There’s nothing like fresh cut flowers. Here in the NYC area, it’s one of our few inexpensive luxuries. A simple bunch costs about $10, and adds instant freshness to any room. Placed in an office, on a kitchen counter, coffee table, or windowsill; flowers, like tulips, are an easy and inexpensive addition to your home. All you need to do is fill a container with water, add flowers, and done. (Small vases are perfect for small spaces, from Anna’s Pots. )
Tulips are the flower I buy the most often, and, I think, completely underrated by many people. Depending on where you live in the U.S., fully bloomed tulips can be found from the end of March through April. The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, about 60 miles north of Seattle, is a popular tulip festival in the U.S. Showcasing fields and farms of tulips, the vistas are the closest thing we get here to Holland. For a tulip fix all year round, this beautiful felt appliqué pillow from Alexandra Ferguson would freshen up any room’s decor.
On the east coast, Washington DC hosts its Cherry Blossom Festival, the countries’ most famous. Under the category of “who knew”? The cherry blossom festival first bloomed in 1912 when the Mayor of Tokyo gifted the U.S. with 3,000 Cherry Blossom trees. First Lady Taft and the Viscountess Chinda, wife of a Japanese Ambassador, planted the first 2 trees. Visually the cherry blossom tree bloom is stunning and an apropos introduction to spring. (This cool cuff from The Shag Bag shop has a subtle cherry blossom pattern. It’s available in different colors.)
Peonies, another spring flower, are closely related in look to the cherry blossom. (This barret from The Belle And The Beau captures the beauty and fun of peonies.)
There are so many different flowers that bloom at different times during the Spring. Everyone has their favorite, from tulips to azaleas to roses to daisies to Dogwood trees; some bloom in March, others in May. That might be the best part of Spring, the seemingly endless roll call of new blooms.