The essential guide to winter flowers
The essential guide to winter flowers allows me to show you the very best seasonal blooms available throughout the winter months. As autumn disappears and the rich gold, red and burnt oranges tones fade away, we are left with not much out in there in nature! I feel this means we can either go crisp neutrals with an emphasis on foliage, or use really rich, vibrant tones that will provide us with warmth. I want to share with you today some beautiful winter flowers I use in my bouquets throughout the year. These blooms are also popular within winter wedding flowers, so I will highlight throughout each blooms best use and where you can enjoy them!
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During the winter I buy my cut flowers from my market, which imports from Holland. This is mainly due to the limitation that British flowers offer, however if you are looking to plant up these flowers in your garden do take a look at Sarah Raven catalogue, wow there are some beautiful ideas in here, with every gorgeous winter flower you would ever need to plant in your garden!
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Ranunculus:
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An all time favourite bloom, ranunculus have layer upon layer of beautiful soft petals. A sister flower of the peony make them a great choice for winter wedding flowers too. Ranunculus a romantic, elegant feel to them and can provide the English country garden ‘blowsy style’ that we love, in the winter months when not much is growing in the gardens. More and more varieties are available each year making ranunculus a really versatile winter flower working across the colour palettes. The Kloon varieties are just insanely stunning, a super sized version of the ranunculus no winter wedding is complete without these!
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Anemone:
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A beautiful bulb flower, anemone come in a range of colours from ivory with a black centre, through to paler tones to the brighter, vibrant, jewell tones they are most known for. Rich cerise, deep plum and cobalt blue make anemones a bold choice for a wedding, yet beautiful. Embrace the lack of colour in nature at this time of year and make up for it with these gorgeous blooms. Available from October until around April.
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Amaryllis:
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These are my ultimate Christmas flower! Amaryllis are the absolute statement bloom for winter, tall thick stems with amazing, trumpet like flowers they are a long-lasting bloom too. They come in the purest, icy whites, pretty peach and pale pink tones, and more vibrant cerise and classic traditional Christmas red. Paired with just berries and simple foliage, this is a go to bunch to dress your home during winter. Each year we have a different coloured variety for Christmas, so who knows what I will choose this year?!
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Hyacinth:
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Hyacinths are one of the most scented winter flowers you can get. A bulb flower they arrive from market fully closed, and then slowly open up into a floral masterpiece! Tiny bell like flowers fill the whole stem and they come in whites, pinks, blues, lilacs, and deep purples. They work well in a plant pot too, so you can use these inside throughout the winter too and they make great Christmas presents! I like to put the hyacinth bulbs in pretty planters, cover with moss and add twigs for extra interest and texture. A long lasting, beautifully scented gift… what’s not to love?!
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Narcissi:
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I love narcissi, the brighter yellow ones are really more spring like, however paper whites are a wonderful winter flower which has an amazing scent. A delicate flower they work well just thrown in a vase to cheer up your kitchen table, or their delicate nature makes them a perfect addition to winter wedding flowers. Cream varieties are available too and also varieties with yellow or orange centres, but a white outer petal!
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Hellebores:
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Now I may have saved the best winter flower til last! Hellebores are an absolute winter winner and are stunning in wedding flowers. They come in so many different tones, and the detail within the petals can be incredible. Tiny polkadot patterns, or the deepest plum tones, through to dusky green blooms. God I love hellebores… can you tell?! They work so well out in the gardens and can be a temperamental cut flower, so I find the English grown, garden picked Hellebores work way better in flower arrangements than the Dutch imports.
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I hope the essential guide to winter flowers has provided you with some floral inspiration, whether this is for flowers at home or your winter wedding flowers. For more winter flower inspiration check out the blog for real life weddings too! Which winter flower is your favourite?!