Window dressing
Why wait for the May long weekend? If you have an unused flower box and a window sill, you can get growing now. Whether you prefer flowers (such as hyacinth, pansies, tulips, impatiens or muscari — all available now at your nearest nursery or neighbourhood garden centre) or herbs (including such fragrant varieties as rosemary, lemon thyme and basil), all you need are a few starters and a few small pots of ivy to decorate indoors. Once your flower box is filled, consider placing it where you'll appreciate it most — on the kitchen sill, in the dining room, in a hallway window, in the foyer or even in the bathroom.
Singular sensation
A new idea in flower arranging is filling a line of vases with only one bloom each. Aside from being stylish, it's also an entirely economical idea. All it takes are several bud vases and a handful of flowers (such as daisies or chrysanthemums). If you don't have bud vases, liqueur glasses or small juice glasses are easy substitutes. You'll find if you work with odd numbers — three or five — the display will look best (this is a gardener's trick for creating balance). Perfect as a centrepiece for the dining table, or a way to accessorize the mantelpiece, it's also another option for brightening up a windowsill.
Perfect arrangement
Another easy way to create perfect flower arrangements is to play with similar colours. A budding trend in the world of decorating, this trick involves simply choosing blossoms in two related shades. For example: blues and purples, or hot pinks and oranges. Mix them together (without any greenery) and you have a perfectly fashionable floral arrangement.
Potluck
The easiest approach of all, this one requires no planting or arranging. All it involves is visiting your nearest garden centre for three or five small pots of the same flowers, such as hyacinth or gerber daisies, which can be lined up at home on any surface (from the sideboard or a radiator cover to the kitchen counter or the bathroom vanity). The only difficult thing about this trick is deciding where to place them.
