F is for Flowers is the sixth post in a special series about Christmas traditions from A to Z that add sparkle, love, laughter, beauty, comfort, nostalgia, meaning, and joy to the Christmas season. Christmas is a time when our homes are the most festive in the year, often with exterior as well as interior decorations. And, flowers are one the most traditional forms for Christmas decorations. 

is for Flowers.

Poinsettias are sometimes called the official Christmas flower. The plant is native to Mexico and in the 17th century was first used for Christmas by Franciscan monks in Nativity processions in the town of Taxco de Alarcon.

Joel Roberts Poinsett, a botanist from South Carolina, visited Mexico on a diplomatic mission in 1828. As a botanist he was intrigued with the unfamiliar plant's red leaves. He shipped some plants back to his home to grow and cultivate in his greenhouse and gave the flowers to friends around Christmas time. 

French Country Spring Kitchen | Blue Hyacinths

Early spring blue grape hyacinth bulbs were an easy way to bring Spring into my French Country kitchen while skies were still gray over the bare trees in the surrounding woods. 

Blue muscari bulbs, commonly known as grape hyacinths, are the perfect blue color to go with the blue walls, upholstery, and accent pieces used all over my house, not just the kitchen. The plants easily fit into a variety of flower pots and baskets, collected over a lifetime, for displaying inside before being transplanted into the ground outside after the blooms were past their prime. 

Birthday Flowers In Abundance

When your sister is a professional florist, there are always beautiful flowers for every birthday in abundance! And the flowers are in your favorite colors, of course. 

Spring birthdays mean beautiful flowers are always available for birthday party celebrations. The choices include more than the usual fresh-cut bouquets. Bulbs, flowering vines, and greenery topiaries are abundant in a variety of colors and styles. 

Pink Crepe Myrtle | Why Southern Gardeners Love Them

A stunning pink crepe myrtle tree grows on a small farmholding down a country road near me. The tree is an example of why crepe myrtles have been staples in Deep South gardens and yards for generations.  

For over twenty years I have admired the beautiful tree covered in fluffy pink blossoms as I travel from my home to the closest town for shopping. 

Spring Pansies Nestled With Bird Eggs

After weeks of promises of spring only to be winter again, warm weather and sunshine have finally arrived. Spring pansies nestled with bird eggs celebrate coming out of the dark days. 

Sheltering in place at home I gathered violas from flower pots on the porch and arranged them with blue ceramic/clay bird eggs on the rustic coffee table outside. 

7 Beautiful Spring Centerpieces

Are you looking for a beautiful centerpiece for Spring decorations? One that is unusual and eye-catching for the dining table, buffet, coffee table, or entry table with a delightful appeal? See 7 Spring centerpieces with tips to help you create a similar one for your home this year. 

①  Pink & Yellow Spring Centerpiece 

Shake up a traditional roses and tulips arrangement by adding non-traditional greenery from your yard. Oak leaves and sprigs of mint add interesting shapes, textures, and fragrance. 

Variegated lantana in shades of pink and yellow on the same flower head coordinates with both the pink tulips and pale creamy roses. 

Set an iron bunny tied with peach, lavender, and yellow ribbons at the base of the flowers to hide the flower stems in the vase and to repeat the flower colors. 

French Country Winter Bulbs Promise Spring

Deep in Winter, bulbs emerge with a promise of Spring. Even before bulbs sprout outside and their blooms appear, bulbs potted inside in a French Country urn brighten our Winter-weary indoors while we wait for Spring to appear outside. 

Cold, dreary Winter days can be depressing, but indoor flowering bulbs work wonders to lift our spirits. 

Fall Blue and White Cottage Style Foyer Lives Large

A foyer does not have to be large to welcome guests with style. Blue and white buffalo checked fabric paired with white pumpkins and mums creates a cottage style brimming with beautiful Fall accents even in a small foyer. 

This Fall I have so many ideas about how to style my small entry foyer ... cottage, French Country, traditional, etc... Since I could not decide which arrangement was my favorite idea, I will be sharing at least three ways I styled my small foyer. Along the way I also share tips for decorating that I used in each of the styles. 

Over the next few weeks you can choose which style is your favorite, and you can find a few ideas for how to create similar arrangements in your home.  

Cottage Style is the first way 

I arranged the small entry. 

White pumpkins with twisty stems and white mums in a blue and white woven basket welcome Fall ... and guests as they enter. 

Mums and pumpkins; Fall has arrived at my house! 

Readers who receive my posts as an email should click on the title of the post in the email to continue reading the entire article. 

Spring Celebrations Centerpiece

Spring brings many celebrations ... Mother's Day, graduations, bridal showers, birthdays ... as well as Easter. Are you looking for a beautiful centerpiece for your special Spring celebration(s)? One that is unusual and eye-catching for the dining table, buffet, or gift table with a delightful rustic appeal? 

One that is stunning, yet budget friendly? 

Easter Tablesetting | Pink and White

With Easter two weeks away now is a good time to begin planning your Easter decorations for family gatherings. 

