English Living
Interiors
FEELING NOSTALGIC? YOU’RE RIGHT ON TREND! GET WARM AND COSY WITH THIS SEASON’S FLOWERS AND PLANTS TREND AND BANISH THOSE WINTER BLUES
Use inspiration from the Funny How Flowers Do That Trend Collection for flowers, houseplants, and garden plants to evoke the warm glow of nostalgia
In these uncertain times, and especially during arguably the darkest and dullest months of the year, people are looking for familiarity and warmth to make them feel secure. Thankfully, Funny How Flowers Do That has curated its latest trend collection to help bring some much-needed colour and mood-boosting blooms into the home.
The Traditional Sentiment trend – featuring a range of 16 classic and timeless flowers, and house and garden plants – focuses on soft, warm hues, textures, and scents to create the perfect sense of nostalgia. Featuring floral and botanical varieties such as chrysanthemums, carnations, begonias and hellebores, the collection also takes inspiration from the current interior, lifestyle, and fashion trends.
In collaboration with floral designer and author of The Flower Fix Anna Potter (Swallows & Damsons), Funny How Flowers Do That has created a list of tips on how to bring this trend to life at home, allowing you to surround yourself with the warm glow of nostalgia through retro floral arrangements and mid-century modern plants. The top tips from Anna are:
Mantle or sideboard
Bring together anemones, hellebores, chrysanthemums, roses and dianthus to combine old-fashioned nostalgia with a clean modern twist. Groups of single stems in vases of all different heights mixed together with curiosities, ornaments and candles can create an eclectic and unusual display
Begonia theatre
focusing solely on begonias and all the weird and wonderful varieties, an at-home display can create a shrine-like obsession where we can appreciate the striking, vast differences in the plants. Combine terracotta and earthy textures as well as different plinths, side tables and cabinets to create a modern museum-style display at home.
One flower, many varieties
create a large arrangement using one type of flower but playing with the many varieties that are available such as chrysanthemums, focusing on the colour and form of these beautiful flowers that are often overlooked and thought to be out of date. Arrangements from the mid-century 1950s to 1970s were often based on chrysanthemums. There is a similar sentiment with carnations, so you can mix the two here.
Still life painting
bring a dark corner or table to life with a vibrant arrangement of Dutch master-style flowers. Roses, chrysanthemums, anemones, and dianthus work together to create a dramatic display of life.
Delicate winter and spring
create an arrangement of more delicate, quieter, and fragile flowers by mixing anemones and hellebores with some winter blossoms to create a peaceful and wintery look to evoke a feeling of hibernation on a frosty day. Mix together with candles in a cosy corner.
Floral designer Anna Potter, of Swallows & Damsons, says:
“As we start a new year, the feeling of nostalgia is often heightened which is why the Traditional Sentiment trend from Funny How Flowers Do That is so relevant. It’s a season of reflection and hunkering down and hibernating. We shift our focus to tales passed down from generations, on traditions and rituals – and the flowers and plants we bring into our homes reflect this. We weave memories, sentiment, and contemplation into our displays and with the season providing less obvious choices, we get creative. We use colour to lift our spirits and spark joy or introduce a more melancholy tone for quiet, cosy comfort. Nature is a powerful tool that can conjure up a mood and feelings, as well as inspire creativity when she is called upon”.
Chanel de Kock, UK Country Manager at Flower Council of Holland, who looks after Funnyhowflowersdo.that.co.uk and Thejoyofplants.co.uk initiatives, commented:
“This trend feels particularly relevant to the UK, where we’ve seen an increase in the number of people taking up more traditional hobbies, such as crafts and crocheting at home and online classes. In uncertain times, we long for reassurance and the comfort of familiar things we know around us. The flowers, houseplants and garden plants in the Traditional Sentiment Trend Collection perfectly encapsulate the warm nostalgic feeling we crave from looking to the past, blended with contemporary touches through their styling.”
The Traditional Sentiment flowers and plants have been captured in an inspiring lookbook and include:
Flowers – a selection of warm and colourful flowers, with a gentle nod to tradition
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Chrysanthemum – especially the spider chrysanthemum, in orange and pink tones
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Anemone – in its pink, violet and blue forms, adds a splash of colour to bouquets
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Rose – an all-time classic, dark red, pink and near-nude roses bring a hint of vintage
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Bouvardia – a gloriously retro flower, especially in its pink variety, brings a cheerful pop to bouquets
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Dianthus – the rounded or jagged petals, often with a coloured edge, draw the eye in and symbolise romance, passion and longing
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Cymbidium – yellow and dark pink opulent flowers with long stems add elegance
Houseplants – Retro and vintage pastel flowering plants work beautifully against rich, dark colours like claret, ochre and olive green
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Ekhorn Fern – bringing a sense of the tropics to your interior
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Kalanchoë – with thick leaves, this succulent is easy to care for, with a lot of light, and little water
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Maranta – decorative leaves and contrasting colours bring South American cheer to autumn days
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False African violet – with soft fuzzy leaves, its retro vibe and cheerful colour elevates every plant collection
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Aralia – its striking hand-shaped leaves dramatize any space – and it loves shade
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Begonia – sturdy yet fragile, one of the most enduring houseplants, loved for its eye-catching appearance
Garden Plants – colour change leaves and highly textured forms harmonise with comforting pinks and soft earthy colours
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Leucothoe – boasting oval leaves with a beautiful colour transition from green to yellow, pink, red and finally purple in the autumn
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Hellebore – known as the Christmas rose, the hellebore blooms in early winter
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Camellia – the white, pink or red flowers contrast beautifully against the sturdy shiny leaves
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Pine – evergreen pine boasts blue-green needles that grow in bundles, or with decorative cones at the ends of the branches; perfect for Christmas garlands
Websites: funnyhowflowersdothat.co.uk | thejoyofplants.co.uk
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