In Defense of the Carnation

At bloom boxx, we are and always been fans of the carnation.  Carnations are hearty.  They're fragrant.  They last a long time.  They're available in countless colors.  They're naturally fluffy and beautiful in their own right.  They're inexpensive.  And any floral designer can tell you that they're easy to work with.

But the carnation, while remaining a staple of the floral industry, has fallen out of favor for the past several years.  Along with baby's breath and mums, carnations have been considered passe.  Perhaps over-popularized by supermarket floral shops and wire services such as FTD, carnations came to be considered common, boring, and certainly not fabulous.  It's really unfair considering that the worst things someone can say about a carnation is that it's too popular and inexpensive.

Maybe it's a sign of the economy.  Maybe it's a result of a "retro" trend.  Probably a little of both, but it seems that the carnation is at long last poised for a comeback into good graces with the general flower buying public.  And at bloom boxx we couldn't be more thrilled.

Let's sidestep for a moment and look at culinary comparisons.  There was a time not long ago when a sophisticated consumer would roll their eyes at the very thought of ordering macaroni and cheese.  That's food for kids that comes in a box.  You can find mac and cheese in giant trays under heat lamps at buffets across the country.  The savvy diner wouldn't be caught dead with it on their plate.  My how times have changed.  Mac and cheese, in various iterations, is popping up on fine dining menus everywhere, and sometimes at a hefty price.   In Manhattan's East Village, there's now a restaurant that specializes specifically in macaroni and cheese.  And, let's talk for a moment about hamburgers.  Again, a staple comfort food item that some considered cheap, common, and not fabulous.  Now, fine chefs are using superior cuts of beef, adding gourmet ingredients and charging plenty of $$ for... a burger.  And, if you've attended a wedding or catered event lately, you've noticed that "mini burgers" have become the new crab cake.  They're the new "must have" passed food item at any catered party.

So back to the carnation.  Earlier this week, we had decided to blog about the carnation today. We are on the email list from Martha Stewart Weddings.  Every day, we receive an email - the "weddings idea of the day".  To our surprise and delight, this morning's email from Martha Stewart is entitled "Carnation Chic" and the tag line is "Long used as inexpensive filler, carnations have a chic style all their own when clustered in modern, minimalist vases."  We knew this all along.  See our white collection at http://bloomboxx.com/  But you don't have to take our word that carnations are fabulous in their own right because the goddess of all style herself has declared it so, just this morning.  Hooray!!