LIFESTYLE: Tips for adding greenery to your home with the experts at Bungalow 56

Branches last longer than fl owers when cut and add fun texture and drama to a space.

Spring Sprigs

By Karyn Frazier + Jessica Nicolls Photos by Samantha Goh Photography

Is spring anyone else’s favorite season?

It’s not too cold or hot out and all the flowers are blooming. Growing up, Karyn’s grandmother was a florist and she used to help her arrange flowers for weddings and other celebrations over the years. Karyn now styles our projects and her own home and is often called on by friends to do arrangements for showers, parties and weddings. She loves to be part of their celebrations and carry on the traditions from her grandmother.

She taught Karyn to decorate with greenery to save on costs in flower arrangements and you can also make an arrangement of greenery or branches and they are just as beautiful.

We often use unique branches in beautiful jars or vases to style rooms in homes. One of her favorite things to do is forage the neighborhood for branches with blooms on them. Branches last longer than fl owers when cut and add fun texture and drama to a space. We love olive and magnolia branches for this purpose.

A tip from Karyn’s grandma is to cut the stems or branch ends at an angle to allow them to absorb water better and last longer. You can also use room temp or slightly warm water to open up roses or other blooms. Also another fun fact about hydrangeas is that they take on water not only by their stems but by their fl owers. If they start to look a little droopy, fi ll your sink with water and dunk the heads in and in a few hours they will look new again.

Karyn and Jessica’s favorite fl ower is the peony and they bloom in the spring. It is always fun to mix your favorite fl owers with branches to make a gorgeous arrangement. Happy spring!

• Karyn Frazier and Jessica Nicolls are the owners of local interior design fi rm Bungalow 56.