Remember this fun little children’s game played with the pedals of daisies? Whether it’s the carefully pulled bouquet out of your garden presented to you by your child, roots and dirt still attached, to your first corsage to your bridal bouquet, flowers and love are completely intertwined. With Valentine’s day a week away, everybody’s thoughts turn to flowers and what to get or create for that special person in your life.

The last couple of blogs have talked about the two floral mainstays of Valentine’s Day, Roses and Carnations and their meanings. If you are looking for something a little more unique to create with, I’d like to share with you some other fabulous flowers you could use and what their meanings are.

The dainty daisy represents gentleness, innocence and loyal love.

 

 

 

 

Red Chrysanthemum means I love you. In fact, the red shade of most flowers designates love so don’t worry if you can’t get those brilliant red roses you had your heart sent on sending.

 

 

 

 

Orchids represent magnificence, love and beauty. I love working with orchids. Our sister site has a large number of videos on creating arrangements with orchids.

 

 

 

 

 

Have a crush on somebody? Consider sending them Gardenias which represent a secret love.

Carnations like roses, have a wide range of ‘voices’ and are another excellent choice for telling that special someone how you feel about them on Valentine’s Day. This versatile flower is second only to roses in popularity. It’s gentle fragrance and hardy long lasting blossom make it a perfect choice for any arrangement style.

As with roses, the dark red carnation signifies deep love and affection.

 

 

 

 

White carnations are said to represent purity and pure love, as well as thank you and good luck. This makes them a great choice for wedding arrangements as well as a special bouquet for somebody going on a trip or perhaps moving away. They’re also a great choice to use if you want to create an arrangement to say thank you to somebody.

 

 

 

 

Pink Carnations are traditionally given on Mother’s Day as they symbolize a mother’s or sister’s love.

 

 

 

 

 

Purple carnations are not as readily available as their red and white counterparts and symbolize a sense of whimsy or capriciousness.

 

 

 

 

 

Yellow carnations, unlike their rose counterparts that mean friendship, are actually a flower that means rejection or disdain. And like the purple carnation, are not as easy to find.

Picking just the right flowers to create your bridal party flowers and your reception centerpieces is one of the most important parts of planning your special day. But apart from selecting your favorite colors, you can also let the flowers you chose send a very special message. This time of year, romance is everywhere and there are not only a lot of brides planning their weddings, but a lot of brides to be that will be surprised on Valentine’s Day with a proposal. I can’t think of a better reason to talk about the language of flowers than that! And I’m going to start off our little series on the language of flowers with the ultimate symbol of love. The Rose.

Red Roses–We all know that those gorgeous red roses signify deep love and romance. They’ve been identified with these feelings for centuries and are the most recognized symbol of love world wide. These days, roses are available in a wide variety of colors and with it, a wide variety of meanings in the language of flowers.

 

 

 

 

Pink Roses–The pink rose has been around maybe even longer than the red rose. Pink was and still is the dominate color for wild roses so naturally it appeared first as roses began to be cultivated. Pink Roses have a couple of different meanings. Love of course, but giving somebody pink roses can also mean gratitude and appreciation.

 

 

 

 

Yellow Roses–These lovely beauties have not been around as long as their red and pink counterparts and owe a great deal to cross breeding which gave this lovely rose it’s fabulous scent. Yellow roses are most popularly associated with Friendship, but they also mean Joy and are the perfect flower to send to somebody when you want to express Get Well wishes.

 

 

 

 

White Roses–What better flower to represent Purity and Innocence than the white rose. White roses are also known as the bridal rose and is classified as a traditional wedding flower because they also mean Unity, Virtue and the bond of New Love.

 

 

 

Orange Roses–This vibrantly colored rose is fast becoming a big contender against the Red Rose for Valentine’s Day. Orange Roses represent Desire, Enthusiasm and Passion, making them an excellent choice to give your sweetheart. They range in color from the palest peach to the deepest coral.

 

 

 

 

Lavender Roses–This rare bloom has a long history dating back to the Old Garden Roses. Modern hybridization has created additional varieties of lavender roses with the long stemmed rose being the one most used in arrangements. Lavender roses represent enchantment, Majesty and Love at First Sight.

Beautiful and elegant, the Iris has over 200 varieties in a wide array of colors so it’s fitting that this gorgeous flower takes it’s name from the greek word for rainbow. They can be found in virtually every part of the world, growing both naturally and in a flower farm environment. The most popular types found as cut flowers are the blue, white and yellow.

Depending on the color, the Iris can convey all sorts of different meanings, from the blue which stand for faith and hope to the yellow that symbolize passion. White Iris represent purity and the flower itself expresses admiration, making it a perfect choice as a Valentine’s floral arrangement as well as for any Valentine bride.  The delicate and lacy blooms create beautiful and romantic bouquets.

Iris come in many forms and two distinct types, bearded and non bearded. The Bearded Iris varieties include Miniature Dwarf, Dwarf, Intermediate, Border Miniature Tall and Tall. The Non-Bearded Iris varieties include Siberian, Japanese, Louisiana, Dutch, Yellow Flag and Blue Flag.

Used  to help pad out a bouquet or to add a little touch of contrast in your bouquet or reception centerpieces, filler flowers can play an important role in creating the perfect look for your special day.  Usually the first flower that comes to mind when talking about filler flowers is baby’s breath, but there are a wide variety of flowers out there that fall in the filler flower category.

Waxflower makes a great addition to any arrangement or bouquet.  Available year round, each stem of the waxflower has several small blooms on a woody stem. They are available in white, off white, various shades of pink and even lavender.  To make sure that your waxflowers will be at their peak fresheness, plan on getting them a day or so before your event.   Because this is a woody stem plant, you need to make sure that you cut it using the right tools so that you do not damage the stem which would prevent the flower from being able to draw water up. And as with all flowers that you are using for your arrangements, you will need to soak them in a water bath overnight.

This lovely filler flower has a great vase life, up to 8-9 days so it’s a great choice for any arrangement that you would like to have last a long time.

Using Garland as the centerpieces at your holiday wedding is the perfect way to tie in existing holiday decorations at your reception. I love using garland at this time of year and have often used it in place of a more traditional holiday centerpiece. Garland as a centerpiece is a fabulous way to include all the gorgeous color of the holiday season without overpowering the tables.

Take a look at the picture to the left. I used an artificial garland on my dining room table. All I added to the garland were bows and fairies.

You could also add silk flowers to garlands. And, remember I’ve told you before that you can take your aged green hydrangeas cut right from your bushes and insert them into the garlands, trees and wreaths. You can also add berries, holly, even pine cones for great color and texture.

The bows I used in this garland I have been using for the past three years. I just store them away at the end of the holiday and bring them back out when I need them again. They need to be fluffed a bit after being in storage, but as long as you use wired ribbon, you can store them and reuse them for years to come. I also used four different ribbons in these bows. A 2 1/2 inch green, a 1 1/2 inch purple, a 1 1/2 inch burgundy and a gold cording….all wired!