Scents of Cut Flowers

Anyone who has had the pleasure of receiving cut flowers knows that their aroma and beauty are the perfect combo to bring an immediate smile on anyone’s face. Floral scent can really brighten up a home or office and perfume any birthday. In this post, we’ll discuss the both flowers that have scent and flowers that are scentless. But first, we’ll review proper flower cutting techniques for your own arrangements.

Receiving, Cutting, and Maintaining Flowers

When placing your flowers into your storage container, make sure you cut the stems at a 45-degree angle. Re-cutting the flowers every couple of days will also help increase vitality. When re-cutting, make sure to do so under running water, and remember re-cuts should be done diagonally as well. Straight, horizontal cuts tend to cause your flower’s stems to lay flat in your storage vessel. This can block water uptake, and lead to shorter lifespans. Do not cut your stems vertically, as this will destroy the cell structure on your stem promoting bacterial growth. Having fresh cut flowers is very important to maximizing your floral arrangements life span.

If the flowers you received flowers that were delivered dry, allow them to hydrate in a cool spot for several hours. Allow them to absorb your food and water solution before placing them in your arrangement. Avoid significant abrasions and pinching of your flower’s stem. The stem is your flowers life line to food and water, any damage inflicted on this important life line will decrease the flower’s ability for water absorption. Scissors are not recommended for cutting flowers, as they are usually on the duller end. If you have access to an extremely sharp knife, that is ideal. The sharper the cutting tool, the smaller amount of damage you are going to inflict on your stem. If any of your flowers have thorns on them, try not to remove them. By keeping the thorns on, you limit the risk of disease and ensure longer lasting freshness to your flowers.

Scents of Cut Flowers

There is nothing more romantic and pleasant than the scent of cut flowers. Each aroma has a smell that not only brings initial euphoria to the owner, but sometimes can also bring back pleasant memories and a sense of nostalgia. The portion of our brains associated with memory has its strongest links to the smell pathways of our nervous system. This means the luxurious scents of cut flowers can allow us to travel back in time to memories associated with these aromatics. With so many types of scents to choose from, let us highlight a few recommended flowers with unique fragrances.

Sweet Alyssum

A prolific annual with an assortment of clustered, sweet-smelling flowers

Lily and the Lily-of-the-Valley

The lily is the symbol of beauty and purity and has become a popular gift for Easter. We, however love this flowers for any occasion because of it’s bold presence. The lily has gorgeous white, pink, orange and yellow varieties that boast refreshing fragrances. The oil derived from lilies has been used for its healing properties and is popular in many spa products.

Jasmine

This fragrant flower has quickly grown in popularity with application in many perfumes and essential oil products

Roses 

Perhaps one of the most popular and ubiquitous flowers of all time, there are many varieties of roses to choose from. Two main classifications that should be highlighted are the distinction between the standard rose and the garden rose.

The standard rose traditionally has a petal with a pointed shape, which circles around the center of the flower. Garden roses are softer and less compact when compared to their standard cousins. Both flowers have delightful aromas and bring a much desirable aromatic perfume boost to any home or office.

Gardenia

Symbolizing secret love and joy, the gardenia is well known for its strongly scented flowers. Gardenia’s have rich, white flowers with dark green leaves. The petals are usually covered in a waxy material adding another layer of texture.

Hyacinth

The hyacinth is a poplar spring flower with long, narrow leaves. There are many types of flowering plants in the genus Hyacinthus, with one of the most common varieties being Hyacinthus Orientalis. The distinctive starfish like flowers of Hyacinthus Orientalis, along with their diverse color variety, are brilliant selections to any arrangement. Their scent is highly praised and has been sought after for the perfume trade.

Unscented Flowers

As appealing as scented flowers are for some, it is certainly not uncommon for people to prefer flowers without scents as well. There are numerous varieties of flowers that derive much of their appeal from their visual presentation, while omitting their floral aromas. Let’s focus on some of these options and highlight a potential alternative to the flowers listed above:

Sunflowers

Large, bright yellow petals fill your bouquet without the scent. The sunflower has long been a popular plant to native Americans and is a perfect representation of spring and summer with its sun like appeal.

Dahlias

Dahlia’s possess a symmetrical petal structure that is nothing short of stunning. With 5-6 layers of overlapping petals, the Dahlias are visually striking, unscented flowers that should be a top consideration to any floral arrangement.

Snapdragon

The snapdragon has a long structure that has flowers starting towards the bottom of the plant and finishing at the very top. The blooming of these flowers begins at the base, and works its way up, allowing for a long blooming cycle.  Want to try something fun? Take your thumb and place it on the bottom of a snapdragon flower and then place your index finger on top of that same flower. Gently press down and then release to see the snapdragon flower open and close. That snapping action is how snapdragons got their name!

Echeveria Succulent

Blossoming varieties allow for a very diverse selection, and due to their unscented nature, are great flowers to act as alternates to the gardenia.

Conclusion

The scents of cut flowers are considerations that add an extra layer to any floral arrangement. As you plan out your next floral bouquet, play with the visual components of the flowers and try to incorporate the scented elements to enhance your artistic design. There are no right or wrong arrangements, so do not worry about perceiving a mistake as a failure. The magic of floral designing is that there are no mistakes, it is your subjective preference that should guide your floral experimentation. Have fun with it, you have the ability to create something wonderfully new should you choose to!