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Rethinking Quince: Styling a Classic Spring Blossom

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Rethinking Quince: Styling a Classic Spring Blossom

March 5, 2018

Quince is often the first sign of spring at the flower market. I breathe a deep sigh of relief upon the first sighting. You can’t go wrong with a large glass vase full of these architectural blossoms in any room. But I wanted to go beyond the obvious and play with quince as art, by using one stem at a time, pairing it with an unexpected curry-colored vase, and floating a mass of blossoms in a modern frosted bowl. Think wabi-sabi.

Photography and styling by Chelsea Fuss.

Above: For a large-scale floral arrangement, you can’t go wrong with quince branches.

The sheer scale of quince demands that these branches be the star of the show. Even one stem in a small vase will offer an unexpected play on scale, and a surprise to a corner of a room. Adding quince to a color-saturated, angular ceramic piece brings out the bright coral of the petals and lines of the branch.

Above: Just one branch can be an artful display when paired with the proper vase.

When bringing quince inside, trim the stems at an angle, and cut upwards into the stem to make sure the branch can absorb as much water as possible. You can remove the dying blossoms to encourage new ones to open, or enjoy their beautiful decay on the stem.

Above: Create a wabi-sabi display with textured vases of different shapes and sizes.

Use vases that have different shapes and sizes to create a display with visual interest. The colors here work together but each vase offers a contrast, even if ever so slightly, of texture, color, and shape.

Above The mustard-colored vase is from Henriette Arcelin, a Lisbon-based ceramist.

The branches offer interesting architectural lines and, when paired with a mass of blossoms, create a quintessential spring flower arrangement.

Above: An offbeat, organic-style vase by Sofia Albuquerque is the perfect match for two quince stems.

Make a grouping of vases, or use a large twig on its own for an artful, textured, display.

Above: A frosted bowl from The Golden Rabbit, a garden shop in Düsseldorf, Germany, holds quince blossoms.

A bowl of quince blossoms is a quick and easy flower arrangement that will bring spring indoors.

Above: The coral pink is visible through the frosted glass of the bowl.

A simple bowl of quince blossoms showcases the gorgeous pale pink and coral petals.

Above: Playing with the scale of the branches makes a surprising statement.

Pairing a tall branch with a smaller vase is an elegant surprise and enables you to appreciate the scale of the branches. It makes a statement here in a corner of my country cottage.

Above: A curry-colored vase is the perfect color contrast for the coral blossoms of quince branches.

Find out how to grow your own in our design guide to Flowering Quince 101 and see more of our favorite spring-flowering shrubs including Forsythia and Witch Hazel in our curated guide to Shrubs 101 .

See more of Chelsea’s arrangements in our Rethinking Flowers series:

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