Bring spring into your home: 3 ways to update your interior for spring

Spring is in full swing, so it’s time to freshen up your interior. Luckily, a major makeover isn’t necessary; it’s all in the details! Say goodbye to dark colours and heavy fabrics, and hello to cheerful colours and airy textiles! Read on for three tips on how to update your interior for spring. With these tips, you can create a new atmosphere in your home in no time!

3 ways to update your interior for spring

 

Add colourful orchids

Orchids are gorgeous plants that are perfect for brightening up your interior in the spring. They come in various colours and sizes, so you can easily match them to your decor. Place them in a beautiful planter in a spot where they’ll catch your eye, such as the dining table or a dresser. They can quickly bring a dull space to life! Orchids are easy to care for and bloom for several months, so your interior will look beautiful throughout the season.

Also read: How to keep your orchid in perfect condition!

 

Prächtige Blumen in unendlicher Vielfalt

 

Choose lightweight accessories

A quick and easy way to give an update on your interior for spring is by swapping out your pillows and throws. Pack away the warm blankets and make room for pillow covers in cheerful colours and lightweight fabrics such as linen or cotton. Swap out any dark accessories for glass ones, as they create an open and airy feel. Consider a vase with ribbed glass or a glass candleholder.

Another great way to bring the fresh scent of spring into your home is by making your own orchid reed diffusers. Check out this video for a tutorial:

@orchidsinfo Did you know that Cambria flowers have a wonderful scent? #scentedsticks #diy #cambria #cambriaorchid #flowers #diyhomefragrance #reeddiffuser #diyreeddiffuser #fragrancesticks #homedecor ♬ Chill Vibes – Tollan Kim

Also read: Add colour to your kitchen with the help of orchids

 

Change your duvet cover

A simple way to create a fresh and light atmosphere in your bedroom is to get a new duvet cover. It doesn’t have to be a wintery, warm colour: opt for a vibrant or bold pattern! A new duvet cover can work wonders, as it’s the first thing you see in the morning.

 

Follow us on InstagramTiktokFacebook, or Pinterest for more inspiration and care tips!

Upgrade your garden with Garden Orchids

With spring in full swing and the sun shining more and more, it’s time for a garden clean-up. Of course, this involves weeding and cleaning your garden furniture. Not satisfied with the results? Upgrade your garden with garden orchids! These exotic plants come in all shapes and sizes and are real eye-catchers. In this article, we’ll show you how to upgrade your garden with orchids!

Also read: These are the different garden orchid varieties

 

Upgrade your garden with garden orchids

If you can’t get enough of the exotic beauty of orchids, we have good news. These exuberant flowers are not only for indoor use! With easy-to-care-for and frost-resistant garden orchids, you can easily upgrade any outdoor space. Select the shape, colour, and height that you like!

 

 

Orchids in a large plant pot

To create a real eye-catcher in your garden, you can fill a large plant pot with garden orchids. First, place a layer of hydrogranules on the bottom so that they can absorb excess water and release it gradually to the potting soil. Hydrogranules also allow more air to reach the roots – and roots love fresh air. Then add potting soil and plant the orchids in it. Choose a nice spot in your garden and enjoy!

 

 

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Orchids in terracotta pots on the table

Another fun way to style garden orchids is to distribute them over various terracotta pots and place them in the centre of the table. In these pots, it’s also important to first place a layer of hydrogranules on the bottom before adding potting soil. Then play around with adding the plants: use different colours, place multiple small plants in one large pot, and vary the heights. This will create an interesting whole!

 

 

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Also read: Orchids on your terrace or balcony

This is the secret of blue orchids

The Phalaenopsis orchid comes in a beautiful range of colours, such as white, lilac, light pink, bright pink, salmon pink, orange, red and yellow. There are also variations in these colours, such as striped or spotted orchids. But in nature, blue is not a usual bloom colour. Growers all over the world (but especially in the Netherlands and Taiwan) are trying to create the blue Phalaenopsis in their labs. And that’s not easy. Read on for the secret of blue orchids!

 

This is the secret of blue orchids

Formerly, white Phalaenopsis were spray painted. The flower branch, with a few flowers in bloom and the rest still in bud, was dyed blue. However, the new blooms emerging from the plant were white, with no hint of blue in sight! That wasn’t the expected outcome, so after a while the blue orchid project continued.

 

 

How are blue orchids made?

The solution was found in the current method. First, a small hole is made in the stem of the plant. Next, colored dye is injected into the hole. After that, the plant’s natural process of transporting water to the stem and blooms takes place, and at that point, the dye is carried and distributed throughout as well. This ensures the blooming flowers will be blue, as well as the buds. This system is patented and may not be imitated without the permission of the patent holder.

