We love big beautiful flowers. One of our favorite varieties of cut flowers is the dahlia. These spectacular blooms come in a range of colors, including red, orange, yellow, pink, purple and white. Those colors make this a perfect flower to add to some of our existing fall floral designs. Our experienced Griffin’s floral design team is always willing to help customers customize flower arrangements for any occasion.
Are you aware that we owe a debt of gratitude to the Ancient Aztec Indians who lived in mountainous areas of Guatemala and Mexico? They were growing these ginormous beauties when the Spanish conquistadors stormed their land and tried to conquer them. The conquistadors must have been taken by the dahlias they saw. When they sailed back to Spain, they brought seeds, some dahlia roots, and plants back with them.
Those specimens were given to the Royal Botanic Garden in Madrid. That is how they were propagated. Eventually, they traveled to Europe. During the 1840’s, American garden writers wrote about the flowers, so they must have existed in the United States by then. It didn’t take long for dahlias to become a rock star flower here. F.F. Rockwell exclaimed that dahlias were the most popular bulb in America in 1927.
Dahlias aren’t just pretty; they’re full of different meanings, sentiments, and symbolism. The language of flowers suggests that dahlias are supposed to deliver messages of:
- Warning someone of the threat of danger
- To advise someone of imminent change
- The suggestion that someone is about to travel
- Dahlias are supposed to convey a premonition of betrayal.
Dahlias are appropriately associated with elegance. On a more romantic level, dahlias celebrate love and marriage. They are also a sign of eternal commitment.
Don’t let the name deter you from using this arrangement for any occasion. Soft and Beautiful Birthday is an excellent example of how well dahlias work with other flowers. This arrangement celebrates pink, purple, white and yellow. We include pink, purple and yellow roses, yellow carnations, and purple and white dahlias. There are accents of seeded eucalyptus and wax flowers. This lush design is the perfect gift for an anniversary because of the connection with eternal commitment.
Don’t let the Summer Salsa name confuse you. Purple orchids contrast beautifully against giant yellow sunflowers, orange and peach colored roses, and wine-colored red dahlias. It is an arrangement that makes us think of Sangria!
