These poor abused flowers. I feel for them. They are always overlooked and often misunderstood. When I meet with clients I always ask them what their likes and dislikes are in terms of flowers. Many times the carnation gets listed under the "dislikes" category.
I can see how you might be tempted to dismiss the humble carnation as little more than a cheap and tacky filler for all those pre-made arrangements you know well enough to avoid. Ugh. "How awful," you think. "I don’t do carnations. Ever." After all, it is unlikely that you envision your centerpieces to look like this for your wedding:
I'm here to convince you to give carnations another chance. If you group these beauties together in a tight cluster you get something stunning. The ruffled edges give a wonderful texture that appears to be lush and rich.
They make beautiful bouquets.
They are great in pomanders. You can hang these up for the ceremony and then reuse them for the reception.
If you like the lush look of flowers and want to avoid greens, carnations are a great flower to use to add texture and fullness without breaking the bank. Here you see a centerpiece with dahlias and carnations mixed together. You can barely tell the difference between the two flowers.
And another huge plus about carnations? They are ALWAYS in season and come in every color you can imagine--and everything in between.
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Karen, you are solely responsible for teaching me about the loveliness of carnations. I think my attitude regarding their "cheapness" came from dying them in 6th grade science, and having my teacher tell us that carnations are the cheapest and weakest of the flowers. Those pictures (above) are beautiful!
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