3 Wine-Inspired Flower Arrangements For Spring

With spring in full bloom and our sights now set on the sandy beaches of summer, the colors of the season are on full display .Whether it's your ingredients in a meal, the fabric of your clothing, or the décor in your home, the colors that come out of this season are so full of life.
While the hues speak for themselves, sometimes the inspiration for such colors have more abstract inspirations than just the ruby red cherries of summer or the soft, fuzzy tone of an apricot. How about taking color inspiration from a glass of your favorite chardonnay?

Taking a cue from some tasting notes of three white wines, Ashley Bailey, a floral designer at Austin, Texas-based event design company, The Byrd Collective, created three lush, vibrant, and inviting floral arrangements for any spring table.

Recreate these arrangements in your own home and serve up a glass of their matching wines to keep the inspiration flowing. 

Wine: Folie à Deux 2011 Russian River Chardonnay
Flowers: Dahlias, lilac, bush ivy, sweet peas, hellebores, anemones, and a touch of elaeagnus foliage.
Bailey's Inspiration: "The Folie à Deux Chardonnay has a rich velvety texture, with layers of fruit and butter. Drinking this wine, all I could think about were deep shades of purple and red. Matching the wine's texture, I used anemones, a round velvety flower. For me, chardonnay does not equal white flowers."
Tips to create this arrangement: 
• Start the arrangement with the bush ivy and the elaeagnus.
• Create the shape of the arrangement by cutting the greens at different heights.
• Leave one stem of greens or a flower a little taller than all the others before placing in the lilacs and the dahlias.
• Finish the arrangement by clustering a bit of sweet peas and placing them in one spot, allowing for a more dramatic use of a small flower.
Suggested vase: Metal urn

Wine: Napa Cellars 2012 Sauvignon Blanc
Flowers: Jasmine, mint, muscari, and nerine.
Bailey's Inspiration: "The Napa Cellars Sauvignon Blanc tasted of fresh mint and blooming jasmine; two of my favorite things! It doesn't matter if it is wine or flowers, together they are magical. I wanted to keep this arrangement simple and fresh, just like the wine."
Tips to create this arrangement: 
• Build the base of the arrangement by placing the jasmine in the vase, slightly off center.
• Add in the mint on the other side of the vase.
• Finish the arrangement with a few tiny stems of blue muscari and nerine.
• Always keep your stems cut at different heights.
Suggested vase: Decorative container

Wine: Terra d'Oro 2011 Moscato
Flowers: Yellow garden roses, lisianthus, ranunculus, carnations, nerines, and elaeagnus foliage.
Bailey's Inspiration: "The Terra d'Oro Moscato touched my tongue and felt like sunshine and sugar. The sweet aroma of the garden rose came to mind. It reminded me of sitting on the porch sipping wine with girlfriends. I chose white lisianthus, ranunculus, carnations, and nerines for their feminine touch."
Tips to create this arrangement: 
• In a shallow bowl, use floral foam to hold the stems in place and keep them hydrated.
• Start with the elaeagnus, to create the shape of the arrangement.
• To make the yellow garden roses the star of the arrangement, leave them long.
• Add in the lisianthus, ranunculus, carnations, and nerines, and finish with the pieris japonica.
Suggested vase: Anything vintage

This article was originally published on April 27, 2013.