Mother's Day Flowers

Happy Mother’s Day to all of you who provide a warm, caring and nurturing environment for the rest of us. You are a welcome haven and a blessing to our lives!

Did you forget it was Mother’s Day? If so, it’s not too late to go pick up some flowers or a potted plant. I was curious which flowers are commonly associated with Mother’s Day. The Florists Transworld Delivery (FTD) state on their website that the most desired flower on this momentous occasion is the carnation. They also relate that pink carnations “represent gratitude and love while red carnations signify admiration”. Whereas, white carnations are traditionally given or worn “in remembrance of a mother who is no longer living”. https://www.ftd.com/mothers-day-flower-guide-ctg/occasion-mothers-day-flower.

According to ProFlowers, carnations were incorporated into this tradition by the founder of Mother’s Day, Anna Jarvis. She distributed her own mother’s favorite flowers, white carnations, during a memorial service. The word carnation comes from the Greek and it means “heavenly flower”. Interestingly enough, Christian legend has it that pink carnations are believed “to have first grown from the ground where the Virgin Mary shed tears over Jesus’ death”. https://www.proflowers.com/blog/traditional-mothers-day-flowers.

Carnations are native from southern Europe to India. They are a member of the Caryophyllaceae family. Now that is a long word. Try saying it three times in a row. Their botanical name is dianthus caryophyllus. This family of plants is also known as “pinks”. The name was given not because the flowers are pink, but because the “edges of their flowers appear to have been trimmed by pinking shears”. https://www.ndsu.edu/pubweb/chiwonlee/plsc211/student%20papers/articles05/keizer,%20sarah/skeizer/skeizer.htm.

How to care for those fresh cut flowers? Cut a small portion off the end of the stem while holding the stems underwater. This will assure that no air enters the stem. Also be sure to remove excess foliage.

The University of Minnesota Extension recommends using a commercial preservative. They state adding aspirin, wine or pennies will not work. Commercially prepared floral preservatives are a mixture of sucrose, an acidifier, and inhibitory agents to protect against microorganisms.

Check the water level daily and add water with preservative as needed. Keep the flowers away from hot or cold areas. When not enjoying the flowers, you can place them in the refrigerator. http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/yard-garden/flowers/keeping-cut-flowers-and-flowering-plants/index.html.

Let’s wrap up this week’s article with an excerpt from a Rupert Brooke poem:

And in my flower-beds,

I think,

Smile the carnation

and the pink.

Kelley Rawlsky has an M.S. in horticulture and is the director of Bringing People and Plants Together, an organization dedicated to bringing horticulture education and therapy to the community. For more information: PeopleAndPlantsTogether@gmail.com or follow us on Facebook.

Article originally published in Broomfield Enterprise - May 13, 2018