Four of the most popular flowers being used in arrangements this summer at Karin’s are the Hydrangea, Sunflowers, Gladiolus, and Dahlias. We wanted to provide a little background information on these four flowers and why they are a customer favorite this summer.

Throughout history the hydrangea has been especially significant in Japan, where many believe the flower originated. Hydrangea bloom in variety of different formations; the most popular are the mophead hydrangeas, whose flowers grow in big ball shaped clusters. There are also types like Lacecap and panicle hydrangeas. The most common colors that Hydrangea are green, purple, blue and pink. Pink Hydrangeas symbolize emotion, blue hydrangeas symbolize apology, white hydrangeas symbolize boasting, and purple hydrangeas symbolize desire to understand someone. Because of their meanings, hydrangeas are great for many different occasions including heartfelt moments, apologies and thanks.

The story of the is indeed amazing. The wild sunflower is native to North America, but commercialization on the plant took place in Russia. It was only recently that the sunflower plant returned to North America to become a cultivated crop.  The sunflower’s name comes from its tendency to reposition itself to face the sun. Because of the myth of Clytie and Apollo, the sunflower most commonly means adoration and loyalty. However, sunflowers meanings can vary across country. In Asia, people associate sunflowers with a long life, good fortune and vitally, where in Native American groups, sunflowers represent harvest, bounty and provision.  The sunflower’s yellow color symbolizes vitality, intelligence, and happiness; the color yellow also traditionally symbolizes friendship.

are a genus of bushy, tuberous, herbaceous perennial plants native to Mexico. Today, the Dahlia remains the National Flower of Mexico where the mighty Aztec Indians first discovered its beauty. Dahlias are annual blooming plants, with mostly tuberous roots. Dahlias serve decorative purposes in cakes, tarts, pastries, salads, and in garnishing of desserts. The Dahlia is the official flower of Seattle and San Francisco here in the United States of America.

is one of the best flowers you can give as one of the birth flowers for August. Gladiolus is a symbol of strength and integrity. The Gladiolus come in an array of beautiful colors and represents summer in its fullness. This August birth flower is magnificent with its large flower and incredible foliage not to mention the sweet scents emanating from it. Mixing the colors when planting will ensure that when they bloom you will be faced with flashes of color all over your garden.

Recently we had a design class that was all about orchids. One of the most elegant flowers we have to work with is the orchid. They learned about how to care for orchids as a cut flower and the orchid plants and how to use the orchid plant combined with other flowers to create different designs. We had an excellent turn out and everyone thoroughly enjoyed learning something new.  Looking forward to September, our next class is titled Cornucopia of Flowers. That should be very interesting.