Tag Archive for: flower meanings

Pink Peonies - via Pinterest.com

Planning & Inspiration

Flower Feature: Peony

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The peony is a gorgeous flower admired for its impressive bloom, lush petals, and unique texture. Mainly found in white, peonies also grow in an array of hues from light pink and purple to a deeper red.

 

Single Pink Peony - Perfect Peonies - by Kathy Woodard - via The Garden Glove.com

Single Pink Peony – Perfect Peonies – by Kathy Woodard – via The Garden Glove.com

 

Nearly unrecognizable in the early bloom stage, the peony starts out as a tightly condensed flower bud. Once the bud is cut and placed in warm water, the petals begin to open up. It continues to expand until becoming this elaborate, beautiful flower full of color, texture, and dimension. Though it looks delicate, the peony in full bloom is prized for its sturdy foliage and low maintenance care.
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Floating Marigold - Photo by Nathan Michael - via SF Girl By Bay.com

Planning & Inspiration

Flower Feature: Marigold

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The marigold flower is one of the most recognizable flowers around the world, known for its vibrant yellow and shades of gold that resemble the sun. The marigold genus includes 56 species and varies from annuals to perennials. Though marigolds may be known as common garden flowers, they are beautiful, significant and meaningful in the flower kingdom. Grown all over the world, many see them as common weeds, yet when stripped down to their core, their beauteous shades of gold, orange, white and yellow are like no other.

 

Dark Orange Marigold - Marigold Flower - via Pinterest.com

Dark Orange Marigold – Marigold Flower – via Pinterest.com

 

Marigolds often vary in display as many have a pompop-shaped head made up of large amounts of small-layered petals, mirroring the sun. Other marigolds in the kingdom offer a variety of shades from darker petals on the inside to a lighter petal outline in more red-orange and maroon tones.
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Blue Hydrangea- Haute Hydrangea- photo by Hamptons Hostess

Planning & Inspiration

Flower Feature – Hydrangea

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One of the most beautiful and well-known species in the flower kingdom, is hydrangea. Hydrangea originated in many regions of the world, including North and South America, Europe and Asia. Now worldwide, they are very famous and a popular flower grown in gardens, while also being used at special occasions and weddings. Offering a variety of species in the kingdom, it is most famous for its hydrangea and Dutch hydrangea variety. The hydrangea species is famous for its large soft clusters and overwhelming beauty in its natural state. The hydrangea flower is grown on a hydrangea bush in single clusters containing multiple little flowers and blooms. Though each individual flower is very small, hydrangea’s florets are known for coming in full round clusters at the top of a single stem.
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Tulips via Flickr

Planning & Inspiration

Flower Feature: Tulips

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Tulips via Flickr

Tulips via Flickr

 

Popular in home gardens worldwide, the tulip is an essential asset to many floral design recipes. Known for its wide range of colors, bright bulbs and symbolic value, the tulip flower is a fan favorite.  In fact, tulips are the 3rd most popular flower in the world.

There are over 75 species of tulips, such as the Dutch tulip and parrot tulip.  Tulips are available in a variety of shapes, dimensions and colors, making them extremely versatile.

 

 

Tulips were first recorded growing in the Ottoman Empire. The word tulip comes from the Turkish word for turban, due to its tall, round shape. Today, many recognize the tulip as the emblem of Holland. When roaming the streets of the Netherlands, beloved tulips play a significant role in the nation’s cultural traditions and are loved by locals and tourists alike. Tulips were first brought to the Netherlands in the sixteenth century. Flemish botanist Carolus Clusius wrote a book about tulips in 1592 and they suddenly became so popular that his garden was raided and bulbs were stolen regularly! As the years went by, the Dutch became so fanatically obsessed with tulips that bulbs became immensely expensive.  Tulipmania, the name now given for this curious enthusiasm for tulips, peaked in 1637 and is considered the first example of an “economic bubble.”  Buying one tulip bulb at that time would have cost you 10 times the average national income.
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Dahlia at Lalbagh Flower Show via Wikipedia

Planning & Inspiration

Flower Feature: Dahlias

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Purple Dahlia Bouquet via Deer Pearl Flowers

Purple Dahlia Bouquet via Deer Pearl Flowers

 

Full-bodied and bright, dahlias are all about the drama. While you may think  you’ve seen one dahlia, you’ve seen them all, the term ‘dahlia’ actually applies to 42 species and over two thousand sub-varieties and hybrids. From the exotic Firework dahlia, whose petals stand strong and stoic, to the Bitsy dahlia, whose inner petals cloak their center and softly extend outward layer after layer, the endless variations in size, color, and texture are mind-blowing.

 

Why so many blooms under one umbrella?  It all began in 1789, when botanical explorers traveled to Mexico and collected dahlias from their native land.  The original Mexican dahlia spread about 2 inches across with a single set of petals and a central disk or head, similar to a sunflower.  The species was transported to Madrid, where horticultural growers discovered dahlias to be natural and eager hybridizers, and soon dahlias were readily adopting many different colors and sizes.
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Anemones / Kristen & Dave / New York Botanical Gardens / Chad David Kraus Photography

Planning & Inspiration

Flower Feature: Anemones

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These charming, vibrant blooms with their signature black center derive their name from the same Greek word meaning “the wind’s daughter.”

Anemones / Kristen & Dave / New York Botanical Gardens / Chad David Kraus Photography

Anemones / Kristen & Dave / New York Botanical Garden / Chad David Kraus Photography

 

Anemones open in the day and close up at night, a unique trait that played a symbolic role in the Greek myth of Aphrodite and her lover Adonis, a mortal.  The story goes that the two lovers would go hunting together in the woods, Adonis chasing game on foot and Aphrodite trailing behind him in her swan-driven chariot. Aphrodite’s ex-lover Aries soon grew jealous of their bond, and while Adonis was out hunting alone, his rival disguised himself as a boar and brutally attacked Adonis with his tusks.  While Adonis fought for his life, he was no match for a god and fell to his death on the forest floor.
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