Pure Summer

After the long rainy winter and late spring, the arrival of summer is perhaps even more welcome than other years. And how nice it is then that the flower trade can give full expression to that with a great assortment of summer flowers.

'Be sure to capitalize on the fragrance'

Spring is bursting out again and the splendor of colors appears in the form of budding branches, bulbs emerging from the ground, and blossoms bursting into bloom. Green stylist Sjacco Gerritsen can get excited about it every year. 'Spring is the period from which we at Fleur Inn green styling get a lot of energy. New year, new opportunities, and you always notice that customers are eager to make their house and garden cozy again with spring flowers.

'We use a lot of extending branches and a lot of natural materials. In addition, it is also very exciting and surprising to play with scent. That sometimes fades into the background a bit.'

‘The scent of spring: daffodils, mimosa, hyacinths, lilies: you notice that customers in the store love that. Real spring is in color, scent and design – we as florists can do a lot with that. And above all, also seduce the customer.’

'Spring means color and wonder to me'

In addition to running her company Hilde in huis, floral artist Hilde Pit teaches four days a week at a VMBO-groen school where she introduces students to the floral industry during flower & design classes. ‘Students inspire me with their wonder at certain materials, which makes it all the more fun to inspire them again with new materials.’

‘I grew up with the Weerribben-Wieden National Park as my backyard. This is where my love for the outdoors and beautiful materials from nature originated. For me, spring means fine materials, color, and wonder. Seeing the buds come back on the trees and the first fresh sprigs in the garden: fantastic.’

‘In this season I use bright colors in combination with pastel, all mixed together. I love headstrong materials: fragile ranunculus but also tulips that happily decide which way they grow. Today's customer appreciates the flowers much more as they are now, little foliage, purity. That is something of recent years, but I am sure that customers will appreciate that even more in the coming period.

Spring symphony

Spring is arriving. And that can be noticed as early as February, although of course it can still be quite wintery well into March and even April. But for now, the outside temperature has been very mild for weeks this year, which is why the bulbs are sprouting from the ground in the garden, the branches are budding, and the birds, judging by their chirping, also clearly have spring in their heads.

‘Pure emotion captured in a period of time’

For florist Max van de Sluis, spring is one of the most beautiful moments of the year. 'A lot happens. Different plants and flowers emerge, everything gets color in the garden and nature, and above all, life becomes warmer and more pleasant.'

‘All this is pure emotion, and also captured in a period of time. I then try to incorporate that into my floral arrangements. That means sometimes working with a lot of color, so that an explosion is, as it were, depicted in an arrangement. And at other times I will opt for the subdued transformation from dead nature to the new and fresh green as it sprouts in the spring.’

'It is particularly intriguing and inspiring every year. The spring season has so much to offer. Just think in terms of colors from warm to cold - each color palette represents its own emotions and pure beauty.'

'Ranunculus really give the feeling of spring'

Floral designer Marcel van der Haar likes to work with parrot and French tulips in the spring. ‘I also think ranunculus really give the feeling of spring.’

'What I like to show in my arrangements is the changing of the seasons. I then incorporate dead winter materials such as dried grasses. These are then, as it were, slowly displaced in my arrangements by the colorful spring flowers that herald the next season.'

‘Besides the fact that I really enjoy working stylistically, I mainly prefer to present products as naturally as possible in my arrangements. Nature is therefore my greatest source of inspiration. I also see at trade fairs that many honest materials in natural colors are slowly being used again – although colorful counterparts can always be found.’

'As a car enthusiast, I can also be very inspired by a beautifully designed car, piece of furniture or building. It is important to look around you carefully, wherever you are – then the inspiration will come naturally.'