 

Why did my blue orchid turn white?

This treatment doesn’t damage the shelf life and flowering period of the plant, so just like any other Phalaenopsis it will bloom again. But the blue flowers on the orchid will only last until they fall off. Any flowers that emerge after that, will be in the original colour – probably white.

The plants used for this are grown using only biological crop protection. The nursery meets other sustainability requirements and government certificates. Also, the dye is also mostly organic. For example, a carrot extract is used for the orange colouring.

 

 

Want to know more about orchids? Read also: These are the 11 most popular types of Orchids

Where should I place an orchid in my house? The 4 best spots

Wondering where to place an orchid in your house? Many people place this plant on the windowsill, which is not surprising as it’s a beautiful plant to show off! But there are more places where the orchid can be showcased. In this article, we’ll share the 4 best spots to place your orchid in your home.

Also read: 3 ways to water your orchid

 

Where should I place an orchid in my house?

The bathroom

You might not think about placing an orchid in the bathroom, but you should! Because orchids are epiphytes, they thrive in humidity. They do need daylight, so if your bathroom doesn’t have windows place your plant in indirect sunlight every now and then.

 

Photo: Anthura

 

The living room

Maybe the best place to put an orchid is in the living room. It’s a subtropical plant that likes to be in a spot with a lot of daylight, which in most homes is the living room. Be careful not to place an orchid in direct sunlight, because the leaves can get sunburned. Make sure not to place it near heating or in a draught either: the ideal room temperature for an orchid is between 15 and 25 degrees.

 

 

The bedroom

Indoor plants provide a calming environment and therefore are ideal for the bedroom. Waking up with such an exotic plant on the bedside table provides instant happiness! Just like in the living room, most bedrooms receive a lot of daylight. A good spot for an orchid!

 

Une orchidée pour chaque pièce!

 

In the (home) office

Research has shown that plants can have a positive impact on productivity. Plants in the workspace can increase productivity by up to 15%! People also complete tasks faster, without the quality deteriorating. In addition, plants have a positive effect on your concentration, because they reduce noise by 8%. Enough reasons to fill your desk or home office with a beautiful collection of orchids, right?

Also read: Add colour to your kitchen with the help of orchids

 

 

Follow us on Instagram, Tiktok, Facebook, or Pinterest for more inspiration and care tips!

12 fun facts about the Paphiopedilum

The Paphiopedilum is an elegant orchid with an eye-catching lip, slender stem and sweeping petals. Thanks to the shoe-shaped lip, this plant is also called the Venus slipper, lady slipper or slipper orchid. Because if you see the lip separate from the flower, it looks just like a slipper! But that’s not all that’s special about this orchid. In this article, you can read 11 more fun facts about the Paphiopedilum!

Also read: These are the 11 most popular types of Orchids

 

12 fun facts about the Paphiopedilum

2. The shoe-shaped lip of the Paphiopedilum not only makes for a cute nickname, but it also helps in pollination. It gives off an odour – inaudible to humans – and lures flies into its mouth. Once inside the mirror-smooth lip, there is only one way out: along a staircase of hairs at the back of the lip, past the pollen and pistil.

3. A few Paphiopedilums and Phragmipediums have such long petals on their flower that they reach their leaves or sometimes even the ground. These petals then serve as a path for crawling insects to walk to the mouth and take care of pollination there.

 

 

4. Paphiopedilums are propagated mainly through seeds. After pollination, the flower falls from the stem and the ovary at the top of the stem swells. Depending on the variety, the seed must ripen on the plant for six months to a year, before the seed pod can be harvested and sown on special soil with the necessary nutrients for germination.

 

 

5. The seed pod contains tens of thousands of seeds, as fine as dust. This seed doesn’t carry any nutrients for germination and must enter into a symbiosis with certain fungi. So in nature, the seed must fall in the right place in order to germinate. In the laboratory, we make a breeding ground with special nutrients, including bananas, that help the fine seed germinate. The germination process takes up to several months.

6. Paphiopedilum is a large family with many diverse species. From very small to large flowers, from green leaves to variegated leaves with flower colours from white-green to almost black, and from solid colours to speckles and stripes.

7. Paphiopedilums are sympodial orchids. These orchids grow from a horizontal stem instead of a vertical stem. Sympodial orchids have multiple stalks – or pseudobulbs – which increase in number every year. Usually, these new pseudobulbs emerge from the side of an older pseudobulb.

