It’s the middle of January. It is the middle of winter and the middle of a cold snap hitting Ms. Jeannie’s section of the woods. It’s in the twenties at night and the wood stove in the schoolhouse is working overtime. To everyone else it is freezing, but in the mind of Ms. Jeannie it is Spring. That’s right dear readers, a new season has arrived and it looks like this…

and this…

and this…

If you have visited Ms. Jeannie’s shop within the last week you’ll have noticed that a bevy of botanical flower prints have appeared – a hopeful little nod to warmer weather and all the beauty that is silently stirring under ground while everyone else is shivering above.

The flower prints are botanical bookplates that comprise wild flowers in America circa 1953. Printed watercolor portraits of over 400 different varieties, these beauties represent some of the most common and most exotic flowers that graced our mid-century American landscape from Alaska to Maine, from Canada to Mexico and from each and every state in-between.

Colorful, simple and classically stylish, these botanicals offer a bounty of decorating options from bright and bold to subtle and soothing. Today we are going to take a look at how you might decorate with such beauties to bring some fresh color into your space or use them as springboards to choose a room’s color palette.

You can go the traditional route and frame them in simple wood frames to liven up an accent wall like this balanced collage:

 

You could create your own garden cottage wallpaper…

You could pull colors together in a room with these guys as your green anchor:

You could think outside the frame and tape them up on a wall in a casual combination of beautifully messy:

Or you could incorporate them into a found object vignette like this one that represents all your favorite things…

When grouped together in a large collection, vintage botanicals help brighten up a dark space like this one…

And they help add a pop of color on a wall that is all white like this one…

They can help carry a theme of color and shape, like this arrangement…

Or help carry a vibe like this soft and soothing space…

Anyway, you look at them, from the traditional to the thought-provoking, vintage botanicals have the ability to instantly and effortlessly add personality to a room and a wall. Warm yourself up with some flowers in red and and orange. Or calm yourself down with flowers in white and green. There’s something for everyone in a wild flower whether you are looking for pretty petals or dramatic grasses, wild flowers never disappoint.

Oh and there is an added bonus too…instant mood brighteners on these chilly-willy days of winter when all seems icy grey and white.

To peruse the collections in Ms. Jeannie’s shop (which include vintage Menaboni bird botanicals too!) please click here.

Cheers to sunny days ahead! Happy day dreaming and happy decorating!