Flower of the Month: January - Carnation

This is a collection of work that we have done recently incorporating Carnations. My favorite? The soft frilly peach Carnations.

This month we want to celebrate carnations. Rarely do we think of the carnation as "nice" flower, in fact, we tend to associate them more with our high school proms, funerals, and the gas station special. And any Sex and the City fan can tell you in the words of Ms. Charlotte York about her date, “I knew it was going to be terrible, the man brought me carnations...the filler flowers." From that moment on, any chance of the carnation being seen as more than a cheap flower was over. Or so we thought, over the past few years we have watched the carnation being reborn. 

Carnations offer so many benefits when used in a flower arrangement. They are, by far, one of the most resilient flowers while also offering a wide range of fantastic colors and eclectic versatility. Another great bonus to using carnations is the texture they can provide to an arrangement. The frilly edges of a carnation can add a great soft element to a bouquet or arrangement that has clean edges to it. Or if you really want to make an impact, look for some of the more uncommon Carnation varieties.

This bouquet appears to seem Carnation free. This is untrue - the Carnation we used in this bouquet is called a Green Trick. Can you guess which one we are talking about? (Hint: it appears to be "furry".)

Maybe Carrie was right in her response to Charlotte's "filler flower" comment, maybe carnations are in fact "making a comeback."

For more ideas about how to use Carnations, check out our Pinterest board! We are constantly adding new inspirations. 

Enjoy!

This collage is dedicated to Carrie and her love for pink carnations. These arrangements definitely make carnations a "comeback."
*These images come from Google*

True Love Tuesday: Kerri & Dylan

Kerri & Dylan wanted a wedding that reflected their Southern heritage. From the sprigs of Baby's Breath in the bouquets to the Magnolia Leaves in the centerpieces, one felt as if they had stepped back in time to the days of The Old South. The wedding was held at their church where the pews were lined with candelabras that had sprays of Fern dripping from the edges.

They could not have picked out a better venue than Magnolia Gardens Inn for their reception. The tables held a mixture of lanterns and glass compotes that were filled with Hydrangea, white Roses, Ivy, and Magnolia Leaves. We also had the joy of decorating their wedding cake with Antique Spray Roses and Carnations; the perfect combination to continue their Southern theme.

Enjoy!

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True Love Tuesday: Mary & Adam

Mary and Adam were married on a gorgeous day in May. And her color choices couldn't have been more perfect! The blues and purples were a perfect compliment to the perfectly blue sky that day! We used Hydrangea, Gladiolas, Iris, Eryngium, Seafoam Statice, and deep purple Carnations. For an added bit of softness, we wrapped all of her vases is ribbons of lace. Her bridal bouquet was a fabulous natural cascade with Lily Grass and Curly Willow accents mixed with the different blooms used throughout her floral design.

Enjoy!!!

True Love Tuesday: Eileen & Steele

Eileen was one of the sweetest brides we have worked with, and for her perfect day there was no doubt we would be showcasing her sweet personality in soft shades of pinks, corals, and white. To keep everything soft and Southern, we used Mason Jars with Rafia bows for her reception flowers. The mixture of Hydrangea, Stock, and Carnations was the perfect blend to make guests feel that the garden had been made just for them. 

For Eileen, we kept her bouquet elegant and sweet with Garden Roses in the same shades of pinks, corals, and white. Her attendants had simple cream bouquets of Stock tied in Rafia. Her cake was the crowning glory of her theme with butter cream icing and Roses scattered over the cake.

We hope you enjoy this sweet wedding as much as we did!

True Love Tuesday: Kayla & Will - Revisited

Kayla and Will were married on May 12 in a delightfully sweet garden wedding! Last week, we found out that our lovely bride was featured on The Wedding Post of Arkansas!!!

We are so excited for Kayla and Will and wanted to share a few more of her floral details from that day!

Thanks to Kathryn McGill Photography for being so great and sharing all of her detail shots with us!

Enjoy!

The groom's boutonniere.

Is the simplicity of this bouquet not amazing? The touch of lace around the stems was the perfect finishing touch.

We can't get enough of this bouquet!

We love creating hairpieces, and this one was especially sweet.

True Love Tuesday: Kayla & Will

Kayla wanted a sweet but beautiful bouquet for her wedding. Does this bouquet not make you want to just go out and sit in your grandmother's garden?! Which is perfect since Kayla had a beautiful garden wedding.

Thanks to Kathryn McGill Photography for the lovely detail shots!

Enjoy!!

Her bouquet consisted of Carnations, Wax flowers, Aster, Alstroemeria Lilies, Cushion Mums, and Stock.

We couldn't leave out the sweet little corsages and boutonnieres or the fabulous headpiece we created for the bride, groom and their families with coordinating blooms. 

Thanks to Kathryn McGill Photography for this detail shot! 

If you want to see more from this delightful little wedding be sure to check out The Wedding Post. 

Carnations and Baby's Breath...bet you've never seen them like this!

I'm in love with carnations this year!  Earlier this month we worked with a bride from Texas on this white and green wedding.  The combination of Dendrobium Orchids, Baby's Breath, Bear Grass and Carnations turned out beautifully.  Check out the foliage 'bows' we created for the ceremony and reception, as well.  

