Blue Flowers - A Guide to Blue Flowers

Blue flowers are the color of the intellect and spirituality. Their nature expresses mystery and importance. This guide introduces you to various types of blue flowers, their symbolism and how to use them in arrangements and weddings.

Light blue is associated to the clear sky and to the calm sea, it’s the color of serenity and peace. Dark blue has always conveyed importance and confidence, being related to the corporate suits or the police uniforms. Blue is the color of the intellect, coolness, it has a calming effect and it is known to help you sleep better.

In nature, blue is less encountered than other colors, even though there is a fair variety of blue flowers such as Forget-Me-Not. Blue is also related to calm feelings, sadness and depression, in Iran blue being the color of mourning. As a therapeutic effect, blue is said to slow down the metabolism, reducing appetite and inducing calmness. Blue is the ultimate masculine color.

In feng shui, blue belongs to the Water element, bringing a touch of freshness to the living area. It is a perfect choice for bedrooms and study rooms. Studies have shown that people studying under blue painted ceilings perform better than those under white ceilings.

Blue Flower Meaning

Blue flowers are by excellence the central symbol of Romanticism. A blue flower conveys messages of love and desire, of supreme struggle of the superior human being aiming at conquering the absolute. The blue flower as symbol of infinity was first used by the German author Novalis in his novel Heinrich von Ofterdingen, where the main characters starts dreaming of blue flowers after a random meeting with a stranger.

Depending on the shadow of blue, blue flowers can carry different significations:

• Light blue flowers are related to health, softness, tranquility and calmness.
• Dark blue flowers are associated to seriousness, power, integrity and knowledge.

Generally, blue flowers make you think of loyalty, trust, intelligence and confidence and they represent wisdom, truth, faith and heaven.

Blue Flower Arrangements

Blue flowers are mostly encountered among wild flowers, which unfortunately don’t have a very long vase life. This is why for complex and sophisticated blue flowers arrangements either dried flowers or artificially obtained flowers are used, either by hybridization or by tainting white flowers. The most popular traditional flowers such as roses, tulips, carnations or callas don’t usually have varieties of blue flowers, but florists manage to obtain this shade by artificially coloring them.

When using blue flowers in your flower arrangements consider some basic rules of thumb when combining them with other flowers:

• In order to create a conservative and sophisticated arrangement, try mixing azure or deep royal blue flowers which convey richness and superiority with navy flowers which are a bit warmer than light blues.
• Probably the most flashing combination, blue flowers and yellow flowers complement each other perfectly, as diagonally opposite colors on the color wheel. Try this scheme if you want your arrangements to grab all eyes.
• For a psychedelic arrangement, mix them with hot orange flowers. The coolness of blue flowers will calm down the warmness of orange, while the orange will warm up the cool blue. Try adding a dash of purple flowers to this combination for a 60s vibrant look.
• For springtime arrangements, pastel blue flowers go very well with pink flowers and pale yellow flowers.
• For colder weather arrangements, such as winter arrangements, a popular choice is using deep blue flowers.
• For a natural, watery, Amazonian look and feel, mix aquamarine blue flowers with dark greenery.
• For a sense of elegance, you could also use gray dried greenery with royal blue flowers.
• If you want to convey an environmental friendly message, try combining sky blue flowers with neutral shades of tan and beige dried flowers or foliage.
• A dash of blue flowers will cool down a hot red flower arrangement.
• For a fresh, crisp, marine arrangement, combine navy blue flowers with pure white flowers.
• If you want an extremely cool, elegant and rich arrangement, the best match to your dark blue flowers are by far metallic silver dried and tainted greenery.

Blue Flowers for Weddings

Although the classic wedding flowers such as roses, orchids, carnations, tulips and calla lilies are not naturally available in blue, these flowers still remain a popular choice for weddings, whether we are talking about blue flower bridal bouquets, buttoniers or centerpieces.

A blue flower bridal bouquet is a perfect addition to a white or cream wedding dress. The most popular choice for a blue flowers bridal bouquet are Holland dyed blue roses. These flowers are actually white roses which have been grown in blue dye.

Even if you might consider it a challenge to find the appropriate flowers for your wedding, it will definitely worth the effort. Blue flowers will add a touch of royalty and distinction that will make that special day an unforgettable one.

Types of Blue Flowers

The most popular blue flowers are:

• Blue Tulip

  The blue tulip which offers the most vibrating shade of blue combined with cool purple is the “Blue Aimable” variety. Another variety of blue tulips which is as close to blue flowers as it gets is the “Synaeda Blue Tulip”, whose petals are lavender blue with a thin white fringe.

• Blue Rose

  Although blue roses are not a product of nature, mankind has come close to obtaining a truly blue rose: the “Blue Moon”. Either obtained by tainting white roses with blue pigment, or as a result of hybridization techniques, these blue flowers are a symbol of mystery and of attaining the impossible. Blue roses are said to convey a message of eternal youth and of wish fulfillment.

• Blue Orchid

  Blue orchids are very rare, thus offering these wonderful blue flowers will definitely bring a smile on the receiver’s face. Despite the fact that actual blue orchids are a rarity, you can get the perfect surrogate from Dendronium blue dyed orchids.

• Blue Calla Lily

  As expected, blue calla lilies do not grow naturally. However, these blue flowers can be obtained using blue dye. The most widely known blue calla lilies are: white blue callas, baby blue callas and ink blue callas.

• Blue Hibiscus

  Traditionally, this blue flower is neither a true hibiscus species, nor a truly blue flower, its color being closer to lavender. However, certain species of blue hibiscus have been obtained by hybridization, the most popular being the Electric Blue Hibiscus.

• Blue Carnation

  Since carnations share the same color characteristics as roses, lilies and gerberas, a truly blue carnation does not exist in nature. However, scientists have been able to create this blue flower by taking genes from Petunia and Snapdragon. The blue carnations thus obtained were called “Moondust”.