Natural inspiration

Flowers are a wonderful way to bring the beauty of nature into your home – and to keep in touch with the changing seasons. Autumn lilies, crab apples, bittersweet berries and gladioli, for example, are all perfect for a home where you want to bring the outdoors in.

Which flowers to choose

Gladioli – These showy flowers are great for growing in the garden as they are easy to care for and make great cut flowers.

Crab apple – The fruit of the crab apple tree can be brought into your home and used to decorate table centrepieces or flower arrangements.

Lilies – These grow well in any container. They do well in the garden or, if you want some more colour indoors, you can just bring them inside.

House palms – These should thrive in a bright conservatory and help to tie together the garden and the interior of the house.

Tulips – Because these come in so many wonderful colours, they are brilliant at brightening up your home.

How to achieve the look

Stone in love with you – Placed in bowls or in a ring around a vase, heaped in a small cairn or put singly in a special place, the infinite variety and solid beauty of stones adds a sense of grounding and stability.

Seasonal reminders – Bring in bare branches collected on a walk, place them in water and watch the new leaves emerge in spring.

Create a tabletop garden – Simply fill an attractive container with soil and use it to create a miniature garden in your home.

Feed the birds – A strategically placed birdfeeder – positioned where it can be seen from indoors – can help you connect with the garden wildlife outside.

Learn from nature – Make a point of visiting some of our treasured National Trust gardens – they are perfect places to relax with enough colour and life to inspire anyone and you will pick up plenty of tips on flower choice.

Did you know?

Studies have shown that patients who could see trees from their hospital bed recovered quicker, so bringing indoors a little of the outside world could do wonders for your sense of wellbeing.
In the spring, early flowers can herald the warmer days to follow. In the summer, myriad colours can lend the home a warm and welcoming feel. And autumn, when the nights draw in and we spend more time indoors, is a good time of the year for floral displays that provide an extra splash of colour and fragrance.
Plants can improve our sense of wellbeing in so many ways. They absorb toxins emitted by modern building and furnishing materials, electronic equipment and even exhaust fumes that may enter buildings through windows and doors. Plants generally make us feel better – 82% of those questioned in a survey said so. Plants can also help in absorbing nasty odours.

References

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/howtogrow/3346751/Gladioli-How-to-grow.html
http://www.ehow.co.uk/facts_7655278_christmas-centerpiece-apples-candles.html
http://www.letsgogardening.co.uk/I_Houseplants.htm
http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/Profile.aspx?pid=684
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/fifteen-ways-to-bring-nature-indoors.html
http://blogs.sundaymercury.net/life-coach/2008/08/six-point-plan-to-bring-sunshi.html
http://www.britinfo.net/florists/autumn-flowers.htm
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-1357333/British-snowdrop-walks-Flower-power-UK-spring.html
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/places/gardens-and-parks/
http://www.dudley.gov.uk/business/business-support-and-advice/floraldecoration/plants-are-good-for-you/