Winter Flowers and Foliage in Designs

I personally love Winter greens with seasonal festive flowers, berries and branches.

Planning ahead for your floral and plant collections over the Winter season is the key to positive sales and marketing and should help make peak trading manageable and profitable.

Always look to your suppliers and think about where you can get the best stems, good quality and good prices; where possible negotiate on pricing and delivery dates.

Seasonal and British-grown flowers and foliage are especially valued for sustainability and texture and these are the stems/plants that are a go-to for me. They are beautiful, accessible in terms of availability, versatile and customers love them.

My Favourite Winter Flowers and Foliage are:

• Hellebores

  As a cut stem, they are elegant, long-lasting and look beautiful for weddings and as a potted plant, they are beautiful in a gorgeous put cover or planted in a Planted Arrangement. As a strong selling point, the plant version can be re planted into a outdoor gardens and pots so they have an everlasting quality.

  
  

• Anemones

  Anemones have strong colour impact, (white, red, purple) and are great for contemporary designs and compact and tied bouquets.

  
  

• Narcissus (Paperwhites, Tête-à-tête)

  One of my very favourite, traditional Spring flowers, which can actually be available from November. They are fragrant, naturalistic, ideal for festive work and beautiful if left on the bulb. Another example of a flower type that can be everlasting if left on the bulb and replanted into containers outdoors or straight into the ground. Each year, provided the bulb does not get water logged, they will re flower and spread.

  
  

• Tulips

  One of the UK’s top 5 most bought flowers! What is not to love with a Tulip. Widely available, versatile, very popular with younger people and has heaps of history you can talk about to customers.  

  
  
  

  

  

• Ranunculus

  These stems are a premium winter bloom, very popular with customers and very practical in terms of where you can use them. They are romantic and soft and look amazing in vases and for weddings.

  
  

• Hyacinths

  Highly scented, the fragrance can be quite strong but they are very popular for Christmas arrangements both as a cut flower and left on the bulb. The quality of Hyacinths and the colour breadth is exquisite, from pale lemon, to softest peach as well as the traditional colours of Blues, Pinks and Whites.

  
  

• Amaryllis

  Amaryllis are not cheap in price, but you don’t need many stems to create something magical. They certainly make a statement and can be used as a cut flower or left on the bulb.

We mustn't forget the traditional staples either, such as:

• Roses

  Gorgeous deep reds, burgundy, rich cream and toffee, softest peaches and pinks and of course the staple white and ivories, are all colours that create a sense of seasonality when paired with Winter foliage.

  
  

• Lilies

  Who doesn’t love a tall white lily paired with lush green foliage and berries, or a rich deep burgundy lily with eucalyptus and pine!

  
  

• Carnations

  Not every florists favourite, but they are popular with customers, they have excellent longevity and are available in so many gorgeous colours from palest lilac and green to stronger burgundy and red.

  
  

• Chrysanthemums

  These are a must, not only for their longevity and availability, but for their strong varieties in both Blooms and Sprays. There are some beautiful varieties available and dependent on price, I would recommend trying a new variety and see what versatility it can have in your bouquets and designs.

  
  
  

  

Images: Just Chrys

• Lisianthus

  Such a fabulous flower and so versatile. If you can source good quality from a good supplier, these steps have great longevity and also are quite weighty in terms of the number of heads on one stem.

  
  

Winter Foliage & Greenery

I don’t think you can get through the Winter season as a florist or floral designer, without becoming to love winter green foliage! I prefer to buy the mixed variety bunches, available from my Dutch supplier and pair the gorgeous stems with Ilex branches, Eryngium and Roses. If I am not using the mixed bunches of Winter greens, I also work with Pine, Fir (Nordmann, Noble) and Spruce. These are perfect for wreaths, garlands, installations, and sympathy work. Lovely staple foliage such as Eucalyptus (gunnii, cinerea and parvifolia varieties), Skimmia, and Asparagus plumosa fern, create a softness and structure to many designs.

When using berries, branches and accent materials throughout the Winter season, these are the essentials for me:

• Ilex (Holly) – red, orange, or variegated

• Viburnum tinus

• Birch, dogwood, willow stems

• Twisted hazel

• Cones, seed heads, dried grasses

• Moss

Care & Conditioning Tips

• Winter stems are often hardy but woody; condition well to give the stems as much hydration as possible. Ensure clean buckets and vessels are used with flower food enriched water.

• Store carefully to prevent dehydration and damage.

• Embrace foliage-led designs: customers increasingly value texture and sustainability.

• British-grown winter flowers command premium pricing – tell their story!

Finally, my suggested colour palettes to consider for your Winter collections are:

• Festive: Red, forest green, gold, white.

• Natural: Cream, taupe, moss green, soft brown.

• Contemporary: White and black stems, deep plum, burgundy, blue and peach.

• Scandi-inspired: White, silver, muted green, minimal foliage.

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With over 35 years’ experience, Karen Barnes is one of the UK’s leading consultants to the floral industry and an expert in product development, future trends & colours, and floral photography design & planning. She’s an interior floral designer, high profile wedding and event floral planner, and prominent international competition judge.

From teaching on a one-to-one basis to coaching small, intimate classes and larger teams, Karen can encourage, motivate and mentor your next step in the florist industry. Sharing her vast experience, Karen can help you expand your knowledge and creativity.