A new spin on Easter decorations

In Poland traditionally during Easter families meet for a festive breakfast on Sunday and sit together for hours around the table which is usually decorated with colourful Easter eggs, bunnies, lambs or oat and cuckoo flower sprouts. But since nature starts to awaken in spring, why not use other plants to decorate the table and your home for Easter. The limit is your imagination.

Inspired by Easter palms, you can use all sorts of dried plants for your decorations. For example, silver-grey, shimmering catkins or young shoots of a flowering willow, which is traditionally known to be a  symbol of immortality. The most popular, however, is the willow. – To make your decorations more original, instead of catkins from domestic species, you can choose the East Asian slender-necked willow, which has pink catkins, or its variety 'Mt Aso' with an even more intense shade – says Dr. Marta Monder from the Department of Ornamental Plants and Dendrology, emphasising that it is also worth planting willows in your garden, because its flowers, although inconspicuous, are rich in nectar and eagerly visited by pollinating insects.

The willow branches can be accompanied by various grasses and dried flowers, which can be dyed. Among the grasses, Dr. Marta Monder recommends, for example, bunny tail grass and various species of tremor, and perennials – mainly the common reed.

– It is a cosmopolitan species, occurring all over the world, although it is a typical marsh and aquatic plant, it can also be found  in quite dry areas. It’s also a valuable species for ecological reasons, small animals, fry and birds find shelter in it, and it protects the banks against water erosion and can be used for wastewater treatment – explains Dr. Marta Monder.

Fresh plants, symbolising new life, also look great in spring decorations. In addition to Easter eggs, sugar lambs and cakes, you can decorate the table with numerous species of plants, in various forms and shapes. – Leafless birch, hazel or cherry plum branches, which bloom beautifully at this time of the year, can be used to decorate wreaths and baskets. Early-flowering plants are popular at this time of year, most often yellow – daffodil, tulips, but also pink hyacinths or blue sapphires – names Dr. Marta Monder. According to her, the less common golden and colourful flowers of buttercups and pansies also look beautiful. – Moving away from tradition, you can add foreign flowers to your decorations – for example bright forsythia or the less common early flowering magnolias,like the starry magnolia or pleasantly fragrant viburnum – she adds.

Some of these plants can be planted in your garden or allotment, to use them in future spring decorations, and to enjoy them all year round as well. According to Dr. Marta Czaplicka, head of the Department of Horticulture, periwinkle will be perfect for the garden, as it can be both a basket decoration and a great ground cover plant, which creates a compact and durable undergrowth. Additionally, it blooms purple or blue in the first days of April. Boxwood will also work in the garden. It’s not only used in Easter baskets, but it’s also a great garden plant that can be used to make sculptures. – For those who don’t have a garden and would like to plant something, traditionally, during the holidays, cuckoo flowers and oats can be sown on a saucer – says Dr. Marta Czaplicka.

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