How to Make Plants and Flowers a Part of Your New Year
How to Make Plants and Flowers a Part of Your New Year
New year, new you! It’s a sentiment that billions around the world repeat to themselves each year, hoping to adopt new habits that improve their lives. While many of those habits revolve around health, there’s something to be said for adjusting your lifestyle to bring greater joy and even restore happiness. It’s no secret that, for many people, that joy is rooted in nature.
Mother Nature is no slouch in the beauty department, after all. She bestows her gifts with abundance and generosity, and you only need to look around you to appreciate what she has to offer. Whether it’s the crunch of the leaves underfoot on a crisp fall morning or the fluffy snow that blankets your yard in the winter, it’s easy to appreciate nature at its finest every day of the year.
You don’t necessarily even have to step outside your front door to appreciate nature at its best. Adding a few houseplants to your living space — or even just one! — is a wonderful way to brighten your spirits. Giving some attention to your garden is another way to elevate your home’s natural beauty — and you may find that it boosts your mood at the same time.
If you’re ready to make plants and flowers a more integral part of your routine in the new year, now is the time to consider the many ways you can make that a reality. Don’t worry if you feel like you don’t have the time to commit or you’re pretty sure you don’t exactly have the green thumb of a horticulturist. Few do, but that hasn’t stopped them from celebrating the green life! Here are some ideas to infuse your life with some of that energy in the new year.
Add Fresh Herbs to Your Diet
Yes, really — even eating some new greenery is a fresh and creative way to make it a bigger part of your life. What’s nice is that herbs offer a variety of health benefits, and if one of your goals is to improve your diet, this is an easy way to accomplish a couple of your goals for the new year.
You could begin by purchasing a few to get a feel for what you like. Then, you might venture into growing your own herbs in the comfort of your kitchen or your garden. Basil is a popular plant that’s both tasty and relatively easy to grow. You’ll enjoy the fruits of your hard work throughout the year as its zesty fragrance wafts through your kitchen whenever you cook. Another popular option, especially for ringing in the new year, is rosemary. It’s crisp and fragrant, and you can use it in cooking or even to prepare homemade skin care products.
Unleash Your Inner Gardener
If you’ve long dreamed of having the kind of garden that’s the envy of the neighborhood, make this your year! One reason people don’t necessarily act on this lofty plan is that they don’t know exactly where to start. It’s helpful to develop a plan instead of jumping in without a solid idea of what you want to do. Taking a step-by-step approach can yield big results, transforming what was once merely a dream into a reality.
Begin by choosing an area to plant, ideally one that is relatively small. You want to allow yourself a chance to thrive, and the best way is to start small. This also makes it easy for you to master all of the steps important to maintaining your garden, from wedding to watering to removing spent portions. Make sure your space receives ample sunlight, as regular exposure is vital for most plant varieties. Then comes the fun part: selecting your plants! Try not to focus on perfection so much as ease. Opt for easy-care varieties, especially if your time is limited, and play with different colors to make it interesting and vibrant.
Make Them a Part of Your Home
Make this the year you brighten up your surroundings by adding a few fresh flowers to your home. This could mean committing to regular care — your arrangements will only thrive if you’re willing to feed, water, trim, and give them sunlight — but you’ll be delighted with the result. Make it easier on yourself by choosing something extra-colorful that’s fun to put on display and show off, like the Mixed Orchids arrangement or the stunning Juliet if you prefer a more restrained yet eye-catching design.
Plants are also a big deal for the beauty and style they invite to your home and workplace. Even if you don’t consider yourself much of a gardener, many easy-care varieties will delight you with their good looks and minimal maintenance requirements. The Succulent Garden Duo is a fantastic choice because each of the fleshy plants in this pairing is distinctive and eye-catching, despite their compact size. They’re perfect for putting on display somewhere in the home, yet won’t call for much of your time once you put them out. Other low-maintenance options include ZZ plants, spider plants, and aloe plants.
Ring in the New Year with Flowers
What better way to commit to a botanical life than to make them an integral part of your celebrations as you ring in the new year? This is a great way to consider what exactly makes flowers so special and noteworthy in the first place. Which ones resonate with you on a deeper level — and which are the blooms you want to surround yourself with as the clock strikes midnight? Think of joy, happiness, and meaning. Flowers offer all of these and so much more, so some of the points to consider include the color of the flowers and the meaning behind each one.
You have options galore when it comes to the types of flowers to incorporate. Winter itself is resonant with crisp, white flowers, making it a wonderful opportunity for you to infuse your home with a sophisticated arrangement. This may fit nicely into a space with a darker color scheme for an interesting contrast, or it might fit nicely into a room bearing distinctive metallic accents.
Popular flowers to consider displaying at this time of the year include Asiatic lilies, poms, hollies, carnations, roses, and orchids. Don’t hesitate to include a few accent elements for contrast, like sprigs of heady eucalyptus, hypericum berries, and baby’s breath. All add their own unique touch to any arrangement, and that substance is fitting for a holiday as grand as this.
If you’re hosting people for dinner, you could incorporate something like Opulence to make a bold statement. Try Crimson if you want to infuse your space with a medley of rich, seasonal, and dramatic colors.
Take on Creative Projects
An interesting way to glean a greater appreciation for plants and flowers is to find unique ways to play with them. You might feel down when you have to toss a bouquet at the end of its shelf life, for example. However, learning how to preserve flowers is a wonderful way to keep them a part of your life and home for the foreseeable future. Plus, when you learn how to preserve flowers, you will quickly find that it’s fairly easy to do.
There are many other projects you can tackle using real flowers. For example, you could make placemats using only construction paper and clear contact paper, along with the fresh flowers of your choosing.
Some people enjoy experiencing the fruits of their labor, which means you have every excuse to tend to a rose garden if you enjoy the idea of taking a rose-scented bath! Making bath bombs, rose-scented oils, and other homemade treats can be incredibly satisfying and enjoyable, not least because they also happen to make great gift ideas for loved ones on your list.
Involving others in the family is another way you can make using flowers more enjoyable. The kids will love to get involved in crafty projects that help them channel their inner artisans, and you will love helping them create pieces for the home that you can use and show off.
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It’s the little things that make a big difference, and when it comes to getting closer to Mother Nature, many little things can add up to a significant change in your lifestyle. As you head into the new year, take stock of how much plants and flowers mean to you right now. If you’re already deeply immersed in that world, you’ll have fun figuring out fresh ways to implement them.
And if you just admire them from afar but want to expand your horizons a little, you’ll find there are many ways to brighten and color your world. Have fun learning their meanings, choosing colors you love, and discovering how they can transform your living and workspaces. Plants and flowers are incredibly powerful, conveying messages of strength, love, and confidence. The new year is a wonderful excuse to make them a more significant part of your life.
