Design Confidential: What's Your Favorite Spring Flower?

Five designers share their picks for colorful arrangements and gardens.

By Kelly AllenPublished: Mar 23, 2023

GAP photos/Highgrove

Each season is marked by flowers, but especially when winter thaws. When you're deciding what flowers to display in your home or plant in your garden this spring, look no further: Editorial director Joanna Saltz asked creatives which blooms they cut and treasure as the weather warms to give you some inspiration. From cherry blossom branches to vibrant azaleas, any of these flowers will bring a little cheer into your life. (And if you're already preparing your interiors for the season ahead, we have you covered with fresh spring decorating ideas.)

Cherry Blossoms

watercolor branch blossom sakura, cherry tree with flowers isolated on a white background hand painting on paper

Color_Brush

“Our favorite springtime flowers are cherry blossom branches! Care is easy. Just keep them in a sunny place, mist daily, and change the water every other day.”

—Lina Galvão @curatednest

Lilacs

watercolor background made up of branches of lilac flowers, isolated on white background

“It’s officially spring out in the West when lilacs are abundant. I adore their magical scent and hunt them for arrangements in large vessels or antique pitchers, placed in the entry to welcome guests.”

—Emily Janak @emilyjanakinteriors

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Poppies

cute summer group of object, elements for design

“I love poppies because they bring whimsy. The delicate petals appear to float and the jumble of stems adds playfulness and imperfection, like they’ve been foraged from the wild. My favorite place to put them is a bedside table.”

—Heidi Woodman @hauslove

Freesia

set of watercolor garden pink and orange flowers isolated on white background, hand painted

“For beauty and fragrance, the prolific freesia is at the top of my list. My great-grandmother wore a freesia-scented perfume, and I’m transported back to my youth whenever I smell them.”

—Deborah Costa @shopdesignalchemy

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Azaleas

“Azaleas give me the instant mood and color boost I need come spring! Growing up in South Carolina, I always knew the season was turning when I witnessed their rich hues blooming in the yard, along sidewalks, or underneath the shade of a tree.”

—Amber Guyton @blessedlittlebungalow

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