Better Homes and Gardens Australia October 2021

If the past 18 months have taught us anything, it’s to delight in life’s simple joys – bringing our gardens to bloom, decorating our homes, getting creative with craft and experimenting in the kitchen. It’s been about finding new pleasure in the familiar, and with spring on the horizon, it’s an attitude we can all take to the next level. With the warmer weather all but ordering us outside, you can seize the chance to bring your yard to vivid life, from pillowy hydrangeas (page 38) and cloud-like topiary (page 70) to flowers designed to give you the blues – in the most wonderful of ways (page 30). There are even clever ideas for a DIY therapy garden (page 58), which seems so relevant in current times. Yet botanicals aren’t…

Set the scene for a lovely spring with a simply breathtaking display of colourful floral decorations using fresh, dried, preserved and papercrafted flowers – you can even opt for a stylish combination of all or just some! From pendants to table decorations and more besides, you’ll find the creative ideas on the following pages incredibly inspiring and unbelievably easy to craft and make. So go ahead and celebrate spring in spectacular style! FLORAL PENDANT Transform a wire lampshade frame into a showstopper of a hanging arrangement with fresh and/or dried flowers. It’s ideal for a garden party, engagement or wedding theme. Scour charity shops for an old shade you can strip back to bare wire. Or, to find the ever-popular vintage-style wire lampshades, visit etsy.com/au. Instructions on page 18 CHAIR BACK DECORATION This beautiful idea…

FLORAL PENDANT Using wire cutters, remove the bulb holder on a wire lampshade frame. Completely cover wire sections with moss, using florist wire to hold it in place. To create the floral base around the shade’s rim, make a small bunch of flowers with 4 or 5 stems plus foliage – no longer than 10cm in length – and wire in place. With alternate posies facing slightly up or down, work around the rim gradually, covering the wire each time as you layer and build up the arrangement. Add ribbon to hang your pendant. DECO TIP This project calls for the bulb holder to be cut away. Don’t fancy doing that? Conceal it using moss as with the rest of the shade! CHAIR BACK DECO Take a length of covered wreath wire and wind it…

1 NATURE’S GALLERY Highlight a lovely tabletop display by continuing the theme up your walls with artwork in neutral and green tones. Particularly striking are these handmade botanical plaster-cast tiles, which reveal plants and foliage in relief. Check out Rachel Dein’s range at etsy.com/au. 2 GARDEN ROOM Create a soothing sanctuary that connects your interior and garden. Start with a neutral base, add a dose of happiness with a cluster of geometric and plant-life patterns in fresh blues and greens for cushions and rugs, and you’re well on your way. Soren pendant light from Pinch, spenceandlyda.com.au. 3 LAYER ON THE TEXTURE Decorate with tactile elements you’re likely to find outside to emphasise the indoor/outdoor connection. Mix woven rattan and timber furniture with a wicker pendant shade. Then dress the table with artisan ceramics and natural…

PRINT ON Bring your living room to blooming life with an oversized wall mural which commands attention as it transports you to another place. Made-tomeasure Bird of Paradise wall mural by Kelly Kratzig, wallsauce.com/au. CUSHY SPOT Rest assured, your fur baby will be besotted with this blooming Botanical pet bed, $129, earlysettler.com.au. Water wise! Grow happy, healthy plants with confidence. These no-mess indoor pots feature a reservoir bowl, which lets your plants self-water. Rib Selfwatering Terraco. a Pot, from $14.98, tnorthcotepottery.com. Sublime form A shapely vase can pack quite the design punch. If you’re looking for a statement piece for your bookshelf or console, with or without greenery, check out the sublime architectural form of the Emporium Summi vase 14 x 14 x 16cm, $24.95, isalbi.com.au. BE SEATED Introduce your living room to a statement chair, be it bold…

You can have a purple, a green, a yellow or a red blue, yet a true blue in your garden is a rare thing. Only 10% of flowers are blue, so who cares if there’s a hint of pink to turn a blue into lilac, or yellow added to blue up a green leaf? Blue has been pooh-poohed as not being compatible with other colours, but come back at those who say “blue and green should never be seen” and tell them to see tall, arching, foliage-filled trees that caress a deep-blue sky. Perhaps it’s just that blue flowers are so unfamiliar. Here’s the best for a spring to chase away your winter blues. Blue comes in so many shades – the dark and light purply blue of anemones and the…