As I look out my window, the day is dull and gray. The holidays are behind us. So are all the festive decorations we enjoyed early in the season. Now, each winter day is the same. Cold and frosty with a hint of fog.

Occasionally, we’ll have a sunny day interspersed with the gray. That helps to break up the monotony, but it doesn’t last long. Maybe you’re in a winter wonderland right now. When the initial snow comes, everything is covered with a sparkly coating of white. But eventually that turns to mucky ice as things melt and refreeze.

Maybe you’ve been inundated with winter rains, making the ground a soupy mess. No matter where you are during winter, it’s hard to get inspired and motivated during this season. Flower therapy to the rescue.

The one thing that can perk me up during these cold, gray months is flowers. I try to fill my home with beautiful blooms that remind me spring is on the way. Perhaps you feel the same way.

I thought I would share a few ideas on how to get some blooms front and center to bring brightness to these dreary months. Consider these ideas as flower therapy when you’re feeling a little discouraged by the winter weather.

Flower Therapy Ideas…

The following is a list of suggestions you can use to add floral beauty to your home right now. Some will cost a little money while others are free.

Grow Amaryllis

Many people grow amaryllis for the holiday season. However, I hold off on my amaryllis until after the holidays when I need some flower power. Purchase your amaryllis bulbs prior to the holidays. Store them in your garage or basement and then pull them out in late December or January.

Amaryllis are so easy to grow. Just pot them up in a snug pot with the top third sticking out of the soil. Give them a dose of water and set them in an out of the way place until the flower stem pokes out of the bulb. They do not need light until after they’ve started growing. Once they start to grow, move them to a bright area in your home.

It can take about 6 to 10 weeks to develop a flower head. Depending on how many flower stocks you get, your amaryllis can bloom for weeks once the flowers open up. If you purchase multiple bulbs, you can stagger your plantings to last for most of the winter months. Or you can pot them all at the same time for a massive display of beauty.

Grow Spring Blooming Bulbs Indoors

Now is a good time to force some paper whites or spring bloomers. Planning is key to this. You’ll want to purchase your bulbs ahead of time. I usually grab some paper white bulbs when I’m out shopping in December. Then in January I pot them up for a fragrant display in February.

You can also pot up any spring bulbs that you neglected to plant in the fall and get some beautiful indoor blooms. I have a few tulips that didn’t get planted, so I’m going to get them potted up to enjoy inside this winter. Keep in mind that most forced bulbs won’t be good choices to save and replant. But if you forgot to plant them this past fall, they won’t last until next fall. So you might as well enjoy the beauty now!

You can also purchase potted tulips, daffodils and hyacinths at your local garden center during the winter months. Look for plants with flowers that are not fully opened to enjoy the blooms for the longest amount of time.

READ… How to Plant Indoor Bulbs

Purchase a Grocery Store Bouquet

Purchasing a simple bouquet of blooms from your local grocery store can give you a wonderful lift during these dreary days.

Some of the longest lasting winter blooms are carnations, chrysanthemums, and alstroemeria. You can find these flowers in different colors, shapes and sizes, so picking a few bunches can give you a wide variety of bouquets. These also happen to be less expensive flowers… yay!

Grab a few bunches of flowers and some greens and you can create your own flower bouquets this winter.

Head to a Local Florist Shop or Garden Center

Florist shops are a good place to find individual bunches of flowers as well as bouquets. But they are also a great place to get inspired for the spring. You can often find containers, decor items and even garden supplies at your local florist. When I’m needing a flower fix, I plan for a florist visit. Just walking into the store is a breath of fresh air.

While your local garden center might not have an abundance of flowers yet, you can often find house plants, succulents, and potted spring bulbs.

To really make the most of this, pick one day a week and visit a different florist or garden center. Not only do you get to experience flowers all around you, but you can pick a bouquet or plant to take home and enjoy for the week.