 

 

8. Paphiopedilums are southeast Asian orchids which are native to humid forests. While the majority of orchids are epiphytes (grow in trees), Paphiopedilums are mostly terrestrial. This means they usually grow amongst rocks, moss and leaf litter. That’s why the Paphiopedilum doesn’t like direct sunlight: in nature, it’s protected by the foliage of the trees.

9. The Paphiopedilum is a ground orchid. There is no chlorophyll in the roots; therefore, the plant isn’t placed in a transparent pot.

10. The Paphiopedilum flowers for about 6 to 12 weeks, depending on the variety.

11. The process of crossing, seed, germination and growth into a flowering plant takes about 6 years.

12. The Dutch American Hybrids are crossed to be grown sustainably, with fewer diseases and easy re-flowering in the living room.

 

 

Paphiopedilum care tips

A few Paphiopedilum care tips:

  • Water your Paphiopedilum once a week, slightly more in the summer. Make sure that no water remains at the bottom of the outer pot.
  • Paphiopedilums are shade plants, so don’t place them in direct sunlight.
  • Did your Paphiopedilum finish flowering? Then remove the stem as deep as possible and place the plant in a cooler room. Also give it a little less water, which promotes bud induction in the new shoots.
  • Keep the plant cooler for about six weeks and then treat it again with sufficient light, water and a warmer temperature. This in turn gives new shoot growth, which is necessary for subsequent flowering.

 

Read more about the Paphiopedilum orchid!

Visit the orchid show during Keukenhof 2023 in The Netherlands

Keukenhof is the perfect place to celebrate spring in the Netherlands. The flower park in Lisse will be open for the 74th time from March 23, 2023. It’s one of the most beautiful attractions in The Netherlands and is visited by people from all over the world.

Also read: How to style the Colour of the Year 2023: Viva Magenta

 

Keukenhof 2023

Keukenhof will be open from Thursday 23 March to Sunday 14 May 2023. The 15 km hiking trails are laid out in such a way that you have a spectacular view of the fragrant flower gardens and flower greenhouses. During your walk, you will see unique, weekly changing flower shows, beautiful ponds and various pavilions with restaurants and terraces. In addition to the flower gardens, Keukenhof is also home to the largest sculpture park in the Netherlands. You can admire many images here, made by national and international artists.

Keukenhof displays flowers and blooming plants not only outdoors, but also indoors. In the Beatrix Pavilion, you can enjoy orchids in a wonderful colourful ambiance!

 

Photo: Keukenhof | Treffend Beeld

 

Theme 2023

Each year, Keukenhof has a special theme to which the designs of the gardens and the flower shows in the pavilions are inspired. Last year it was ‘Flower Classics’: a classic and timeless theme, and also a reference to art. In 2023, Keukenhof has no overarching theme. The flower shows will each have their own theme, making a visit to Keukenhof even more varied. In addition, flowers, colours and scents connect in any way; this is a theme in itself!

 

Photo: Keukenhof | Treffend Beeld

Photo: Keukenhof | Treffend Beeld

 

Practical information

Keukenhof is open from Thursday 23 March to Sunday 14 May 2023, from 8:00 am – 7:30 pm. More information and tickets can be found on their website.

Address:
Stationsweg 166A
2161 AM Lisse

 

Also read: The style trends for 2023 in the field of flowers and houseplants

What to do with the air roots of an orchid?

It’s common knowledge that a plant has roots, but the air roots of an orchid are a little less known. So you’re probably wondering what they are, what their function is and whether you can cut off an orchid’s air roots. Read all about it in this article!

Also read: How to make orchids rebloom again?

 

What are air roots?

Curious about what the roots that grow outside of the pot of your orchid are? Air roots are crazy-looking tendrils that look a little like tentacles, but they are perfectly normal! They are firm and white, and often grow downwards.

 

 

What is the function of air roots?

Orchids use their roots to absorb nutrients from the air, absorbing moisture and obtaining carbon dioxide they need to thrive. However, this is especially true in areas and climates with high humidity. In the average living room, this function is therefore less effective and doesn’t have a huge effect on the growth of your plant.

Fun fact: orchids are epiphytes, which means they grow on other plants – such as a tree in a tropical rainforest. They use their roots to attach themselves to tree branches high above the jungle floor, to attempt to reach the light filtering through the leafy canopy. So, many plants that we place in a pot are actually climbing plants!

 

Should I cut the air roots off my orchid?

