How to create floral bouquets for your home

‘Can we speak in flowers.

It will be easier for me to understand.’
 

- Nayyirah Waheed

Nothing compares to saying it with flowers. Be it a special occasion or the quiet celebration of the everyday around the home, floral bouquets are something that you will always find in my home. And what makes them so indispensable is how, along with their palpable beauty, they bring in natural energy and set the mood.

With a little bit of thought and inspiration, you can make your own floral bouquets. While the act of carefully picking, cutting and composing can be quite therapeutic, what is even more rewarding is a whimsical, intimate and meaningful end result.

A handful of garden Daisies in a glass jar beside a half-read book is as charming and picturesque as those abundant strands of lush and richly scented arrangements in porcelain urns sitting atop centre tables. Look around and allow the endless amount of greens and florals to inspire your making. Gather a colorful bunch of Cosmos or Sweet Pea flowers to make a delicate bouquet, or refashion a cluster of Chrysanthemums from the market into a single flower bouquet. Hydrangeas with their soft connotations, will do beautifully for a minimal, effortless look too. And if bold, expressive or grand is what you desire, play with a mix of flowers. Choose focal blooms that command attention like Roses, Peonies, Lilies or Sunflowers and fill the gaps with fillers like Baby's Breath or Queen Anne's lace. Use greenery to frame and add contrast.

Let seasons be your greatest muse in gathering bouquets for your home. In Spring, celebrate renewal with a towering arrangement of flowering branches. In summer, seek from the multitude of Jasmines. Rain Lilies are exclusive to monsoon and in autumn, wild grasses are all over the hills and wayside. Winter brings you Lantanas in several hues. Then there's a world of alternative flora waiting to be explored. Herbs, seed pods, berries and dried sprigs. I'm constantly foraging unusual bits that can make an arrangement a little more interesting. Tucking in small branches of Butterfly Pea flowers along their seed pods or Golden Dewdrop flowers with their tiny orange berries can add charm to any bouquet. Another way of elevating an arrangement is to incorporate containers of varied sizes and shapes.

Indulge the nature-lover in you by diffusing floral bouquets beyond the confines of tabletops and certain corners of your home. For instance, place a clump of fresh Eucalyptus or Neem in the bathroom to enjoy a healing bath time. Brighten your kitchen with dill blossoms, or blooming Onion or Garlic chives in a barni (indian pickling container). Perfume an entryway or reading nook with a bouquet of fresh Lavender or any other suitable herb, let to dry. And come festivities, Hibiscus, Coral Jasmine, Marigolds, Plumeria, Tuberoses or Tulsi sprigs heavy with tiny florets in heirloom brass utensils make for perfect traditional bouquets. From softly scented to intoxicatingly sensual, comforting to surreal, wild and exotic to garden bred, let the language of flowers and foliage weave poetry into your heart and home.