Blooming Spring Mantel
A spring mantel put together simply with garden-themed items, live plants and blooming branches.
I hadn’t really been inspired to change up my mantel for spring other than the flowering branches I added to my winter mercury glass.
After the quince bloomed out, I exchanged them for Bridal Wreath spirea and then plum and pear branches after we pruned them. The blooms actually dried on the branches nicely, which was fine with me.
I don’t really see a need to change decor until I’m tired of what’s there, do you? If I am honest – and I’m not dissing anyone at all, we’re all different – it sometimes exhausts me just seeing all the changes some bloggers make all.the.time.
If I’m happy with something, I’ll let it be for awhile, until inspiration strikes to change it.
And that inspiration came in the form of the fun mason jar-live plants arrangements I created last week. The trio of green Ball pint jars with pansies and armeria was just so pretty, I new it could be the start of a garden-themed spring mantel.
Regular readers will recognize my spring ‘usual suspects’ – the glass greenhouse and garden finial – because I don’t believe in buying a bunch of stuff each season.
Just by rotating decor items through the seasons, they seem like new again to me (remember how great that works for kids toys? Same concept, ha!). It helps that I really loved these two items when I bought them, and isn’t that what they say about decorating – buy things you really love?
After placing the mason jar arrangement with the other spring decor, I could see it needed a bit of height – lucky for me the weigela is blooming and three branches provided the perfect finishing touch in a demijohn bottle.
I’m actually writing this up a week after putting the mantel together, and since I chose weigela branches with buds only, it’s still looking great as it slowly blooms. I think it’ll look good for another week before I’ll need to clip the potted plants and replace the branches.
I’m looking forwardĀ to seeing how this evolves since it’s using live plants – maybe I’ll replant the jars or add cut flowers as more things start blooming in the yard.
I agree….I am exhausted at the thought of all the decorating, painting, furniture changing that happens on some blogs. It seems (and feels like) some bloggers are just doing projects because they feel compelled to do it to keep their readers. Too bad. It feels contrived. and abnormal. I am like you…reuse the same things each year rotating them with the seasons.
Yes, Mary, though I do understand on some level – if they’re being paid to come up with ideas, then it’s like a magazine where we can pick and choose what we like. There’s value there in the inspiration. But I more appreciate the bloggers that tell me that (“I was asked to come up with so-and-so”) and not pretend that they’re just like me, except that they are constantly changing things (which is not like me, ha!). I have a list of things I’m slowly trying to work through – usually on the house or a thrifted piece of furniture, etc.- so seasonal updates need to be simple, quick, and make me happy. š
I agree….no need to buy more “decorating stuff” just to change the look of a space. I’m all for rearranging what’s out (taking away, repositioning what’s there, adding an item from somewhere else).
Your mantel piece is a work of art, ever changing…..and that’s good….refreshing to gaze upon. Have you considered hanging the mirrored window on the wall lengthwise, 6-8″ up from the mantel surface? Lots of new eye catching possibilities after that! You could place the terrarium on the mantel centered just below the mirror. Screw in 2 or 3 pot hanging hooks (with long arms) to the wall just above the window frame top. Hang a flower filled mason jar pot from each one, staggering the jars the length of the window. Voila!