or glam (palms), classic (roses or any single flower bouquet), or Scandi (bare or simple green or colored leaf branches) look. You might be able to use one or a mix of these in your space depending on your style. You can certainly change it up as you like, especially if you are using cut flowers.
When I am working on the Groundfloor space, I try to keep in mind the modernity and general calm feeling that I want it to have, so I use the Zen, Scandi, and So-Cal influences. In the main house, I can do modern arrangements to contrast the "antiqueness" of the house or use antique vases and pitchers to add to it. For garden events, I like to use mason jars and antique bottles, buckets and terracotta pots for a country feeling.
The longest lasting options are bare branches and potted plants (depending on your level of green thumb). Try and follow the watering directions on the plant when you buy it, and always keep in mind the placement of your plants in regards to access to sunlight.
You could be adding flowers or greenery for a specific season or table design for entertaining or otherwise. For this you want to look at your overall aesthetic as well as the theme or season you are celebrating.
Just like in fashion and interior design, the most interesting floral arrangements include a mix of "high" and "low" or "old" and "new". For me this reads as branches and found foliage with grown flowers. Now, your flowers might be from your garden, but they are the more traditional choice, and then adding cut or fallen branches or even some really interesting "weeds" (my husband says no plants are weeds, they are just wild and invasive) that can bring a new dimension to more traditional floral options.
Where to look
There are a few places that are super easy to find greenery, but you might need to look past the little bear clutching a heart on a stick...or some tiny spiders.
Your outside areas:
Obviously, plants live outside. You may have a full garden or woods-y backyard, or you might live near a park or an area where plants and trees grow wild. Some floral designers even stop on the side of a road if they see great wild flowers growing and keep a set of clippers in their glove compartment. I encourage you to look around for not only dead fallen branches, but also interesting plants of any kind, especially flowers or plants that look like flowers. Be careful of poisonous ones if you have babies or pets that might get into them. You can always do a google image search or use a plant finding app to help guide you.
The outside plants and branches are an especially great way to find or cut exceptionlly long or tall plants and branches if you are looking to fill a tall vase or container for an impactful statement.
The grocery store:
You'd be amazed at what is available at the grocery store these days. In the summer time, we have found great deals on medium sized banana plants and monsterra plants as well as smaller varieties, palms, lilies, and of course the ubiquitous grocery store bouquet. In grocery stores (in the U.S. some big stores even have their own florist) you can find mixed "wild flower" bouquets and also bunches of the same flowers like roses or tulips, peonies or sunflowers, and lots more. I like to find the good deals, but make sure they look okay, sometimes they are on sale because they are already looking pretty sad. I like to buy at least a few of the same bouquet for the most options. For example, 3 full wild flower bouquets, or 4-6 bunches of 10 roses or tulips or peonies. If you only buy one bunch, you won't be able to create a really full container. The wildflower bouquets, however, I like to pull apart and put into a bucket or two of water, then select the blooms indivdually to put into vases, bottles, mason jars, or other containers that I have in multiples or that can read as a collection. If you want to do a small arrangement or single bloom statement, then only purchasing one bouquet might be enough.
Ikea and home improvement stores:
Let's be real, Ikea has a lot of good stuff for good prices. You can often easily find great potted plants including palms, fig trees, and succulents at very reasonble prices and they usually look really good. Plus, they have loads of the same thing, so you can get multiples for a good price.
Home improvement stores I find to be a bit hit or miss when it comes to plants, but always keep an eye out if you are picking up something else anyway. Again, always check the quality and viability of the plant, if it looks already half dead, unless you are the plant whisperer, go ahead and pass. You can also often find larger trees at home improvement stores like palm trees, olive or fruit trees, but they tend to be quite expensive, and you definitely need to plan a way to get that incredibly heavy thing back to your house.
Garden centers are also great choices and you can find good deals on small potted plants, especially if you want to go big on a certain theme (as I did for the Italian themed birthday party in the photo gallery). These stores are also really fun for Christmas decorating ideas. Get inspired, but you don't need to buy the whole store to make an impactful moment at home. See what you can source from your own backyard or grocery store as well.
Other "greens":
Other natural elements that you can find at the grocery store or farmers market include: pumpkins or gourds in different sizes and colors, including round zuchini. Artichokes in green or purple (these also dry to a lovely neutral brown for rustic decors). In the summer time, herbs like basil, sage and lavender can be interesting as well as bowls full of lemons, limes, or mandarin oranges. You can also use simple green apples to add a green element in your space, adding them to bowls or vases and having one or two rest to the side on the table surface. You might be able to find more exotic or unique flowers at the farmers market, depending on the kind of market you have near you.
Don't forget about rocks, sand, moss, shells, or other interesting natural items to bring some texture and contrast to your displays.
A quick word on arrangements:
Don't forget, just like in any display, it is best to arrange plants in odd numbers and either vary the heights or use repetition. For example, a tall plant in the center with decending height plants or stems around it, ending in an odd number of plants. Or three vases in a row with the same green element, flower, branch, or one of the other suggestions above. Even if you have a bowl of mini pumpkins, use 3 or 5 pumpkins, or more as needed to make the right statement in the bowl. Or you could do one single element on a tray placed off center to highlight it's interesting color or shape.
You might want to get some floral foam and wire to help some cut plants stand the way you want. Keep an eye out for unique containers. Great bowls, vases, trays, etc. can be found everywhere from thrift stores to high end design stores or even interesting jam jars or other reuse or upcycled items.
I have had so much fun finding interesting plants and making creative arrangements with what I find in our garden, greenhouse, and even at local stores and farmers markets. Make sure to keep looking for inspiration in magazines, Pinterest, books, and everywhere you go or just through your own experimenting. Most of all have fun, and enjoy the peace and beauty that adding nature to your environment can bring.