Biggest Floral Trends of 2015

Biggest Floral Trends of 2015

2015 flower trends all lilies don't smell Green Ball Dianthus Hydrangea Lady Aster new year Roselilies Women's Day

In a few days, we will say goodbye to 2015 and step forward into the new year.  Looking back on the last 365 days, did you love or loathe the biggest trends of 2015?

Between the debut of the Apple Watch, Caitlyn Jenner's transformation, the long-lost novel of Harper Lee, Adele's much-anticipated album, the omnipresence of Donald Trump,  and of course, the newest installment of Star Wars, there are plenty of trends from 2015 that you can choose to love or love to hate.

And what about the biggest trends in the floral world? Here, we feature our 5 most popular blog posts from the year, highlighting what you and other readers found to be most interesting and en vogue.

The Countdown

5)  Our 5th most popular post from 2015 was the Intricate World of Roselilies.

Roselily Belonica

These beautiful blooms are still a relatively new creation.  We've been growing them for 4 years, and--due to increased demand--have been steadily growing our program every year.  It seems that once someone learns of these singular flowers, they become a fan.  As their popularity increases, I predict we will be seeing more and more of these unique beauties, especially as we offer more varieties and a larger color palette.

4) Our 4th most-read post of 2015 is about the increasingly popular Women's Day.
 

This is a repeat from last year, proving that Women's Day is gaining ground as a recognized floral holiday in the United States.  Women's Day was started in America in 1909, but ironically, it was Europe that really brought it into the mainstream.  It has come back home in the past several years, and our popular 2015 post recommended 2 Woman's Day Marketing Themes to use as a focus in your marketing efforts--Honor and Respect.



3) Our third most-read blog post is no surprise.  Green Ball Dianthus (The Flower of the Gods) has rightfully earned a spot as one of the biggest floral trends of 2015.  Its ubiquitous presence in bridal bouquets, corsages, boutonnieres, and fall arrangements has certainly crowned it "King of the Botanicals," and I'm sure its fresh, textural presence will prove popular for years to come.

Trending wedding arrangements featuring Green Ball Dianthus

2) I have a confession to make.  This list is actually the top 6 most-read posts of 2015--however, I have combined our second and third most-read posts as they both were about Hydrangea! The first, The New Everlasting Colors of Hydrangea, focused on our new varieties of "bulletproof" hydrangeas--blooms that have been specifically bred for the flower industry and designed to last weeks and weeks as cut flowers. 

Readers followed the change of seasons and the transformation of bright summer hydrangea into the beautiful marbling of antiques, which were showcased and explained in the popular blog post, The Enchanting Palette of Antique Hydrangeas.  The fairy-tale photos have me itching for summer already.

1)  And now, the moment we've all been reading for...our most-read post of 2015 was--drum roll please---Lily Scent Guide by Lady Aster! This post has been searched for again and again, and its popularity and usefulness demonstrates that floral education may be the biggest trend of 2015.
So, have you learned which lilies do and do not smell yet?

The Stargazer Lily (a very aromatic bloom)

I hope you enjoyed this look back into the past year (Auld Lang Syne), and now let's fill our glasses (and vases!) and toast to new beginnings.  

Happy New Year from Sun Valley!

Dianthus: "Flower of the Gods"

Dianthus: "Flower of the Gods"

dianthus Green Ball Dianthus green trick Lady Aster Sun Valley

"Can I touch it?"

  This is THE Dianthus barbatus question.  Looking at the photos, I'm sure you can see why.  Dianthus barbatus (aka Green Ball or Green Trick) looks like a self-contained diorama of a mossy forest (and yes, it is as soft as it looks).

The history of Dianthus dates back to over 2000 years, making it one of the oldest cultivated flower varieties.  Greeks and Romans revered the plant, using its flowers for art, decor, and to build their iconic garlands.  Two millennia later, Dianthus is still highly desirable. Just four years ago, two new varieties of Dianthus barbatus--better known as Green Ball and Green Trick--have been made available to the flower market. 

These two new varieties provide bouquets with a never-seen-before texture and aspect.  They are round, focal, and green, made up of soft filaments sitting atop a strong carnation-like stem.  The difference between the two is simply size--Green ball has a diameter of 6cm or larger, while Green Trick is categorized as smaller than 6cm.

Row of freshly picked Dianthus

We grow our Dianthus at our Oxnard farm, where the warm climate works well with its growing needs.  I got together with one of our head growers, Manuel, who was able to answer my many Dianthus questions:

Q. How do we cultivate our Dianthus?

A. We start with really small, rooted cuttings, which we transplant into our hoop houses. We grow Dianthus year-round and always plant in soil.

Q. What kind of growing conditions does it need?
A. Dianthus likes warmth which is why we grow it here in Southern California. The temperate weather is perfect.  However, too much heat will kill it, so we do take steps to maintain a perfect balance of light and shade, warm and cool.  During summertime, we use shade cloth, and when winter arrives we take the shade cloth off and use plastic on the hoops in order to keep the warmth in during the cooler evenings. 

Q. How do you know when they're ready to be picked?
A.  It takes an average of 10-12 weeks from planting until the beginning of harvest, but we can tell when the plants are ready because the green heads are full, rotund, and soft in appearance.  This means the plant is mature and prime for picking.

   

Doug and Lane showing off our Green Ball Crop

Dianthus, ready to shine

These excellent cut flowers look great in table arrangements and do well accenting other colors. They are easy to incorporate, and they introduce a unique shape, color, and texture to any arrangement.  In addition, the lush blooms are incredibly long-lasting (up to 4 weeks!).  Mix them into woodsy, whimsical, rustic arrangements or pair them with elegant callas, hydrangeas, and lisianthus for an elegant feel.

