It's Carnation time here at Flowers Gold Coast! You may have seen them popping up within our Bouquets lately!
Originally from the Mediterranean, or so we think - Carnations have been cultivated for over 2000 years!
For the most part, carnations are described as expressing love, fascination, and distinction, though there are many variations dependent on colour. They join bouquets as a lovely accompaniment flower that brings an arrangement together and makes it pop!
We've brought together some interesting facts about Carnations that you may find interesting!
- Along with the red rose, the red carnation can be used as a symbol of socialism and the labour movement, and historically has often been used in demonstrations on International Workers' Day
- In China, the carnation flower is the most frequently used flower in weddings.
- Carnation is the birth flower for those born in the month of January.
- In Portugal, bright red carnations were used in the 70's revolution and is known as the Carnation Revolution.
- White carnations represent pure love and good luck, while striped (variegated) carnations symbolise regret that a love cannot be shared.
- Light red carnations represent admiration, while a dark red colours denote deep love and affection.
- Purple carnations in France, is a traditional funeral flower, given in condolence for the death of a loved one.
- According to a Christian legend, carnations first appeared on Earth as Jesus carried the Cross. The Virgin Mary shed tears at Jesus' plight, and carnations sprang up from where her tears fell. Thus the pink carnation became the symbol of a mother's undying love.
- Since Ottoman times, red carnations and tulips are used in wall paintings of mosques in Turkey. It is often said that while tulips represent God, carnations is the symbol for Muhammad.
- The formal name for carnation, dianthus, comes from Greek for "heavenly flower".
All in all - here at Flowers Gold Coast, we've decided they make an awesome addition to our bunches, so this month we've included Carnations into our Bouquets, whether you buy them yourself, or get some flowers delivered to your door across the Gold Coast, we hope you like them as much as we do!
Check out some of our "Flowers of the Month" blog posts here!
Or our other blog "Words from your Local Florist", we go into detail about our day to day activities, information about upcoming seasons, or trends, or some behind the scenes information that you will love!