My Favorite Flowers - Carnations
What a perfect month to be starting the “My Favorite Flowers” feature as Carnations are January’s birth month flower and they just so happen to be my all-time favorite flower! Lucky for me, my favorite flower is also my own birth month’s flower. I have a few others that make the top of my list and while a lot of them change from week to week, carnations are always on top!
Carnations often get a bad rap. They’re sometimes put into a category of cheap, and undesired flowers. I don’t think most people know how beautiful they can be in the right arrangement. They pair so well with fancy flowers like garden roses, ranunculus, and peonies.
Carnations are a long-lasting flower, they come in such beautiful colors, are so versatile, and their fragrance can’t be beat! I get extremely nostalgic when I catch the scent of carnations. They always remind me of walking into an old flower shop and it’s a feeling I treasure.
We had done a series of features for Green Wedding Shoes a number of years ago and it still stands out as one of my favorites. Here’s one of my favorite excerpts:
“Perfumeries in France were starting to grow in popularity, and the essence of carnations, along with other flower essences began to gain traction in olfactory fashion. By the 1930s, carnation essence had become highly prized + priced, and today is still reserved for only the highest quality perfumes.
Fun Fact: Perfume truly grew in popularity when Louis XV took the throne in the 18th century; his court was nicknamed la cour parfumée, or the perfumed court, due to the generous amounts of perfume + fragrance used. Since perfume substituted for soap and water at the time, its use increased exponentially. The aromatic plants in the South of France were used as raw materials and that’s where today’s association with the South of France being the world’s capital of perfume stems from! Additionally, because perfume was used so heavily by the royal court, it became an accessory signifying class + exceptional personal taste — making it the thing everyone wanted to have and super en vogue.”
I have also come across the most beautiful article from Gardenista. I love the title of rethinking a supermarket flower. Carnations definitely deserve to be rethought about! And check out the amazing colors featured, they are stunning!
Stay tuned for more of My Favorite Flowers features!