Amber of Follow the Yellow Brick Home is hosting over 30 bloggers with Easter ideas in a Hop Into Easter Blog Hop. Be sure to visit all the links at the end of the post for Easter ideas to use in your own home. 

If you are following the links in order, then you came from My Thrift Store Addiction and her whimsical Easter decor. Thank you for stopping by and welcome to my Easter table setting. 

For Easter this year my table setting is in traditional Spring pastel colors, and two things determined the pink and white color combination. One a flower, and the other, a birthday present. 

Bulletin Board Spring Inspiration

Short and Sweet 

inspiration de printemps 

Do you enjoy collecting photos for inspiration? Yes? See my current bulletin board filled with PAPER inspiration for printemps (Spring) and to get some ideas of how to create your own inspiration board for Spring and Summer gardening. 

Green Signs of Spring | French Country Spirit

A soup tureen filled with beautiful blooming blue muscari, green moss, and a green bird's egg on my breakfast table is a sure sign Spring is on its way. 

Spring does not arrive until mid-March, and Winter is hanging on with temperatures into the low 20s this first week of March in north Texas, but cheery blooming grape hyacinths are yearly reminders Winter will end and Spring is just around the corner. 

Fall French Country Kitchen | Ornamental Kale

Fall officially arrived last week, and Fall arrived in my country kitchen as well, in the form of fresh vegetables used as decor. Potted ornamental kale in shades of purple and green sit on the island and the shelf behind the sink . 

The kale reminds me of French country potagers (vegetable gardens) where French families grow fresh vegetables in neatly structured plots for their daily meals. 

French Inspired Fall Window Box | Step By Step

Window boxes are possible at my house, but only for limited seasons of the year. Fall is one of those seasons, and this year I created a window box, with lots of help from my professional florist sister, for the front of my house. 

We love how it turned out! 

One of the things I enjoy about France, and all of Europe, is the abundance of gardens and flowers in every city, town, and small village. In Paris, it seems window boxes are everywhere, from large hotels to the tiniest apartment balconies. I come home with picture after picture and am always inspired to create my own window box at my house. 

This Fall is THE year I created a French inspired window box.   

In case you are inspired, too, and want ideas how to create a window box for your house, take a look at how we created my front entry window box. I took photos at almost every step of the process to share with you.  

Under the Peony Spell

P E O N I E S  

... cast a spell on flower lovers. 

As long as I can remember, I remember my mother loving peonies. And, her mother loving peonies. Hydrangeas and peonies. 

Now, my sister and I, are under the spell of peonies and hydrangeas and love them. 

And, my aunts, cousins, and distant relatives twice-removed(?) loved peonies. All were under the spell of tissue petals that hang heavily, touching the grass, after a rain. 

Actual relationships are now murky after so many years. So many are no longer alive. How was I related to those women? Are they relatives on Mother's side of the family or Daddy's side? I see their faces, can recall their names after pondering a moment, hear snatches of past conversations, but how were we related? 

Regardless, they all loved peonies. My family has been under the peony spell for generations. 

French Country White Urn

This year has been a very good year for finding French garden urns. Not only did I find a collection of French-style garden urns from a local nursery, I also found a beautiful French Country white urn from a wholesale supplier in late March. The urns were shipped in May, and everything looks beautiful in them.  

To add a French Country flower arrangement to the swing loft in my house, I filled one of the French-style pedestal urns with crepe myrtle blooms from my back yard. 

5 Features in Floral Gardening Shoes

If you love gardening, you probably garden in all kinds of weather. Sunny, warm, hot, cold, and even rainy weather. Some days are easier than others. On those days that are not so easy, special gardening shoes with great features make gardening in messy, rainy weather more fun than slogging about your muddy garden in canvas tennis shoes. 

Magnolia Garden Ideas to Make Your Own | Part 2

In Part 1 of this series of garden ideas from Magnolia in Waco, Texas, PLAN and WALKWAYS were the two ideas from Magnolia Market's gardens you can study for ways to use them in your own garden. Those were just the beginning of so many garden ideas you can make your own. 

Once you have a plan to organize your designs, and walkways to define your garden areas, you are ready for the fun part ... adding plants. Part 2 looks at the different ways Magnolia Market created a beautiful garden filled with a variety of plants and containers. 

🌿 Garden Idea ❸ : PLANTS  

Flowers, vegetables, herbs, and fruit trees are all part of the Magnolia gardens with great design ideas anyone can copy in their own gardens at home. 

French Wire Baskets | Moss

M O S S 

the unsung hero of French wire baskets 

An inexpensive fresh flower arrangement can always be made from 4-inch starter plants from the local nursery. Need a quick, easy arrangement as a table centerpiece for a party, birthday, or luncheon that you and your guests will absolutely love?  

Spring Potting Bench Flowers

F A V O R I T E   B E D D I N G  P L A N T S  

Nothing says spring has really arrived better than your favorite bedding plants showing up at your local nurseries. Once spring flower bedding plants arrive at plant stands, then they make their way to potting benches getting ready for spring gardens. 

At least that is what happens at my house and on my back porch potting bench. Every year my plan is to plant my new favorite bedding plants as soon as I get them home. But, every year my good intentions get waylaid.