Lilacs and Wisteria! I SO love them on the mantel in early spring! And with flowers that beautiful, you hardly need any other decoration.
If you have lilacs and wisteria in your garden, bring some of that gorgeousness inside! Use these tips to decorate a simple but stunning spring mantel.
Lilac Bush
We have a lilac bush (tree) that we got many years ago from a place called the Hulda Klager Lilac Garden in Woodland, WA. (About 30 minutes up the freeway from Portland.) Hulda was a lilac hybridizer in the early 1900s, and her beautiful garden was open to the public. These days, the Hulda Klager Lilac Society maintains that tradition. So in addition to the Lilac Days festival in April & May, the gardens are open all year.
If you love lilacs and are ever in that area, you should definitely stop by. It’s an amazing place!
The house I grew up in had lavender colored lilacs in the yard, so I wanted to get that color for our yard too. The bush has grown a lot since then, and I have to stand on my tiptoes and pull branches down to cut the flowers. Maybe time to prune. But I digress.
What I really wanted was a houseful of the beautiful scents of lilacs and wisteria, so I cut a whole bunch of each.
Vase
I have a vintage black amethyst glass vase that I thought would be perfect for them. I’m not sure this glass is made anymore, but you can sometimes find vases on eBay or in antique stores.
The glass is so dark, that it looks pure black unless the light shines through, whereupon it glows a gorgeous purple! I also used this vase in a very non-threatening way in THIS POST.
Especially because of the green leaves, just the lilacs and wisteria by themselves make a nice full arrangement. I love to let the wisteria hang – the movement is so graceful!
Where to Put the Lilacs?
I had them on the table for a while, but they were so huge that we couldn’t see around them!
So, they went on a little (careful) journey around the corner to the mantel.
I almost always have a mirror and some candles on our mantel. I switch out other things or change it up whenever the mood strikes, but there’s something so lovely about simplicity.
Just an extra vase of flowers can make a normal old everyday mantel look striking. And an arrangement of some particularly gorgeous flowers like lilacs and wisteria, can make it stunning.
Candles
Because they were already there, I used my favorite champagne and silver mercury glass pillar candle holders.
Silver Mercury Glass Candle Holders
Champagne Glass Candle Holders
A Mirror
The large mirror that I often keep on the mantel is an antique too. You can find such wonderful things prowling around vintage markets! Or you can inherit them from your grandmother, which is how I ended up with a lot of my things!
Extras
You know how when you’re doing a flower arrangement, there are always some little bits left over? That’s what you need tiny vases for!
I had a few wisteria clusters left, and the stems were too short to go in the big vase. So I rubber banded them together and put them in this little silver bud vase in our guest bathroom.
The blue books are some of my favorite children’s stories by Hans Christian Andersen. As you can see, they’re well loved! As I posted on my Instagram the other day, Mom bought them in Copenhagen – Andersen’s home – when she was a young flight attendant. They lived in our bathroom the whole time I was growing up, and somehow ended up in my own bathroom! (I don’t know – maybe they hopped all by themselves into one of my moving boxes years ago …) Mom pretended not to notice.
A Simple Mantel with Lilacs
So there you go! If you have some lilacs and wisteria, (or have a friend who will share,) here’s an easy way to bring beautiful spring into your home! A simple mantel decoration of mirror, candles, and flowers will do the job nicely!
And if you don’t have lilacs or wisteria, just search your yard or take a trip to the store! This easy mantel decorating strategy works with any lovely flowers for any season.
Happy Decorating!
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This Post Shared With
- Metamorphosis Monday #572 – Hosted by Between Naps on the Porch
- Thursday Favorite Things 04.30.20 – Hosted by Katherine’s Corner
- Tuesday Turn About #47 – Hosted by Thistle Key Lane
- Tuesday Turn About #96 – Hosted by My Wee Abode
- Metamorphosis Monday #572 – Hosted by Between Naps on the Porch
- Thursday Favorite Things 04.30.20 – Hosted by Katherine’s Corner
- Tuesday Turn About #47 – Hosted by Thistle Key Lane
- Tuesday Turn About #96 – Hosted by My Wee Abode
- Friday with Friends 04.01.22 – Hosted by My Hubbard Home
- Thursday Favorite Things 04.07.22 – Hosted by Follow the Yellow Brick Home
I’m closing my eyes and can smell the lilacs. This time of year lilacs are the “In plant” Lovely arrangement Barb. Yours was most clicked at the FWF party.
Thank you for sharing!
Rachelle
Hi Rachelle! Oh that’s so sweet – I’m glad people liked it. I just can’t get enough and I’m waiting with bated breath for this year’s crop to bloom. Hope you have some over your way too!
Wow. Lovely, lovely combination of flowers and unique black amethyst vase
Thanks so much Gail! One of these days I’m going to have to take a picture of the vase with the sun shining through it – it’s so beautiful. Happy Spring and almost Easter to you!
How lovely the lilacs and wisteria look together! How wonderful the scent must be!
Hi Tina – you’re right – the scent is wonderful! 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by. Hope you’re having a lovely spring!
I LOVE this!!! That vase is stunning…decorating with fresh flowers…there’s just nothing better!! All of your vintage pieces are gorgeous!
Thank you so much Rachel – I’m right there with you about fresh flowers! Thanks too for stopping over. I love to share with another vintage lover! 🙂 Hope you have an excellent weekend.
Those are two of my favorite flowers and they look amazing together! What a beautiful mantel. Pinned.
Wonderful – thanks so much Joanne! I love them too! 💗 And thanks for stopping by – I’m going to go check out your blog next! Take care and stay safe out there!
I absolutely love Hulda Klager’s Lilac Gardens! I used to go yearly when I lived in Portland and Vancouver, and now that I live in Texas, I plan my spring trip to visit family to coincide with the tulip and lilac season! Due to the pandemic, we had to cancel this year, so I miss the smell and sight of fresh lilac so much. This bouquet is perfect!
Oh thank you Elena! And I’m so glad you know the Hulda Klager garden! That’s so cool that you plan your vacation around the flowers – what a wonderful idea! 💗 Thanks so much for stopping by, and hope you have a safe and happy week!
Oh Barbara…..just stunning and lovely and oh so beautiful! Just what I needed to read today. I am so jealous as we do not have either lilacs or wisteria here. Boo hoo. But I am tempted to mail order some in just so I can bury my face into their fragrant blossoms. Thanks for sharing!
I’m so glad you like them Mary! This is why we need scratch and sniff computer screens! 😉 Thanks so much for being here, and have a lovely weekend my friend! 💗
I wish I had a lilac or wisteria bush in our yard Barbara! But until I do, I will enjoy yours 🙂 They are just lovely, and you arranged them beautifully.
Hi Denise! Thanks so much – I’m so happy to share! 🙂
Your ideas and photos are so lovely! I need a lilac bush and wisteria in my yard!
Thanks so much Jill! You would love having their fabulous scent in your yard – you’d just have to keep your lilac trimmed better than I do! 🙂 Hope you have a wonderful day out there!
So, so lovely!! Two of my favorites! Lilacs always remind me of my hometown. 💜 Did you know that Mackinac Island, one of my favorite places in Michigan, has a Lilac Festival every June? It’s a beautiful time to visit the island! (I will meet you there!) 😂 thanks for another great post !
Hi Terri! I would love to see your Lilac Festival – they’re some of my favorite flowers too! Thanks so much for popping over, and Happy Wednesday! 🙂