Branches in Bloom

I'm so looking forward to the first  blossoms of spring this year and I bet some of my northeast friends are too!  As I was looking back at some photos this morning I came across these images of some dogwood tree and white lilac blooms my hubby brought home from his mom's garden for me to play with a couple springs ago.

I love to use branches in bloom to make simple no-fuss arrangements to place around the house.

Don't be afraid to get out there and snip some branches for yourself. They don't last that long outside so go ahead and cut a few branches to bring inside before they are in full flower to force. You'll get a good week, week and a half of beautiful spring blooms to enjoy inside.

For shorter, smaller bouquets simply cut the stems so that the flowers will just come above the top of the vase by a few inches or so. Don't try to make it look too perfect. They aren't that way on the trees so why force them to behave in a vase? This goes for larger arrangements like the one below too. 

I find lilac cuttings to be a little less unruly to work with than the dogwood branches so  place them in the pitcher first to provide stability. Then you can just tuck in the dogwood branches like 'bookends' to frame the lilacs. 

Aren't they gorgeous? 

What are some of your favorite branches in bloom? Do you bring them inside to enjoy? Just about anything that flowers can go in a vase so be creative and have fun bringing in spring!