Not everyone is a fan of aerial roots, as they can make the plant look a bit crazy. However, if the air roots are firm and white, they are healthy and you don’t need to do anything at all. Trim the ones looking brown and soft, but work carefully to avoid cutting too deep and harming the plant. Do the air roots really bother you? Then cut a few off, but not all at once. This way your orchid can slowly get used to it.

 

 

Also read: 3 ways to water your orchid

DIY room spray with scented orchids

With spring in sight, it’s time for a new, fresh scent in your home. And you can easily make one yourself! In this article, we share step-by-step instructions for a DIY room spray. We are adding scented orchids – not only because they smell nice, but they also look great too!

DIY room spray with scented orchids

 

 

Necessities room spray with scented orchids

 

Instructions

Fill the spray bottle with distilled water and alcohol. Add the essential oil and a dash of vanilla extract. Keep playing with the amounts until you’ve found a fragrance that works for you. Shake the bottle carefully to mix everything. Then cut a few flowers from the orchid and place them in the bottle. In the video below we used a fragrant Phalaenopsis, but you can use a Cambria, Miltonia or Zygopetalum too. Twist the cap on, shake it a bit and spray!

 

@orchidsinfo

The orchid makes this home spray smell so good! #diy #roomspray #homespray #orchid #flower #interior #home #flowerscent #huisgeur #huisspray #orchidee #diyroomspray

♬ original sound – jaredjjenkins

 

Do you want to hang on to the scent for longer? Then leave the cap off and place a few wooden sticks in the bottle. The result is homemade fragrance sticks! Place them in a nice spot in your house and enjoy them every time you walk by.

 

More fun DIY ideas:

How to style the Colour of the Year 2023: Viva Magenta

The colour we will see this year is Viva Magenta, which Pantone chose as the Colour of the Year 2023. It is a nuanced red tone, balancing between warm and cool. Wondering how you can style the Pantone Colour of the Year 2023 in your interior? Then read on for inspiration!

Also read: The style trends for 2023 in the field of flowers and houseplants

 

Viva Magenta: Colour of the Year 2023

Pantone reveals the year’s colour based on trends in different industries, including interior and fashion. In 2023, that will be Viva Magenta: a brave, dynamic and vibrant hue. It’s a pulsating colour whose exuberance promotes optimism and joy.

 

Pantone color of the year Viva Magenta

How to style the Pantone Colour of the Year 2023: Viva Magenta

How to style the Colour of the Year 2023

Viva Magenta is a striking colour but combines easily with other colours. You can easily add an accent colour to your interior with plants, and the same goes for the orchid in this dark red colour. This is already a beauty in itself because the colour matches beautifully with the dark green of the leaves of the plant.

 

 

For example, create a ton-sur-ton effect by styling Viva Magenta with the same shades. Think of light pink, purple or burgundy.

 

How to style the Pantone Colour of the Year 2023: Viva Magenta

 

The Colour of the Year 2023 also combines great with contrasting colours, such as yellow and orange. The result is a cheerful mix that is perfect for spring.

 

How to style the Pantone Colour of the Year 2023: Viva Magenta

 

Do you prefer a calm base? Then opt for light blue, light gray, khaki or taupe. With these natural shades, the Colour of the Year stands out beautifully.

 

Also read: Add colour to your kitchen with the help of orchids

Add colour to your kitchen with the help of orchids

An easy way to add more colour to your kitchen is with the help of orchids. This tropical plant comes in a wide variety of colours. From white to red, and from pink to brown. So there’s always an orchid that fits in your interior! It may be a little less common to place plants in the kitchen, but they can create a completely different atmosphere there too. To show you that, we collected some beautiful images of orchids in the kitchen!

Also read: How to create an orchid jungle

 

Add colour to your kitchen with the help of orchids

Want to keep it subtle? You can give the kitchen a touch of colour with a cheerful orchid on the counter. Bonus: watering has never been so easy!

 

 

Place it in a cute plant pot and you have a unique piece that can stand out! This one looks a bit like a colander, which makes it a perfect fit for the kitchen.

 

Voeg kleur aan je keuken toe met orchideeën

Photo: Anthura

 

Choose a simple base and style it with orchids in your favourite colours. Perfect for the holidays or that special dinner with friends and family!

 

Voeg kleur aan je keuken toe met orchideeën

 

Combine small and tall plants to give more life to the overall look.

 

Voeg kleur aan je keuken toe met orchideeën

 

And if you think more is always better, you can turn your kitchen into an urban jungle!

 

Voeg kleur aan je keuken toe met orchideeën

Photo: Thejoyofplants.co.uk

 

Also read: An orchid for every room

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