Create an Everlasting Bouquet With Dried Flowers

Did you dry flowers from your garden last summer? Now is the perfect time to pull out your dried blooms and craft something. You could make a dried flower bouquet or a wreath for your door. You could also use your blooms to make posies to give to friends to perk them up during this dreary season. Use some dried flowers in your winter decor as well. Make gift tags for Valentine’s Day or Easter with some of your dried blooms.

If you didn’t grow enough flowers last year for these projects, you can often purchase dried flowers at your local craft store. This would also be a good time to research the best flowers to grow for drying. Then, when you’re planning your cut flower garden for spring, add some of those flowers into your plan. This will give you plenty of blooms to harvest for next January.

Purchase a Blooming Houseplant

There are a variety of houseplants that bloom during the winter months. African violets, Christmas/Thanksgiving cactus, oxalis, and begonias will bloom during this time of year. Sometimes you can find early pansies, violas and primroses. You might even be lucky enough to find a scented geranium or an orchid at your local nursery.

Make a Faux Bouquet

When all else fails, take a trip to Michaels or Hobby Lobby and select some of your favorite faux flowers. Take them home and use them to create a beautiful faux bouquet. Or tuck small blooms here and there around your home to add that touch of spring.

Create a Winter Terrarium

While a terrarium might not have a lot of flowers, they can help you garden during these cold winter months. It doesn’t take much to create a simple display of plants to enjoy during this season.

Read… Three Indoor Winter Garden Ideas

Craft a Paper Bouquet

If you’re looking for a fun project, consider making flowers from crepe paper. Find a craft book that includes flower making or research online for a flower making tutorial such as this post from Martha Stewart (Twelve easy ways to make paper flowers.) If you don’t feel like starting from scratch, you can purchase flower making kits online or at the craft store.

Make Some Floral Pillow Covers

While you’re at the craft store, pick out some floral fabric that you can use to make simple pillow covers. Dig through your fabric stash or check out an antique store for some vintage fabrics to use. You can find simple directions on this post… Make a Simple Pillow Cover Using Vintage Fabric.

Force Spring Branches Into Bloom

Take a walk through your garden and forage for some spring branches. If you notice the buds are starting to swell, you can pick a few to bring inside. Once inside, the warmth of your home will trick these branches into thinking it’s spring, and the swollen buds will bloom. All you need to do is give them a fresh cut and put in a vase of water for them to open up.

Choose from flowering ornamental trees, fruit trees, and flowering shrubs for forcing. Here are a few good choices:

• Forsythia
• Quince
• Flowering Cherry
• Crab Apple
• Redbud
• Pussy Willow
• Magnolia
• Serviceberry
• Red Twig Dogwood
• Dogwood
• Spirea

Create Faux Spring Branches

If you don’t have any flowering shrubs and trees of your own, you can create faux branches that look more lifelike than the ones sold at craft stores. Find some attractive branches in your yard or even a local park that blew down in a storm. Then purchase an inexpensive spring branch or bundle from the craft store. Remove the flowers and hot glue them onto the real branches you found. See how to do it here… How to Make Faux Spring Blooming Branches.

Adding bright, beautiful blooms all around your house can uplift your spirits when the dullness of winter sets in. Consider using a variety of these techniques to fill your home with brilliant flowers.

Purchase a handful of tulips for your bedside table or a bouquet from your grocery store for your kitchen. Stop by your local garden center to see if they have any clearance bulbs you can pot up. Try to regrow the amaryllis bulb you saved from last year.

Look for a potted African Violet to display in your bathroom. Head to the craft store and purchase some spring picks for an indoor wreath. If you have some older spring branches, glue the blooms onto foraged branches from your yard.

Spend a quiet afternoon crafting a pillow or two. Invite friends over to make some faux flowers from crepe paper.

When you fill your home with beautiful blooms, whether real or faux, it will remind you that spring is not far behind. These dull days will be over before you know it and we can head outdoors to enjoy the spring show that’s coming. This flower therapy is just what you need to get through these gray days!