The best flowers for Mother’s Day: beautiful and inexpensive
Jennifer Murphy, owner of Forget Me Knots Custom Events and Floral Design in Floral Park, New York, recommends selecting fragrant flowers like roses and lilies, “classic choices that will fill the room with their sweet scent and make your bouquet even more memorable.”
When you bring your flowers home, cut the stems at an angle, remove leaves below the waterline and place the flowers in a vase to maintain them hydrated, says Murphy. These steps give the flowers “some room to breathe” and improve their longevity.
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Next, she said, rearrange the bouquet by “placing the tallest stems back and working toward the front, layering shorter blooms (towards the front) to create a balanced look.”
Green makes the bouquet stand out. “Take some from your garden or pick up some eucalyptus or fern leaves” on the market, Murphy said. “They give your arrangement more structure and make it appear fuller.”
Stems of garden plants that make good bouquets include dusty miller, ivy, myrtle and viburnum. You may even use herbs out of your kitchen garden, similar to basil (cinnamon basil is especially noticeable), mints (try apple mint, chocolate mint, or spearmint), oregano, and sage.
Herbs picked within the morning wilt more slowly and are more fragrant than those picked within the afternoon or evening.
Murphy highlights the importance of filler flowers, a florist’s “secret weapon.” Fillers similar to baby’s breath and waxflowers add depth to arrangements and fill gaps when incorporated between the larger blooms.
You may also “shop” for filler flowers in your garden. Look for plants whose stems bear clusters of small flowers, similar to: B. Astilbe, catnip, chamomile, dianthus, dill, goldenrod, heather, lady’s mantle, lavender, lily of the valley, Queen Anne’s lace, sea holly, snapdragon, sweet vetch and yarrow and verbena.