Add another level to your floral creativity with the versatile and verdant "flower of the gods," Dianthus!

Inspirational Dianthus Designs:

Calla and Dianthus bouquet, photo courtesy of  Modernly Wed

Mixed Dianthus Bouquet Photo Courtesy of A Colorado Courtship

A Rustic-inspired table arrangement, photo courtesy of Ruffled

Simple, elegant table arrangements, photos via Style Me Pretty

Adorable Dianthus boutineers, photo via Inspired By This

Emerald With Envy, Pantone 17-5641

Emerald With Envy, Pantone 17-5641

Bells of Ireland Christmas greens Corgy White Emerald Green Ball Dianthus Hypericum J Schwanke Pantone 17-5641 Parrot Tulips Rodi Groot Sun Pacific Bouquet.

Now that you have had about a week to ponder Pantone 17-5641, let’s talk FLOWERS! You’ve seen the runway models in gorgeous emerald dresses; the wild emerald jewelry that is back in vogue and anyone on Pintrest has seen a huge emerald wave crash over cyberspace. Some of these emerald fans are getting a bit carried away, but if you can’t get carried away in the fashion industry, then where can you?

Pantone 17-5641 grips the world! Shoelaces, a python, and the Emerld City...where the Wizard lives. 



Luckily at Sun Valley we don’t need to look too far to find amazing emerald hues. In our botanical category some of our most popular items are emerald. Green Ball is an ever popular style of dianthus. Adding volume and beautiful texture to any arrangement, Green Ball will be the bell of the ball this season. Speaking of bells, how about Bells of Ireland? Ireland is known as the Emerald Isle, and our Bells of Ireland are about as close to Pantone 17-5641 as you can get. Its scientific name is Moluccella laevis and it’s a member of the mint family. In the language of flowers, it means “luck” and since we are growing this crop down in Baja, you are in luck that you can order it today, even when it is dark and stormy back in the old country.



Green Ball, Bells of Ireland, Corgy White Brassica



Ornamental kale, otherwise known as Brassica, is a really unique design element either playing a leading role as a focal in bouquets, or adding girth and substance to accent lilies and iris. We grow several varieties of brassica throughout the year, but currently we are harvesting a variety named Corgy White. This variety has rich green leaves on the outside and reaches a white center. On the journey beautiful emerald tones highlight this unusual botanical.

Rodi Groot the lead bouquet designer for our Sun Pacific Bouquet division in Oxnard says, “ In bouquet design I like using green flowers like viburnum, green ball, bells of Ireland and green hypericum to name a few. They bring calm to the bouquet and at the same help the other colors pop!”



A beautiful emerald design from Rodi Groot in our Sun Pacific Bouquet department. 



Hypericum is seriously in demand this time of year. Its shiny berries make it a favorite of floral designers. We have brought in a large shipment of hypericum from our partners in Ecuador. The “Selvia Romance” boasts heaps of emerald green berries; perhaps the runway models should be carrying a bouquet of this stand out…although it might outshine the Divas.

Selvia Romance Hypericum

And when it comes to Divas, anyone who follows this blog will be thrilled to know the Queen of Greens is ecstatic about the new Pantone. Our West Coast Evergreen Division is full of green foliage in a variety of shades, whether specialty branches, Christmas greens, seasonal greens or western greens.

Sun Valley is known first and foremost for our year round tulips, and guess what? We have Pantone 17-5641 in a tulip. Check out our Super Parrot. Yup, that’s the real deal; the white edges provide a great contrast to the green petals. Ooh la la.

Sun Valley's Super Parrot Tulip.

We sent a note over to J Schwanke, The Flower Expert and Host of FUN with Flowers and J, www.ubloom.com, and asked him his opinion on Pantone 17-5641. He had some very insightful comments, not just discussing using green elements, but really explaining what this color as a fashion trend is going to look like.

Here are some words of advice from J:

It's about using the COLOR of the year to our "FLOWER'S" Advantage... and this year's Pantone Color provides a PICTURE PERFECT Background... for so many flowers... it's not limited to Flowers that may grow in its specific tint, tone or shade...

The whole Flower World looks FABULOUS With Green... "Emerald" Envy... I dare say.

With Juxtaposition... I think Emerald - Pantone's Color of the Year for 2013... is a dramatic background color that allows us the opportunities BEYOND "Matching the color"... (Although Amazing Textural Products like Bells of Ireland, Green Ball Dianthus, or Corgy White Brassica... will indeed allow us to address the color of the year with TEXTURE too!!!)

2013's "Emerald" provides the perfect "Backdrop" ... to showcase our Creativity and the Diverse Colors of our Flower Palette. What will you do with Pantone's Color of the Year??? Your Creativity is the only Limitation!"

J continued on with some fun examples of how he might interpret emerald: LOVE THESE IDEAS!

Imagine the Complimentary "Explosion" of featuring Acapulco Lilies... on an Emerald Green Bridesmaid Dress...or a Christmas Departure... using ILEX Branches in a Clear Vase atop an "EMERALD" Christmas Table Cloth...

Experience the Friendly "Laughter" caused by an exquisite fragrant bouquet of Sun Rise Freesia and Aventura Gerbera placed on a dining or cocktail table... set with Glistening "EMERALD" glassware or Napkins...

Visit a Magical "Mineral Color Based" Flower Spa... as you soak in the Cool Colors of Kuhnert Blue Hydrangea, Delphinium, and Atlantic Hyacinth... against an "Emerald" Background of a sofa or throw pillows positioned in an ocean side cabana...

Thank you for sharing J, I hope you invite me next time you head to the “Flower Spa”…I wanna go!