Flowers for Boutonniere

The original boutonnieres decorated lapel button holes.

The gentleman's boutonniere was once a common sight. It was, perhaps, plucked from a morning garden or purchased from a street vendor and tucked into a lapel button hole by an attentive spouse or companion. Today, the little ornament is reserved for formal occasions like weddings. It most often takes its theme from the lady's corsage or bridal bouquet. Boutonniere flowers must be sturdy and last for an afternoon or evening's festivities.

Aster Family

Chrysanthemums and daisies are popular boutonniere flowers.

Sunflowers, daisies and asters come in a wide variety of colors, varieties and sizes. Multipetaled flowers from the aster family are popular for springtime and summer events as well as school dances. Artemisia and other small asters are also often used in sprays behind a singular bloom.

Orchid Family

Orchids are exotic but rugged blooms.

Another major group of plants, the orchids, provide surprisingly sturdy blooms for boutonnieres. The waxy flowers look like fantastic faces and grow in soft pastels, often accented by deep hues. Thousands of varieties of these exotic flowers have a delicate odor or no smell at all. They are the easiest of flowers to keep in refrigerated cases, making them popular for events where many boutonnieres and corsages will be needed. New species orchids are especially long-lasting.

Carnation Family

Carnations make bright, informal boutonnieres.

The frilly carnation is a favorite solo boutonniere flower, requiring little backing to look appropriate. Reds and whites are most commonly chosen for men's attire, although carnations grow in all shades of pinks, yellows---even greens. Bicolor carnations feature streaks of color on a white or cream background. Carnations smell fresh and clean. Another carnation family member, baby's breath, comes in several varieties, mostly white; the tiny flowers are used in sprays as filler.

Rose Family

The rose is the perfect flower for formal occasions.

Although many members of the rose family are valued for their fruits, the flower that graces the lapels of grooms, fathers and other male members of wedding parties is likely to be a rose. Reds, pinks, whites, lavenders, dark crimsons and plum-colored flowers provide beautiful blooms that are appropriate for the most formal occasion. Hybrid tea roses provide the familiar rosebud shape, but grandiflora, rugosa and English roses serve well for informal occasions. Another member of the family, lady's mantle, provides little sprays of rosy flowers or berries for background sprays.

References

• FTD: Corsages and Boutonnieres
• Blossom's Wedding Flowers
• 416 Florist, Toronto: Corsages and Boutonierres
• Flora of North America: Orchidaceae