Ceremony Location: Mildred B Cooper Chapel, Bella Vista

Reception Location: Bella Vista Country Club

What the bride had to say: You will never go wrong using Rose of Sharon! Althea went above and beyond and made our ceremony absolutely beautiful! We had rave reviews on our decorations of the chapel, of the reception at the Bella Vista, Country Club, of the bouquets, boutonnieres and all the flowers. Aletha even went above and beyond and delivered candles to the reception that got lost in the shuffle! The wedding party told me how friendly and helpful she was, even making a boutonniere for someone she thought should have one! We can't brag big enough on Rose of Sharon!!!! We recommend them to all!!!!

Summer Wedding at the Botanical Gardens

This beautiful summer wedding featured Carnations, Stephanotis and Gardenias...and a temp of110 degrees!

Bride's bouquet

 

Corsage

Groom's boutonniere

Centerpiece

Ceremony Site 

Location: Botanical Gardens of the Ozarks

Its Like Building a House

Making a bouquet is similar to building a house.  You must have the right foundation and support or else your arrangement can snap or fall apart all together.  So much more goes into making a strong, long lasting, beautiful bouquet than meets the eye.

This arrangement containing stephanotis and carnations is actually a time consuming arrangement that requires lots of preparation before the bouquet can be assembled.  





The first thing to remember is to keep your fingers wet.  The oils from your hands can damage the petals and make them turn brown.  The flowers come with a green stalk on the end of them.  To begin, I removed the green stem from the flower.





The fuzzy looking sticks that are laying in the water are called stephanotis stems.  On one end they have cotton attached to them, similar to a q-tip, that soaks up water. These are inserted into the flower so that the flower can be used for arrangements and bouquets.






Next, I inserted the stephanotis stem backwards into the flower to remove the rest of the stalk that is left inside the flower.





I then turned the stem around and inserted it into the flower so that the cotton part rest gently into the middle of the flower.  This allows the flower to stay moist as well as provides a place for the pin to be placed in the middle of the flower.

When I was done, I had several nice flowers to be placed in bouquets.  All that is left is placing a pin in the middle of the flower and arranging them into a bouquet like the one above!

Another bouquet that I made on the same day also required much preparation to the flowers before it could be assembled.  This bouquet contains football mums and carnations (see, I told you I like carnations!).

Carnations can have weak stems when they are arranged into a bouquet.  For this reason, it is important to place a wire around the stem in order to add support.




When building a house, you don't want to build your house upon the sand but instead upon a rock, a strong foundation.  When creating a flower arrangement, we don't want to create something that is going to fall apart before it reaches the hands of a bride.  We want an arrangement that will stand strong through the ups. . and stresses. . .of a wedding day!

~Hannah
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I Speak for the Carnations

As Doctor Seuss writes in his book, The Lorax, "I am the Lorax.  I speak for the trees.  I speak for the trees because the trees have no tongues."  (I'm an Early Childhood Education Major in college, even flowers remind me of children's books.)

I know by now that you are probably wondering where I am going with this.  Well, I am Hannah.  I speak for the carnation.  I speak for the carnation because carnations don't have tongues.  Carnations have received a bad reputation for long enough and I am here to speak out for the carnation and its tainted reputation.  Oh the carnation, bless it's heart.

All too often I am sitting in on a consultation for a bride or I overhear Althea talking to a bride and the question "And which flower do you absolutely not want in your wedding?" comes up.  More often than not, the response that follows is the same.  "Carnations".  

Now I must admit, there was a time when I would have responded the same.  When most of us think of carnations our mind instantly takes us back to football homecomings and school dances.  Now if we are truly being fair, we can't blame our bitter relationship with the carnation on some poor, poor fellow who thought that carnations would be wonderful flowers when mixed with five million ribbons and glitter and accented with baby's breath.  However, believe it or not, there is more to a carnation than those memories.  Yes, if given the chance, a carnation can make any wedding, arrangement, or prom beautiful.  

According to proflowers.com, the scientific name for the carnation, dianthus, can be translated into "flower of the gods" and "flower of love."  Carnations date back to ancient Rome and Greece where they were used in art.  In those days, carnations bloomed in primarily pink, peach, and white.  However, now carnations come in a variety of colors and sizes including peach, dark purple, and even a fuzzy green.  Similar to roses, the meaning of the carnation varies with the color.  White carnations symbolize purity while pink carnations show gratitude.  I bet you didn't know that in the early 20th century the carnation became the official flower for Mother's Day.  If carnations were good enough for the Romans, Greeks, and mom, they are good enough for me!

Take for instance this lovely bouquet with peonies, roses, and carnations.  Yes, carnations!  Carnations can add color, fullness, and depth to any arrangement when used correctly.  

Photo by Scott Plauche Photography

These bouquets include a mix of roses and carnations and the bouquet below include stephanotis  and carnations. (Now I know you can admit that nothing about these arrangements yell "1980s homecoming.") Carnations can stand alone or they can be mixed with flowers to create any feel, look, or color scheme that a prospective bride might desire.  

Photo by Scott Plauche Photography

 So the next time you are tempted to say "oh, no carnations for me, no way, no way."  Remember, carnations earned their spot in the floral world and we just need to give them a chance.

~Hannah