Season: Hydrangeas are readily available from late spring through fall.Cost: You can expect to pay $10 and up per stem but bear in mind that each stem has a VERY large head made up of tons of individual flowers – a little goes a long way as each head usually measures 6-8″ around. They make a big impact!
Varieties: There are lots of varieties in nature but unlike roses or orchids or lilies, you generally don’t have to specify a type of hydrangea.
Colors: Depending on the season, you can find them in white, blue and light blue, purple and lavender, green, pink and hot pink and burgundy.
Hardiness: Not so much. Out of water, hydrangeas are as delicate as a Junior High school girl’s self esteem. Even in water, hydrangea blooms are still susceptible to heat and sun – keep them out of both as much as possible. Big stem = major water needs. If you want an all hydrangea bouquet, make sure you have vases of water around to rehydrate it as often as possible or you will not have a pretty bouquet for long.
Pairings: Hydrangeas are a wonderful base flower and go well with most other flowers – cluster several heads and then add other flowers you want to highlight. They take up a lot of room and can serve as an almost neutral backdrop for other flowers.Good Things to Know: Hydrangeas are white by default but the climate and the amount of aluminum in the soil actually contributes to the final color of the bloom.
Hydrangeas have rather large stems so don’t be surprised by the size of your hand tied bouquet if you go all hydrangea – it will likely be even larger than another bouquet with more individual flowers of a different type.
Roses are available all year long with some seasonality based on variety and country of origin.Cost: Expect to pay upwards of $1.50 per stem for a basic rose from a florist – prices go up from there. The most rare colors and varieties could run as high as $10-$15 per stem.
Varieties: The most common varieties of roses used in weddings are:
-The hybrid tea rose. This is the classic rose that you see in all the pictures above. Quite uniform from rose to rose. The are simple, classic, clean and lovely – the most reasonable and available of the varieties.
-The spray rose. Spray roses are actually clusters of small roses on one stem. They are wonderful for filling in a bouquet and adding interest, texture and depth to an all rose bouquet.
-The English garden rose. The English garden rose is a large, lush bloom with almost ruffly edges. No two roses will be the same as they are allowed to grow more freely than the tea rose. They have always reminded me a bit of peonies.
Colors: Hundreds and hundreds. Roses literally come in every color in the rainbow except blue and black. There is a very dark maroon that is sometimes called black but there is no true black rose and blue roses only exist a
