🌲Deck the Halls - When Fresh Greenery Takes Centre Stage

As floral designers, we spend most of the year celebrating petals — roses, tulips, peonies, dahlias, ranunculus... And with good reason - they are beautiful, fragrant and instantly make you smile. But once December arrives, something magical happens: winter evergreens take over, and honestly, we love it!

Holiday evergreens aren’t just filler or background. In December, they are the star of the show — fragrant, textural, long-lasting, and full of character. They make homes feel instantly festive, and they bring a kind of natural calm, connection to nature and fragrance that is so good for the soul, especially in the midst of a very busy season. December is the one moment when greenery confidently steps into the spotlight — and we’re very happy to follow its lead.

 

🌲Why Evergreens Feel So Good This Time of Year

There’s something deeply comforting about walking into a room filled with fresh cedar, pine, spruce, fir... The scent, the colour, the texture — it feels grounding and fresh at the same time. While the world outside gets darker and colder, evergreens bring life, freshness, and happy vibes indoors.

And what's not to love?

1. They last — and last.

Winter greens can stay beautiful for weeks, far longer than most florals.

2. They dry gracefully.

They don’t droop or wilt — they simply soften into elegant, matte versions of themselves.

3. They add sculptural texture.

Arching cedar, airy pine, fluffy carolina sapphire — there is no contesting the lushness and interesting shapes of nature’s tapestry

4. They instantly style a room.

One vase of evergreens = instant holiday mood.

5. They feel modern.

Evergreen design is fresh, minimal, and stylish — never too traditional. Mission critical for us - we just love a fresh, modern spins in the classics.

 

🌲Our Favourite Fragrant Evergreens 

One of the most unforgettable parts of winter evergreens is their fragrance. It’s subtle but unmistakable — that clean, forest-fresh scent that instantly shifts the mood of a room. Evergreen fragrance has a grounding, emotional quality. They signal the season and make a space feel instantly “festive”. They also make a room feel cleaner and fresher. And because these scents are natural, they never overwhelm. 

Each type of evergreen contributes something different to the overall scent story. And of course, we have our absolute favourite types and varieties of evergreens - obsessively curated by us to ensure the best, most fragrant and long-lasting varieties are available to you:

✨Cedar — soft, fresh, calming

A smooth, citrus-adjacent scent that fills a space gently.

✨Pine — bright, woodsy, uplifting

Crisp and nostalgic — the “classic Christmas tree” smell.

✨Fir — warm, comforting, familiar

This is the holiday aroma. Cozy, classic, grounding.

✨Spruce — sharp, energizing, forest-fresh

A stronger winter scent that instantly freshens the air.

✨Carolina Sapphire Cypress* — cool, minty, eucalyptus-adjacent

Beautifully fragrant and incredibly elegant, with a soft, clean, refreshing scent.

✨Leyland Cypress* — fresh, brighter green, understated

A mild, refined fragrance perfect for those who prefer something subtle.

✨Hemlock* — soft, clean, subtly woodsy

Fine, Feathery, Forest-Fresh

*Note: These branches are our absolute favourite and is a detail that makes winter green arrangements that little bit extra special. 

🌲Evergreen Care — Simple, Effective, and Long-Lasting

To keep your evergreens fresh:

✨Keep them away from direct heat (radiators, fireplaces, vents).

✨Refresh the water every 2–3 days.

✨Mist lightly to keep your branches soft and supple.

✨Trim stems weekly for better hydration.

With simple care, your winter greens can last 2–3 weeks or more. Most winter greens hold their scent for 1–2 weeks, often longer when properly hydrated. Carolina Sapphire, pine, fir, and cedar tend to be the most fragrant and longest-lasting.

 

🌲 Why Buying Meticulously Conditioned Winter Greens Matter

Evergreen branches don’t arrive anywhere looking ready for your home. They come straight out of cold storage in very large, unprocessed pieces — thirsty, stiff, and not even close to being at their best. How they’re handled when they arrive in-store makes a huge difference in how long they last and how great they look. 

At Wellington Fleur, we definitely do not sell our evergreens in bulk, unconditioned mode. We treat winter greens with the same care we give our premium florals. So if you’re living in an urban, downtown condo, with not a lot of space or shears to cut down branches and don’t want the mess, we’re here for you. Evergreens are the kind of product that could easily be churned in and out, likely be a little bit less expensive - but that’s not for us. 

Here’s what our process looks like behind the scenes. It’s a lot of chopping, sticky sap and lugging around by the team, but it’s so worth the extra effort!

✨We purchase in small, frequent batches

Evergreens don’t just look fresh — they need to be fresh. We bring in greens weekly so you’re never getting branches that have been sitting around for weeks (often since the beginning of the season). Smaller, more frequent buying means better colour, better fragrance, and better overall longevity for you at home.

✨We rehydrate immediately

Evergreens arrive cold and dry from transport. We recut every stem and place them straight into clean water so they can drink and recover. This restores fragrance, flexibility, plumpness and freshness — and is a major reason why we feel confident our greens will llast longer than branches sold dry.

✨We condition them fully before designing

Winter greens sit in water for hours (at minimum overnight) so the stems can hydrate and the branches can relax back into their natural shape. This conditioning step is essential for longevity and helps prevent brittleness or premature needle drop.

✨We mist at least once a day to maintain softness and scent

Most evergreens including our faves: cedar, Carolina Sapphire, Leyland respond beautifully to humidity. A light mist keeps the tips supple, helps the needles stay intact, and enhances natural fragrance.

✨We cut and trim into workable, design-ready pieces

Wholesale evergreens come in oversized, woody branches that are difficult to style at home. You also need some sort of branch sheers or at minimum heavy-duty scissors. We trim, clean, and reshape each branch into manageable pieces that are easy to arrange and ready to use. 

✨We do the time-consuming prep so you get long-lasting beauty!

The combination of recutting, hydrating, conditioning, misting, and trimming results in greens that last weeks — not days — and maintain their colour, scent, and structure beautifully. As well, purchasing in small batches ensures you’re not getting branches that have been sitting around for weeks unconditioned.

These steps may be time-consuming, but they are essential to us, and they’re the reason we feel confident your evergreen arrangements and branches will be fresh, fragrant, and winter-ready the moment you bring them home. Of course, every home environment is different and proper care is required, but at least you will know we’ve done our job well!