Holiday Color Series: Blue Holidays With You

Holiday Color Series: Blue Holidays With You

blue christmas blue holiday flowers blue hydrangea Blue Iris blue juniper berry hanukkah holiday color series Holiday flowers

Thus far, our Holiday Color Series has covered the traditional colors of red, green, and white.  This week, I want to move beyond the colors we typically associate with the Christmas season, and have a little fun with the gorgeous and oh-so-winter-appropriate color blue.

Winter Blues

There something absolutely magical about blue during wintertime, and it's even more beautiful when paired with white or silver.  This ethereal combination is elemental in nature, and effortlessly calls up feelings of tranquility and nostalgia.  It feels special, and it is. 

And when we talk blue holiday flowers, we are also talking about something really special.  Blue isn't a typical flower color, and according to The Science of Plant Color, "less than 10% of the 280,000 species of flowering plants produce blue flowers," making a blue holiday flower a rare commodity indeed.  We've all seen our fair share of dyed roses and carnations, but why fake it when you can find authentic and unique shades blue in nature?

Natural blue flowers

Iris

Traditionally, iris has been popular flower for Hanukkah, as blue holds a special symbolic significance in this winter celebration.  Historically, the Israelites were instructed to use a particular kind of violet-blue (known as tekhelet) interwoven in the white threads of their prayer shawls (tallitot).  This expensive and rare blue dye was made from a type of snail, which gave the blue color an even more special, elevated status.

Today, this divine color combination is still used throughout Jewish culture, and especially around the holiday season, with blue symbolizing divinity and white indicating purity and innocence.
Iris varieties come in blue hues ranging from Telstar's dark indigo to Sky Diver's light blue, all the way to Casablanca's bright white, which allows for great versatility and flexibility in holiday design.   Below are some beautiful arrangements which pair blue iris with white lilies, lavender matsumoto asters, greens, matricaria, and tulips.

Hydrangea


Hydrangea varieties naturally give us several shades of blue, and their color and intensity can vary even more depending on their soil acidity.  Stunning ornaments, wreaths, and centerpieces can be made with hydrangeas; you can leave the bloom heads natural, dry them, or even spray a few of them gold or silver for some extra holiday oomph. I did a little search on Pinterest and was rewarded with a plethora of blue holiday hydrangea ideas. Check out some of my favorites below:

Hydrangea Wreaths in a wide range of hues

Juniper Berry

Juniper berry is the wild horse of this blog post, because a) it isn't a flower, and b) it isn't even a berry.  This low-elevation evergreen has fragrant, green to silver-blue foliage, which is interspersed with clumps of small blue "berries," which are actually modified conifer cones.  Regardless of what it is, juniper berry branches are great for the holidays.  Its natural evergreen background and pops of color makes it easy to work with on its own, and it combines gorgeously with other embellishments (such as fruits, flowers, or ribbons) as seen in the photos below.  

No matter what colors you choose to use this season, traditional or otherwise, your holiday decor can be just as unique as you are.  After all, a Blue Christmas doesn't have to be as sad as Elvis makes it seem...

"And when those blue iris start falling

That's when those blue hydrangeas start calling

You'll be feelin' dapper with your blue juniper,

And I'll have a blue, blue blue blue Christmas"

Holiday Color Series: Dreaming of a White Christmas

Holiday Color Series: Dreaming of a White Christmas

holiday color series white christmas white holiday flowers white lilies white tulips

Traditionally, the Christmas season is dominated by colors of red and green, contrasted against bright white, lustrous metallics, and cool blue. Each color has its own symbolic meaning and historical significance, and over the next few weeks, I'm going to focus on one particular holiday color. This week, we're taking a hint from the world's best-selling single of all time, "White Christmas," with a nod to white flowers for holiday decor.

History of White Christmas

Dickens may have popularized the idea that Christmas should be white with his 1843 tale of redemption, "A Christmas Carol," but it was one century later, when the song "White Christmas" was released to the world, winning an Academy Award, and further enshrining in our minds that white equals Christmas.  White does invoke an atmosphere of wintertime, childhood, and tradition, while also symbolizing the tranquility and peace that can come with the holiday season (if we want it!). The cool tones of white also strike the perfect balance with traditional colors of Christmas: red, green, and gold.

 

White Lilies

White lilies have always been a popular holiday choice due to their shape, scent, and symbolism.  From as early as 1600 B.C. particular meanings have been associated with the white lily, with ancient Greeks and Romans believing the lily represented purity, fertility, virtue, and prosperity.  In Christian culture, the white lily is a symbol of the innocence and chastity associated with the Virgin Mary. 

The shape, lasting ability, and scent of White Oriental Lilies in particular is especially lovely when paired with bright ilex berries and earthy, evergreen boughs of cedar, fir, and pine.  

 

White Tulips

Tulips in December? Yes, yes we can.  Together with our Southern Hemisphere partners we can offer spring-fresh tulips in the dead of winter, which can give holiday bouquets and arrangements a modern, garden-fresh look.  Tulips, including the super-tall French variety (Clearwater is pictured below), as well as the unique shape of Parrot Tulips (pictured above, second photo of blog), are gaining popularity as a fresh alternative to traditional holiday flowers, and they look great when used en masse.   

 

Like lilies, when white tulips are paired with holiday greenery and bursts of color, the effect really drives that White Christmas feeling home.  

White flowers are not only beautiful in their purity, they pair well with classic colors of Christmas. White is clean and pure, and brings to mind the idea of a fresh start, which we all look forward to at the turn of every new year.  So, may your days be merry and bright and may all your Christmas flowers be white.