'I love summer the most anyway'

Freelance floral stylist Fiona Konings has been working primarily in events since 2002. "In addition to performing floral styling, I also started photographing.

'I get my inspiration mainly from nature. But, and I think about this now: actually, I get inspiration from almost everything around me. I like to combine my love of nature, flowers and butterflies in my photographs. For example, the arrangement with the roses would be a beautiful setting for an inspirational photo shoot!

'Although I can really enjoy all seasons, I still love summer the most. The outdoors, the long evenings, the happy people, the warmth. In the summer you can literally recharge yourself. And of course, with a summer theme, the sunflower cannot be missing!'

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.

'Also, play primarily on smell'

Spring is bursting forth and the splash of color is appearing in the form of budding branches, bulbs sprouting from the ground and blossoms shooting into bloom. Green stylist Sjacco Gerritsen can get excited about it every year. 'Spring is the period from which we get a lot of energy at Fleur Inn green styling. New year, new opportunities and every time you notice that the customers are looking forward to making their homes and gardens cosy again with spring flowers.

'We use a lot of flared branches and a lot of natural materials. It is also very exciting and surprising to play on smell. That sometimes gets a little into the background.'

'The smell of spring: daffodils, mimosa, hyacinths, lilies: you can tell from the customer in the store that they love it. Real spring is in color, fragrance and design - we as florists can do a lot with that. And above all also seduce the customer.'

'Spring to me means color and wonder'

In addition to running her business Hilde in house, flower decorator Hilde Pit teaches four days at a VMBO green school where she introduces students to the floral profession during flower & design classes. 'Students inspire me by their wonder about certain materials, all the more fun to inspire them again with new materials.'

'I grew up with National Park Weerribben-Wieden as my backyard. This is where my love for being outdoors and beautiful materials from nature was born. Spring for me means fine materials, color and wonder. Seeing the buds coming back on the trees and the first fresh sprigs in the garden: fantastic.'

'In this season I use bright colors in combination with pastels, all mixed together. I like stubborn materials: fragile ranunculus, but also tulips that decide for themselves which way to grow. Today's customer appreciates flowers much more the way they are now: few leaves, purity. That's something we've seen in recent years, but I'm sure customers will appreciate it even more in the future.

Spring symphony

Spring is arriving. And it can be felt as early as February, although of course it can still be quite a winter well into March and even April. But for now, the outside temperature has been very mild for weeks this year, reason why the bulbs in the garden are sprouting out of the ground, the branches are budding and the birds, judging by their whistling, already have spring clearly in the air.

'One and all emotion captured in a span of time'

For florist Max van de Sluis, spring is one of the most beautiful times of the year. "A lot is happening. Different plants and flowers come up, everything gets color in the garden and nature, and above all, life gets warmer and more pleasant.'

'All of this is all emotion, and moreover captured in a time period. That is what I try to incorporate in my flower arrangements. Sometimes that means working with lots of color, so that an explosion is depicted in an arrangement, as it were. And another time I will choose for the modest transformation of dead nature into the new and young green as it sprouts in spring'.

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